Back to the shed, and four seasons...

Finally got to saunter over to the shed today, although the weather started off a bit hot to be too energetic.

As you can see from the photos, there's probably too many things going on at once in here.
Time for a sort out/tidy up.

Found and dusted off the old easel and dug out some canvases.
I had a lot of fun playing with thin layers of paint mixed with a bit of glazing medium. 

After taking this photograph, I noticed that the top left corner of the painting is sagging a bit - does anyone know how to fix this?

I even had the sewing maching out, trying to hem curtains.  I say trying, because I only got one set done.  The other four sets are hanging up on the window with pins in them.
I will get back to them....

Tried my hand at a bit of angel painting, again glazing layers of paint.

 

This is what I was supposed to be doing - painting little houses.  I love painting houses, I find it very therapeutic.

The book behind them is a birthday present from my daughter.

 

Haven't really had a good look through it yet.  I'm saving it for that moment when I can just relax and drool over it for a while.  Doesn't it look so - clean? And pretty.

 

This priority mail envelope from the U.S. contained another birthday present (self-bought).

I say priority mail, but it did take weeks to arrive (mainly because the local post office had it sitting there for a week, and hadn't let me know it was there.)

 

I'm sure some of you guessed where it was from.

Yes, that's right.  More Jo Sonja stuff.

I'm building my collection of her dvd's, as it is just like having a workshop with her, and I don't have to leave the country.

I did go to a workshop of hers about 20 years ago when she came to Australia.

Along with Heidi England, Helen Cavin, Linda Wise and Helen Barrick.

I might show you the packages in a bit more detail in a few days.  Maybe talk to you about why I picked each one.

I made a bit of handmade soap over the holidays.

All pure and natural, with pure essential oils.

This is the soap drying on the rack.  It takes about 6 weeks to 'cure'.

The middle ones are soap too.  These are my first attempt at cupcake soaps - I have a long way to go.

I need a bit more practice using a piping bag.

The ducks have finally made it onto the wall.

We've had some really hot days here over the last week or so.  I know I live in Ozland, but, I live in the Southern Highlands, where the weather is supposed to cooler.

Thank God for air conditioners.  (Scots like me need them in the heat)

My lovely hydrangea bushes are wondering what is going on.  Look how shriveled and sad they look.

I picked a few so they could get a drink of water and maybe perk up a bit.

I normally leave them in the vase to dry naturally, but I doubt that the ones I picked today will dry well, due to the state they were in.

Anyway, would you believe, before I even got a chance to upload the photos complaining about the dry and heat - this is what happens!

Hail!
And thunder.
And rain.
All over my washing......

Then ten minutes later - the sun is back out.

Followed by this - looks pretty cool though, don't you think?

I'm thinking maybe my plums should ripen nicely though.  Good heat to sweeten them up.  Rain to swell them up.

Now I'm off to calm the dog down, who thinks that every time it rains and thunders, she has to sit on my knee - not easy to type when she does that!

cheers
Fi

Vee's Notecard Party

Whilst visiting the wonderful folk artist Catherine Holman's blog, I discovered Vee's notecard party.

After visiting some of the participating blogs and viewing their absolutely stunning images, so evocative, so yummy, I wanted to join in all this Christmassy wonderfulness.

My first image is a snowman ornament I've had for a few years.  I know I live in Ozland, but I am Scottish, and you might take the girl out of the snow, but, you can't take the snow out of the girl.







I am a lover of Nativity Scenes.

Christmas ain't Christmas without one.  The reason for the season, and all that.

I have two nativity scenes.  This is my 'old' one.  I've had it for 20 years, and still love to gaze at it.  The beautiful pastel colours, the exquisite faces.





Mary had a little............accident.  She unfortunately lost her hand.





This is a Christmas card my mother gave me many moons ago.  If I particularly like a Christmas card, then I can't part with it, and bring it out and display it year after year.  This is one of them.



This is an image I took of my daughter's eye on New Year's Eve, two years ago.

2013, here's looking at you kid.

Merry, happy, joyous Christmas.

till next time.
Fi

Around the studio - jewellery making...

