Sweet Fabric [Search results for art] 

This gorgeous girl has kicked off a bit of Friday fun & always up for a challenge I thought I'd have a crack.

After all...I went to a fabulous school that offered ceramics, printmaking, textiles, painting & drawing, garment construction & photography. True to form I tried my had at all of these and had wonderful parents allowed me to do Art 1 & Art 2 (read 8 hours of art per week) instead of maths! I was always more about the experience than the end result. I thought I'd have some giggle worthy stuff to share.

I had a feeling that most of my "folio" (& I use the term loosely) had been skipped during the most recent clean out. No great loss there I can assure you. BUT...I thought I had some stuff under the ranch. I donned the head torch & went for a rummage - I came up short. I did find all the letters the date & I wrote to each when we first hooked up! That gave the two of us a giggle but they have now been ceremoniously binned. I wanted to fire up the incinerator - if only it weren't illegal!

Anyway, enough of my drivel. In short - my Friday Archives offerings will be thin on the ground I think. Sorry Claire.

The above is a mother bird guarding her eggs. I made her when I was 3 with my next door + one neighbour who had a ceramics shed & her own kiln - incredible.

Ahh Betty was gorgeous wasn't she Jo?

Eeek - The Reverse Art Truck is even more exciting than Op Shopping. Just look at all the good stuff I picked up. I've got some notes over on Flickr if you want a closer look.

Some days it's not worth the drive but ... yay hooray I was lucky this trip.

Some girls I think should make the journey:

Kitty
Claire
Liz
Pip
Gemma
& Nichola

I tried hard not to be greedy but it was tough.

I am pretty good at recycling. We reduce, reuse & recycle wherever possible.

Re-crafted, repurposed, recreated & reverse art is my greatest crafty pleasure.

I prefer to make stuff from things that have had a previous life. I source my craft materials from: "rubbish" from our daily life, op shops & reverse art.

This is my recrafted toadstool pincushion - made entirely from "waste" products/materials. I made it last Monday at Brown Owls.

Well my family of Matryoshka is finished.

I'm pretty happy with the result. I embroidered the faces before I glued the fabric & the embroidery to the timber matryoshka.

They look pretty good with the exception of the small who looks like a cross between an evil warrior & a pineapple.

It's really hard to embroider on a circle so small. Next time I'll do the embroidery before I cut the circle. I've begun a new obsession thanks to this project - Wood.

I've been looking at woodish loveliness as well as some truly magnificent art over at Geninne's Art Blog. It is one of the most special places I've visited. Do yourself a favour & go here. To see her beautiful birds on wood follow this link & scroll down to the 2nd of February.

Friday Archives hosted by Loobylu

Shot of the school girls at my big fat bogan wedding - 1995.

Eeek...one of my very bestest friends from school has just started a blog.

I owe her a lot. If she hadn't helped me pass Art by giving me all her art history assignments in Year 10 I'd have been doomed to a Year 11 full of Accounting & Economics (no pre-requisites). Instead I spent a glorious year swanning around the textiles, garment construction, ceramics, print making & painting studios.

Anyway, she would really love some feedback on what I KNOW will be a journey in creative writing worth following.

I'm loving reading all about the life & times of Jamie (much like many of us with small kids & an exec husband) & her twin sister Lisa (humanitarian & student of life).

She's really good at drinking games. So if you feel like a relaxing Friday afternoon this is the place.

More from reverse art truck. I love that place.

How good? Metres & metres of webbing.

I love these teeny tiny pieces of art by clever unbecoming lily.

It's prompted me to drag out my little embroidered swing coat from last year & do something with it.

I've been so loving sharing in jeanamarie's homework assignments for her course. I mean just look at this lemon ...so good!

I'm pretty seriously considering enrolling. That's my kind of school work.

it's taken me a bit longer than usual this year.

But I've officially caught the Christmas bug. I blame this girl for her constant stream of Christmassy goodness. Every time I hit "next" there's another bit of viral Christmas cheer.

The trees are up & the 2009 decorations were purchased from Mikes & made by Emerge - the kids love them & they are hanging front & centre on each tree.

