Finished Florida fabric book

And another one done!

I showed you the start of this book in my last post: Florida Inspired. 

I had some metal shells that were charms on a charm bracelet from Primark.  They sometimes have inexpensive jewellery that you can take to pieces for elements for scrapbooking and mixed media that are cheaper than buying from art shops.  I painted these shells with acrylic paint.

I ironed Bondaweb on the back of each page and then ironed the pages together trapping the hinge/spine inside.

I sewed the signatures together using the sewing machine.  Here they are clipped together.

I used a preset stitch and variegated thread.  Sadly the stitching wasn't very straight on the third row.

And inside the book.

I'm really pleased with this book.  I've still got lots of squares left of the same fabric.  Shall I make a hanging?  Or make another book?  Or both?

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice

Florida inspired

I still have one more canal-inspired book to make but I thought I would make a Florida-inspired one instead.

I can't remember when I dyed and printed this silk noil which I recently tore into 6 inch squares.  I had used Coral Sand and Robin Eggs Blue procion dyes that I had bought from Hilary Beattie.

In a recent online poetry workshop with Sara-Jane Arbury we were looking at list poems.  In particular we looked at 'Blackberries' by Rhiannon Hooson.  The lines of her poem started with 'I bring you' or 'I give you'.

Using that format I wrote 'Shells'.

I bring you shells.
I give you rippled waves on shingle.
I give you sandpipers running in an out.

I bring you boardwalks on sandy tussocks
And searing heat from the sunshine state.
I bring you remembrances of childhood.

I give you the sunrise glinting on tumbling waves
Easter morning dawning, singing
In praise of the risen Lord.

I bring you pelicans flying in formation
Sweeping low across the shoreline.
Daughter-in-heart, I give you shells.

As the fabric had been printed when I was working on Florida based ideas I decided to add the words of my poem onto the pages of the book.

I printed the poem on paper first and cut it up to make sure the font was the right size and the sentences fitted.  I printed the poem onto organza onto which I ironed Mistyfuse. I cut up the sentences and ironed them onto the silk noil.

I made sure that the pages are in the correct order and decided on a 'hinge' for the joining together.  I'm not sure what else to call the joining piece other than a hinge.

I'm a dab hand at thinking about the finishing of a book almost after the fact but with this one I worked on how to join the pages together to make the book.  I used some left over silk noil to make the hinges.  I bonded two pieces of the fabric together.

I had already bonded cotton fabric on the back of each square of silk noil.  I stitched through the fabrics using the printed lines as a guide.  I will then bond the back and front of each page together trapping the hinge inside.

Come back next week to see the finished book.

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice

More concertina

In my last post I showed you the beginning of a new concertina book.

I decided to use the theme of Florida rather than just do abstract painting.  I used some paper napkins I had bought in Florida many years ago and glued them onto the pages.

I worked on the book 4 pages at a time and then opened it up to see what it looked like.

I forgot to take a photo of the first four pages so I have had to crop it from the photo above.

Then I started adding layers of thinned down transparent acrylic paint.

I did the same with each of the sets of 4 pages.

When I had finished all four sets of 4 pages I again opened up the paper to see what it looked like.

Now it's all dry I shall go back to it and add more layers with pens and crayons.  And possibly some more collage papers.

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice

A new adventure

Last week I was invited to show my work to a lovely group of ladies who make up the textile group Eclectica.  I have seen the group's work at various exhibitions over the last few years.  I thought that maybe now was the right time to apply to join them.

I was encouraged to take lots of work to show them.  I took them at their word and filled a suitcase.

The two display tables soon morphed into four!  I put my work together in groups.  This table had a variety of work that has no overall theme.

Here are my canal inspired textile pieces and sketchbooks.

Off now to another country!  And my work and sketchbooks based on Florida.

And no sharing of my work would be complete without Venice!

As I prepared to take all this work to the presentation, I realised that whatever the outcome it had been a useful exercise.  I have never put everything together like this before.   The sketchbooks usually live on shelves downstairs whilst the textile pieces are either piled on the spare bed or in bags for life in the same bedroom.

I found that after I stopped shaking that I enjoyed talking about my interests and my textile and mixed media work.

The day before I had been talking with a friend about how to be proud of your work without being prideful.  She sent me a link to a blog post by Ken Reid.

I like what Ken says: When you accomplish something and feel really good about it, that isn’t pride. It’s delight. 

Being proud of, or prideful about, your work means that you need everyone to know that you did it. Your delight is not in the work itself but in the recognition from others that you hope your work will bring. 

To have delight in your work is simply to enjoy it and be amazed that it came from your hands, or mind, or words, or what have you.

So whilst I am putting this blog post about my work out there, it's because I have found a delight in what I have done.  And yes I am amazed that I did it, especially the sketchbooks.

I'm also delighted to say that I have been invited to join Eclectica.

I'm excited to be starting a new journey with this group and will let you know how I am faring as the year goes on.

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice

Nature photography

I was invited to share a nature photo each day for 7 days on Facebook.  I trawled the archives and here is my selection. The first 3 were taken in the UK and the rest whilst in Florida.

Thanks for joining me today.
Bernice

Florida cut up

As you know I do lots of workshops at Littleheath Barn.  One of them was an Artcloth based on a landscape.  I chose to use the Atlantic coast of Florida for my inspiration.  I wrote about the course here.

Liske suggested we worked on 2 pieces of cloth.  One was the practice piece and the other was to be the finished piece.  The one on the right was supposed to be the practice one, but it ended up being the finished piece.

You may know that I love to cut up my work, especially if I don't like it.  I happened upon the work of Katie Fowler who paints abstract landscapes on cloth and then cuts it up.  She also cuts up her finished quilts!

So I'm in good company!

I decided to cut up the other Florida piece.

I was fortunate to find a large box canvas at Hobbycraft - and, extra joy, it was half price!   I found some soft calico in my stash and started auditioning the squares on it.

I ironed a small amount of bondweb on the back of each square and bonded the squares to the calico.  I machine stitched round each square.

 I ironed bondaweb onto some of the offcuts from the original artcloth.

 I cut small pieces of the spare fabric and auditioned bits on the squares.

 These were then bonded to the large piece and machined.

The calico is now pinned to a backing fabric with a pad of felt wadding.  I am going to do some hand stitching on the squares and then some hand quilting before stretching the finished piece over the box canvas.

Watch this space for the finished piece.

Thanks for joining me today.
Bernice

Florida

My last holiday post is about a couple of days out in Florida.  Firstly, a day with my hosts visiting the Ponce De Leon Lighthouse.

We drove to New Smyrna Beach to meet a friend for coffee.

Then across the causeway to Ponce De Leon Inlet and the lighthouse station.

We climbed the 205 stairs up to the top

The views were worth it.

Inside one of the lighthouse keeper's homes

We had a late lunch by the river and this paddleboat went past.

On my last day in Florida I took myself to Melbourne Beach.  This bit is on the river.

These guys were waiting for the fishermen to catch some fish and feed them

 I drove to the other side of Merritt Island to the Atlantic Ocean.

 
On the way back, I stopped off to take a view of the Indian River I have taken before.

Thank you for joining me on my travels.  I hope you have enjoyed seeing parts of America from your armchair.
Bernice