Links of Lusciousness

Yesterday was pure procrastinating pleasure. I became absolutely lost updating my Links of Lusciousness so that you could get more of an idea of the many art forms that appeal to and interest me. I have a few mentions of note...

Alexandra Abraham's site is a veritable Aladdin's cave of eye catching, one of a kind pieces for magpie souls. I was utterly entranced by her memory bangles, and spent a good fifteen minutes of greedy ogling over her fabulous work.

Anne Thompson is my kind of knitting designer. Art to wear for the pleasure of the form and not necessarily the function.

Bonnie Meltzer creates the most amazing assemblage sculptures from the most peculiarly diverse materials you can imagine, and more than you can't. Seeing is believing, and oohing, and aahing.

Claire Riseborough's paintings are pure tranquility for my mind's eye. When I look at her work, with all that wonderful light, texture and layers, I can just sit and gaze, transported into a story, and feel significantly more relaxed than I was before.

Dale Copeland has found her Shangri La in life and that place is just wonderful. She provides a feast of curios and magic in assemblage art.

Kate MccGwire's feather sculpture installations are.... Well, I was both rapt within a monumental state of awe and speechlessness. An article (from her site's Press link), in The Jealous Curator, perfectly summed her work up for me: 'I literally had to stop and catch my breath. I'd never seen art that felt like it was breathing until that moment' (The Jealous Curator, July 2011).

Lisa Vollrath's work encourages me to try and ease my grip on my artistic boundaries, to let go and allow my hands to recreate the riot of creation inspirative that is running around my head shouting "Freeee meeee!"

I have had the absolute pleasure of meeting Louise Ellerington a few times through a close mutual friend. Epic, gorgeous, sometimes deeply thought provoking, mythological, steeped in some kind of rare magic fine art. I absolutely covet her sculpture, 'The Egg Collector', and I could stare for hours at her oil on canvas, 'Mass For Peace', inspired by the work of the composer, Karl Jenkins.

Rachel Ross's 'Used', 'Found' and 'Significant' painting collections appeal to my stashing of found objects into hidden collection of joy, brought out now and then to be wonder-wandered over and fiddled with. Except, how much nicer it would be to have her work adorn my walls so I could sit and stare in open delight! The depth in her tarnished spoons from the 'Used' collection is simply wonderful.

Tristram Aver was quite a discovery of paint and collage on canvas. I particularly enjoyed 'The Final Forlorn', 'Croup and Vandemar', 'Dawlish Drift' and 'Oofle Dust' from his most recent collection.

Lastly, but not conclusively, as there is much to be discovered in my other links, I dearly wish for possession of a Robert Cooper Tea Caddy: Truly delicious, intricate objects of aged beauty.

I finally managed to organise my photos last night and have updated my Flickr photo stream to include more of my altered art projects. I hope you will enjoy what you see.

Happy New Year!

Resolving To Begin Again

Here sit I, on the eve of 2012, resolved that I will pick up where I left off and blog again. What has passed? A major health disaster (ole lumbar again), yet also a self-employed major health recovery. In the dark face of pessimism and bleak reality, I taught myself how to fly again.... Oh, how wonderful it is to be in the clouds again. Living. Dreaming. Feeling the creation inspirative flow freely just as it should! A life without a daily creation is no life at all....

What else? Hmm, oh, I formed my own bitch and stitch group in June this year. It began as a favour to friends who ran an art cafe in the city. We fell out after a few successful months (they blamed me for not encouraging the group members to spend more money on their beverages and cakes), but the members wished to continue our weekly knitting, so we carried on, privately, and now, 5 months on, call ourselves The Happy Hooker Collective (of 6). I taught 2 members how to knit, and it both sickens & makes me proud at the same time that they are now much better knitters than I could ever dream of becoming. Such tension! Such delicious tidy knitting! Bah!

