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Friday, June 29, 2012

Zipped pouch in mixed technique

Remember the mug rugs, I‘ve been making lately? Here another product with the fabric prints that I‘ve made and embellished with free motion stitching – a zipped pouch. It‘s double-sided, as a mug rug, with one side painted  with fabric paints and another one made of soft cotton corduroy and nice carnations‘ appliqué on it. It‘s padded for a soft nice touch and form stability. The pouch is lined with beautiful fabric with paisley pattern in pastel colours. The dimensions are about 22 x 27 cm (8,7 '' x 10,6 '') . Well, the next week it will be in the shop, together with another one, because I‘ve made two of them, being a bit different in print, in size and with a red zipper (this one has a grey one). I still have a couple of prints left, so maybe I‘ll be making a couple more mug rugs next week for my shop.
Have a enjoyable weekend!

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Hand printed cards

Today I'm gona show you my new hand printed cards. I‘m quite pleased how they turned out, after LOTS of trials as to final cut, paper cut, placement on carton etc… I‘m done! And very happy!
I‘ve taken the recycled carton for cardboard in nice soft pastel colours, with that rough warm surface. I printed on banana paper - I have chosen it because of its foliage and straw chips, with very nice contrast surface texture being smooth, but making the linocut lines appear as if they were textured, bristly strokes of a brush. Well, I LOVE textured paper. 
These cards have very nice rough and soft touch, they are matt and more kind of low-key, I think they reflect a lot about who I am and what I like. And I love them!
They are going straight forward in my shop, as soon as I have it opened.  The official launch will take place next week.
So if you need a handmade card, for maybe not any particular occasion at all, but just to say what you‘d like to say to someone special in your life to make someone smile and remind of, well, simple joys of life, for example, take one of the „Summer garden“ cards! You can purchase them individually or as a set of four – they are carefully matched together and compose a perfect summer garden. They would tolerate being customized, like coloured by a child, embellished and reconstructed – they have enough empty space to be filled with any paper scraps, doodles, lettering, journaling etc. They are very easy-to-work-on, since the surface is not that glossy and perfect white.

I'm back drawing and watercolouring, it's the first sunny day of the whole week, that's why I'll be coming back with magenta carnations. Stay tuned!

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Hand-printed cards - work in process

Today I‘m happy to show you another project, that has been maturing for quite a while, and it's about making hand-printed cards. I‘ve tried it a couple of times once in a while, making sketches, carving lino, printing trial proofs. As much as I love printing and lino carving, it took me some time to find out the way to match my ideas to the particularities of the material. 
I also like that it can be printed onto a rough textured surface making each print one-of-a-kind. The linocut lines get a bit softer, uneven, vibrant and not that rigid - not quite the result linocut is known for, but what I personally appreciate and strive for.
Recently I‘ve found a theme, that I could put into four little sketches – it‘s about a girl, who plays in a garden and it became a set of four summer cards. My inspiration came from my little girl being all the time outside. Here my peek preview of what happens on my studio table right now and what should end up becoming a set of hand-printed cards. 
Have a nice day!

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Exploring forms and surface

Recently on my way back home from the public library as I have been taking some pictures of wild flowers, I‘ve suddenly come across another interesting object to explore – the shade forms – so simple and captivating. Interesting, that this third photo collage (after „Finland‘s beauties“ and „Exploring colour“) speaks one more time about revealing the beauty of subjects being quite simple at the first sight, and not that eye-catching – is it what I prefer focusing on? Well, maybe that‘s the conclusion. This time I‘m pinning here my inspiration board from a huge moss stone with shade forms – it‘s about filling the surface with simple structures such as moss and cracks, and only a few neutral colours, with shade forms being a perfectly matching counterpart. It‘s about creating interesting patterns,where all the elements are balanced and standing out at the same time.

