Happy Birthday Mummy!

It's My Mummy's Birthday! Yay! And I had lots of fun making things for her.

A Card. With ribbons, shiny card, and her favourite colour.

This lovely Cushion... I think possibly my favourite...

Completed Thought Stars....

And this Felt Heart, which I made earlier in January.

An eclectic mix perhaps, but I spent a lot of time on them, and I hope she loves them as much as I do.

Craft Review: Week 5: Sunday 22nd January - Saturday 28th January 2012

Sunday

I spent a few hours experimenting with word art on a canvas, for my friend Drew's Birthday. It turned out quite well, and she loved it, but I stupidly forgot to take a photo of it. It was in the colours of yellow and black, and contained the word Hufflepuff.

Monday

I came home feeling drained after spending an extra hour in school to complete my English coursework, so I only managed a row or two of my simple fluffy scarf.

Tuesday

I did a session of after school art, in which I completed my battle with a canvas and a compass. Indeed, it is most intriguing.... I then came home and skimmed my history textbook in preparation for my sources paper tomorrow.

Wednesday

I came home, absolutely horrified. That was the most terrifying exam I had ever done. I knew NOTHING about the subject. It was based on a paragraph on the textbook of only four lines. Luckily, I think my educated guesses may have saved my skin.... So. I came home feeling absolutely horrible, and to make myself feel better, I made this:

This is for my Mummy, and is a simple envelope backed pillow, hand embroidered with white wool. It definitely succeeded in cheering me up

Thursday

I did after school art again, whereby I attacked my canvas again, this time with a blue colouring pencil. I have completed 3/6 circles. Mysterious, no?

Friday

This has been the week from hell. I came home and collapsed, so tired. I got out my scarf and knitted a few rows.

Saturday

I woke up early, and did some work this morning. Then I got out the needles and knitted a little something. I won't say what it was, or who it's for, as I would like to give it to someone who may or may not read this blog. I don't know if anyone does at all. any comments would be appreciated. Tangent. I knitted this little thing for something which I'd like to start which involves making little things for my friends 'Just because'. I make things, and then have no idea what to do with them. So this is the solution that I've come up with.

I also made my Mummy's Birthday card, which involved ribbons and shiny card.

It's different to the sort I usually make, but I like it.

Craft Review: Week 4: Sunday 15th January - Saturday 21st January

Sunday

I planned on doing some knitting through Sherlock... I think I managed one row.... it was INTENSE!

^He is Jumping^.... Or did he?

Monday

I went to visit the Grammar school! It was so nice there, but I was absolutely exhausted when I got back. I will say though, that I did do a drawing while in their art class - new media combination: graphite and emulsion paint. Very effective. No pictures because they kept it. It's stapled to their wall.
So proud.

Tuesday

I made some more stars for my Mummy's  Thought stars. These ones are purple...
I also received my GCSE Art Exam Paper... Theme: Ordinary and Extraordinary..... I shall Ponder for a while...

Wednesday

A rather lazy day... Hot chocolate after school with a friend, then helping her choose between a purple fuzzy Hippo and a Clanger... I jest not... I did manage a few rows of my Fluffy Simple Scarf, though.

Thursday

I commenced battle with a 40 inch square canvas and a compass.... oh dear god, please help me...
But you cannot see it yet! Ahhhaahaha! It will remain outside of public viewing (unless you visit my art class where it takes up an extortionate amount of room on an easel. But most people don't know where my classroom is, so that's good!) until I see it as a fit time to announce it.

Friday

I made Robyn's birthday card! Which I still need to write a tutorial for....


Saturday

I went to Robyn's party and ate an awful lot of food.... So I was a bit preoccupied. Although, I did receive a photo as a memento, which has sparked the urge to redecorate my room..... somehow...

Happy Birthday Robyn!!!!

I would firstly like to say to Robyn: Have a very Happy Birthday!!!!

And secondly, I would like to show you what I had the pleasure of Making for her...

This is a canvas that I painted a few weeks back (it was mentioned in one of the Craft Reviews). I can now show it, without the worry of spoiling her surprise.

Robyn is my musical friend. This therefore warranted a musical inspired birthday gift.

