We all scream for ice cream!

I have been so busy these last couple of weeks, but it's only now as I sit down to write a blog post that I realised how much I have managed to get done (all for the Contemporary Craft Fair in 4 weeks time!)

I am starting to see cottages in my sleep!

I have my own model village in my studio!

This terrace fits nicely into a display hole in our lounge!

And an idea I had just this morning....it's a pub! Maybe called The Ship...

The sign is made from a tiny print of a painting by my favourite artist Alfred Wallis. I used sellotape over both sides to make it sturdier and to stick it onto the overhead nail.

I was lucky enough to find this perfect little bit of wood at the beach earlier in the week. It really didn't take much effort to turn it into a little boat. Less is sometimes more, don't you know?!

Do you recall the washed-up boat we discovered back here? We are still finding pieces from it on different beaches along the south coast of Cornwall. I decided to use this large piece (quite clearly part of a boat) for the basis of this large piece of work.

It has the same "slipway" as other bits I have used previously..

I love the subtle hues in the paintwork...and the crackleglaze makes it look like stonework.

I scratched a couple of ladders into the varnished section to break it up a little.

I also started experimenting with some text! I bought some metal letter stamps ages ago, but didn't really know at the time what I would use them for.

You may need to click on the above image to read the words!

"Promenade" is closely based on Preston seafront where 61A is located!

And lastly, a little driftwood terrace which takes its title from a Madness song!

Phew, I feel exhausted!! I may take the weekend off. I hope you have a great time, whatever you are doing!

Polperro

 Not an exact replica, you understand, but anyone who has visited the picturesque Cornish fishing village will know of its higgledy piggledy houses and quirky old bridges. I was completely led by the materials in this piece, mainly the large "bridge" part, with its cut-out bit (exactly as I had found it on the beach!)

 I added steps and a slope on either side of the bank, and a piece of wood with several layers of blue peeling paint serves as the river.

 It was only after I had attached all the houses that I realised that should the inhabitants step out of their front doors, they might get a bit wet! But asthetics won over practicalities in the end!

 I have been making lots of cottages (only 5 weeks or so until the Contemporary Craft Festival - eek!)

This one is a bit special, as it has a rusty tin roof (again, exactly as I found it - holes and all)

 

And finally, it is my mums birthday tomorrow. She has had so many cards from me these last 4 decades, I worry about giving her the same thing twice, so I set about something new this morning. Following the new camper van and caravan designs, the next stop is the ice-cream van!

I hope she likes it. I may add it to my range later in the year.

Thanks for reading and for all your lovely comments lately!

Church Street

Just a short post this evening, I only wanted to show you something I made this afternoon...

A little driftwood street, complete with its own church!

I have actually had this L shaped piece for quite some time....just waiting for the right time to use it!

The hole (which I am imagining is the bell tower) was there already: the cross I made from two rusty tacks, bound together with metallic thread.

But the most interesting thing about this sculpture is the long piece along the bottom. I have quite a few bits like this: it is hardwood, with lovely rounded corners. Can you guess what it was part of originally?

Can you guess now?!

Yep, it was a deckchair! I think I am going to keep it this way around, just to make it a little bit more interesting!

Delamore Exhibition

Exciting times lie ahead! Next month, I have a couple of collages in an exhibition! This is a pretty big deal for me, as I haven't been involved in an exhibition since my degree show....18 years ago! That makes me feel VERY old! The annual exhibition is run by Delamore Arts, it runs throughout May, and judging by the website it is going to be a cracker. I dropped my work off last week, and the grounds alone are beautiful: the magnolia trees are in blossom and there will be various sculptures on display in the gardens, as well as a whole variety of delights inside the house.

I have 2 pieces on show: this one of Mevagissey

...and another of St Michael's Mount.

 It'd be nice if someone bought one!

If you are in the area (Ivybridge, South Devon) I recommend you check it out! Details are on their website.

Meanwhile, I have been making more cottages

...and lighthouses....

 

...and here is a present I made for my sister-in-law! Driftwood and acrylic on canvas.

Also, I just took delivery of some new greetings cards today. They are all from my original collages, including the ones in the exhibition. They are available to buy from my website. 

Thats all for now folks! Have a great week!

Happy Easter

Leaving it (typically) to the last minute, yesterday I made...

...some tiny driftwood birdhouses...

...some teeny beach huts...

...and decorated some polystyrene eggs with the boys...

...and ta-da!! We have an Easter tree!!
Hope you all have a great Spring break!

Camper Vans, Caravans and a Street Party

I had a special request this week for a birthday card featuring a camper van: not something I had considered doing before, but I remembered a small piece of driftwood in my stash with orange peeling paint on it....sometimes when I find odd bits on the beach I know immediately what they will become: others may hang around for years waiting to be used. The orange piece fell into the latter category - and now I had the perfect chance to use it!

I was pretty pleased with the way it turned out - and my friend, who liked it too, proceeded to order a dozen more for her gallery! Couldn't help but think I had been tricked!

After sharing the images on my Facebook page, I was then asked to make a vintage caravan card...

....and following that one, several more orders ensued!

Trade mark washers and a bit of bunting mean that they compliment my other driftwood cards nicely, so I am selling them on my website!

And finally, here is my latest piece I made today: a rather jolly work called "Street Party"

All the above make me think of summer....or is it the abnormally gorgeous weather we are experiencing at the moment?
I hope you are enjoying the sunshine - wherever you are!

James and the Giant Peach

Did you ever start a project you wish you hadn't? Hmmm, me too!
It seemed like a good idea at the time: my youngest son was off school with asthma, we had just finished Roald Dahl's magnificent "James and the Giant Peach" and Herbie had done this rather fabulous drawing to illustrate it...

(I love the way kids draw, don't you? Like the wiggly line that is the sea)

Anyway, I got to thinking how it would be really cool to make a model from paper mache - a mobile perhaps that could hang in their bedroom - of the peach being carried along by some seagulls. Ambitious,perhaps, but the boys were very eager!

We started on the gulls first - and following a happy accident (I wanted cardboard, and toilet rolls were the first thing to hand....how very Blue Peter!) realised a very simple seagull shape could be made using two pieces sellotaped together (the larger piece is simply folded under the bird's body)



..or folded above it in this example.

Then, using PVA glue as an adhesive, we covered the cardboard shapes in newspaper to make them sturdier.

And painted them with acrylic paint. I like the way the newsprint shows through!

Now for the peach itself!
Unfortunately the photos I took were too dark to document this part properly, but we covered the most part of a balloon with PVA and several layers of paper (letting it dry before applying the next layer) We left a hole at the top, simply because a peach isn't balloon-shaped, it needed to be more rounded than that. So we left a section at the top of the balloon uncovered, and when the paper mache was dry, and the balloon had deflated, I used long strips of newspaper to cover the hole. Another happy accident ensued: the soggy strips sagged in the middle - which turned out to be a more realistic shape than I was aiming for!
The sunken part would be where the stem would go!

Here's what it looked like painted!

I used a stick for the stem, there was a nobbly bit (technical term) protruding from the bottom of it, so I pushed it right into the paper mache and the branch bit (pointing upwards) prevented the stick from falling out.

Next problem, how to fix it all together! If you are familiar with the story, you will know that the birds carry the giant peach along with spider silk, but I needed something a bit sturdier than that, so I used wire. I stuck one end of a piece of wire into the cardboard gull, and wrapped the other around the stem of the peach. I could then move the birds into position quite easily.


Finally (I'm exhausted just writing this up!) the whole thing was suspended using lightweight jewellery wire.

TA-DA!!!!

The peach is complete!