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Fabric prints and free motion stitching

Today I'm gonna show you my recent project: the floral ornament studies paired with printed backgrounds have brought results sooner as I‘ve expected: I‘ve started making the mug rugs with the prints and am planning making some pouches in the next days.
Well, I‘m quite happy how these rugs turned out: hand printed/stenciled/doodled with fabric paint, decorated with free motion stiching and appliqué. 
This one is slightly padded for more stability and nice grip. It's double-sided –the first face being very messy and colourful, machine stiched, with appliqué, and hand embroidered, another face being more tempered – I‘ve taken some soft cotton corduroy and put a simple nice appliqué of a „neilikka“ (finnish for carnations) on it.
The next necessary step is all about online shop opening - I'll keep you posted.
Have a nice day!

Friday, June 22, 2012

New drawings - white dahlias

As much as I thank all of you for coming and reading, writing me emails, asking and encouraging, and appreciating my works, I‘m also concerned about trying to get better. It‘s been a month since I started the blog and it‘s been challenging and exciting, and inspiring being out there. And I‘ve done a lot of work since then. Each time I work on a project, I want to create a piece where I did my best, making almost always a serie of pieces, because that‘s how I can put there a story which I find important to tell. I was trained to always do my best, and being a perfectionist means to take time and to remake. The same as for my english skills – I‘m not a native speaker, and writing in english is still a bit of challenge for me, I‘m much more comfortable with other languages, such as german, french, russian. Well, I do love challenges, that‘s why I‘m here on blogosphere to share my creative life with you. In english. Last days I was also busy re-writing some of my early posts – that‘s what perfectionists do, right? I do not actually have that much time, but I had to find it anyway, because that perfectionist in me has redrilled with kind of: „not that good, you know!?“ Yes, I knew. I‘ve remade. Now both of us are reconciled again.
Well, here come also some recent drawings – white dahlias, as promised. A couple more of them here on Flickr.
I‘ve also finished the colouring book with a story about a bird, but kind of feeling that something is missing there (Perfectionist revisited!). Right now I‘m working on finishing my patch-art-works. Stay tuned, they are supposed to be here on weekend. That‘s the plan!

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Floral ornaments with fabric

This time I'd like to show you  what I‘ve planned to do after having finished these ink drawings. It was all question of material choice – I knew, I wanted it alsmost surely made of fabric. Bold. Contrast. Colourful. Something that I'm not used to doing, but absolutely wanted to give a try. And it was worth it! Here is my way to reinterpret all the gorgeous embroideries, patterns and woodcuts I‘ve seen in Budapest. I've also printed/stenciled some backgrounds this early morning. Otherweise the ornamets might be simply put on a piece of simple natural unbleached linen, though linen is tricky to use for appliqué technique. Well, here are some combinations that I‘m pretty satisfied with – it could definitely become a set of placemats or decorate a pouch – we‘ll see this in one of the next posts. With some free motion messy stiching around it would be just what I‘ve looked for. I‘ll keep you posted.
Have a nice day!

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

New flower drawings - BUTTERCUPS

Here we are with buttercups drawings, that I‘ve talked about recently. I had some trouble painting them, till I got a new aquarell colour – Lasurgelb from Schmincke – well, that‘s a gorgeous colour,– translucent, kind of really sunny, with that nice honey shade I‘ve been missing for those floral species. Though I‘m quiet resistive towards purchasing more colours as a basic palette needs. That‘s my fifth yellow, can you imagine? Well, have to draw more buttercups to justify the price I paid here for the tiny colour cup. 
A couple more of them here.

The next to come will be white dahlias, that I brought last week from the market. Stay tuned!

Have a nice day!

Monday, June 18, 2012

Exploring colour

This sunny morning as my girl was busy sand castle building, my eye was suddenly caught by the play of green foliage in the wind and the way it sparkled in the sun. That‘s what this post is about – about one of the most beatiful and powerful, and rich colours ever, going from that translucent sparkling yellow-green to deep opaque black green. The colour of nature and life renaissance.The one which grace and richness are most difficult to capture while painting – this post is about celebrating the green which is the epitome of nature's splendour – that background-staying, quiet and omnipresent connector between all the colours, where they all naturally take place, being embedded, supported and emphasized. Well, it makes me think, that the beauty may manifest itself speaking gently, and being economical of means.
Have a nice day!


Saturday, June 16, 2012

Inspiration has sometimes weird ways to come

Today I‘d like to focus on weird ways of getting inspiration and tell you a story:
FIRST: I‘ve printed my fabrics in shades of green-blue, cut them in pieces and made some arrangements, which did not make me that satisfied. Something was missing. I made like thousands of fabric matches and it did not work. I did not force and let them lay for a couple of days. I thought like, what was I making them for, if it doesn‘t work?… Big dissappointment, inspiration has dumped me!
SECOND: I‘ve bought flowers – in bright magenta and deep ultramarine blue, almost violet – to make watercoloured drawings this week. Instead that I was drawing, well,  buttercups – they are ALL around and more inspiring right at the moment. I thought like, what was I spent my money on, if I have flowers to draw free of charge?…. Kind of disappointment and pricks of conscience like: why don't I do, what I'd have to and planned to do? 

THIRD: Recently I was fabric shopping at Marimekko to sew a summer dress for my little girl, as suddenly she asked me to buy a certain piece of fabric as a table cloth. I agreed, although the colour combo of that fabric was kind of „wow, weird – red, magenta, violet, blue, dirty green“, but she may have just other preferences, have to accept that. „Are you sure you want THAT fabric?“ – „YES, mummy, PLEASE“. I thought, well, I‘ve paid 20 euros for a piece of fabric I did not like so much, herrje, what for?… Slight disappointment, I'm not at all in the mood of using it – zero inspiration.

On the next day my little girl made a scarf with the piece, then a table cloth, I watched her playing with the strange fabric, and all of a sudden it ALL made sense and got clear: the greeny prints, the bright magenta, the ultramarine blue-violet of my new flowers– the inspiration has come, because the strange fabric has puzzled it all together, - weird, isn‘t it? 
Well, that‘s the message I‘m trying to convey:

#1 Accept strange and weird inputs, be attentive and on the alert! Welcome the new options, step out of your comfort zone - see #2!

#2 There is nothing with no purpose – trust your instincts and go for what you like, even if it does not make any obvious sence. If it still makes no sense after it‘s got or done, or lost sense (kind of what for did I do it?) see #3.

#3 If it‘s not working, switch off, continue later, and be patient – the 101st time could be brilliant, but you have to have it tried 100 times before you get there – keep on working anyway and go out do some research for #1.

Well, thank you a lot for your patience for reading it all, I appreciate that!

May inspiration be gentle with you, if it's not, struggle and don't give up! Stay tuned, I'm preparing my patch-art-work coming soon.

Friday, June 15, 2012

Teddy bear #3

Here the 3rd one – with more photos on Flickr. Available for adoption as well. It has already found its new home.


Teddy bear #2

This time it‘s about bears – I‘ve almost finished them about a couple of weeks before, and should have shown them earlier. Well, here they are – fully knitted and stuffed with polyester filling, fully jointed, with needle-felted nose. I‘m still experimenting with ears position, eye finishing, as you see. They can be adopted - FOR SALE.  I do not have a online shop yet, that‘s why I‘m simply announcing this here at the moment. Email me, if you are interested.
More photos here...
Have a nice day!

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

A bit more as a simple colouring book

This weekend I‘ve sponaneously started a colouring book for my little girl. I have to say, I‘ve already tried this a couple of times before, but failed and stopped, and thrown away. This time, when my little girl starts asking and thinking, and it's getting fun, like really fun, I have an ambion to make a serie of pictures with some, well, philosophic content, but in light version – if you have a 3-year old and like billions of why‘s a day, you know what I mean.
Like, why I cannot be a bird? In fact, why not?
I wanted it to be a book with a story. Colouring book, just for the record, I'm not gonna get too ambitious too fast! And that she can paint on it. Well, this time I‘m definetely determined to pursuit and stick to it. As it came out, it became a kind of story about a bird, who carries its aspirations to excess and who gets it under control with assistance of a little fish. Well, anyway, this would be a story, I‘d like to tell to my little girl, I‘m finishing the last sketches, putting ink on it, and done. I hope, anyway!
Have a nice day!

