springtime in the studio

Fresh Scilly Narcissi.

pictures from the studio

It's been a while since I've shared anything so I thought I would ease myself gently back into the swing of things with a few photos of the studio from the month so far. All have a nice bright and colourful feel to them, roll on Spring! 

Easter cards

On the table

Pencil Pot

ramblings

Yesterday I spent an arty day with friends, we took a circular walk stopping to draw, take photos, notice the small details that sometimes pass you by as we go about our busy lives. It was absolute bliss!
 

Views from gate posts. Just the glimps of water over the tree tops.

 Sketching in my wellies, we were prepared for the weather!

Noticing the flora and fauna in Cornish hedges!

Artistically framed wildlife!

Fantastic colours, textures and details.

being more artful

Now here's the thing, display as inspiration.

It may come across as procrastination, but i'm sure arranging your sewing equipment, tools of the trade, threads, needles, pins and scissors and especially fabrics in an aesthetically pleasing manner can be defined as productive. I do alot of this, my fabrics are arranged by colour and pattern. To all scorning friends or spouses, better or worse halves, the time spent organising your stash of crafting parafinalia should only ever be seen as useful. How else are you to find that delighted reel of raspberry thread if it's not placed seductively next to the lime green spool of silk. Or the exquisitely made fabric pinking shears if they do not sit well in the old wooden  tray that you rescued from the antique shop last week giving it new life and a new purpose?


In reality our lives are less like Country Living interiors and more like crazy turbulent happenings, with friends, family, children and partners all taking their bit. If we have time to do anything that helps us feel creative, if it's only appreciating other's artfully arranged equipment even better, I feel better just breathing in the bunch of blooming threads above. If we can do just a little bit of tidying each day ourselves then we feel as if we've made real progress!

In my reality things looks like this:

 
I definately could do better here in the display as inspiration stakes. I hope this little plastic tray of threads tells you that i'm busy doing other things, hopefully other creative things, than to arrange them nicely. Either way i'm inspired by the colours and their potential, one day i'll pick them up to use, but for now it's time to log back into Pinterest and breathe deeply in other folks artful arrangements!

Happy Stitching
Cat x

packed full

Stuffed brown paper hearts.

Cut two identical hearts from brown packaging paper (these are about 6 inches or 15 cm across), stamp a message on the front of one heart. Place both hearts together, and stitch with the sewing machine 1/2 cm from the edge all the way around leaving a gap at the bottom so you are able to fill the heart with the goodies of your choice, why not pop in a little lovely message too. Finish stitching and send to the recipient of your choice!

Viola! A lovely and quick valentine's gift. Vary the shape for a Birthday or Christmas surprise!

other days elsewhere

A perfect sunday morning? Croissants and coffee, even better if we were in Paris.

motivation for the rest of february

working on inspiration

Its a month to the day since I posted last and I have felt blogging guilt for not doing so. I have wanted to post sooner but as you know other stuff happens like life, family, friends and other art commitments. Plus I still haven't got into the swing of writing everyday, something that I hope will develop over time.

I also don't want to post for posting-sake, i'd like to think that however small each entry on my blog it has its merit and reason for being there.

I am working on something though. It's a collection and I'd like to get outside and take some more pictures. Photograph other things that don't just live in my studio (not the creepy crawly kind), although I do have a rather large spider behind the plan chest. He's so big I think I might have to give him a name.

Until after the weekend.

Cx

joy of the everyday

I'm feeling freshly motivated and joyful for the small inconsequential things that we encounter each day. Things like...

Freshly baked victoria sponge cake,

New sketchbooks,

Lawns,

Table linen,

Coconut rice,

Bank holiday weekends,

Sparkly light shining through leaves,

Sea charts,

Old photographs,

Egg cups,

Spoons.

Friends are brilliant.

Especially those who love to write letters. Four such wonderful letters arrived all together here at the studio.

I wanted to share how goregous they all looked once i'd opened them up. (I even love their envelopes).


This handmade card was made by my very talented friend Fiona. Her cards are wonderful and I have a treasured collection.


Sometimes things get a little tough and it was at one of these moments that these dropped through my post box. Reassuring words and packets of postive messages the timing was perfect. The amount of thought and care that goes into writing a good letter cannot be appreciated enough.

They went straight up on my pin board as they made me so happy.

Thank you x

from the sketchbook

This week i've been keeping it small. Time just seems to fly past and i'm always trying to find ways to capture the moments, minutes and ideas that might just make the basis for a great piece of work.

It's also been ages since I posted any of my sketchbok pages and thought it would be nice to share some today.


The pages are taken from my pocket sized notebook (3 1/2 inches x 5 1/2 inches) an old molskine diary that I chopped up once it became out-of-date. Bound a selection of new pages of my favorite watercolour paper (300gms rough) and re-housed them in the old covers of the molskine diary.
I found this way of recycling and reusing notebooks to be a really satisfactory way of guaranteeing the perfect sketchbook. They feel and sit perfectly in my hands and fit like a dream into their own pocket inside my handbag.

