"I begin with an idea ... and then it becomes something else"
~ Picasso

Tuesday 1 February 2011

weather inspired

Oh gosh! Time just flew away with me and I have so much to share that I almost don't know where to start! I have been very busy working on my Brooklyn Sketchbook in the early part of January, creating new hearts and working on textured photography and mosaics

I cheered myself up by lighting little candles and working on some rainy and icy hearts and mosaics. Here is a selection of work with a winter theme as we say goodbye to January

Dreamy January
Things I Love Thursday - dreamy thoughts, favourite things, winter light, natural colours, fine art, textiles, berries, snow, winter scenes, birdies, trees, Cathy's dolls, paper chains, stars and heartwarming treats

1. Standing books 2. Eruption 3. Dans l attente des vendanges tardives 4. The pink dress 5. altered silver cup ornament 6. Paper dolls 7. Winterscape 8. Starling in the snow 9. 220.365 10. Breathe 11. Alone 12. Decorating13. Still waters 14. ~ details 15. Tis the season to hold certain things dear 16. DSC_0359

The starling in the snow (above) inspired another mosaic with more starlings and a rainy theme. If I'm cosy indoors then I really like rain and raindrops on windows and sploshes in puddles and the comforting sound of rain on rooftops. This is another one I made for TILT (flickr group)

Things I love Thursday - Rain drops, rainy days and rain on windows, droplets on branches, puddles, reflections in water, cheeky starlings and shiny stars

1. Winter is still here 2. Silver edged stars 3. S-fall for kids 4. As a star in the night 5. Starling and dots 6. Starling looking at the stars 7. Reflect 8. It rained softly at Cefn Onn 9. Another rainy day 10. Raindrops 11. *узоры* 12. Starling 13. Crow bundle

Then I remembered some photos of starlings I took at Porthgwidden cafe (Porthgwidden beach, St. Ives) when I met up with blog friend Julie in 2009. You can just make out St. Ives bay and the lighthouse at Godrevy in the background

These cheeky birdies helped clear the table of crumbs

They seemed to like blueberry muffins

too many cake crumbs perhaps ...

chubby fluffy

Our January weather was bright but bitterly cold at times. On Friday it was cold enough to snow. I had to go into St. Ives to the post office and it was the coldest I have ever known it. I captured these freezing hydrangea seed heads in The Warren and added a snow texture by Visualogist (flickr)

Another St. Ives shot with texture from djpettitt
incorporating lace and scrim

More weather inspired photography

This is one of my favourite photos of St. Ives to which
I added a gorgeous winter texture by Clive Sax and PSE tools
to create a moody stormy harbour scene with a painterly look

The same texture was applied to the one below but a different look
achieved with PSE for a misty ethereal treatment

In the last post I showed some beautiful fabrics in ice blue tones, lace, a snowflake garland and a snowflake charm sent to me by Sharon, a sketchbook friend from Rhode Island

I wanted to make a gift to Sharon of one of my textile hearts
I chose ice blue and silver with a snowflake theme for her

I used my favourite silks and distressed chiffons/melted plastics
I melted chiffon snowflakes too so that they had an icy look

The key to this look is lots of layering
and everything is hand stitched

I added text with melted plastic over the top to resemble ice
It really does reflect the light like icy water

when winter came
To finish I added crystal icicle danglies in clear and ice blue

This is the finished heart

I was very pleased with the way this one turned out and I had some lovely encouraging comments about it on flickr (thank you). I do hope Sharon likes it!

Hope you have a good week ahead. I'm not done yet! I have another post with more work coming very soon, a long long blog post with lots of photos of my Brooklyn sketchbook (for anyone who may be interested in that kind of thing) and a post on Love Stitching Red too. I have also photographed the whole of the rest of my pebble sketchbook so there will be a few new posts on pebbles, rocks and contours coming sometime soon x

Best wishes
Carolyn x

28 comments:

Gina said...

Beautiful pictures and I love that icy heart Carolyn

Deborah said...

Beautiful, almost mystical photos! I love the heart!

Becca said...

Oh! I just love your rainy weather photos and mosaics, and that heart you made for your friend is stunning!

gunnelsvensson said...

