How are we doing?

Splashy and I have been spending time together this afternoon, moving a few ideas around – in my head, on the table and re-arranging my pin board – a very important activity in helping me to sift and evaluate my ideas.

I devised a back-saving working surface by raising an A1 drawing board up a few inches so I could work standing up which I prefer when using paint brushes and making large movements.

Painted curved trial lines onto several pieces of silk organza – based on the series of drawn lines already on pin board - perhaps it was also influenced by  that flicking tail I could see out of the corner of my eye.

Pegged them out to dry, using the radiator rack over the display board. Looking forward to playing with those tomorrow.

I’ve continued pulling threads in the painted linen scrim strips and am interested in how this way of manipulating the line can create rhythms and movement.

		Moving curves VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Developing the line

As the snow slowly disappears and looks less interesting to call me out doors, I’ve spent the afternoon going through some plan chest drawers (with my studio assistant) to seek out exploratory (and unresolved) work I did a couple of years ago at a drawing workshop with Audrey Walker.

I was pleased to remember that this work involved explorations of ‘line’ that suggests rhythm and movement. I was actually looking at the threads in the edge of a ripped fabric, but a whole weekend of total absorption in this, allowed a bit of a creative burst to develop these lines into bigger ideas.

The activity of looking at these drawings (and some stitched bits) and sorting and placing them together has allowed me to establish interesting connections and perhaps open up a few thinking ‘doors’.

I’ve made one amusing connection between the rhythm of the repeating curves in the drawings and the clutch of curved willow hanging ‘out of the way’ on my pin board – seen in the last image. So they might be brought into play some time soon!

		Pin board thinking VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Putting my best foot forward…

……wearing my old mukluk boots bought for skiing holidays in the ‘80’s, a trek along Park Lane with camera to capture the imprints made by cars and tractors in the snow.  The trivial things in life are good aren’t they.

Hope you’ll be able to enlarge all of these.

		Walking with my mukluks VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Drawings

		Bird flight VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Marks to suggest the swooping flights of flocks of starlings.