Printing night.....

I'm going to be at this event with my trusty printing press, lino tools and equipment for you all to have a little go and maybe make your own little designs. Do I dare say it and tell you Christmas is approaching so you can even print your very own Christmas card!

So come along and enjoy a night of local artists and crafts peoples, have a go or just come and enjoy the atmosphere!

Where does all the time go.....

Feels like we haven't been creative enough lately, especially with trying to sell my flat and buy a house it seems like the past couple of months have flown by! Which reminds me why is it that when you sell your place it's the tidiest, cleanest and best it's ever looked?! Will have to pretend that we're selling our house when we move in so that it stays in the same lovely condition : )

But we have been doing bits inbetween. Here are some silk scarves I made, I actually made loads as I got a bit addicted but have packed those away for Friday's E17 Designers market and these ones are yet to be packaged up.


I love using subtle tones so that when you look at some you can see subtle hints of a variety of colour coming through, like this middle one....



Here is a bundle of new cards from my sketches.....


A few of my faves....



And here is a new stash based on some mixed media work I created for an Art Trail event at the William Morris Gallery, so yep you guessed it inspired by William Morris (apart from the print of Boats which was taken from my holiday snaps in Morrocco).


I'm hoping to be doing some new prints as I love printing and just haven't been doing enough lately! But where to find the time! I did get some good advice from Etsy (check it out: http://zenhabits.net/small-scale/) so hopefully i'll get there step by step and i'll be showing you some new prints soon, well that's the plan : )

Kirsten

30th Birthdays....

This year it was all of our 30th birthdays so to mark such a big milestone I decided I would make a print for all of my friends. The idea was to use some images from a daytrip we all went on to Beth Chatto's garden in Spring - yes we are old before our time, we even had a cup of tea and handmade cakes in the cafe and were the youngest there by a good 20 years!

I have finally finished the prints after all of their birthdays have come and gone but I think it was worth the wait - I only hope they do too!!

Here are the lino's that I cut out - I love this kind of lino it is so easy to carve through, would def recommend it to anyone who's new out there. I find it a lot better than the traditional lino but that's just my opinion.



and here are the results....
I printed them on various kinds of paper including my favourite, French vintage paper, taken from old books from Paris, and in various colours, although purple is my favourite.
I've also just put them onto Etsy so if you're interested then go to our Etsy store. for only £15 with free postage and packaging in the UK. I can make a custom order to the colour of your choice as well.


So from the success of those i'm now onto my next ones to build up a little collection. Here are the drawings so far and i'll show you the results when I get going.....

ooh if anyone can recommend a pen to draw straight onto the lino with i'd be very grateful, i'm finding biro's a bit stiff but when I use Pilot drawing pens I end up covered in ink!!

What to do

I was lucky to have been given a Polymetaal printing press for Christmas or rather persuaded into getting one but it makes me happy nevertheless.

As it was bigger and heavier than I expected this gave me the great chance of having a sort out, trying to fit it in somewhere. I managed to fit it into the spare bedroom which is now a lovely print room for us all to enjoy. I think my husband was hoping I would have a big clear out but no I’ve managed to keep hold of everything and re-arrange so it all just fits… well into about 20 boxes in my loft studio!

Whilst going through my things I came across a box of felt that I made when I was doing my City and Guilds Felt Making Level 3 as a part of my staff development.

This was taught by Lizzie Houghton in exactly the same classroom I taught in during the morning which couldn’t have been more perfectly organised. The class was a really lovely group which included Cathy Urwin, who is also one of the e17 designers. Ray Slater, who was also there as part of her staff development and who went on to publish a good book called cloth dolls for textile artists.

Here are three large pieces that I didn’t manage to finish whilst I was there. Now I’m all confused trying to decide what to do with them. Do I throw them away, finish them off, cut them up or should I just sneak them back in the box for another few more years.

Sharon

My first attempts at lino printing on my own

Since doing the printing course, I've got a bit obsessed with anything print related. So after talking my mum into getting a printing press for christmas (she wanted one as well so it just wasnt my idea, well that's what I tell myself!!) and then spending a fortune in the print shop on inks and paper I thought I had better actually start some prints.

I was happy with my first lino cut and hoped that it would work when printed as I had some really fine lines for details such as the hand and face.

But I don't think i've quite got the hang of the printing process just yet as you can see from my disastrous results. A little more ink and a bit more pressure and I think I might just be getting there. Fingers crossed for round two.

Kirsten

City & Guilds Hand Embroidery Course

Hello,

This is my latest course, City & Guilds Hand Embroidery, that I will be teaching which starts on the 10th October.
For any questions or queries please get in touch and i'll be happy to fill you in.

Sharon