Wonderful blogpost Carolyn. I really like your mosaics and your textures photos are so Beatiful. And I love this iceblue heart!

Caterina Giglio said...

just beautiful Carolyn thanks for the beauty break! xo

Silke Scheller said...

Dear Carolyn,
you are sooooo busy!
Your "Dreamy January" images let me feel the winter. Not cold and hoping for its end, but stroking my soul and topped by the "when winter came" heart!
Thank you for that!

ArtPropelled said...

The misty ethereal look does it for me. Beautiful photos Carolyn!

K J D said...

Carolyn what a wonderfully warming post.

I love everything (I know I say this everytime!) - I especially love the chubby fluffy starling! What a sweetie :)

Your blue icy textile heart is AMAZING.

Love Karenx

Anonymous said...

Lovely to have you back. I have missed your posts and I can see you have been a busy lady! Beautiful things on your post. Love the mosaics and especially like the heart and the starling pictures too. Am going back for another read through!
Penny

Johoanna Robson said...

Your photos are beautiful. And that heart is simply gorgeous. I love hearts and have started making more of them myself.

Anonymous said...

Spectacular blues in your heart. Blue is so winter for me. Wonderful post with so much beauty to see. Thanks for your ever careful eye. xox Corrine

Caroline said...

Super photos- my favourite being the St Ives misty effect. Pretty heart with interesting treatments!

Robin Olsen said...

A perfect winter heart--it couldn't be prettier.

Sharon W. said...

Sleety snow on my window woke me at five am, so I settled with tea for a blogbrowse. Oh, Carolyn, your blog entries are certainly worth waiting for, and this one is superbly special because that heart--that beauteous heart of winter--is going to be MINE, already IS mine. I wander to other blogs and then am pulled back to gaze at it! I am impatient to touch its layers and study its stitches....I am grateful for your generosity, and especially so knowing what inroads a project such as this can make in your work schedule. Yes, Sharon likes it--loves it--will treasure it. A first of many thanks!!

cardinal arts said...

such beautiful photos! thank you for that
I love all the "dots" on the starlings
and the winter heart is just so crystally and shimmery and clear - lucky Sharon!!

Emma said...

Absolutely beautiful, all of it. Lucky Sharon & I love those starlings!

Chrissie said...

Oh can't wait for long long posts about the Brookly and pebble sketchbooks!
The icy blue heart is just gorgeous.

CAROLYN SAXBY said...

Thank you so much for your lovely kind comments. I am hoping to spend time at the weekend visiting everyone. So many lovely blogs to catch up with ♥

jan said...

Just beautiful, best wishes Jan :~)

Shoshi said...

Oooh Carolyn, just delectable! I adore your colours, the reflections in the puddles in the rain, those cheeky starlings... I love what you are doing with photo manipulation too, and that heart is so beautiful - the icy effect you have created is perfect!

I went to a craft show at Westpoint, Exeter last week and picked up some mixed media materials - I'm keen to experiment with Tyvek and do lots more meltings!

Thanks for being such an inspiration to us all. It's always such a treat to visit your blog.

JP said...

the photos are just fantastic - great to see you back

Twiglet said...

Another beautiful blog. Your photos are so lovely and the icy heart is perfect.

Jen xo said...

this is just beautiful i love its 'icyness' :0

Jenny said...

What gorgeous photos. I particularly like the St Ives images, living at the opposite end of the country I never get to see first hand. Thanks so much for including one of my pics in your mosaic.I haven't had much time lately to read blogs but this post reminded me of what Im missing, I must make time!

Anonymous said...

your pictures are so evocative that I have to say I absolutely love them

mano said...

this post is so great - I am very impressed and I love the birdies and the hearts and the pictures of st.ives and ... thank you!!!

Renee Troy said...

Your photography is as wonderful as your art. I so enjoy visiting both blogs.
xxoo
Renee

Lynn Holland said...

I decided I would pass the evening looking through your photo stream and blogs, and I could not believe it when on bbc4 a programme came on about Cornwall and it's artists. What a coincidence !
I loved both the programme and all your work. What a lovely evening.