The good people at Etsy's Dark Side have featured my wire-wrapped spider pendant 'Boris' on their MySpace blog!
Boris is 'Item of the Day' today, which is fab, and has lifted me out of my post-Christmas moop somewhat. I have no reason to be in a moop really - I have things to look forward to, such as seeing family over the coming days. My man and I are also going to see the fabulous John Barrowman in panto next Tuesday. We saw him in Aladdin last year, which was great, and can't wait to see him in Robin Hood :D
Inspired by this blog entry by the fabulous Lupin, I've created some paper snowflake garlands:
Ever the reuser of things, I've cut them from old envelopes, and the result is quite pleasing. I've deliberately not used completely blank pieces of paper, allowing there to be a little pattern on some of the snowflakes. For example, many envelopes have a blue pattern on the inside, which gives a lovely icy effect. Things such as postmarks give interesting detail too. I've woven white thread through the holes in the snowflakes, making them into a garland and allowing them to be hung. You could make lots of them so they form a curtain like Lupin's. I may well do just that too :)
My Pink Fuzzy Bat has been reduced! No, it hasn’t shrunk (noes!) – its price is just smaller. Hurrah! This gothic yet contemporary pendant is made from silver-plated wire, a pink felt bead, and pink leather-like cord. I’ve reduced it from $30 to $20. Click below for the listing:
My other Fuzzy Bats have not been reduced, but they are still just as fabulous. Each one has been made from silver wire, leather cord and a felt bead. Click the individual images for each listing:
All Fuzzy Bats come shipped in a little recycled box, as do all my necklaces.
Your item can also be gift-wrapped and shipped straight to your intended recipient, if it is a present. Just let me know. :)
In other news, my parents very kindly took some of my work to a little charity table-top sale (my Dad is the Treasurer for a charity called Ebrook, which helps people who have learning difficulties) for me, and sold £35 worth of necklaces. Thanks folks :D
There was a park I used to walk home through as a student in Stoke-on-Trent. It was a longer walk than just going up the road, but it was a lot more peaceful. I would sketch, collect twigs and take photos there, it was a great source of inspiration. A few weeks ago, I was looking through some of those old photos and did some work in my art journal about them:
I've recently painted an artwork based on the second of those sketchbook pieces. It's called Hanley Park and depicts trees, and the dark ground from which they grow, silhouetted against a pale sky:
Yes, I know I wrote the original 'Chaos' post in June (see it here), but the tidying of the studio is still a work in progress. I have been worryingly tidy/clean around the house this weekend though, prompting my long-suffering boyfriend to say "Who are you and what have you done with Jen?". Various surfaces (including tops of wardrobes and such) have been tidied and dusted to make room for copious amounts of storage and festive paraphernalia. I have also rearranged my studio storage, putting my paintings in a space rather more accessible than the previous stacked boxes on top of shelves arrangement. (I am yet to have a sale in my shop of paintings, so this need for organisation of paintings is purely theoretical. It's good to be prepared, nonetheless.) There's also a lot more floor space in which to manoeuvre now, which is good, as I am rather clumsy.
No, you can't see photos of the relative tidiness, it's not quite that nice yet. So here is a photo of our Christmas tree instead:
I've been struck with a desire to paint toadstools today. It's all DW's fault. Yes, the fabulous Devil's Wallpaper is having a closing down sale, which led to me lusting after this piece, of which I already have a badge version:
I love the fact that the inspiration came from actual conjoined mushrooms. As DW says: "I found some Siamese mushrooms at the supermarket, so I naturally took them home to draw them. Then I realised that they made a heart shape... and what would be even better would be fly agaric mushrooms, because then they would make a love heart. So that's what I did." Aww!
I've loved toadstools since I was a kid - they always reminded me of fairies and such. I have a little collection of toadstool things dotted around the house:
This collection includes the Toadstool Footstool, as previously blogged about here. It sits under my chair in my studio, which is very handy as, being short, my feet don't touch the floor.
That footstool was created by EsmeArt for the UK Etsy Challenge, as was this wee thing:
I loved what everyone made for that mushroom challenge, and that has kicked off my recent love for shrooms. And seeing DW's Mushrooms of Love today has inspired a little sprinkling of shrooms in my art journal:
And, in case you wondered where the name of this post came from, watch this:
A few days ago I took inspiration from an unlikely source - a Wallace & Gromit poster on my wall.
Much as I love them, they've never inspired me to paint before, but looking at the background of that image I had an idea.
I'd been looking for something different to paint, something other than the trees and sunsets. So this simple landscape was a solution to that.
It's not a huge departure from my usual style, but it's something a little different. And it's inspired quite a few works in progress.
As has this sketchbook piece, painted a few days before, which was also an attempt to do something different (this attempt to do something different still ended up in painting trees though, lol).
I'm now newly inspired to paint, after a bit of a dry spell. Which is no bad thing.