I am just a tad excited today.

I've been wanting to show you this for a while, but have been kept too busy with my paper bead charity project - which is now over for another year.

Which means, of course, life can have a semblance of normality for, at least a brief, while.

Behind the scenes I have been working on my hand made jewellery.  Ceramic beads made by me, mostly.

I have rented a little space in amongst a collection of shops at the Old Robertson Cheese Factory.  I'll show you more pictures and info on that in upcoming posts.

 

This is me painting the ceramic beads that I made and fired to bisque earlier in the year.



 

A jar full of painted beads waiting for glaze.



 

Necklace construction in process.  Each wire link is individually made.



 

Trinkets are added, such as this leaf.



 

And buttons, and hearts.



 

Isn't the little birdy on the swing so cute?  I'm rather partial to this necklace, maybe because it has green beads in it, and green is my favourite colour.



 

I'm intending to sell this online, in Etsy, and from this website, when I get it sorted, so watch this space.

Here is a purple version in progress.



 

Purple goes so well with copper wire.



 

About to make some earrings.  Here, I am making spirals out of copper wire to make the bead 'cage'.



 

Earrings being assembled.



 

A few pairs of earrings completed.



 

I thought I would throw this one in for good measure, although I haven't got the right chain for it yet.  I made the pendant from polymer clay.



I love how folk painting /tole painting/ decorative art skills can be utilised on so many surfaces.  Years ago, I'd never have thought I would be making jewellery, but now it is one of my favourite things to paint and make.

And the bonus is, what I don't sell, I can give as Christmas presents.

till next time
Fiona

Twas the week and a bit before Christmas....

....and Fiona was dragging out bits and bobs of ornament stuff so her daughter could no longer accuse her of 'spoiling Christmas', because she hadn't put a tree up.

I thought I would pop in and share this photo with you.

 



I painted this folk art tray many years ago.  The pattern is a Jo Sonja piece, taken from an issue of the Artists Journal.

I love it.  Always have.  But don't think I'd ever paint another one.  Too much work.



Nothing like a flying camel ride, to get you there in style.



 

And this is a folk art star ornament that I painted from around the same era.  There is a set of them that I usually hang on the Christmas tree.



What about you? Have you been digging out your favourite ornaments yet?



Till next time
Fiona

New Australian Painting Blog...

Hi Everybody,

Yesterday was a fun day, as I got to help my friend Kate set up a blog for her landscape painting.

Kate and I have 'folk art painted' for over 20 years together, but Kate was originally a high school art teacher.  After leaving school teaching, she opened up one of the first folk art painting shops in our area (over 20 years ago), selling supplies and teaching classes.

I eventually became one of the teachers at her shop.

What fun days!!

Kate closed the studio a few years ago, and has since been concentrating on landscape painting.  She combines her love for artistic expression with the joy she experiences in capturing her surrounding landscape with freshness and energy - wherever she may be.  (Yes Kate, I still remember you making me sit on the roadside, in the heat, surrounded by flies and insects, whilst you painted the cows in the field....)



I'm looking forward to see how your blog progresses Kate - it's over to you..

(P.S. If you wish to visit Kate's blog, click here}

Till next time
Fiona

 

Painting Paper Beads....

Well, talk about going from the sublime to the ridiculous!

One day you are painting large canvases, the next you need the magnifying lamp to see what you are painting.

The beauty of folk painting is that once you have developed your skills, they can be adapted to sooooo many surfaces.

Are you a jewellery maker?  Have you thought of making your own beads to achieve a unique look?

Last year, I learned how to make paper beads.

I then taught a group of women from my local church how to make them, and now we make and sell them for women and children's charities.

 



 

This year we will be donating the money raised to an HIV/AIDS orphanage in Thailand.  You can check out the website here.

 



The beads all start from strips of white paper and are rolled, sealed, painted, sealed, then 2 coats of varnish applied.



Did you see my previous post about lettering for folk artists?  This is one of the occasions basic lettering skills come in handy.

The lettering on the beads was applied with a calligraphy pen (with very small nib) and folk art paint.

