Sitting in the garden this afternoon i started looking at all the different leaves there are. Some smooth, some shiny, some furry, some green, some red and some yellow. I collected an assortment of leaves and took a few photos. I placed them in lines and imagine them as a sort of repeat linear striped pattern.
Although i live on the outskirts of a small town i see a lot of wildlife and in the past week i have been lucky enough to see some deer, an owl and a heron catching fish. I saw the deer and owl whilst driving on a narrow single track country lane, lined with trees and hedgerows and the heron whilst out walking my dog. Unfortunately the heron was too far away to get a good picture and i missed it actually catching and eating a fish. Here is one of the pictures i did take of the heron and some pictures of the cute baby calves i saw with their love heart markings!
Over the last few days I have posted a lot of photographs of bright, fun furniture that I love, although much of it has quite a big price tag. The other day whilst on www.argos.co.uk I came across this 'Floral Print Accent Chair', which is much more affordable than the furniture i have posted previously and the print is still bold and bright. I am not so keen on the style of the chair but I definitely like the print.
As well as this I decided to post a picture of my bedroom chair, which I decorated myself, using magazines, glue and varnish probably when I was about 14 or 15!
I have just been looking through some of my old photos and thought I would write a quick post on the RHS Show Tatton Park 2009 that I went to last year with my mum, as she is passionate about gardening. Flowers have influenced my designs and artwork on numerous occasions over the past few years but the unusual modern pieces of garden furniture, flower arrangements and garden designs are also inspirational to me. Below are a couple of my highlights from 2009.
Melanie Garbutt’s flower arrangements are particularly beautiful. Below are some of the photographs I took of her work:
I love this modern twist on a ‘summer’ house, which I think looks very stylish and would be a prefect addition to a large contemporary garden.
After getting caught up with things at home and working a few odd shifts I became quickly bored of the summer holidays and set about finding ways to occupy myself. Firstly I installed a 30-day trial edition of Photoshop and began experimenting as this is definitely a tool, which I could use to further my design work if I was more familiar with the software. I started with basics and playing around with some old photos to see what I could achieve.
I have now set myself the goal of creating a design for a T-shirt, which I hope to enter in to a current Fenchurch T-shirt competition. It is unlikely to be a fantastic, jaw-dropping creation however it will not only occupy some of my summer but also help me to learn some new techniques I can hopefully use to aid my textile design work next semester.
After installing Photoshop and spending a day glued to my computer screen I decided I needed to get back to doing something that was not just creative but messy and hands on creative! I decided to order wooden MDF gift tags, which I plan to decorate and use when sending gifts to family and friends. I hope it will add a personl touch to their gifts and that they will keep or recycle the tags. Below is a photo of the tags... they are not yet painted, but when they are decorated I will post some photographs!
Whilst having a browse through the Ideal Home website http://www.idealhomemagazine.co.uk/ i had a look at their mood boards here is an example below:
Here are a couple of pictures and a link to the website where I came across some unusual photographic wallpaper today:
I came across Roche Bobois when carrying out research for my ‘Ugly Beautiful’ project. Numerous designers create for Roche Bobois, the items are modern and many of the pieces of furniture are quirky and very colourful. I was particularly inspired by the work of Hans Hopfer. Below are some of the pieces I like:
I came across a book of work by the Brazilian artist Beatriz Milhazes in the library. I love her work, as it is bold, bright and beautiful! Beatriz Milhazes uses a lot of stripes and flowers. Pattern is also prominent in her work. I would definitely recommend her work to anyone passionate about colour as it was of great inspiration to me and quite heavily influenced my large developed pieces for my 'Ugly Beautiful' project.
Below are some images of her work:
I love Squint upholstery and lighting and wish so much I had the money to buy myself something, not that I have a house to put it in either! I love bright colours and bold prints and definitely hope to own one of these unique items in the future.
Below are some images and a link to the website:
Whilst shopping recently with my mum in Keswick, in the Lake District I came across a little jewellery shop selling ear charms, something I have never heard of before. Unlike traditional earrings they wrap around the ear and no piercing is needed. At first it took me a few attempts to manage to twist the ear charm in to position but once I got the hang of it the ear charm is easy and comfortable to wear.
Whilst talking to the lady working in the shop I learnt that there are not many people who make or sell ear charms and her stock was imported from America. Perhaps there is a potential gap in the market for jewellery designers?
Ear charms come in many different shapes and sizes and can be worn on one or both ears. I only have one charm for my left ear, below are a couple of pictures of my ear charm:
After collecting drawings and photographs of flowers and architecture and looking at the work of numerous artists and designers i began to draw everything together and create developed pieces. I used gouache in bold block colours to create a background applied using masking tape stencils and a sponge. I then worked in layers using gouache and applying it with a brush and ruling pen. I also used masking tape and masking fluid to create my pieces. Below are some of my earlier developed pieces unfortunately i haven't yet taken any photographs of my final pieces, i will have to remember to do this and upload some images at a later date.
Here are some of the numerous photographs i took at Edinburgh Royal Botanic Gardens.
Earlier this month I was in the library having a flick through some interior and textile design magazines for inspiration when I came across Susie Vickery’s very detailed embroidery work. I have tried a little bit of mixed media and appliqué this year and have found it quite challenging and have so been inspired by her work. It is in my opinion worth having a look at Susie Vickery’s gallery on her website. The inspiration for her work is something she is clearly very passionate about. http://www.susievickery.com/
Below are some images of her embroidery pieces:
