Gum Arabic

This October I think I may be living part time at Littleheath Barn.  Between workshops, studio days and the Art Textile Group I seem to be there once or twice a week for the whole month.  So to start, I went to a Sue Brown workshop on Gum Arabic Transfer Printing.

I love tutors who are organised and Sue is extremely organised and led us expertly through her techniques.  We started by practising on paper.  Here I have printed the one on the right and laid down the next print ready to burnish.

 I added a further print of the moths.

I also tried printing directly into a sketchbook

Sue gave us some calico and a box of bits to rummage through to make two collages.

As you see we tacked them before printing on them.

Then I used the photocopies Sue provided to print on the fabrics.

 I'm not sure about the orange blots, but I could stitch to make them look like flowers.

 Here's my 'show and tell'.

I have to confess that I signed up for this workshop rather late, took Sue at her word about not needing to take anything with me, didn't feel particularly well and had no idea what the workshop was about before I got there, so I am pleased with the results I got.

I think using someone else's photocopies and fabrics meant I wasn't emotionally attached to anything and was able to play freely.  It was quite a nice feeling.

Sue is back next year at Littleheath or you can find her at the yard:ARTspace in Cheltenham.

Thanks for joining me today.
Bernice

This makes me happy

Our photography group theme for September was 'This makes me happy'.   Obviously these are only a few of things that make me happy.

I love taking photos - as you probably know if you regularly follow my blog.  In particular I like to take close up photos of flowers.  Raindrops add that little extra.

I really enjoy visiting National Trust properties.  I am very fortunate that my parents bought me a Life Membership for my 50th birthday, so I have enjoyed visiting for free for 20 years.

I love processes.  In particular I love breakdown printing.  Actually I love printing on cloth with any process.  And stroking the fabrics afterwards makes me happy.  Of course making something with the fabrics would be a good thing!

I do make things but perhaps not as often as I should.  And finishing a piece definitely makes me happy.

I used to not like long walks and avoided them at all costs.  But since 2012 I have really enjoyed them, particularly those we take alongside canals.  And especially if they include a pub lunch.

What makes you happy?

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice
 

T is for Trust

In our Living Your Word of the Year group we are using a fortnightly (bi-weekly) A-Z challenge throughout the year to help us focus on our word and live it out.

Because of the way I have made my journal it's a case of going with the flow of what background the pages have when I turn to them.

 I decided to add washi tape onto my page to add a little colour.  I love these two washi tapes I have with feathers.

I printed out some verse about trust, cut them up and stuck them down.  I thought they would get a bit lost if I put them straight so I put them at a bit of an angle.

I'm not particularly enjoying using a junk journal for this project.  However I have only 6 letters left in the alphabet to do.  My word is commit/commitment and I will stick it out to the end.

I can do it!

Thanks for joining me today.
Bernice

Join Our Inspirational Facebook Group: Living Your Word of the Year

Join Mary Brack, Valerie Sjodin and I in our Facebook group where we are giving participants the opportunity to live out an A-Z of their own word throughout 2019.  Mary explains what we are doing in her blog post.  We don't like a lot of rules, so we will have suggestions and options to spark creativity, and to help in recording and exploring our word’s meaning in visual and fun ways. We will each blog about our experiences and our art.

 Living Your Word of the Year 2019

Hashtags on Instagram:  #livingyourword2019

Check out the other blogs:
Mary: www.foundonbrighton.com
Valerie: www.valeriesjodin.com/blog

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