I've had a crack at making some decorations of my own using wooden discs I purchased from Reverse Art & embroidery floss. I think my favourite is the tree.

Image source - used with permission.

affects me in a way I cannot describe.

Two years ago I was lucky enough to have my hands painted with Henna by Somali women. I found the experience quite emotional - yet another powerful experience of women & community. I've been reading up a bit on Henna lately & then I came across Esti's blog (via girl ferment).

The images from Esti's hand project took my breath away. You can read the story of Esti's cousin whose hands these are here.

The universe served up another breathtaking Henna inspired project here (via design for mankind).

I broke out the lino cutting tools for the first time in about 20 years.

I know I've talked before about the wonderful school I went to and how I swanned around the art department in a dreamy textile, garment and ceramic haze.

The printmaking studio was one of my favourite haunts. I'm sure I haven't used proper technique but I had such a lot of fun. My twitter mate reminded me of the wonderful smell & it's true...cutting lino smells really good.

The lino cut printed onto a felt covered notebook. A gentle reminder to myself ... don't be afraid to fail.

I need to work on the ink/paint/fabric medium thing. I'm not sure about the consistency of the paint. The first few were OK & then I wonder if the paint started to dry out too much? Any tips on lino printing onto fabric would be greatly appreciated.

A few people have asked about the lino. I used lino from the art supply shop to carve my block. I think that if you're having a crack for the first time then it might be better to start with the easy carve blocks. Easy carve blocks are basically a large eraser. They are easier to cut into & easier to manage/print with after the carving is done.

Friday Archives hosted by Loobylu.

Once every three years the small's school holds an arts festival.

They have a festival opening ceremony, guest artists, a makers mark day (where parents come & art/craft & talk to the kids about their artistic pursuits) & a street parade.

This was the banner for the 2004 festival. A girlfriend & I painted this together - we were given the themes of:

- archways to achievement
- you can do it
-& the Olympics!

Challenging?

We used the book "Oh the places you'll go" as our starting point. It was a fun project.

1/4 of an inch
3 red buttons
62 cherry
a little bird told me
air: work in progress
Allsorts
Anna-Lisa
Aprons & Hammers
Art with a Soul
August Street
Beaded Lady
Betty in the Kitchen
Big Cats Emporium
Boobook Sausage Dogs
Bowerbirdz
Bridget's Flame
Bug and Pop
Cassandra Allen
Celestina Carmen
Cloud Cakes
Collective Elements
Cooking my Life
Cool.According.To.Kylie
Crafty Doodads
crafty remix: djbebe
Creating Nunde
Curly Pops
Daily dose of inspiration
Daisy Chain
Daydream Lily
Dear Fii
Design for Mankind
details homegoods
domoshar
doobleh-vay
Dragonflies eat Mosquitoes
Earl & Cookie
Edward & Lilly
fancypicnic
florcita
flutterby patch
etc etc
Glorydaze
going green
Growing Together
G.R.Y.B at home
Handmaiden
Hanies
Hanna's Life is Cool
her heart my hands
Hokey
Honi Design
Hop Skip Jump
if only i had chocolate
iSew
janene renee
Jelly Baby Blog
Jogirl's Journey
Journalette
Judy's Notebook
kerri's provincial patch
Kiddio
Kimberly Michelle
Kittys Kaboodle
Knit Owl
konnykards
Last Stop Muse
Laugh Out Loud Dolls
Lauren Williams Handmade
Leni and Rose
Lilli Boo
little letters
Loobylu
Made by Molly
Mainichi Design
maya*made
Meet me at Mikes
Miss Muggins
mon petit lapin
monda loves
musings from the fish bowl
No life without wife
no pod
One Girl
One Red Robin
Owlet
Peapods
Pigeon Pair
pink licorice life
Pint's Palette
planet treasures
Pot aux roses
Precarious Tomato
Project Incomplete
puddle wonderful
Recuperation of Nathalie Brault
Roots and Leaves
September Bird
Sew What
Shabby Chicken
Silly Gilly
Slip cover Diva
Starashan
Strawberry Kisses
Strawberry Season
Studio Window
Super Monkey
Swirlyarts
Taccolina
Teacups on Treetops
Teddy Bears Wednesday
Textilosophy Oz
turtle club queen
The Crafty Librarian
The Essess
Twenty Cent Mixture
Two Cheese Please
The acorn collective
The Bird Bath
The Lark
The Monday Project
The Natchbox
Thimbly Things
Thousand Threads
Three Buttons
tis rhubarb
Tissue papers
TreeFall Design
truth be told
tsk tsk
unbecominglily
vanilla pixie
whosies
wide eyed wonderfuls
you SEW girl
your cover's blown

