When A Dream Comes True...

 

On Friday 28th May my book 'Stitched Textiles: Animals', published by Search Press came out into the world.

It has taken the best part of two years in the making and so this felt very surreal indeed!

Working with the amazing team at Search Press has been a wonderful experience and I can't thank them enough for their hard work.

It was so interesting to see how a book is made and just how much love, care, work and countless emails it takes to transform an idea into a tangible object that you can flick through and read!

(I would also like to take this opportunity to apologise to my poor editor for the endless questions I asked, you are the most patient person I have ever met!)

I thought that I would show you some of the 'behind the scenes' photos that I took on my phone as I made the artwork and embroideries for the book as I wanted to keep a record of how it evolved (I also used them as reference images for when I wrote about the techniques and processes I had used for the work.)

Q: How many foxes does it take to make a Mrs B book?

A: A lot!!!!!!

As well as machine embroidery you will find collage, printing, drawing and some of my stories.

I'd also like to thank everyone for their lovely supportive messages over on my socials - I felt very nervous on Friday and the response has just been so lovely.

In fact, I felt so happy after reading your messages that I treated myself to a mini bottle of pink champagne, which we sipped while having pizza for tea!

(Secret confession: as I am not one for fancy pants jewels or designer handbags I also treated myself to a vintage Beastie Boys t-shirt ... that's not too naughty is it?!?)

Hip! Hip! Hooray! It's A Hope & Elvis Day! Mixed Media Workshop Weekender: Day One:

I cannot even begin to explain how excited I was about the Mixed Media Weekender Workshop that I taught at the wonderful Hope & Elvis.

I had been planning and preparing work for this throughout lockdown and I couldn't wait to share the techniques and ideas that I'd been experimenting with.

The main difference about this workshop was that we were considering the materials and processes as the main focus of the work - this is such a freeing and experimental way to work.

Here you can see Team Hope & Elvis: the amazing Louise, who runs the studio and hosts the workshops, Ruth, who looks after us and generally spoils us rotten and Magie, who cooks the most incredible meals for us.

And a huge 'thank you' to my Mum and Jean from the village, for baking lots of delicious cakes!

I also had some of my paintings for sale (you can just about see Sam in this photo)!

Thanks so much for all your help chuck, I couldn't have managed without you!

Wendy also very kindly set up a stall of her wonderful vintage papers, fabrics and ephemera. 

Her treasures are always so beautifully curated.

Here are some of the examples that I'd produced for the workshop...

and here's the amazing vegetarian lasagne that we had for dinner!

It never ceases to amaze me when I see how different everyone's work is and I loved watching it develop...

Anyone fancy a brew?

Just look at all the beautiful layers...

The famous loo!

I was made up to see Laura wearing her jacket with one of my patches on the back, just look at how beautifully embellished it is! You are so clever chuck!

It really was the most inspirational day, filled with laughter, chat, cakes and creativity - this room was bursting with talent!

I can't wait to tell you about day two next time!

X

Studio Log Book...

At the start of lockdown last year I decided that I wanted to keep a 'studio log book' (this sounds a little bit grand I know!)

It's been so helpful to keep a note of colour mixes and the little discoveries that can be made when you paint a picture.

Im really going to try and keep this up, do you keep some kind of record of your creative work?

 

Lunar Eclipse...

There's nowt like a good old sort-out and re-shuffle to get the creative juices flowing again.

After sorting out my studio I feel much more inspired and energised.

One of the things I really enjoyed a couple of weeks ago was recording the development of this painting on my Instagram stories (it's saved as a Studio highlight if you'd like to watch the chaos!)

It always amazes me how much a painting changes after a few layers, (isn't it great that we can record these kinds of things nowadays!)

And here she is!

I hope that you enjoyed having a look at these, have a creative week chucks!

Big hugs to you X

Fresh Starts And New Beginnings...

 Maybe it's because the sun is shining (which highlights the dust beautifully!!!!!!) but I have been Spring-cleaning and de-cluttering like a good'un this weekend.

I've also varnished and painted the edges of the paintings I've made over the past few months, and finished off lots of little studio jobs that have been hanging around for quite a while.

My tiny studio has also been tidied up (even the scary untouched corners where I feared the spiders might live....fortunately they didn't take up residence!)

I'm also very excited because soon I'll be ordering some storage cupboards and a tiny desk to work on (my back's been playing up because I have to sit at my plan chest to draw and there's no room for my knees).

It feels like a fresh start, and I have lots of ideas floating around my head for new paintings and stories - I've been scribbling fragments of words and images on post-its for ages now.

I hope that you have had a lovely Bank Holiday weekend too chucks.

All the best X

Workshop Preparations...

 

I've really enjoyed preparing for my Mixed Media Workshop Weekender at the fabulous Hope & Elvis in May.

It's really helped me stay focused during Lockdown and the great thing about teaching is that it pushes you to try new techniques and media.

I've had such fun playing and experimenting, I hope that the lovely folks who are coming along will enjoy it too!

It's funny because I'm quite (annoyingly) tidy but when I'm in my little studio I'll chuck stuff around everywhere without a care in the world!

Wishing you all a creative and inspiring week chucks!

X