kookaburra
Look who called me to my back door last week ... well, about 2 metres away! Not one, but two. They are rather tame which indicates to me that they are used to human contact and/or being fed somewhere.

Two kookas - one in tree on right

beautiful!

 

A magpie turned up to claim territory!

a baby quilt
I haven't made a baby quilt for, ewwwwwwww ... a very long time! This was whipped up for one of Himself's colleagues - the mum, not the baby, lol.  She's not a fussy gal and the baby is a boy, so I hope she likes it.

wavy line piecing and wavy quilting ...

quilting done by Jenny

label on back

Thanks for visiting!

cheers
Cait

new painting
This one was started a couple of weeks ago. Torn pieces of newspaper are arranged randomly over the canvas and outlined with pencil, then the lines are painted.

My plan was to have neutral colours ranging from off-white, to creams, light tan and a splash of orange ... but it had other ideas (just like quilts do)! I'm quite enjoying the direction this one is going with some transparent layers of colour.

Next step will be to paint out some of the lines so they recede or disappear, leaving others to come forward. 

random squares

random squares, closer

I'm enjoying trying the different techniques ... but last class for this term is next week :-(  I will miss it during the 2 week break.

Thanks for visiting!

cheers
Cait

red ship
Finally, it was finished last month. Love this one and will keep it.

Red ship, 46 x 36 cm

postcard swap
The theme for this swap with Australia & NZ Art Quilters was 'photo'. I started with a pic of a quilt I'd made some time ago, printed it onto computer fabric and then stitched horizontal and vertical lines across it all in variegated thread. It looked a bit ... underwhelming.

So I took a photo of the brooch below.

straw brooch photo, backed with cotton silk

fabric pre-stamped with text

8 x 10 cm

 

I'd made the brooch at a workshop with Western Australian artist NALDA SEARLES. The small rock was found on the local beach where I love to walk and search for treasures.

The brooch pic was printed onto computer fabric, but the printer roller lines kept coming up (when they didn't come up before, derrr???!!!) ... so finally, printed the pic onto photo paper, tore around the heart shape and hand stitched onto fabric that was pre-stamped with a text stamp. Then I echo stitched around one side. I made 6 - all slightly different. Done!

They were sent to ACT, Tas, SA, Vic and NSW.

+ one
One of my postcards in the last swap - sunprinting (in earlier post) went AWOL in the mail, so I did some more sunprinting and made this one today to post to the person who missed out. I hope she receives it this time :-D

sunprinted cotton fabric using stylised leaf

 stencil template over hand dyed fabric

and sprayed with inks 

finished postcard

more paintings
This one was a little A5 'play' on black canvas with sgraffito (sp?) technique! You apply the paint, then scratch back into it with a satay stick or similar to add line and texture.

sgraffito 1

 

sgraffito 2

Mostly paint and not so much scratch here!

best last!

Here is the first stage of the painting I've been working on for a couple of weeks.

My inspiration was actually from a pic in a book by PETER ELFES, taken when Lake Eyre in central Australia was flooded.

This painting was created using inks blobbed over the canvas. Scrunched-up plastic wrap is layered over the top. Once the ink is almost dry, the wrap is gently peeled back to reveal the painting.

In this case, although it began as a waterscape - it wanted to be a very definite landscape!

 unearthed beginnings ...

finished
Not sure what to call it - Blue Hills? ;-))) Australians should get this - it was a popular radio series set in a 1950-1970s fictitious country town!

Blue Hills 90 x 60 cm

close, trees and valley

close, trees

My brilliant art teacher CHRIS SKEGGS helped and guided me with the formation and placement of hills and trees, revealing points of interest and 'knocking back' the overpowering sky. It's been a bit like giving birth so far as emotional energy goes and I'm glad - in a good way - that it's finished.

I may not update often, but I hope you enjoy today's additions :D

Thanks for visiting!

cheers
Cait

white caps painting
Nearly there ... perhaps it needs a hint of warm pinkish-orange sunset???

 

my first ever proper painting, with lessons!

 

 

closer

Very happy!

more painting
This one is on A3 size cartridge paper. Again, it's layers of paint and torn paper table napkins, stencils and brush work. I love the teacups and pots and tried to continue the theme with lettering.

The centre leaf arrangement doesn't really work as a focal point ... so this piece may be broken up to become a series of gift cards ;-))) But it's been fun getting here and nothing is ever a waste of time, even if it doesn't work out as planned.

Or in this case, not planned.

Therein could lie the problem, lol!

closer

The piece below is the final sheet taken from leftover paint on the glass. I really like the depth of layers in this one and I think it has potential to become 'something' ...

Thanks for visiting!

Have a healthy and productive Christmas and new year.

cheers
Cait

sun printed postcards sent
Our theme/technique for Australia NZ art quilters' last fabric postcard swap for the year was sun printing.

Here are mine, finally posted (very late) today, ooops! Sorry everyone - but you should get them in time for Christmas ;-)))  Fabrics are cotton or iron-on interfacing, for texture.

I used some Procion dye in a large jar, left over from another project. A variety of leaves, stems and flowers from the garden create the sun printing shapes, although I had some trouble keeping them on the fabric - they kept blowing off, despite being weighed down with pegs and small rocks. The circular stencil worked quite well. I managed to get 2 postcards out of it, so that was a bonus!

I didn't realise how monochromatic mine were until comparing with the ones I received (below). Hmmm, point taken for next time ...

blobby geraniums, stems and petals

stencil top and bottom, with bamboo leaves and

a stem from a shrub (NZ Christmas tree?)

in the centre

sun printed postcards received
The first one to arrive from Wilma is dyed with liquid radiants, salt and shapes to create the sun print. The flower is coloured with crayons.

Jenni S's background fabric was sun printed using metal washers and buttons - flowers and leaves were coloured using Inktense watercolour pencils.

Wilma's sunprint postcard (top)

Jenni's postcard (bottom)

Ann H's arrived next, using solarfast dyes and a stencil. I still haven't worked out exactly how you did this Ann (squinty eyes here) ...!

Ann H's postcard (top)

Evie H's postcard (bottom)

And today my final postcard arrived from Evie H in New Zealand. Evie has stitched the metal circle shapes on top to echo the sun print design - very clever!

I also received a surprise 'extra' from my friend Ann B in NSW - great design idea and also very clever!

 Thank you everyone - I've really enjoyed this swap (now that it's over, lol)!

finished and started
Here is my first finished piece on paper. I added a dash of blueish mauve to give the stone shapes some depth.

I think it's finished, but sometimes it's hard to tell. You only know when you've done too much, lol! So I'll just let it rest for now.

This week I started on canvas with an inspirational pic from a book - will add the pic and book/artist details when I get them.

It's progressing well. To start, I used different paper tissue napkins and a piece of old music sheet to create some background texture. 

 

 

 The layers are coming up, but I need to paint out the foliage a bit more.

 

 

 It's coming along OK ...

 

I need to knock back some of the dark ocean around the lower section - perhaps with some swirly stencilling or something, in a lighter shade, hmmm ...

Also have to straighten the horizon and tweak a few bits at the bottom ... but I'm very happy with it so far. It's nearly there :-D


some jam
Made last week for family, tomorrow. It's yum if I do say so myself.

strawberry jam

Too much creativity is never enough!

cheers
Cait