Open to Snow

Another fluttering of snow overnight to add to what is still on the ground and by all accounts there will be more to come today and tonight. I'm spending most of my time in the studio looking out but it's also fun to go out and enjoy the white world. 

There will be lots of activities to catch up with once the snow and more specifically the ice disappears because my list of exhibitions etc. that I would love to visit is mounting but it's really not worth risking getting stuck in a ditch with the car. I keep telling myself to relax (one of my resolutions this year) and if I get there, fine, and if I'm not, that too will be okay.  Fingers crossed though!

Feathery Flutterings

Life Book 2015 presented us with two wonderful classes this week. You've seen the Dreamcatcher in an earlier blog and today it's time to show you the affirmation feather class result. This class was by the organizer of Life Book herself, Tamara Laporte and what a fun class it was.

I stuck pretty close to the brief but instead of the blues and greens that Tam used I went for a more fiery combination of red, orange and yellow.

 And of course I also used my own selection of collage papers for the background.

I also used a glittery pen for the little ornaments that you see hanging above, as well as for the writing and then had a moment of panic when I started splattering white paint about as these glitter pens are water soluble, but in the end it didn't prove to be a problem. Love working on this project and am pretty pleased with the end result too.

The weather is still cold and icy. We had another fluttering of snow but the main problem is that yesterday's load has now frozen and it is extremely slippery.

On my return I spotted this gorgeous jay in the front garden through the kitchen window. I've heard them in the nearby forest but this is it's first visit so close to the house. What a stunning creature it is.

White and Wonderful

Everything in the weather forecast pointed to lots of snow and the first view of the white world this morning confirmed that it had arrived. We have about 4 inches but it has been drifting so in some areas there is a lot more and at one stage during the walk I was afraid it would come over the top of my boots. To be honest I wouldn't even have minded much as it was such a joy to be the first to walk in virginal snow. This is snow how it's meant to be: soft and fluffy.

 Rueben managed to put some paw prints in just before I took the picture. 

We can but hope a snow plough comes through the lane before this lot freezes as by then it will be near on impossible to remove all that snow,  and there is already ice underneath the snow layers. A 4 x 4 made it through the lane early on but he was struggling and sliding about. The problem with the lane is that once you commit yourself there is no way back as there are no places to turn around.

The birds have been fed, so have the dogs and we humans and we have plenty of supplies so hey, if we don't get out, who minds?

There was wonderful light and the sun is even coming out, prettifying the snow scenes even more. And snow shovelling is on the menu next!

Above my favourite for the day so far, taken from the lane.

SAQA Interview

I was interviewed recently by Clairan Ferrono for the Studio Art Quilt Association's blog and you can read it here. Being interviewed is a good time to stand still for a moment and take stock of how and why you do what you do, and Clairan's questions sparked a lot of thoughts.

Dreamcatcher Page

As predicted the weather has turned a lot colder today and the first snow showers are already showing up. There is more snow to come and it's another day where staying in after that first dog walk seems the best option. That explains why I'm getting so much done at the moment. My trip yesterday to the dentist in Penicuik was the furthest I've been away from home since just before Christmas (and that was another dental visit!). So not only are my quilts progressing nicely but there is also plenty of time to fit in my classes such as Life Book 2015. This project is part of that and I had a lovely time playing yesterday. As I've mentioned before there will be no description here about how the pieces are made as that would contravene copyright for the class. There is still time to sign up if you are interested. Here is the link.

Dreamcatchers are a concept coming from North American Native Indian mythology and are usually three dimensional creations but in this class Rachael Rice shows us a way to make one that fits the page. I stuck pretty closely to the instructions although I choose different colours and my piece of lace at the top was substantially larger than in the lesson sample. It was the only piece of circular lace I found in my lace box. And I have to say I like the larger size.

The words I choose to put on my feathery pieces hanging down from the lace are also personal to me and I have probably gone a bit overboard with the sparkly stuff (as is my wont!). You can't catch that on the pictures but all those tiny dots you can see are sparkles.

 The glitters continue both underneath and on top of the lace.

One of the words I use was my word for 2015: Courage.

All the Pinks

Amitié Page

A new week brings a new challenge on The Documented Life 2015 (DLP15) site. It's still January so the theme is still about facing the blank page. The art challenge is: Writing and the Journal Prompt: Words with Friends. 

It's never difficult for me to use words (and the writing is hidden under the photograph)  but I had to think a bit about the friends part of it. Eventually I rummaged through my stash of gelli plate printed papers and retrieved one that I made while Lenna was here back in September when we spend a morning playing in my painting shed. Keeping that in mind I did some more searching and found the photo album Lenna had send me after she returned to Florida with photographs she had taken while here and found one of me taking photographs when we visited Dawyck Botanical Gardens on the first day Lenna was here.

All this came together but it needed a bit more so I used rubber stamps (from Dylusions) to add the swirls in the background. They were coloured in with my new Tomboy Brush Pens and I also outlined things with white and black markers. For the writing (words) I added the definition of the word friendship in French (amitié) from a vintage dictionary and glued that on too. More words came from a washi tape featuring vintage text, which I brushed with red). I will also use the same washi tape to add this page to the planner I'm using this year: Michel Designs Country Diary 2015. That planner also dictates the size of my pages this year. They are 7.1/4 x 8".