The idea came to me while listening to some classical music... the way that the music floats; rises and falls... And it irritates me that the stave is always straight. Very Boring.

This painting is a combination of media - a watercolour background, and an acrylic foreground. I like it, and I hope she will too!

This is the Card I made for her. It's quite simple, and yes, the painting on the front is of her (mildly, it's only a vague likeness, but one can tell)

I chose the colours to co-ordinate with the painting, and because purple is her favourite colour. It may be simple but I think it is effective. I will make a tutorial for it later.

The picture itself on the card was primarily drawn from a photo (using my laptop as a light box) and then filled in with watercolours. I outlined it in black pen.

I like using watercolours. They're so quick and easy to use, and they give a delicate finish. And the colours can be quite vibrant as well...

Happy Birthday Robyn!

Henry Moore: Artist Study

Artist Studies are one of the key elements in GCSE Art. The first one we looked at was Henry Moore.
Most people looked at his sculptures, but I was intrigued by his paintings.

To the right is the double page spread that I produced. I loved the mystery within the receding depths, the concentric circles which darken and lead who knows where.

For a good artist study, you need the name of the artist and the piece, at least one good quality picture, a description, an analysis of the work, and a study.

The technique I used for my study is called 'oil resist' I drew in shapes and tone with oil pastels, and then painted in watercolours the other varying tones, mainly adding in the blue hues. I used the same technique to decorate the information page

My study looks a bit different to the original. It's lighter, for one thing. And to me, that section holds an intrigue to it... It looks like it could be a tunnel leading somewhere, the inside of a black hole, the underneath of a crested wave, a time vortex, who knows?! It's intricacies look so difficult, yet it was easy to make. I love it.

Shells....

One of the next thing our teacher told us to do, was a series of observational drawings and studies of shells. Most people in the class complained, but I didn't. I like drawing, and shells are very interesting subjects. My first attempt ended up looking more like a snail, but I was told to include, so please ignore it. It's horrible.

I Like shells.... Each one is different and equally as intricate and beautiful as the next. Above is the mounted sheet that I created from my various shell drawings, plus some annotation. The media I used war: tonal pencil, watercolour, oil pastel, and coloured pencil.

I like using watercolour when I'm doing studies of naturalistic objects... They seem to flow nicely and work well together. This was a nice shell, but it had no real defining features. It was very smooth and small, and the shadow was hardest to create

But this one is my favourite. It's a close up enlargement of the detail on one of the shells, using tonal, coloured pencils. It's so delicate, and detailed, and loved doing it, looking so close at the detail of one tiny shell barely wider than my thumb... All of the different ridges and tonal variation. I love it.

Craft Review: Week 3: Sunday 8th January 2012 - Saturday 14th January 2012

A lot of this week was spent doing the odd bit of photography, knitting or art coursework...
Sunday

I sat down and knitted a few rows of my Fluffy Simple Scarf while watching Sherlock.... Not much though, I was scared out of my wits for an hour and a half!

Monday

I got bored today, just before teatime, so I got my camera out and tried to take a picture of myself in my small mirror... yeah, it doesn't sound successful, does it? I didn't get a clear cut picture, but what I did get is quite interesting.

Tuesday

It was a beautiful day outside this morning, with the sunrise... I tried to take a few pictures of it to see if they would work properly...

I will admit I don't have the most inspiring view from my window, but look at that sky....

Wednesday

On Wednesday, I reverted to doing the odd bit of knitting here and there... so I added to my Ravenclaw Scarf, and to my Fluffy Simple scarf also.

Thursday

I was doing art coursework today. An AWFUL lot of acrylic paint was used in suspicious amounts of yellow... I also had to help out at the year 9 options evening, which restricted my time at home... I managed to only just watch the 'Lewis' I'd recorded before falling asleep....

Friday

I sat down, exhausted today and picked up my Hermione cushion. I haven't touched it in weeks. I really need to finish it soon....

Saturday

I did practically nothing, except that I watched 3 'Lewis's.... I'm beginning to feel that I've become obsessed with that programme. I blame Sergeant Hathaway... completely.... I did manage to fit a row of my Ravenclaw scarf in though....