On my desk... is posted on a Wednesday. It's just a shot of your desk & maybe a bit of banter. Let us know what you're working on or what interesting bits & pieces have crossed your desk during the week.

There is a wonderful blog here - sharing the desks & creative spaces of really clever creative folk. I only found out about this blog after the Wednesday thing began...

Our Wednesday gig is just a bit of fun.

Comment on this post if you decide to play along & I'll add you to the link list.

This list will be updated frequently so feel free to join at any time.

There is no obligation at all - post when you feel like it. Just super casual & a bit of fun.

Button Code if you'd like it:

<a href=" http://kootoyoo.blogspot.com/"><img src="//farm4.static.flickr.com/3141/2607211450_e50e1fc40b.jpg?v=0"/></a>

It's all about keeping up with the Jones isn't it?

Teeny tiny magnifiers.

PS: While your visiting Gemma you should buy a raffle ticket for "Art fights Fire". There are some absolutely brilliant original artworks to be won & you'll be aiding the bushfire survivors too.

I needed some new cards to take with me to Mathilda's Market this weekend. Apart from the last minute factor I do like to do these things myself anyway.

I'm very pleased with my new kmoo cards.

I've used the beautiful image that this lovely girl took and printed it onto Dimensions Paint Sample cards. These genuinely are recreated - I didn't just go & swipe them from my local 3D store. I purchased them from Reverse Art Truck.

Maybe "white icing" has been renamed/retinted. I think it's a good name for a paint colour myself...

I've been grannying like a demon ... just ask the kids.

This water colour pencil art from the big girl for mother's day.

Hope you've had a great day.

I've got plenty going on this week.

Pictured in the space today:

-excellent stackable "cocktail" glasses for buttons - picked up at reverse art truck
-MP3 player for the rolls royce music boxes
-gorgeous op shopped minty printed linen
-music boxes to finish off
-my "filing" system for tutes by me & others
-container of bias tape

Pop in and add your link if you are playing along this week.

...So kiss me & smile for me
Tell me that you'll wait for me
Hold me like you'll never let me go
cause I'm leavin on a jet plane
don't know when I'll be back again.
John Denver

A list of blogs I visit from places faraway.

allsorts
angry chicken
area thrifty one
belladia
black.white.bliss
bluebird baby
bricolagelife
chris piascik
crafting a green world
daily danny
decor8
design for mankind
dudecraft
elsie marley
frecklewonder
freshly found
geninne's art blog
how about orange
ink caravan
matte stephens
mayamade
odette ny
pia jane bijkerk
pintame el dia
please sir
poppytalk
sfgirlbybay
simple lovely
simple sparrow
soulemama
swiss miss
the purl bee
treefall design
twelve 22
wee wonderfuls

This list is a work in progress & will be updated regularly.

You might also like to check out my:
craft blog list ... melbourne my absolute favourites!
craft blog list ... australia

Woodish Loveliness

1. ACEO- She wore Beauty Brown - Original fabric/colored pencil on wood art, 2. Live stump, 3. rabbit companions flee scene, 4. Green Room Sketch- print of original drawing on wood, 5. powerful books, 6. Wood slice

Just look at this gorgeous Tarax bottle that I found under the house when we were skipping stuff the other day. I've got a bit of a collection going now & this baby was a very welcome addition.

Other stuff I dug out of the dirt...

- terracotta coloured bottles from Portugal
- Fowlers preserving jars
- a poster promoting "The Boyfriend" which tickled my fancy
- my Aunt's art folio