A lovely sample of the tearing and layering process that has been decorated with a print using one of the colours in the work. Using a 'self' colour paint enables the print to bleed in and out of the work and not be too obvious.  As we only had six in the group the students were able to spread out and we managed to get a lot more done. The larger the group the slower things happen. The group caught onto the 'background' and 'pretty' rotation quickly, sometimes it can take a while. It never ceases to amaze me how the simplest process can sometimes take the longest to understand. I think our brains like to make things complicated, they get bored when something is too simple. A few of the torn and layered backgrounds -         Pru added frayed fabric thread to this sample -    It add an extra texture - if you are aiming for a lot of texture - you need to keep the colours down to a low roar . . tones of one colour tend to work best.    

    One of the samples from the first day.  I will write up this post in two parts as the group produced lots of gorgeousness.  Paper, Stitch, Print and Play is my newspaper and painted Bondaweb based workshop that also uses Solufleece and free machine embroidery to enhance your work with extra texture. A three day workshop is a great luxury - it enables a student to work through several processes and still have time to stitch. The group mastered the 'Pretty' and 'Background' technique quickly, which meant they produced some fabulous samples quite fast.      Who would have thought that old books and newspapers could produce such stunning work?    With only six in the group we had plenty of room to spread and makes lots of mess . . . Some of the first samples -                 Most of these samples have been decorated with the new Blingy Bitz. Little squares of flash and colour. Craftynotions  We also used gilding flake in various

Printed and painted Bondaweb lifted off the backing paper, torn and ironed into place onto a canvas decorated with more painted Bondaweb an old newspapers.  I have had a few days to play - a rare treat. I have been making samples for the new show at Excel next week and for my upcoming workshop at West Dean College. Solufleece and the new self adhesive Solufix are very popular at the moment. I thought you might like to know about printing onto Solufleece. Teaching across the country as I do it is very apparent that many of you are not confident in your drawing skills. A way around this is to use printing blocks, your own or commercial designs. As Solufleece is water soluble you would think that printing onto it with (wet) paint would make it dissolve - not if you stretch it first.  A selection of wooden blocks from Art Van Go www.artvango.co.uk    Boxes of blocks in many designs as well as single designs are available from Colouricious www.colouricious.com T

Chocolate wrappers free machine stitches with the help of Solufix and Solufleece. Oh how I suffer for my art!!! I love the bright, shiny colours of chocolate wrappers and enjoy using them as flashes of colour in my work. When ironed lightly between baking parchment they texture like Tyvek but remain soft enough to stitch into. They do ping about a bit if you try to free machine them but with the new Solufix I have no more trouble with them. Solufix is a self adhesive water soluble fabric on a strong backing paper that is removed to reveal the sticky side of the Solufix. Because the backing paper is so firm it means you can run it through an ink jet printer, print your design, remove the backing paper and then lay threads around your design and free machine to your hearts content. You may need to cover your threads with a layer of Solufleece if any of the glue is exposed. The glue will not affect your machine needle.    I stuck all my chocolate wrapper strips to the Solufix

Even my fish sculpture is covered in snow. It started snowing last Friday at about 8am, by 9am I was in my local Asda supermarket, not so much panic buying as 'I'm going to be stuck in the house for a while' buying. I have lived in Brighton for thirty odd years now, and only in the last three winters have we had so much snow. It was unusual as we are close to the sea and apparently the salt in the air stops the snow - not any more . We had about five inches the first day and then three more inches the next day . Living on top of hill I get trapped as soon as the buses stop running up our road .  Having been caught out with very little food last year, as soon as it started to snow, I was off to do 'the big shop'. I was not alone - by 9.30am the queues were six people deep. It was like Christmas all over again. Everyone else obviously got stuck in their houses as well last year. We still have loads of snow but most of us in Brighton can get out and abou

As we were using newspaper we also created faux chenille. The course title was Print, Paint, Stitch and Play! It is a new course and the group at Bobby's were wonderful guinea pigs!  I drove up to Shropshire on Monday and on the way stopped off in Ledbury to see Angie Hughes for lunch in her new flat. Angie is a great mate of mine but because we live so far apart we only really see other at shows. It was great to have the chance of a couple of hours together - we had a lovely lunch and had good old catch up. We are hoping to have a 'play' weekend in Brighton in the not too distant future. Angie's website is angiehughes.com Then it was on to Bettws-y-Crwyn and Bobby's studio at Moor Hall - it gets very twisty and turny and then the roads narrow - ooohhh!!!! Don't like it! But it is worth it when you arrive - it is SO beautiful. The views are remarkable and the farmhouse is old and surrounded by a lovely cottage garden. The studio is light and bright