AH! I've been terrible this week, I do apologise...

Craft Review: Week 2: Sunday 1st January 2012 - Saturday 7th January 2012

Sunday

Today, being New Year's Day, I didn't get much crafting done, except for a few rows of my simple Fluffy scarf.

Monday

I did work today, in one of my last free days before school restarted.

I did an artist research of the Japanese Print Maker, Hiroshige, for my art project. I picked out a building in one of his prints for my study.

Tuesday

I was running all over the place helping my Grandma today, so I only managed a few rows of my Ravenclaw scarf today. (I also started Reading Inheritance by Christopher Paolini, the last in the Eragon series. It's so good!!!)

Wednesday

I went back to school today. Oh dear. But, I did find this notebook at the bottom of my bag. It's my ideas book, my mood book, my inspiration. It was a pretty expensive notebook as well... £10 from WHSmith... But it is beautiful. If I find anything interesting in a magazine or in leaflets, I cut it out and stick it in here. As you may be able to tell by the various loose pieces of paper which protrude from its side, I haven't stuck much down for a while...

This is one of the pages I started working on today. Soft delicate pinks hinted with femininity. It's a beautifulcombination and conjures up for me the smell of soft roses lillies and irises...

Thursday

I had art today. All in all, I think I calculated 5 hours of it. Most of it was drawing circles.... I will not show you now, but in my myriad of coursework posts. Because I really do love my art.

Friday

I had mild concussion after being hit in the head with someone's elbow. I think I'll let myself off.

Saturday

I had to record myself speaking french for my french teacher -.- unimpressed. But, I did manage to do a little drawing.

She is different to what I would usually draw, and most certainly how I would usually draw. I'm used to drawing photorealistically, but this soft childish cartoon, has something quite charming to it.

I named her innocence, because that is the air I get from her. She is simple, and young, and she seems so shielded and happy.

I may start drawing like this more often.

In the beginning....

I'm going to start at the beginning, because the beginning is always a good place to start....

The first few weeks, last year, of our art course, we were studying a still life. It was weird and completely random, but with all of the developments, this is what I got:

I look back in terror as to how terrible I was a year and a half ago...

What we have here, is the original pencil study, top, with several developments, including a colour pencil study, an acrylic paint study, and an Indian ink study.

To me, I can now see how terrible the perspective was, and there are slip ups in technique everywhere. but it is always good to remind you of where you've come from, and where you've reached.

This is one of my mounted sheets, recording AO3 Record, and AO2 Refine.

This is an enlarged section of my original tonal drawing, and, I think, the better half. Here, I do not have that dreadful xylophone with its dodgy perspective. What we have is the underside of the table, the paper covering it, and a plant pot. It's still not brilliant, but it's better.

I like to be different, so While everyone else sat on their chairs or on the tables to draw this, I was sat on the floor. To me, it was more interesting, because the table had some complex joins to it.

This is a section of my colour pencil study. I always love drawing with pencil, and it's one of my favourite media's to work in.

Here, my teacher had asked me to change the colours around and make them un-realistic. I firstly looked at her as if she was crazy, before doing as I was told. The final product looks OK, but I would never have chosen it. Yellow plants and Blue xylophones? I don't think so.

This is an acrylic paint study of a different section of the still life. I like the contrast in colours between the drum and the guitar. We did the acrylic studies because our teacher said it would be difficult to get even tone. For me, not so much...
My problem with it is that my ellipse is wrong, it's too pointy, which makes the drum look most odd.

I like using acrylics because of their versatility, but I tend to use them in complete absence of any water at all. It's because I'm more used to working with oil paints, but oils are not practical to use in a sketch book.

I am NOT doing a review of the Indian ink study because I despise it greatly.

This is a comparison of media. On the left, is a watercolour study, on the right is a coloured pencil study.
The image is taken from the original pencil drawing, and worked in natural colours.

My favourite is the watercolour study. Watercolours feel so natural to paint with, and can achieve a myriad of colours and tones effortlessly. I particularly love the tonal work in the bottom right corner, as it looks exactly like the table did when I drew it. I think this study is my favourite of them all, because it is different to the rest, softer and less stark.

