A New Beginning in the Art World.

Its been a month now since i started my new venture in the art world and i am really enjoying it...
I attend my class on Tuesday afternoon's at the Navigation Studio ' Lockside'  Heybridge Basin. The studio overlooks the Navigation Canal. Its the most amazing setting for any Artist to paint.. Its full of boats, water and sky........

 Sonia my tutor has been  patiently showing me the art of water colour, along with seven other budding artists. They are also beginners, so i don't feel too much is expected of me........

My first attempt in water colour was to paint a summer sky which if you haven't ever painted one you may think it was boring, but as Sonia is such a good tutor she showed me how exiting it was to paint one... Now i look at sky's in a different way.....   I have also learnt that by mixing blue, yellow and red water colour paints i can create different  types of sky's....

  These are my tools i used to create my paintings. Florence is looking for something to play with . She is a typical  kitten who is always into mischief.... 

 These three pictures show how i have used a blue, yellow and red wash to create different types of sky....

Growing in confidence i managed to add some scenery. My husband said it was good as a first attempt.....

I walk over these lock gates on my way to the studio....

Looking out to the river Blackwater as i go over the lock gates. Just take a look at that summer sky with its reflection on the water......

Sonia's studio on the other side of the lock...She also uses it as a Gallery where she sells paintings, unique gifts and jewellery...

As i come out of the studio i see all these lovely boats on the canal. What i would give to own one of those....

This is the walkway back to the lock. The white house on right is a pub and gets very busy at weekends. It over looks the river...

Another river view as i leave the studio...The boats have their own moorings.

I was lucky to capture this swan swimming on the canal....

I consider myself lucky to have found such a lovely place to paint.......

Old crochet skills revived.

After following the very talented Faith, Bummy Mummy and  Tea at Weasel's  I was inspired by their crochet skills and the wonderful things they made..........These lovely mums have brought up to date the art of crochet  in a modern way by using their imagination to produce lots of brightly coloured, wonderful and homely things. ......

So as i learnt crochet many years ago, I thought i'd try my hand again .....

The Pot Holder pattern i used was out of one of my old sixties Golden Hands books, (not sure if you young mums would have heard of these books) They were sold weekly and then put into binders after you had collected 15 copies giving easy access to the patterns, ideas and techniques in the books.  I collected all 5 volumes.

These are the pot holders i made, they look more like owls eyes to me , or as my husband said they would have looked good on the back of the Parker he wore as a Mod scooter boy back in the sixties... 

You can see the pattern i used from the Golden Hands book on the left....

I also made these small motifs and was pleased how they came out. 

Im glad i kept these old books as they have revived my love for crochet........ 

Special Friendships

A while ago i bought a  lovely book titled,  ON WOMEN & FRIENDSHIP at a vintage fair. It shows a collection of Victorian Keepsakes and Traditions to commemorate the timeless nature of friendship.
The keepsakes were all cleverly made by hand and must have taken many hours to produce such fine and special gifts.

Keepsakes of friendship exchanged between women took many forms, from poems recorded in albums to letters decorated with flowers. The symbol of clasped hands, meaning " hands in trust for ever" is found on many objects, as in the request "remember me"and "Forget me not"

Flowers were often given as a token of friendship. Each flower had a different meaning....

There is a language in each flower,
      That opens to the eye,
A voiceless-but a magic power,
      Doth in earths blossom lie.

I found this friendship card in an old book. I would  have loved to receive this token of friendship.

As you can see the hands on these old Victorian pieces of pottery are not clasped, but i thought they represented something about friendship.

 The bone bobbin is inscribed with " Forget me not" probably given by a friend or sweetheart as a token of love.  My lovely husband gave me this when i first started making lace years ago....The Friendship poem was taken out of an old autograph book. 

 The friend who received this must have been very special, as the work in it would have taken lots of hours to make...

  Friendship  between women in the Victorian times is no different to us today....... We just show it in different ways....

The heart in the top left hand corner was given to me as a token of  friendship by a very very dear friend who i have know since i was 14 years old..She is the sort of friend you can call at 2am in the morning and she will be there for you.......

Julie from my contemporary craft group "Four's Company" gave me the heart brooch , middle left, last week at our monthly meeting. She saw it in a charity shop and thought of me , how kind of her.
 Joan and Cherry also show their friendship within the group by bringing gifts..... We have made a strong bond of friendship since the group was formed and hope we can keep our friendship going for ever..


The heart was given to me by a loving friend who i don't see any more, but i will always remember them with affection and friendship....

People touch our lives if only for a moment. and yet

we're not the same, from that moment on.

The time is not important,

The moment is forever.

My collection friendship memories....The old Flowers of friendship book is full of lovely poems that the Victorians wrote in their friendship books

                                 The miracle of friendship speaks from one heart to another......
                                                                          listens to
                                                                    unspoken needs,
                                                                   recognizes secret
                                                                           dreams,
                                                                     understands the
                                                                     silent things that
                                                                       only love can
                                                                               know.

Cherry surprised me today by giving me these confetti hearts as i was feeling a bit down. What a caring friend!!! She has been my rock these last 2 years..

Hold a true friend with both your hands....

I crocheted this friendship pincushion and am going to give it away to one of my blogging friends.... Keep an eye out for my forthcoming post ......

 Friendship is the greatest bond in the world....Jeremy Taylor

Thank you to all my friends who have been there for me when I've needed them......especially my daughter, Rebecca and lovely husband Neil who is my very very best friend..........xx