Dear Friends,
Well busy in the studio on Friday with students creating madly! Here is Teresa making some stunning flowers to add to her winter wardrobe

The gorgeous Joy showing off her very first wrap! Covered in leaves and berries she looks a real treat!

And here is Lyn making a statement with stripes and swirls.

As you may know we have a new young lad named Henry who just loves our old girl Nelly. Her follows her constantly copying her movements (never seen that before in all the years we have had cats!) and tries so hard to get close to her. Sadly to no avail - except here yesterday morning when she was snoring her head off and he sat as close as he could get.
He is very game and puts up with her hissing and even hitting him. Poor darling! There is no sign she will ever be his pal.

This is a new piece of felt I made today with layers upon layers of fleece and threads and fabrics. I love the way the black and white fabric stands out so well.

This is a piece of dyed muslin that I stretched and poked my fingers in until it was most distressed!
Felted like a dream!

It looks big here but is actually about 50cm X 25cm  - a new bookcover I think.

Hoping everyone is getting some creative time in this weekend.

Love
Elizabeth
XX

Autumn Light

Hi Creative Friends!
I just love this time of year. If it could be Autumn all year round - most content I would be.
Of course there wouldn't be Spring bulbs or Summer fruits or Winter fires but the Autumn light is like no other.
I just love the quiet contemplative feel it has. I know there are others that feel that it signals a dying time - but for me it is the light. The soft, fuzzy around the edges light.

These shots were taken on Sunday afternoon in our Royal Botanic Gardens. I was sitting amongst Oak trees doing a little stitching on some felt (thermos and nibbles beside me of course) and the light was perfect.

Some days the light is so hard you can't take a gentle shot at all - although Photoshop is a great boon I do acknowledge.

These are small leftover pieces of felt that I am turning into book covers.

I often feel I spend more time generating projects from leftovers than anything else. The eternal "that will be handy one day" that keeps us all from throwing out a single button. Then of course you do throw something out ( having held onto it for 10years) and promptly have to go and buy it again! Grrrrr.......

Hoping you are having a gorgeous week and finding time to enjoy the light - wherever you be

Love

Elizabeth

Woven fleece and trying to be patient!

Dear Friends,
Hoping everyone is having a lovely Easter break. For many years I have been weaving fleece and all sorts of bits to felt. Here are a few samples that I have been working on over recent months.



Although it wasn't planned I found my collection of vintage green buttons matched really well. Perfect!

I just love the way some projects are no trouble at all - no struggle, no forcing to find that extra bit to use. On other occasions the magic is held up somewhere and it takes a bit longer.

For this very reason I have at least 10 different pieces of work on the go at varying stages of construction. Is this a bit mad?

Yesterday was a finishing day where 3 different pieces were completed. Thrilled I was, thrilled!

Which begs the question - Why not follow through sooner? The feeling of finalising a piece of work is very uplifting. But as I learnt many years ago - you cannot force it - pity I am so impatient. Those times were I did push to finish something, I either wrecked it or was dissatisfied with the result.

Trying to be patient,

Elizabeth

XX

PS Our dear little kitten ( not so little anymore) is now climbing trees and delighted that Autumn is bringing so many dancing leaf "friends"!

Journal Class Update

Hi friends,

Well I am so thrilled that the new journal class will be going ahead!

For those of you who may be wondering - YES I am still felting and messing around with wool and fleece.

Having said that - I do find that a break is good for all creative endeavours. Whether or not it is another art form or rock climbing or raising chickens or just catching up on that pile of books that is stacking up by the bed.

Apparently when I was little I could be occupied for literally hours with Clag and scissors and paper and watercolours and and and.......... Well nothing has changed. Still loving it!

Hoping everyone is happily creating this week

Love

Elizabeth

XX

New Class - Starting SOON!!

Dear Friends,
Isn't it funny that when you have an idea about something, someone else you know or read about or meet has had exactly the same thought as well.

A month or so ago I decided to run another journal class and lo and behold a couple of students asked me in the same week! Weird how thoughts float around in the air and just arrive in our hearts or minds simultaneously. Serindipity I guess.

Instead of a limited number of days or hours this will be an open ended time frame with an Wednesday evening class once every 2 weeks.

New techniques will be taught each session with many topics covered. Starting with inspiration and jumping off techniques we will progress through a myriad of tools and media.

As we work on backgrounds to add to a journal we will also make a Background Binder to record each tehnique as a great reference tool for the future. Often backgounds get so hidden by multilayering it is hard to analyze the original method or colourway. Keeping a record of each is a great way to keep track of this.

Starting next month in April and meeting once a fortnight will be the Wednesday night journal class. I only have space for 6 students so I look forward to hearing from you if you are interested!

Every best wish

Elizabeth

XX

Running with a project

Dear Friends,
Well as you can see still clowning around with paper mache and paper and glue and pens and having such a lovely time! I have always believed that when you get a bee in your bonnet about a project you need to run fast, run really fast until you wear yourself out with it.
When your excitment and enthusiasm are high you can really achieve an awful lot.

The funny thing is - I have been running for quite a while with this one!

I have been drawing with a little difficulty as a fluffy friend with a black tail seems to think that pencils and pens are fab and make a great noise when you push them onto the floor.

When you use newspaper for the top layer be certain that the things you can read are vaguely interesting and don't just advertise the local plumber.

Hopefuls on the desk.

Wishing everyone something great to run with this week
Love

Elizabeth
XX

Still here!

Hi friends!
Well at last I am getting my act together and writing again! A busy start to the year - painters are doing the outside of the house and I have been processing way too many plums and tomatoes and trying to find the studio.
On a creative note, I have been having loads of fun making paper mache figures for the wall, using painting and painted papers to enhamce. What exactly did we do before watercolour crayons???

In this closeup you can see that the face is done with a black fine liner and watercolours - the usual ones! So I have a couple of dozen faces ready to become figures and I am just loving seeing them come to life.

BUT - drumroll - nothing compares to the fun we have been having with our new arrival. As you may know I go out each morning with a cuppa and ,my camera just to see if there are new things growing in the garden. Lo and behold this is what we found!!! Sitting right here in a pot and just waiting for us - or so it seemed.

His name is Henry and he arrived a little over a month ago. I would have introduced him sooner but we have been enjoying fleas, really scary worms, vet visits and trying to see if anyone claimed him.

More importantly we have been waiting to see if our older girl Nelly would take to him. Well the answer is definitely no - she has taken to walking up the hall hissing loudly into each doorway just in case he is lurking somewhere. Quite funny really!

So this is Henry - 10 weeks old and deadly cute with 3 beauty spots on his nose. So wonderful to be able to cuddle a kitten again.

Hoping everyone is having a lovely week

Love

Elizabeth