Tuesday 29 November 2022

More Shape Shift Words

In my last post I showed you some of the creative writing I did.  For the afternoon session it was suggested that we took some of the words we had used and use them as text in isolation.  As ever I went my own way.  I was a 'good girl' and tried out the media but I went off on a tangent with the words I chose!






I started thinking about my map pieces and the words I had used in my poem: Mapping



I was thinking of making a book with the words but now I've decided to stick them into a sketchbook.

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice

Saturday 26 November 2022

Shape Shift Words

Last weekend I went to Ledbury to Red Earth Arts Studio to do an unusual-for-me workshop.


At lunchtime I nipped out to see the exhibition in the Weaver's Gallery - the half timbered building on the left in the photo above.

In the morning Sara-Jane Arbury led us through several creative writing exercises.  After lunch Jeanette Mcculloch helped us experiment with text and different media.

Our first exercise was to write for 3 minutes starting with the word IF.  I wrote about my experience of getting to Ledbury that morning.

If only!  If only I
If only I had driven a different way.  If only I had taken notice of Google Maps and taken the M5 to the M50.  I'll go home that way.

I wanted to see the Malvern Hills in the sunshine.  I saw them.  I saw the Autumn leaves on the trees.  I saw lots of places in the middle of nowhere because a road was closed.  If only it had been open.

If I'd followed Google Maps I would not have had a problem.  I'll go home that way.


We did three other exercises based on a given word.  The final exercise was based on choosing a type of weather and writing from the point of view of the weather.  I chose the sun.

SUN
Here I come
Are you ready?
I've left the southern hemisphere
I'm on my way
Wake up you northerners
I'm here
Ready to warm you up

Do you see how strong I am?
I'm stronger than the wind.
The wind makes you clutch you coat and pull it tight.
My heat undresses you.

Layer upon layer removed.
You bathe in my light.
I can reach high temperatures.
You become unreasonably hot.
You hide in the shelter of shadows
While I bounce high into the sky.

I burn and bake
The land dries up.
Cracks appear
Drought comes
Plants and animals die
Wildfires burn

But still I shine
I burn and bake
Until the south calls my name

I sink below the horizon
And turn my eyes upon the southern hemisphere
Here I come
Are you ready?

I saw this as I walked through Ledbury.

Next time I'll show you the text I played with during the afternoon.

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice

Tuesday 22 November 2022

Autumn Colour

This month's photography theme has been Autumn.  I took quite a few photos and here are the ones I like best.













I hope you found time to go outside during the Autumn.  And maybe you took some photos.

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice

Saturday 19 November 2022

Out and About

Some weeks I may only go out of the house to the hairdressers or church.  But this week I not only did those two things I also got out and about elsewhere.  

First I went to a Studio Day at Littleheath Barn Studio.  On these days each person takes their own pieces along to work on with the added benefit of being able to have input from Liske as well as the other attendees.

Do you remember these collages from last post?

 
Well, this is what they look like now after the time I spent at Littleheath.

I don't usually post photos of me.  However Liske took this for me as I need a photo of me working for some publicity for the Creative Textile Studio at Festival of Quilts next year.

On Wednesday I was invited to talk about my work at the Lichfield Textile and Stitch Group.  The ladies were most welcoming.   I put out all my work in themes - Florida, Venice, Canals and Others.  I left all my hangings rolled up and unrolled them one at a time as I talked about the process.

 

I also took sketchbooks and workbooks that support the textile pieces.

I explained some of the techniques I use including how to do breakdown printing and how to use a Thermofax screen.

At the end everyone was invited to come and look at my work.  I was very happy for the work to be touched.

I had a lovely time.  And I was very pleased that I didn't get held up driving home.

Thanks for joining me today.
Bernice

Tuesday 15 November 2022

Map fabrics

After a great deal of procrastination I actually got round to starting a couple of things that have been on my mind for a while.   Some fabric collages and a new fabric book using my fabrics made at the Summer School in July.

These were some of the pieces of fabric I had left.

 
 
I tore up some of the fabric to make 10cm squares

I added smaller bits of the other fabrics, some Ordnance Survey map and some of the paper grid I had made.  I now have to decide how I will stitch them.

I tore up more of the fabric to make 'pages' for a book.  There will be two pieces of fabric page bonded together to be double sided.




These pieces will be the cover.  The fabric was part of the drop cloth I used when I was printing the other fabrics.

I'm still working out what I am going to do on each 'page' and then how I am going to make the pages stiffer, if necessary.  I need to wait to see how floppy they are once they are stitched.

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice

Saturday 12 November 2022

Exploding or Explosion Books

I have been intending to make this video for months and finally this week I got round to doing it.  I had promised my grandson that I would make the video for him.

I hadn't realised when I started the recording that the zoom lens jumped forward a little bit so the video was rather close up. As a consequence some of the visuals were up in the air and off camera.   I have left some of the close up footage and re-recorded the bits that had disappeared.   There's a bit of a funny jump in the middle!

There are also subtitles which are worth putting on even if you think you don't need them, as sometimes the written explanation is better than my actual words!

I forgot to say in the video that if you make a book with more than three squares, every time you add a square the peak or valley needs to alternate.  In the video the squares are peak, valley, peak - so the next one would be valley.

I hope you will give these books a try.

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice

Tuesday 8 November 2022

Interruption

After I had sorted out my map pieces I interrupted myself by signing up for an online course with Sally Tyrie through Fibre Arts Take Two.  FATT courses are really well filmed and presented and this is the third one I've taken.


The appeal of this one, Visual Narratives - Print, Paint, Stitch with Sally Tyrie, was that it incorporated photography, collage and collograph plates.  If you are a regular reader you know that I take lots of photographs but rarely do anything with them creatively.  Sally talks about altering the photographs with a photo editor and layering the photos digitally.  She also talks about printing out the altered photos and layering them up manually.  Sounds like my sort of course.

It was my plan to leave the theme of canals alone for a while but the topic really fitted the Visual Narratives concept.

Today I'm going to show you some of the original photos and what I've done with them in the app Snapseed using my iPad.





See if you can spot which of the original photos feature in each of the following:





Snapseed is very addictive!

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice