MOLLY'S BURBERRY JUMPER

I just had to buy this for my Staffie Molly. She suffers with the cold, having a thin coat. This is a wee bit tight so next one I have to get the bigger size. But she just looks cute.

WEDNESDAY CONTEMPORARY ART GROUP OCTOBER

Lovely time at the CAG today, Julia did a drawing exercise and I am pleased with my efforts, pictured above. Cherry bought us all Christmas Cake, there goes the diet.

Eve and That Apple Tree and Three Objects in Red and Black.

After the group I went into Sue Ryder charity shop and got just the right fabric and base for the Sewn collages. Emily in Birdland, is made from all recycled or left over materials from other projects. So its not cost much. The birds are again from those given to me by my friend Fi. I've done another one for Zoe too.

Starting a Journal

A group of my friends from Loving Mixed Media, this is a link to my page http://www.lovingmixedmedia.com/profile/JoanGlenMartin are doing Journals. We plan to do so much then swap them around and do some work in each others, then pass them on again.

We hope it will be fun and we can do some new ideas, add to each others work etc..

This is my front cover. Then a collage of all the business cards I collected at the Essex Art and Design Fair in October. I met and talked to all those interesting people. That's the inside front cover. It will be interesting for the girls in the USA to see who is around near me.

Flu has gone at last, just a bit of a cough now. I hate being ill. Molly has hurt her leg, so we have had a vets visit. She is on 3 months house rest, injections, which I get to do and pills. More bills. Hopefully this works then she won't have to have an operation.

Starring the Mad Birds

Hey here I am again back in 1950's land. Now the Mad Birds have got in there with me. Some have even been brave and are modelling their bikinis for you.

When I was sewing this batch I noticed that some of the captions could apply to two cut outs. So you can see this on the Mademoiselle Letter picture. The Little Mouse could be Mademoiselle too! I will look out for more of these in future, that theme works for me.

I must get Fi to do some more of her cats 'n' birds these have worked so well. She's still not seen any of them yet as I am still not well. Now the flu has left me with a chest infection., I am wheezing like and old pair of bagpipes!!!

Fighting Flu and Birds in Girls Stories

Its funy when you start on some art it just gets hold of you and you get a sort of compulsive addiction to it. This seems to have happened with these sewn pieces. I just can't stop producing them.

Even when I've got a stinker of a temperature, streaming nose and am generally dying with the flu. Every day I am stitching away, thinking how can I combine the next lot, what colours should I use, stitches, my head is just going round and round on this.

This lot are starring the mad birds, again drawn by Fi, in scenes from a 1950's girls story book. I love the madness of the patterned paper, the really starchy pictures and captions, then you do a double take and say, "What are those birds doing in there?" It sort of throws your mind, because really they just do not belong together, but they sort of go, if you know what I mean.

When looking through these books, it strikes me that we have come an awful long way in regard to our way of portraying some ethnic peoples and women. For the better, but all this change has happened in my lifetime. Views I accepted as a child I would not tolerate now. That means some of the images I have not used, although they do portray the period.

Any way enjoy the Mad Birds.

Oh!!! Now the Cats are going to publish a book!!

Well the cats loved starring in the sewn picture series so much they have asked if they can be in a book. So we searched the picture books and found one they liked, Goldilocks and the Three Bears. It just so happens that two books had pictures of this story, so we have made our own version.

The 12 pictures are all sown, just have to do three more Goldilocks' hair. The old book which will be the base pages has been butchered and stuck together. That's now being flattened and drying under a heap of books.

So there is a taster of some of the pictures for you.

Colchester Fine Art Open Exhibition

Last night my friend Jennifer and I went to the Preview night it was quite packed. Wine and nibbles, got a catalogue, well you have to especially as all the art work is pictured. Not that I'm being big headed but this may never happen again.

My painting is in the foyer, so its right in your face as soon as you enter the building. Mary who has bought it is coming along with Danielle to see it. She's so pleased with herself for picking a painting that is now in an exhibition.

I forgot my camera, doh what an idiot so only a picture of the catalogue!!

Its more cats today. I've added in some modern card papers from my stash.

Its a wet and windy day today so I'm glad to say that I got cancelled for Riding for the Disabled. Instead I donated an unwanted knitting machine to Tools with A Mission. My nearest branch operates out of the garages at the back of Halstead Baptist Church.

Tonight is the opening of Colchester Fine Art Exhibition at the Minories. I'm going with Jennifer to see my first ever painting in an exhibition.