New fairies

I have been working on a new range of fairies , with a view to making them even more special than usual ! They are 3-D with embroidered skirts, tulle underskirts , stiffened gauze wings and the usual sparkly bits scattered all over. 

I'm presenting them in painted and paper lined boxes that have the fairy's secret name written on a scroll of tissue paper that is secured under the ribbon threaded through the lid.

the idea is that they are intricate keepsakes that hopefully will be treasured and kept for a long time to come. 

I'm pricing them between £20 to £40 depending on the work involved - the bigger ones will go into some heart shaped boxes that I'm about to decorate - will put them on the next post.

Little green rosebud fairy.

Blue bow fairy with cotton reel for scale purposes !

Detail of purple can-can fairy.

Silver butterfly fairy with beaded net petticoat.

Pom-pom fairy. ( On her shoes. )

Rococo fairy .

Red tulle fairy.

I have been looking at Louis the 14th and Restoration fashions and would like to make some Elizabethan ones if I can face sewing the tiny ruffs ! More soon ...

On Closer Inspection

As I love snooping around other peoples studios I thought I'd post some close up shots , so feel free to browse around !

I know these jam pots are ubiquitous but I can't resist them and especially the little ones grabbed whilst out having afternoon tea.

Two ladies wrapped in cellophane; the japanese one is a bat and I picked it up whilst in Tokyo in the '80's - not sure how you would manage to play ping pong with her in all her finery.

The fairy is made by my friend Belen Gomez who also does lovely prints and cards ( I'll post a link up to her when she is up and running. )

The squirrel perfume bottle with the fez hat was a present from Brian when he was junk hunting in new york, the toadstall candle holder one of a set of 6 and the toffee tin has a picture of the Taj Mahal on it.

A set of woven ribbons that came in this dinky dispenser.

The sellotape man also came from NYC and my Wade bird is rather lonely now that I've broken his mate.

As promised, a better shot of the felt daschund  and below is his cocktail sausage holder

companion. ( You can't see them here but there are lots of holes along his back to take the cocktail sticks ! ) A present from Victor - king of the charity shop finds.

All In Place

Well this has been my first purchase for the new studio - a lovely spotty broom and a very important one it is if I am to keep it looking as spick and span as it is now ( dream on - the next batch of fairies will restore my workspace back into a fluffy, fraying chaos.) But for the moment I can walk in and admire all my  shelves newly arranged and still relatively uncrowded and feel in control of this particular patch of the world ... what a nice feeling; however you do have to crack eggs to make an omelette and I will have to mess up this serene scene eventually !

Some of my dolls squashed between books and an old chocolate box containing crayons.

And below at last a home for my 'Magic Baking Powder', on the back of the tin it reads,

'Poudre a Pate Magic', so it must have belonged to some French fairies originally !

Following on is the shell tea pot I made for Betty Bib's Fairy Year book - talking of spick and span earlier the fairy sisters Spick and Span usually sleep in that pot but I've lost them in the move ( sure they'll turn up , they usually do. ) 

I'm so happy to have this space at last, as where I machined before was tucked into a dark corner and all my bits and pieces were balanced around me on the floor ( often falling over and spilling into the sandy cracks of a brick floor - I've left Brian with a very sparkly studio ! ) Now I can reach out and grab what I need ... in theory that is as I still can't resist putting ribbons etc in decorative boxes and woven baskets and then not remembering what's in them.

More dolls and a felt sausage dog - will post a better picture of him next time as he really is a great example of '50's toy making.

Another wider shot and I've just realised I haven't shown my office chair that I've covered 

( in haste )  with an old embroidered tablecloth - also next time !

Just to prove that I haven't just been titivating - here are some mermaid brooches that  I have just sent down to the Sandpiper gallery in Cornwall - it's  beautifully placed looking over the harbour, well worth looking up either in the net or in person if you are down there. In case you are wondering they were made in the old studio but I will confess to doing a spot of painting in the new place, which was easy to clear up - enabling me to still feel all is pristine.