Monday, June 11, 2012

Finland's beauties

This time I‘m doing kind of inspiration board – just pinning the pictures, I‘ve taken this weekend while walking. This time it is about subtle beauty of Finland – about shades of white, shades of green, shades of blue. I experiment with focus on patterns in close-ups, camaïeu of green-bleu in overviews, exploring the alternation of colour harmony.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Trust your sense of beauty - Affirmation #2

That‘s the second one, and it took me awhile to just figure out, what matches to so many thoughts and pack it into a couple of simple words. I wanted it to focus on importance of contemplating, of observing, of considering the infinite variety of shapes and colours in the Nature, going out, watching, getting inspired. To learn, to take time. Be patient, anyway.

A whole bunch of thoughts, too long to put in a simple drawing. I was searching for a short phrase, being neither critical nor that instructional, kind of what would be meaningful and important to myself at the moment – that‘s why it came out about being confident of our choises, learn to develop the sense of beauty.

About accepting, that we develop that sense with an important amount of work, that‘s why I focus on learning. Learning as observing, assimilating - yes. But also learning to put back the influences, being on our own, taking risks, when it comes to confronting the blank sheet of paper.

Trust in what we think is important to us to express and to tell, to listen to our own heart and tell our story, because each of us has a special story to tell, we only need to learn to hear its voice, and that what I call the sense of beauty.

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Fuchsia - new drawings

Last days I was actually busy fabric printing, so it was kind of therapy to me to have to put down all the sprays and paint, and stencils and to switch off from all that messy action in my studio and just enjoy the simple beauty right in front of me – the newcomer at our garden – fuchsias. I still hesitate about if I‘m quite pleased with how it came out – I‘ve been missing a bit more of green shades while painting, that‘s why I‘ve reinforced them here and there.

More pictures here:

Well, that‘s done, I go back to fabric printing and working on futher ink drawings for my next affirmation – it‘s already done, but the sentence I was working on, failed and I don‘t like it anymore. It‘s about focusing on simple things, appreciating the moment and learnig from the nature. If I‘m lucky enough, I‘ll get it done till tomorrow.
Have a relaxing day!

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Paint, crayons, stencils and journaling on fabric

I‘ve actually never been able to produce any kind of abstract art – in these hand painted fabric pieces  either. I use a lot of repetition, elements, that I just randomly place all over the space, I use ornaments, I use floral and any other drawings. Does it come out abstract? I don‘t think so. I think more of collage – of all I‘ve seen, drawn, thought of recently. Anyway, it‘s a „Vorarbeit“ (I love german language, yes I do, it has lots of words like this – shot, precise, elegant and meaningfull in each part and as a whole term). Now I‘m actually thinking about making some kind of stuff with it – it could become a pouch, tote bag, notebook cover and I‘d like that it comes along with something with another structure – embroidery, textile collage - to create a bit more of haptic contrast. Well, that‘s the focus for the next days to come.
It‘s sunny again outside, and I‘m drawing fuchsias – I‘ll post them about this weekend.
Have a nice day!

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Folksy arts inspired sketches

Well, I could have prepared them sooner as I thought I would do it. Anyway, these are sketches to, well, many things, which I think I‘d be able and have time to do. First of all, I‘ll scale them up, copy and let my little girl colour them, cut and collage, and reconstruct. I‘d like to explore them in appliqué technique, as well as use them in my mixed media textile artworks – stay tuned.

Strawberry - new drawings

Here are my current drawings, I hope, I‘ll be able to make some more, because these strawberries with rose flowers are just so awesome, but right now the light is not that much challenging as I would like it to be – it‘s cloudy and a bit raining these days, and cold as well. I‘m looking forward to weather changing to pursuit my flower serie outside. Inside it is all about ink drawings with strong influences of what I‘ve recently seen in Budapest – embroidery, floral folksy motives, clear shapes, bold colours – that‘s pretty much out of my comfort zone, but I really want to explore it – stay tuned, I will post them soon.
Have a sunny day!