Handmade cards - weddings

I've been trying to make more cards for people instead of buying them.  Both to encourage me to create, and to save money!  The following cards were made for weddings and engagements, using a variety of techniques.

 

Stitched hearts

 

Stitching with wire

Using the end of a pencil dipped in paint

 

Scene from Rwanda

I painted this for a friend's birthday during the summer.  She spent some time in South Africa a few years ago, and has an 'Africa' themed room in her house, so I knew this would fit in well!  I must admit, I copied the figures from a card that I bought in Rwanda last year and the background was taken from one of my own photos.  (Rwandan sunsets are pretty incredible!)  I used acrylic paints (the ones I have left which haven't dried out that is) on a canvas about 6 inches square.  It was good to do some painting again  - something I've not really done much of for a long time.  And I loved wrapping it up at the end - you can't beat a bit of brown paper and some pretty lace and ribbon!

 

Bright lights bigger city

It's been rather a long time since I last blogged here... over 2 years!!  Where does the time go?  (Yes, I know that makes me sound old!)  Back in April 2011 I was living at home with my parents, working 2 part-time jobs and finding it very hard to have the time or motivation to do anything creative.  Fast forward to today, and I'm living in Glasgow again, working for a small charity and feel like I've just about recovered from the experience of Art School.  My current job is part-time, which might make things a bit tight, but it has allowed me the space to do more art things.  It's been so encouraging to me to discover that I can still find enjoyment in making and creating!

 

And so, I've decided to start blogging again with the hope of giving myself some motivation to keep going and to share some of the things I've been working on.  Feel free to comment on the blog posts - it would be great to get some feedback! If you'd like to receive new blog entries by email, you can do so by entering your email address in the 'subscribe' box on the right hand side.

 

Also, check out my other blog here to read about my adventures in Rwanda in 2012.

 

Click on the photos below to see larger versions.

 

Buchanan Street, Glasgow city centre

City wildlife

My old favourite - the Botanic Gardens in Glasgow's Westend

Textiles?!

Just reminding myself that I have made some textile things over the past few months! I've made a few laundry bags for various babies and a wall hanging. None of these are particularly 'arty', but then why should they be? There was definitely pressure at art school to be 'arty' and ''conceptual', and I've found it very difficult to shake this feeling off since graduating. I find myself dismissing ideas because I don't think they're creative enough and worry about other people looking down on me for what I make. Is there anything wrong with being 'stitchy' or wanting to make a cushion cover? Isn't is these kinds of things that earn money? I wonder if the Orla Kielys or Cath Kidstons of the professional world ever felt like this, or if they just went for it?!

Saying that, I do miss the studio space and creative environment of uni. It's not that easy working in a small spare room, cutting your fabrics out on the floor and using the bed as a table extension. I guess even Orla and Cath started out somewhere...

Stitched lights

When I was looking over my photos from the weekend, it really struck me how much some of the lines of light looked like stitches. I don't know why the photos turned out like this, with dashed lines, and I guess my embroidery background makes me tune in to things like this. The variations in colour, weight of line, density of the marks etc are all things that I would consider when drawing and stitching, and I think these photographs really lend themselves to the possibility of being recreated in fabric and thread. (That's not to say that I will... but the potential is definitely there!!)

Fuzzy light

It was getting pretty dark when I was out in the park at the weekend, so I started playing around with the light from all the residential areas around or near Kings Park. I think the trees give a sense of the scene in these photographs, but the movement of the light and the lack of focus add quite an eerie feeling. With the top two photos in particular, there is a painterly quality to them - I can imagine them being done in chalk pastels, brushing and smudging parts to achieve the haziness.

Kings Park

I was giving my studio a clear out today, saw a ray of sun outside so grabbed my camera and marched off to the park to get some exercise and photos. By the time I got to the park, the sun had pretty much disappeared again and light was fading very quickly. This made it dificult to get any good, in focus shots, but there were a few blog worthy ones in there.

Walking home from work

These aren't exactly the best quality photos I've ever taken, but they are a lot more spontaneous than usual. I particularly like the squiggly bits of light!

Tree outlines

Having decided to carry my camera around with me more often, I took these photos today on the way home from town. There is something a wee bit creepy about bare trees and the shapes of the branches, but also quite beautiful too.

Snow day

I've been itching to get out in the snow with my camera over the past week, but have been working most days. Apparently even outdoor clothing shops can have snow days though, so today I got out at last! The snow was fairly deep in places, and seems to have been causing chaos on the roads. Having spent over an hour digging my car out the other day only for it to be completely snowed back in this morning, I can certainly see the positives and negatives of this weather. There is a definite 'Narnia' look to this much snow - particularly in the trees. It was great to get out today and take some photos. One side of the sky was full of beautiful colours, while fog was setting in on the other - making for some more atmospheric scenes. Hopefully I will be able to get out again soon!