I know it's really fiddly but I just love placing these sequins in just the right spot ... 

Bye for now ... there's just a little more 'arranging' to do !

New Studio !

So sorry to be out of touch for so long but after coming back from holiday I got completely caught up in the excitement of my new workplace ! It arrived on a large lorry in kit form at 6.30 in the morning and five men and lots of cups of tea later ( 8pm ) it was erected !  I'm absolutely thrilled with it and now I'm in the process of moving in - it's all a bit piecemeal as I need shelves and blinds ( it's SO bright - I've gone from a north facing space to south .) The most delightful aspect is that I really feel part of the garden with the birds and bees buzzing around me.

 Brian is also excited about my move as he will be able to spread out and hopefully it will give his work a new lease of life too as he can listen to the blues all day long and have the space to paint ... we can arrange coffee breaks together and harmony should reign ! I look forward to hours of creating with radio 4 for company and just hope it inspires me to do some lovely new work.

These shots of the inside are looking squeaky clean and zen like as very little of my clutter has moved with me at this point - nice to enjoy this white zone for awhile - it won't be lasting long once the fabrics, pincushions and scissors join me. Part of me wishes I was only going to paint and draw here - embroidery is such a fluffy, dusty pastime and I'm always trailing threads behind me wherever I walk but I really can't deny this messy part of my personality and I will post pictures of the filling up process as it happens.

My trip to Thailand was a real feast for the eyes and I shall end with a few pretty pictures from there  - will post again soon as the studio fills up and pictures of mermaid brooches to come too !

Spring Flowers

The magnolia in the front garden is blooming and with Spring in the air I have been going flower mad. Some new flowers fairies have been blossoming in the studio ( below is a close up 

of the 4cm little sprigs .) I shall be bedding them down in little boxes and selling them for £8 each should anyone be interested but I shall be away until 27th April , so please don't contact me until then ! 
They are machine and hand embroidered using velvet and organza and the main flower is

is hand painted , bonded Jap silk.

 
I'm also framing some for the Brighton May Festival - is it really that time of year again ?! 

Following on is a sneak preview of the flower embroideries I've been excited about making. They are a mixture of re-cycled old tablecloths and chair backs ; machine embroidered back together with hand stitching on top . I do feel rather guilty cutting into needlework pieces that somebody once painstakingly worked on , but I am also rescuing them from the obscurity of a bin in Oxfam to live again on somebody's wall. Having said that , it is getting harder to find them as a lot of household linens don't seem to get as far as a charity shop floor as they get taken as rags.  This one  is the largest one , measuring in at 38 x 32 cms. What I particularly like doing is 'drawing' with the needle on the machine and it is also refreshing to work larger and freer after dealing with the fairies !

 

We also had a birthday in the family this week , so will finish up with these pink Bergenia

to keep the flower theme going ( but I really wanted to show off the rock cakes in the foreground !) 

Next post I shall be talking about my brand new studio that is to be erected whilst I'm away in Cornwall  in the corner of the garden . Brian and I shall be able to wave at one another

as he takes over the big studio and I will be happy to work in a bijoux box that I can make my own and listen to Radio 4 in, blissfully uninterrupted !

A Day Trip To London

I'm chuffed to say that two of my paintings have been selected for the Royal Water Colour Society Open Exhibition ( running at Bankside gallery, next to Tate Modern until 15th March ) and so a trip to London was called for last week . The painting below was one of them and it also had a red dot on it when I arrived (  a bit sad to let it go, as it is a favourite. ) Sorry the photos aren't brilliant - it was either a blinding flash on the glass or dull I'm afraid.     

Here it is in situ - the other photo was even worst so I've left it out ( though it was slightly annoying that they didn't hang them together. )

Flushed with success I headed off along the Thames to Borough Market and drank in all the wonderful smells and colours. These mushrooms were rather gorgeous but  daunting to cook .

Clutching some fruit and cheese I headed back home.

A colourful end to a colourful day.