Turning a Corner

Yesterday was the second day of the Brockenhurst Needle Work fiesta.  

Maggie Fiona and I had a great time demoing, Maggie mixed layers and dissolvable paper...

and I was on dissolvable films and fabrics.

From what I can gather it was probably one of their best attended shows to date with over 1200 visitors. Considering it was very close to finishing for good not long ago that is pretty good numbers!! I hope the traders downstairs all found it a viable weekend and will continue to support it.  

Today I had a Dorset Artists Coffee Morning at Gold Hill Organic Farm Cafe.  It was a little chilly but some chose to stay outside.  20 or so turned up, including some new faces, and we were served with delicious coffee and lunch or cake.  A great venue to visit.  

So that marks the end of a little period in time where I had events and deadlines to work toward all within the last three months.  I know I can be a bit of a lazy or sloppy worker, choosing to please myself as and when. Everything over the past 10 months or so has almost been put in front of me as a challenge to see if I could actually set myself targets and I think I have come out of it pretty good.  

February I could hold my head high next to the amazing Maggie Grey when she asked me to spend the four days with her and Fiona at Craft 4 Crafters. Early March I actually walked 18 miles!  Me who doesn't get out of the car unless I truly have to!! I have very tiny nails growing back on my feet now and I also have a refund for my expensive, waterproof boots that leaked!! I then held a joint exhibition with Karren and Caroline which we curated and managed ourselves.  Though I have shown in other venues this was a first of this type, especially with established artists. And this weekend demoing again with Maggie at the Fiesta.  

The demos do take a lot of thought and planning.  If you're ever watching someone do one please remember that whoever is doing it has tried to condense something into a short mini show if you like and it's often something that takes an age in the real world.  They've had to probably do a lot of pre samples and practising so you the viewer can see the best of it in a short period of time.

There have been other personal obstacles to clamber over along the way too but tomorrow I have promised myself a peopleless day, except for John and the pups, and nothing on my creative mind or demands from the studio and it feels good. 

I worked to deadlines and passed the test! 

Flying Visit!!

Long time no blog!  Life has been interesting, heartbreaking, fast, full and just time eating lately! Never sure why everything always happens at once!   This is a super quick round up. 

At the end of this week I will be at the Brockenhurst Needlework Fiesta with Maggie Grey and Fiona, come say hello if you're there. I've been in two minds what to demonstrate, either the embellisher again or soluble.  With that in mind, and the fact that my next exhibition in November I wouldn't mind showing some 3D pieces, I made up some fabrics using soluable and loads of dead balls of wool.  

As you can imagine the texture is fabulous.  I made up two of these strange maquettes.  Far from my usual doll shape and very much self evolving! 

They're wired inside and have weighted bases so quite stable though they are 20 inches tall. I have never been any good at depicting human form, loath trying to be honest, and so gave myself permission to go comfortable abstract on thier shapes and faces with no features as such and I'm quite pleased with them.  

The cloaks are felt made on the embellisher, totally dry and quite thin.  

Luna, the white one, is almost there.  I just need to add some embroidery around the Shisha mirrors along the hem.

Aurora, the dark one, I've only just managed to start the cloak embroidery.   Still a fair way to go.  Whether they will be ready to take to Brock is another thing but it's not vital.  It's been quite a nice journey in a different direction for a change.  

We had a fair bit of this in the nest.

The a glimpse of these.  Sorry it's blurred but my camera refused to focus on the eggs. The pinkish blob below the blue eggs is a hatchling. 

An awful lot of feeding of these.

And they've grown into these! I can only see two chicks although there is a hatchling and two eggs above.  I don't know if we've lost one or I managed to catch the baby just as it came out and that is the shell of its egg as yet unremoved by mum.  Either way the two left are very demanding of thier parents! 

The bluebells have been fabulous up in the woods beside one of my dog walks.  I was a bit peeved to be there last week and pass a couple and their spaniels just charging around in the woods knocking them all over them place.  Dog's aren't actually allowed in there anyway and the gamekeeper has signs up all over the place but I was sad to see the disregard of the flowers. 

Hayfever hasn't actually been too bad so far this year even though this is the view from our bed.  Love how sharp the contrast is! The next three fields to the right and up behind us are yellow too. Thankfully it's not for too long.

This is our fig tree Elsa bought us for our wedding 10 years ago.  It often goes into winter with it's embryo figs attached but not many make it but this year it's covered!  We could be searching out lots of figgy recipes later in the year! The birds love them too, sadly so do the wasps. 

This is our Solanum over the terrace.  All green at the moment but I will take more photos over the next couple of weeks and it will soon be a huge ball of blue. 

This is where the blog is fabulous, as a diary.  I had to look back to see when the robins nested a couple of years ago and all the info was there.  Also this week on the 15th John heard the first Cuckoo.  If I look back I can see it was 15th of April in 2016 and 2015 but April 17th in 2014.  They seem to have amazing calendars built it! 

Finally I will sign off Happy Easter from us and the dogs.