So, don't think your folk art skills need to be restricted to wooden objects or canvases.
Step outside the box...

Till next time
Fiona

Lettering for folk artists....

Hi everybody.

The sun is out on this beautiful Autumn day (after a very dismal, soggy, wet and miserable summer here in Oz) and the sky is perfectly blue and sparkly.

I promised myself that if I would get this post uploaded in time, then I could treat myself by taking the dog for a walk down to our little village (with maybe an outside table at a coffee shop and a little sketching into my notebook being the end destination ;) ....).

So, let's get on with it then!

If you have not attempted lettering in your folk painting work as yet, then I want to encourage you to 'give it a go'.

It is really not as difficult as it seems.

We don't need to study a 3 year course on the finer points of calligraphy, we just need enough basic information on how to apply lettering in a pleasing, non-splodgy manner to our work.

Now, the first thing I would suggest is - buy some basic calligraphy books.  The ones you see above is my collection, gathered over the years.

A basic calligraphy book, with clear instructions on how to get started, line up your work and load your pen, etc. will be enough to get you adding some nice lettering to your painting.



Once you have a good basic book, you might want to consider looking for a few more specialist books, if this is what interests you.

Here are a few pages from some of my books that I find inspiring. (bear in mind that I don't actually write like this, I just drool over it).

This is a page  from my book 'Medieval Calligraphy - It's history and techniqe' by Drogin.

As the name suggests, he includes a lot of interesting background on the lettering and the monks that practiced it.

A page like this is wonderful to put tracing paper over, and then you can practice the flow of the lines and strokes.



 

Then there are the Celtic styles.

They are beautifully pictorial.



 

And the illuminated styles.



 

Now that I've whetted your appetite, I'll show you some of the tools you might need to get started.

Bear in mind, I am not a calligrapher, just a folk artist doing some lettering.

For practice, you will need a board, paper, and something to prop the board on, like a rolled up towel.



 



 

Now, you can paint your lettering with a flat brush, but I most often choose to use a calligraphy pen.  The type that is a holder, with a nib inserted into it. Like below.

 



 

Now, before you tell me off for the state of my nibs and holders, I have been using them for MANY years.  They have seen a lot of use.

 



 

This type of nib is called a 'Speedball' nib, and it's the type I use most often.

Not sure why, it just is.



 

This is the 'other' type of nib.



 



 

The lettering on the rose blocks below, was done with a very small flat brush.  I will use a brush if the lettering is larger than my pen sizes.  The principles for both are the same.  I just prefer the pen because it doesn't lose it's 'chisel' edge.



 

This lettering was just done with the tip of the round brush I was painting with at the time as I wanted it a bit more rustic.



 

 

Using the flat brush.

 

When you go through your basic instructions in your calligraphy book, they will explain to you the importance of drawing lines, before applying your lettering (you can do this on tracing paper first, draw your lettering, then transfer it to your surface.  This way you get the placement right the first time.)

The lines are what keep the lettering the same height.



 



 

I have found the best thing for me to letter with, is my Jo Sonja paints thinned with water to a milky consistency.  And this way, you have a wide colour choice.  I've used inks, but this is just as good.

 



 

 

Filling the nib with thinned paint, using a brush.



 

I like to apply some to the tip of the nib as well.



 

 

Make sure that you make a few practice dabs first, to blot the pen.



 

 

Apart from working between the lines, the most important thing in achieving uniform lettering, is holding your pen at the same angle, the whole time you're writing.



 

 

And most calligraphy books will show the letters, with little arrows to indicate which direction and order to write them.

Can you see how the direction and the angle of the pen make the thick and thin bits of the letters?



 

It's a good idea to rule up pages with lines and practice.



 



 

I've drawn some lines on here, to show you how the body of the letters fit in between them.  Your ascenders and descenders (tall bits and long bits) will not fit between this basic set of lines.  You can draw extra lines for these, but for what I'm trying to achieve, I usually don't bother.



 

I hope you do decide to try some lettering, and if you do - let me know how it goes!

Till next time
Fiona