Art Coursework

As I'm getting really rather stressed out, I thought I'd document my GCSE Art Coursework, not only to put my mind at rest, but I thought that perhaps you would like to take a look too. In a series of blog posts, I will look at different aspects and running themes in my art coursework, and I hope you like it.

I told you it was dangerous....

Do you remember the Victoria and Albert museum website with the pattern generator? And that I said it was Dangerous? Here's why....

One Gorgeous, lovely, beautiful Fred Weasley.

One Victoria and Albert Museum Pattern.

After 10 rows... You can't really tell, can you?

15 rows.... Beginning to see it...

Yes! Definitely there at 20 rows!

Ta Da!!! Isn't he gorgeous!

So, 4 hours, a load of confusion, several scraps of wool and two knitting needles later, I have my lovely Fred Weasley. I was determined. And that is Dangerous.

Craft Review: Week 1: 26th December 2011- Saturday 31st December 2011

Following in line with what I promised myself in my resolution, here is what I have been making this week:

Monday

This is one of the Felt Hearts from Kirstie Allsopp's CRAFT book. I made it for my mum's birthday, which is at the end of January. I have only made one at the moment, but it may end up having a few friends. I really like this pattern, it's very simple and looks beautiful.

I also knitted 4 rows of my Ravenclaw Scarf....
This is my darling, my faithful Work in Progress that I have been working on for nearly 5 months. Not that I contributed to it much during school time.... I'm following the pattern as prescribed in the book Charmed Knits by Alison Hansel.... I need 14 pairs of the white colour stripe, and I have 8... Nearly there!




Tuesday

Well, I did paint a Canvas for my friend Robyn's birthday, but I can't show that here yet as she may see it and that could be disastrous. But, I will upload a picture when she has received it.

I also started making a purple Vintage Flower, from the book 20 to Make: Fabric Flowers. By this I mean, I gathered a ring of fabric into a circular ruffle while sitting in front of the television watching Great Expectations.

Wednesday

This is my finished Vintage Flower, and I think it looks quite nice. It measures roughly 12cm x 12 cm, with a safety pin on the back so it can be used as a brooch, or to attach it to other items. The trouble is now... I don't know what to do with it. If anyone wants it, let me know. I'll accept any offers.

I also made up this pattern for a knitted bracelet. I'm going to call it the 2-stitch Bracelet. Someone somewhere else has probably made up the same thing, and I wouldn't be surprised, but it gives a nice tubular plaited look to it.

I also started to make this jar of what I will call Thought Stars. They have little tiny messages scrawled on a strip of paper, folded up origami style into a little star. I found this on stumble upon, an ingenious website which is absolutely fabulous. These will also be for my mum's birthday, as she often needs cheering up...

Seen this before?!

This is the embroidered outline that I did last week. I now have the laborious task of hand applique - ing it to this cushion cover *sigh*. So, this is what I contributed a proportion of my time to.

 Thursday

I went out shopping today. I bought some glorious cushion inserts for just £1.99 each! Guess what I'll be making shortly... I also bought a new skirt pattern, which I may try out  later with some nice tartan fabric I have lying about... But, I also bought this:

A five pack of 50g balls of wall in a wonderful grey-ish blue-ish mottled tones. For £4. BARGAIN! You could usually spend, quite easily £4 on just one ball of this type of wool. It was a brilliant offer, and absolutely gorgeous.

AND... This is what happens if you leave me for 10 minutes, with new wool and a pair of needles without work on it. I apologise profusely to my lovely other WIP's, but this is gorgeous. 20 stitches, 7mm needles, simple garter stitch. I'm in heaven. It's superbly easy, and looks beautiful. Chewing gum for the mind.

Friday

I told you it was dangerous, didn't I?! Here we see one completed Fred Weasley from Prisoner of Azkaban, Pattern via The Victoria and Albert Museum. I spent a few hours muddling my way through this. It turned out well, don't you think?

I also added a bit more to my fluffy scarf.

Saturday

I added a few more rows to my fluffy scarf on the way to the recycling centre... Not much else though... It was New Year's Eve after all!!!

So that was the weekly round up of my crafts. I think I've done quite well. What about you?