Ouseburn Open Studios starts tomorrow

Rupert Brooke and Wilfred Owen

It was great today to finally get both my portraits of Rupert Brooke and Wilfred Owen, both poets who died during World War One, up on the outside wall of my studio, number 11 at the Biscuit Factory, Newcastle upon Tyne. It’s been a busy couple of weeks tidying, cleaning my space as well as getting everything finished off.

Inside my studio – cushions, crocheted hats and chocolates!

Opposite my studio, there also a number of rather fabulous jewellery makers whose studios I enjoy popping into when I get a chance.  inthesilverroom is contemporary silver jewellery by Michelle – check out her fabulous website for distinctive designs.

The Biscuit Factory Studio corridors.

‘Matriarchal Trefoil’ and ‘Caretakers of the World, UNITE!’

Both of the pictures above have been made using ‘hooky’ mat technique. I finally framed up the ‘Matriarchal Trefoil’ yesterday, as it had been tricky to source someone to cut me an oval board to mount the heavy picture on. You can see a link to the stages of this picture here.

Embroidered Love Birds

Really pleased with these two little fellows! So cute! I do enjoy embroidering, very relaxing and again, another job finished. A deadline is always good to have and the Ouseburn Open Studios, is a great one!! I am so looking forward to getting down there now as it’s a great opportunity to meet people, show what you’ve been working on, get feedback and maybe even sell some things!!

And just a reminder for anyone in the area: it’s on this Saturday and Sunday 10-5pm.

Lino prints

I had a great trip down to our local Oxfam today and bought loads of old books, maps and sheet music to print on. My husband will be very upset when he sees what I have done to a lovely old map of North West Africa. But, I did save a beautiful map of Scotland for him to look at, though I couldn’t tell you how long it will survive!

Lino print ‘I Love Maps’

Lino print ‘I Love Travel’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love the way the lino print ‘feels’ the creases of the old map, so you can’t get a ‘perfect’ print. The idea to use the maps and the music papers have stemmed from my original prints for local place names in Tyne and Wear, which I had been wanting to print for Open Studios such as: Heaton, Ouseburn, Byker as well as much loved pubs in the area.

Lino print ‘I Love Guitar Music’

Lino print ‘I Love Heaton’

 

The lettering is a bit quirky and, shall we say, unsteady. But it’s all hand made fun!

Again, these are all to be mounted and framed when I’ve decided on the best prints.

Animal floral silhouettes.

                                              

As you can see, I have been having lots of fun making animal silhouettes using pretty fabrics which make a lovely contrasts. They are going to be placed in simple, white frames ready for my ‘Open Studios’ in a couple of weeks.

                                                      

Besides horses, I have also been making more schnauzers!

More cushions!!

The rest of this week, I shall mostly be making…more cushions!! More items for Ouseburn Open Studios at the end of November.

Schnauzer cushions!

Love the shape of a schnauzer! I have my own badly behaved schnauzer at home and thought it’s a great silhouette. As well as putting the image onto cushions, I have started using pretty fabrics appliqued and placed in picture frames, too.

It’s coming up to Christmas – so there should also be the odd reindeer here and there at my studio!

Reindeer cushion.

I love the way the velvet devore (I think that’s how you spell it!!), makes it look like the reindeer has a nose, eyes etc – worked out well.

Open Studios prep

In two weeks time on the 29th and 30th of November it will be the Ouseburn Open Studios event in Newcastle upon Tyne. My studio is based at the Biscuit Factory and we shall be open to the public both days 10-5pm. It’s a great event, always very busy and great fun. It’s lovely to get feedback on the work you’ve been doing over the year and I also like to make up small gifts which are available for sale – as Christmas is coming soon!!

This afternoon, I’ve had fun and started to make some cushions to sell for the event, using scraps of leather and decorative fabrics. The fabric I chose helped me decide which creatures I wished to decorate the cushions with!

Squirrel and fox cushions

Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll be busy tidying my studio and hopefully getting lots made!

Today, I popped into the picture framers to hand in my Wilfred Owen portrait and saw my portrait of Rupert Brooke framed for the first time! It looks lovely but I’m having to leave it there are the framers are going to paint the frame of Wilfred Owen’s the same as the vintage frame I’d originally bought for Rupert. Still, I can pick them both up in two weeks ready for Open Studios.

Rupert Brooke portrait, framed.

Wilfred Owen (1893-1918), stiched portrait, finished

Wilfred Owen (1893-1918)

This has been a lovely portrait to work on. Through reading about his life, as research for the ideas to be represented in the imagery, finding out how near he lived as a young man to where I grew up, which I really hadn’t appreciated and realise how ignorant I was. I will need to sit down and put down in-depth information about the visual metaphors of the sun-dews, creeping buttercups, flying eagles, River Severn running through to the Sambre-Oise Canal, as well as the obvious fallen leaves (Autumn colours – some still young and green, others turning brown) on the Wrekin hill.

‘Mental Cases’ cap close-up

Close-up of uniform

‘Hospital Barge’ River Severn and leaves close-up

I had thought about added images of sand bags and trenches in the background of this portrait, but I decided that we are not about the way we died but the way we lived and I feel the two poems I have included in the portrait tell that part of Wilfred Owen’s story well enough.

Completed Women’s Group Quilt

Women’s Group Quilt

Handed in today this quilt I had been putting together after meeting up with a local women’s group. Each member of the group had chosen a combination of hearts, stars and squares, which they sewed together and decorated with sequins. It was part of a days workshop looking at well-being, which I do believe crafts can play a big part in.

I took all these beautiful squares away, placed them, patched them and then quilted. The piece will now hang at one of the group’s meeting places and I know a number of the women felt like continuing with the skills they had learnt at home. I know, that having pieced this together, it has given me the urge to start patch-working again!

Still working on it!! Wilfred Owen…

Phew, I’ve finally finished sewing the fallen leaves into the silhouette of the Wrekin hill behind the portrait of Wilfred Owen.

Wilfred Owen, un-finished portrait

Leaves on the Wrekin, close-up

The River Severn

Now that I have finished sewing the River Severn (using the poem ‘Hospital Barge’) into the leaves and completed the fallen leaves onto the Wrekin hill, I need to plan, what hopefully will be, the last part of the portrait. I have a number of ideas including illustrating the trenches which Wilfred was in during the Somme, flying eagles to represent how he wished to fly over the Wrekin when he learnt to fly for the RAF, but sadly didn’t happen.

Mini ObsesivCreativ’s teddies

Mini Teddies

Today was teacher training day at their primary school, so the girls were off and they had a friend round. So, we decided to make these ridiculously cute teddies! Two films and one dog walk later, they were finished. I think we may have to go into mass production ready for Christmas!