Creative Sketchbooks

I spent yesterday at the final workshop for my Creative Sketchbooks class. Because we were all struggling with the deadline for the second book we've had a welcome extension from June 7th to July 5th so I can breathe a bit easier now. It was fun to spend all day playing about, trying out things and seeing what everyone else was coming up with. The variety of ideas and techniques we each bring to the same task is amazing and bouncing ideas off each other is a definite plus. We've each come to the class from different backgrounds and with very different interests and experience and all of that feeds into the mix. I'm very behind with the TAST challenge but am busy doing a little blackwork sampler for my sketchbook of a design I found on a leaded window during my photographic tour of Dorchester. I must get that finished before I get back to TAST.

Windows

Activity is on-going here but there's not much to show for it at the moment. I'm coming to the end of my City & Guilds Creative Sketchbooks course and my first sketchbook on fans passed assessment thank goodness. I spent Easter putting together a portfolio of all my samples of the different techniques we have learnt over the weeks and now I am working on my second and final sketchbook which has a very scary deadline! The first book was an altered sketchbook but the second one has to be constructed and freestanding which is rather more tricky. I'm planning to use 2 canvases as the ends and make a concertina book between them using mountboard and my theme is windows. On Friday I had a day off work so I walked round town taking pictures of windows and I was amazed at the variety I found.

I put some of the photos together in a collage - the most mundane window in there belongs to my house! I took a copy of the collage and cut it into strips and did some paper weaving with it and I'm now thinking of what else I can do with the photos for my sketchbook. Gradually it's starting to come together.

Lisa Vollrath's Countdown

Lisa Vollrath has another countdown on her website, offering free images to download ready for Mother's Day (American one). Take advantage of her offer here http://countdown.tentwostudios.com:80/

TAST - Running stitch

Ok, so I'm cheating a bit here! This is a pattern darning sampler I did some time ago using a design that was originally on the About.com needlepoint site by Janet Perry. I did it on a fine canvas which is why it hasn't scanned terribly well; because of the holes in the canvas and the pale salmony colour it doesn't show up clearly. However I really liked the results and it's also very interesting on the reverse as the pattern appears almost in negative.

TAST - Palestrina stitch

Here's a rather dinky sampler for Palestrina stitch as part of the TAST challenge. This was another one that was knew to me and I enjoyed doing it. The diamonds in particular were interesting.

Spring

It really has been the most glorious spring here in Dorset and yesterday we went out and about to enjoy the weather and the countryside. Bluebells are everywhere (including my front garden) and here's a picture of a small wood near Beaminster looking beautiful. We also went to the sub-tropical gardens at Abbotsbury where thanks to its location in a sheltered valley on the coast, quite exotic plants grow mixed in with the bluebells! There were lots of magnolias, rhodedendrons and azaleas amongst others.

Days like these are for the locals to appreciate, before the area gets too clogged up with visitors, and this time of year is when we really appreciate how lucky we are to live here.

TAST, Oyster stitch

Here's my sample for this week's TAST, Oyster stitch.

Just a small piece but once I got the hang of it I liked this stitch and loved the texture it gives.