Sort of sad

This is the piece of work I made on India Flint's course a few years ago in Horsley, Gloucestershire. It was a lovely time with good companions and an amazing teacher in a beautiful peaceful setting. This cloth is important to me as a reminder of that time. There is also a photo of it in the Blurb book India put together of students work 'On a Wandering Wind'. The little beastie clothes moths have been feasting on it, this upset me but it also gives me an opportunity to work on the cloth again and add some remnants to make it whole again and maybe to bring back memories.

Good things come in two's

 Two posts in one day.
 Life seems to have been a bit crazy recently but I have found time to have a bit of fun. I have been doing an online course with Roxanne Evans Stout called "A Book of Trees" which is slowly coming together. Have been having fun, getting very sticky and learning new techniques.                                             
I don't think I will get much more done before Christmas but have now done the front cover, not shown here.

Finished pages

Alice Fox last day

Today was a day of unbundling and collating our work, printed and rusted papers were collected together and made into books. I forgot to take photos of a lot of work before it ended up in a book but I have some photos of some of the fabric pieces.

Rusted papers

Pamphlet book with plan paper and waxes rusted paper cover

Practise book with no sew binding

Pamphlets ready to be stitched

Spines

Rusted fabric

The pamphlets have now been stitched and the cover waxed.
This was a great course, if any of you in the UK get a chance to do it I would highly recommend it.

Alice Fox workshop day 2

On the beach again in the morning up at the end where the fishing boats are kept, lots of interesting finds, in the afternoon printing, something I haven't done before. There was a printing press available which I didn't use but I had lots of fun printing using rollers. Something I can do easily at home.

More rusty bits

Sea weed and rusty nails

Prints from sea weed and pampas grass

Prints from bits of found metal

Prints from a drinking straw and rubbings from shells

Alice Fox workshop day 1

Close up of Groyne (sea defences)

I have just got back from a four day workshop with Alice Fox,  http://www.alicefox.co.uk/ She was amazingly patient and calm with us all, we learnt loads about lots of different process and had a great if exhausting time.
Our day started with coffee and tea and then a walk on the beach collecting rusty metal and other flotsam and jetsam.

Rusty bracket on Groyne

I

Eastbourne beach

Collecting Day One

Rusty bits

More collecting day one

Wrapping and dyeing rusty bits

more rusty bits

and even more

In the afternoon we wrapped fabric and made marks on paper with the rusty bits we had collected which were thoroughy wetted with tea.
I had driven down the previous day and visited Charleston House near Lewes. I have been wanting to see this for years but somehow never managed it, it is a fascinating house where Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant lived. They were members of the Bloomsbury Group, Vanessa being Virginia Woolf's sister. The house is full of paintings by members of the group, even the walls and fireplaces are painted. I stayed with my good friend Liz (also taking part in the workshop)and her husband in a house we had rented on the marina, so great accomadation and company as well.