Tuesday 25 July 2017

Once Upon A Time...


A little while ago I posted a photo of this piece of work in progress.
A lovely Instagram friend of mine called Diane wrote the most magical story about this girl.
I asked her if I could blog this story to share with you all.
Please make yourself a cup of tea, get yourself comfy, and enjoy...

So once there was a young girl who lived in the Breton countryside.
The place was quiet and the pace of life was slow.
Lapin was an only child and both her parents worked all day, retting, spinning, weaving and bleaching the linen.
When the linen was woven, it would be spread out on the fields and the sun would work its magic, and the cloth would bleach.
Lapin's parents were so tired that they would be late going to collect the linen spread out on the grass. It was Lapin's job to make sure that the rabbits didn't run across the cloth as they would mark it with their paws and droppings.
As Lapin had no other friends she would watch the rabbits and only gently shoo them away.
One evening when she came back from the fields with her mother and father, she pulled some of the beautiful creamy coloured linen over her head. Two corners flopped down over her back and when her mother looked an idea came into her head.
That night she stayed up very late, the night was warm, and as always quiet. She carefully cut out a shape and stitched away with some linen thread that she had spun. Eventually she went to bed delighted with what she'd made and so fell asleep with a satisfied smile on her face.
The following day, before Lapin went out to sit in the fields to watch over the cloth bleaching in the sun, her mother handed over a piece of folded linen. Lapin thought maybe it was some bread and cheese for her to eat. The folded piece is too light to hold anything... Lapin shakes the piece open and finds that her mother has made the most beautiful hood for her daughter to wear.

What is so special about the hood is that it has long ears hanging down from the crown. Lapin immediately pulled the hood over her head, there was an opening for her face and the hood fitted snugly down her neck.
She kissed her mother and then ran and ran and ran out to the fields. As she ran the beautiful gentle ears bounced up and down.
Later, as she crouched on her knees with her arms stretched out in front of her and her head resting on her knees she saw the rabbits coming to nibble the grass and play in the late sun.
Lapin was very happy.
No longer did she need to shoo the rabbits away as they came nearer and nearer to her.
Nowhere in those fields was there a happier little girl and such contented, calm rabbits.

Thank you so much Diane, it's such a beautiful story, I really think that the little community we have online is really special and supportive of each other.
X

Saturday 22 July 2017

Blood and Bone...

Last week we visited 'Space Cadets. Blood and Bone' exhibition at the 2021 Visual Arts Centre in Scunthorpe.
Space Cadets Air Design create giant inflatable sculptures, this installation looked really impressive in the church's interior.
Visitors are invited to explore the human biology- inspired tunnels.
The hubby decided to take the weight off his feet!
The tunnels move and 'breathe', it really was most relaxing!
And I loved the dingly- dangly bits!!!!

Aah! Time for a quick power nap!

Space Cadets. Blood and Bone.
1/7/17 - 16/9/17


Tuesday 18 July 2017

Eco Printing Adventures!

On Saturday I had a brilliant day at the eco printing workshop with Joelle Harris, (The Eco Wardrobe Warrior,) at The Steel Rooms in Brigg.
The Steel Rooms has a beautifully light and airy workshop space upstairs and Joelle brought a huge variety of plants, leaves and materials for us to play with.
Joelle showed us her beautiful printed samples before we were let loose!
The beauty of this technique is that you can never really predict what will happen!
It was like Christmas when you unwrapped your bundle!
Soon lots of printed fabrics festooned the workshop space!
Playing with silk...
So exciting!
I found a friend!
Look at Joelle's beautifully printed pinny!
It was amazing to see the variety of colours you could create.
Time for a cup of tea before printing our scarves...
Laying out the leaves and flowers ready for printing... very exciting!
This one was a big bundle!
My friends printed silk scarves...
Ta! Dah!
Look how stunning the print is when the light shines through the silk.
And here's my woollen scarf!
I kept a couple of the hydrangea flowers that were left over.
Thank you so much Joelle and all at The Steel Rooms for such a fabulous day. I can't wait to try this at home.


Friday 14 July 2017

Exciting News...I'm A Bit Giddy!

A little while ago I was asked if I would like to have a stall at the Selvedge Fair at the Pendle Heritage Centre near Burnley, on September 23rd.
Now I don't really do New Year's Resolutions, but I did secretly promise myself to do things that are exciting but scary at the same time this year.
So, after a bit of 'umm-ing and ahh-ing' I decided to give it a go!
This has really got me thinking about where Mrs Bertimus is heading, because without realising your work changes gradually over time doesn't it. I've really enjoyed playing with collage and drawing recently, as well as painting and stitching, so I decided to order a small print run of Mrs B's greetings cards.
They will make their debut at the Selvedge Fair, that way I'll get some face-to-face feedback, be it good or not so good. I can then see if selling cards online, perhaps alongside my paintings, could be a possible idea in the future.
I thought it would be better to leave them blank inside for any occasion.
Here's a selection of some of the cards, hope you like!
I've also been snipping and cutting for England, getting some wall hanging prints ready too, I'll show you those when they're ready, if you'd like a peek.
All the best, wish me luck!
X