Work in Progress, More Lavender

I have been mounting some silk paintings ready to be framed. I originally did these paintings as part of the City and Guilds course in silk painting. This was a few years ago and they have been

hiding away in a portfolio. They are to go in an exhibition in July.

The silk I used was crepe de chine and is quite stretchy. First I positioned the painting on a piece of mount card then worked my way round adjusting it then holding in place with tape. I want the painted border to be even all the way round as I will probably put this into a frame without a mount (mat) Then I lace it on the back with stitches. These can be adjusted later if necessary.

working in the garden

fixing the tape
starting to lace the back with stitches using a non tangle thread. The non tangle thread worked really well, even when it got in a tangle it untangled very easily.

still some way to go!

Painting at the Mall Galleries

Entrance to the Mall Galleries London

My recently painted Strelitzias (previous post) has been accepted for an exhibition in the Mall Galleries in London. I also have cards and Giclee prints in this exhibition. It is the 150th exhibition of the Society of Women Artists. It will be opened by HRH Princess Michael of Kent on Wed 29th June at 11am and runs until the 9th July.

For more details of the exhibition click here

For more of my silk paintings that have been shown with this group click here

Strelitzia on Silk

It's warm enough to work in the garden. I made a drawing from a photograph taken in January in Madeira. There were lots of these flowers growing outside and I was interested in the way the light was coming through the petals and the patterns made by the light and shade. The silk was stretched on a frame. I have drawn on the silk with a pencil and outlined the flower with gold. I used a clear resist for the leaves.

This is the finished painting having worked on it over several days last week.

Strelitzia regina

The Spring Exhibition of Arts at Tadworth Childrens' Trust

'Lauren Picking Lavender' watercolour

I have 10 paintings in this exhibition over the week end. Five framed and 5 unframed. The image above is one of them.

The Spring Exhibition of Arts 2011 15th April 2011 - 17th April 2011

For the 25th year, Tadworth Court will house a temporary exhibition and sale showcasing artists from across the South East from 15th - 17th April 2011. The event, organised by the Friends of The Children's Trust will raise money for children at The Children's Trust.

Admission is FREE and visitors can buy the exhibits.

The three-day Exhibition is open from 6pm - 9pm on Friday 15th, from 10am - 5pm on Saturday 16th, and from 10am - 3pm on Sunday 17th April 2010. The Exhibition will be officially opened by renowned photographer Nobby Clark at 7pm on Friday 15th.

at Tadworth Court, Tadworth, Surrey, KT20 5RU

To celebrate this special anniversary year, there will also be a display of artwork from local primary schools and from learners with profound and multiple learning difficulties who attend the School for Profound Education. Another new feature will allow visitors to show their artistic flair by copying a pen drawing from a local artist square by square.

Spring Trees

My magnolia is shedding petals. There are still some flowers to come.

At Nonsuch Park the cherries are in full blossom. A copper beech is just coming into leaf. I like it best at this stage while the leaves are a soft colour like a pink seaweed.

Silk Necklace

I made this silk necklace as a birthday present for a friend.

Let me introduce you to....

Today I am featuring work from three different shops. I have chosen one item from each shop as shown above. details of the items are below and if you would like to take a closer look click on the links, these are in grey text.

I have chosen these as I love textiles and soft textures whether woven, stitched or felted.

Now l will introduce you to Judi, Denise and Judy. They all live a long hop over the pond in different parts of the USA and their shops are on etsy. We belong to a friendly and supportive team on etsy called BBEST which stands for Boomers and Beyond Etsy Street Team and that's where we met, online

Judi from Imaginuity

Judi describes her studio as a crow's nest filled with treasures to inspire her imagination and she says she has been dreaming and designing with textiles since she could hold a needle.

Some these treasures have been artfully and skilfully combined in the crazy patchwork cuff that I have chosen.

She makes statement necklaces and fibre art jewellery and I know that she is an accomplished seamstress who has made her own clothes as well as theatre costumes. If you visit her shop you will see in her profile that she has 3 shops altogether, writes 2 blogs and is a creativity coach.

Do have a peek at her statement hat.

Purple Orchid and Lagoon beaded cuff

Denise from TeardropHankys

Denise is new to the team and her shop is fairly newly opened. She works with her collection of vintage hankies and inspiration both inherited from her crafty grandmother. The vintage print reminds me of the summer dresses my mother wore in the 50s. The colours in the print have been creatively echoed in the ribbon, buttons and border to make this beautiful pillow. I never knew that hankies could be so large!

Tammis Keefe Hanky Pillow

Judy from jnoriginals

Judy makes crocheted and felted accessories. She says that creative dreams are realised when we ask 'what if?' and 'why not?'

I think this is so true of creative use of colour and I like her colour combinations.

The felted needle book that I have chosen combines a lovely sky blue and muted orange. The effect is cheerful and reminds me of a sunny Autumn day on the coasts of Devon and Cornwall when the bracken has turned to burnt orange and the colour sings with the blue of the sky and sea.

Judy has 4 shops on etsy and is also a blogger.

Skywood Felted Needle Book