I always label my notebooks and sketchbooks clearly, I would hate to loose one. So each one has my name, address and number in the front. I always date them too, I love knowing when I strted one and when I finish it. They sometimes live with me for so long, they become best friends and witnesses to everything, some of it will inevitably end up in their pages.


Lists, i'm forever writing them! I find they help make sense of everything that i've got to do and i'm able to prioritise work and ideas.


Oh! The wonderful Japanese MT tape, an incredible range of multi coloured and decorated masking tape. Looking at the little rolls together in their box just makes me happy! I think if you just google that, a list of suppliers in your country should appear. It took me ages to find a UK supplier and I know there are several now.


Doodles: a very important part my sketchbooks, I'm forever just jotting down ideas and pictures, they don't have to be wonderful or beautiful, just help me to remember what tickled my fancy or caught my eye!

If you have any questions or suggestions to help capture those moments then please feel free to email or post below.

Happy Sketching,

Cat x

textile illustration workshop at cowslip

Towards Launceston and the castle.

This weekend I had the pleasure of teaching a workshop at Cowslip workshops in Launceston, Cornwall. Set a little outside the town Cowslip's views back across the valley are stunning and I always find lots of new things to inspire me. From the fanstastic flavours of soup served in the organic cafe or the fabulous selection fabrics available from the shop it is always a delight to come back time and time again.



Everywhere you look there is something to attract your attention, from teapots and old boots used as plant pots to small white bird boxes hung from beams and branches.

Cowslip Quilt (c) Jo Colwill

This weekend's students were fabulous and I always feel that it's a real pleasure and privilage to lead a workshop here. It's a joy to meet such lovely people who all share a passion for textiles and fabric.

I definately recommend a visit!

splish splash

Some nice cheerful colour for January.

Ooh there's something so satisfying about new painting materials, brushes, paper, paints. It's been nice to sit down and splosh paint about. I've been really drawn to bright colours this week, perhaps that's all to do with the short days of winter and craving a bit of yellow sun!




I've been really inspired by some good old colourful paintings too, above is one of the big disk paintings of Patrick Heron, (Forteen Discs 1963). As well as the gorgeous birds of Artist Barbara Karn (see yesterday's post).

Roll on longer days and spring!

all the lights

It's the twelfth day of Christmas and all the decorations have come down and have been packed away in boxes for another year. This also includes some of my fairy lights, but I cannot relinquish them all.
I came across these gorgeous photos of some lights on the very talented Irene Suchocki blog, eye poetry. Her photographs capture the simple beauty of strings of small white lights so eloquently, and far better than my words ever could. So here's a new year's cheer to all things enchanting, and to strings of little fairy lights left up all over the world for yet another year!

yummy things

I've recently bought the most fantastic double sided wrapping paper from a gem of a local gift shop Gift, I've subsequently had a look at the company's website and it's full of truely scrumptious things. Check their blog out here: House Doctor. I can't wait to use the wrapping paper for friends and family's presents this year, I always love wrapping presents up as much as I love making or buying the gift itself.

beautiful buttons

I am just so in love with these gorgeous reindeer buttons from Australia. They are lazer cut and carefully hand painted, hand painted! They are so small, the details on them are minute I totally admire the skill and the patience of the person who made these fantastic creatures. What's more there is a whole range of wonderful buttons to adorn your craft projects with from birds and bees to houses and dovecotes.
These little beauties came from a local craft shop, Coast and Country Crafts and Quilts. But i'm sure you can find them on the web. I'll keep you posted when I do!
I'm not sure what i'm going to do with them yet, probably prop them up on my table and look at them adoringly for a few weeks until I decide.

getting the hang of things

Since breaking my wrist for the second time this summer I've tried to be good and keep a left-handed only sketchbook endeavouring to do little creative 'somethings' each and every day.

However I have been slack at keeping up with it. I have found it hard at times not being able to do the things I would normally do with my right hand (mark making that would be second nature), and although this leads to interesting and exciting work, really there is no excuse for not doing something!

I have started another tiny sketchbook, a spiral bound 4x4inch 'pink pig', in which i've tried to capture bits and pieces from our French holiday.


Mimosa August 2010 (c)C.Rowe

I've started here with a little sepia pen illustration of the house we stayed in and the dates of our holiday. It needs colour now and i'll probably have to refer to my photographs, of which I took lots so that should be straight forward.


I have also made lots of little collages from the pictures I took, postcards collected and other bits and pieces saved. It's a more achievable form of art work at the moment and I get a lovely sense of accomplishment in creating smaller pages. I just loved the colour this outhouse door was painted, just so French and elegant in a shabby chic kind of way. The whole house was scrumptious and very inspiring to stay in. I felt very fortunate and it was just a shame not to have made many drawings or paintings out there.

Festival of Quilts

A selection of the purchases I made at the Festival of Quilts this week. What a show and wow so many wonderful new traders to buy fabrics, threads, buttons, trims and work from. I've come back brimming full of ideas and new projects.... must finish off some of the half started/half completed quilts first!

le jardin

Just a few photographs taken today in the garden. It never fails to inspire, sculptural, fresh, tactile and it has the most stunning palette of colours, I adore it.


The onions have gone to seed.



Sweet peas and honeysuckle.



Poppy heads and artichokes.