I've finally gotten the ball rolling for my professional development degree (Bsc). Penultimate module commences second week of January, then I'm signed up for my dissertation module in September......I ought to be panicking. I just can't decide what to base my disssertation on! Hmmm, will put that to one side for the procrastinating moment, I think! Gulp.

Now. Creation inspirative for 2012 lies in rust, boxes, dilapidation, doors, cemetaries, folklore and fairytales. Let your imagination run with those keywords and I will quench curiosities in 2012!

You may have noticed that I've updated my blog list and Links of Lusciousness. There is much to see. My love for all things assemblage and altered has doubled in size. I just can't wait to make divine artisan bread with all the ideas in my head and scribbles over numerous notebooks and pages.

All the very best of health and free flowing creation inspirative in 2012!

Working Up Fast

Good morning! It has been raining here. The air is thankfully cooler than the high humidity of yesterday. I think this is the warmest Summer I've experienced in Newcastle since I moved here 4 years ago. You have to be prepared for 4 seasons in one day here. It certainly takes a while, if you are not from this part of the UK, to acclimatise & get wise to the indecisive weather. Mostly, the days are bright & would be warm but for the cool bite to the breeze you get here coming off from the North Sea. The Geordies refer to this as 'a lazy wind'- it can't be bothered to move around you so it goes straight through you instead. Go through you it does. Bbrr!

So, if I were to advise on the one essential item of clothing that a visitor would find most useful here in the North East, I would say, without a doubt, it would be the scarf. Wide, narrow, long, short, heavy, light. Anywhich way, you cannot go wrong with a scarf to keep the wind off your neck and shoulders.

I mentioned yesterday that I am currently working on 'Scarfy Come Home' by spillyjane knits. The photo at the top shows my progress so far. The yarn is a gorgeously soft emperor purple, 45% silk, 35% Merino blend from Fyberspates. I am currently trying to emotionally detach myself from Scarfy...The original aim was that it was to go towards my Christmas gift countdown of projects...Oooh but I love the look & feel of Scarfy so much!...Let go & feel the warm glow of giving a hand crafted gift...Nooooo, keep Scarfy for yourself!...Let it go.. I'm SURE all you other crafters know exactly how I feel!

Finds & Makes

This morning I was browsing around Oxfam not expecting to find anything in particular. My curiosity was peaked by a book that was lying spine-wise hidden

I righted the edition to find an Odhams Press Ltd 1940s knitting manual (Margaret Murray & Jane Koster). What a find! Mum will be getting this next week.


I have just taken this shot of the Under The Sea collage I made. Grout filler is lovely stuff to paint on, producing wonderful textures in the putty. It does whiff a bit though when you apply it, so ensure good ventilation if you use it. The grout base for this dried over night in the airing cupboard.
At the moment I am working on 'Scarfy Come Home' By Spilly Jane (Jane Dupuis) of spillyjane knits All her designs are lovely to work up. Thankyou.

Long Time...

...loads of yarn craft a-doing! Well, the knitting is on and off, worked mostly in between lots of projects on various hooks. I'm finding the sticks a little hard going. This is mostly due to the fact that I can crochet so much faster than I can knit & so my attention span is so much shorter with the sticks. However, practice, they say, makes perfect, so I've started working on knitted scarves for everyone ready for Christmas.

I'm pretty tired right now, having spent the best part of my afternoon off work with 3 strangers attempting to catch a lost and very scared collie dog running amok around my locality. The one chap in our group of Dog-A-Teers managed to get hold of the poor thing's collar (after 1 hour of coaxing) and take him home with him (nearby) to keep him safe until he could get help.
I was so angry... I had called the RSPCA from my mobile phone: NUMEROUS pick an option options on the phoneline, 10 minutes on hold and fleeced £8 off my payg later, the RSPCA officer told me he couldn't help us and I should call the local council's dog warden. Did he have a number for me? No, he did not. Could the dog warden help us? No, because it was a flippin answering machine as the department was (by then 4.30pm) closed.
ANYWAY... the chap who took him planned to ring a local vet for advice and maybe find out if the collie is chipped. Fingers crossed for the poor dog.

Had a fantastic weekend just gone. Mum came up to stay and we had a lovely girls weekend: On Friday evening we shared a delicious meal at Lochfyne; Shopped & dropped on the Saturday around Newcastle; Gave Mum the 'Yo, Sushi!' experience which was fun (except for the powdered Japanese chilli that made the right side of my face go numb); Chick flicks and after dinner walks; A lovely pootling browse around the Quayside market on Sunday morning; then I treated Mum and my friend Irene to the 'Afternoon Confectioners Tea' at Jesmond Dene House Hotel on Sunday afternoon which we all thoroughly enjoyed - scrumpdiddlyumptious! Mum bought me these beautiful flowers:


I introduced Mum to the joys and wonder of Ravelry, for which she is awaiting an invitation. I've apparently spiked her creative verve and she is itching to learn Entrelac. I posted off two patterns for her today, one of which is the hugely popular 'Lady Eleanor Entrelac Stole' design by Kathleen Power Johnson from the wonderful book 'Scarf Style' by Pam Allen which I have on loan from a friend. I'm currently in the throes of pattern lust for this book. I will be so jealous when Mum masters it. I just got really confused when I had a go and my yarn got really tight on my needles which made it very hard before I gave up and frogged it. Maybe not such a good idea for a newbie knitter eh? I am hoping though, that Mum will teach me Entralac when I go home for my Summer holiday in July. Mum has oodles of enviable knitting skill.

Hmmm. What else? Oh yes, I just HAVE to tell you about the most gorgeous yarn I bought from Ring-A-Rosie a few weeks back. It is Noro Shikisai (35% cotton, 22% acrylic, 15% silk, 15% kid mohair & 13% wool). It is in variegated colourways of brown, turquoise-greens & hints of purple. Probably sounds gross, but it is really lovely (colour shade 10) and feels so light and soft. I started the Midori scarf I have queued on Ravelry, which I then frogged (got bored with the slow growth) to turn into a crocheted late Summer keep-the-evening-chill-off scarfy wrap type accessory which I have designed myself. Will post pics soon. For some reason the yarn seems to crochet up softer than when knit. I love it though and can't wait to finish and show you.

Also, on the jewellery front line (yes, the passion remains at full throttle), I'm currently working on a funky and frankly girly-gorgeous collection of handbag jewellery and brooches. Again, pics will be posted soon. I've just joined pinkdoodle.com with a view to (if I can get myself into gear) eventually selling my wearble art pieces in their market place. Fingers crossed.

Finally. I am in the process of hopefully commencing a Bsc (Hons) in Continuing Professional Studies affiliated with my full time job. So, there is a lot on my plate, but I'm really looking forward to the many creative challenges in the upcoming months.

Bye for now.

Chick With Sticks

Taught myself to knit last weekend....I'm addicted! Another pie to poke my fingers into for a while. I still love crochet though & have been doing a little bit of both this week. Actually, I've been overdoing it as my wrists and thumbs are really aching. I'm rather slow with purl at this stage (unused to much dexterity in my right hand), however, one of the members of my knit group said that by looking at my work (a sampler scarf), she would never have guessed that I was an L plate knitter.
I've got knitting envy and have queued numerous patterns on Ravelry.

I was wondering if the excessive knitting was the cause of my week of restless sleep and vivid dreams? Roll on tomorrow night. Early to bed, then early to rise and knit ALL weekend, hoorah!

Also, on the hook is a freeform frankenstein creation of a blanket. It is made up of all the short-lived pieces of patterns once started and long forgotten, with bits of free-style crochet plugging the gaps...I'm calling it 'The Blanket Of Forgotten Dreams'. Very appropriate I think. At least all the parts will not have been a waste after all.