A pleasant surprise!

What a pleasant surprise to find two comments on my blog, one from my friend Gina Ferrari and the other from Jenn Mason, the editor of Cloth Paper Scissors. Of course my reaction was one of excitement and disbelief, my high pitched squeals caused my daughters who were at home to rush into the room to find out what was happening. It was as if I had won the lottery. Thank you Jenny for reading my blog and leaving such a wonderful comment. I agree that the world would be a better place if they were more people like Joyce. As I share my work with others, especially the children I work with I can only hope that I too will be a positive influence in their lives.
I have found that writing this blog has been a way of documenting my thoughts and it has also been a way of sharing not only my ideas about the creative process but also about who I am. Initially, I wanted it to be only about my work but I know now that as I share my work I will also have to share some aspects of my life and experience in order to give a true understanding of it.

On friday I received a copy of Cloth Paper Scissors, an american magazine packed full of ideas and inspiration. A wonderful friend of mine who also happened to be my A'level Art tutor sent this and a few other copies to me. The magazine is great, but for me it is even more special because they are sent from her. It has been such a wonderful reflective time for me being in contact with Mrs. Joyce Daniel again. When I was a teenager, I wanted to be like her. She is smart, confident, a great artist, strong and gentle at the same time. I have always admired the way that she carried herself, her sense of style was fantastic and she seemed very powerful.
After my exams she took me under her wing and taught me quite a lot about batik, I owe an awful lot to her. As I have grown older and have been knocked a few times by life experiences I can truly say that she has made a big impact on who I am today. I saw her passion for Art, and the importance of being open to new ideas and approaches. I would love to include a photo of her work but I would not want to do that without her permission but my husband Dave has always said that he can see her influence in my work. Dave and I always talk about her and he understands the important role which she has played in my life. I just wanted to let everyone who reads this blog, to know of her and in a way it is my opportunity to openly thank her for being such great role model. I am sure that in her many years as Head of the Art Department at The Barbados Community College she has been a great role model for many if not all of her students.

Sneak preview?

I have been playing around with a few ideas in the studio, I have pulled out a small selection of fabrics, done a few sketches as well as a bit of tidying up. Whenever I tell Dave that I have tidied up he has a good laugh, my response to his laughter is " I need an extention."

I have included a sketch and a selection of fabrics which have potential, I am getting that excited feeling again as I begin to develop work for a new piece. I will keep you posted as my ideas evolve.

Standing Alone is finished!

On staring at the piece Standing alone hanging on the wall yesterday, I felt that something was missing, I stared at it and this is what I did (see photo ). So for those who thought I had completed it, I had not. I wonder if Dave will still like it, he hasn't seen it yet.

I think that the design works better, there is more movement within the piece created by the addition of gold organza disc shapes. These were done with a soldering tool and attached with a tiny bead. They link the circle on the chin, the stitched and printed circles with the sequins to create a more cohesive result. I need a better camera but that will mean having to figure out how it works, oh well. I am still figuring out the sat nav Dave got me for my after Christmas present. I am off sketching now.

Standing alone

I think I have finished this piece which I still have no name for, although as it hangs in the dining room I can think of a million things that I should have done differently or added. My hubby has said that he would like to put it up in his office so I might allow him to for a while. The size of this piece is 107 x 84 cms completed and is quite striking against my light coloured wall.

Next week I will be working with a school in St. Ives and one in Wisbech St. Mary but I will find the time to show you my new project at least the preliminary ideas.

The snow is melting, Christmas is over and I have been in my studio again. I have just about finished the large piece which I had been working on before Christmas and will post an image soon. It has changed quite a bit, I flipped the background fabric to the side without the gold pattern, added couched lines, large, white, round sequins, tiny white and silver beads. Look out for that and find out what I am up to next.

Gina to The Rescue!

Happy New Year! I have so much to learn about blogging and computers. I have just had a chat with Gina who sorted out a few things for me.
Now, I know anyone reading this will have a laugh. I had not seen ANY of the comments which were left for me until a few minutes ago when Gina told me about them, she talked me through the process of finding them. I would never have noticed that they were there. My husband you see is a computer expert and that means that he sets things up as if everyone else is a computer expert so my comments are not sent to me as an email but as a very tiny notice beneath the blog (no wonder I did not see them). My varifocals need replacing and I hate admitting that my eyesight is poor.
I could not believe the wonderful and encouraging comments which have been left for me about my work. Thank you all so much, it means a lot to me. Most of all thanks to Gina because I would never have realised that the comments were there. You are a beautiful star Gina. You can bet your bottom dollar that now I know where to look that I will never miss them again.