Featured on Friday - Workshops at The Ideas Hub Chelmsford

Today my blog is about things or people that have been part of my life recently. I'm also doing a little show of past work just to remind myself of my Artists Journey.

Several of us Artists and Designers are attending "The Artists Way" Course at The Ideas Hub.

This course is really helping me identify me as an artist. This is the book we are using The-Artist-Way-Discovering-Recovering your creative self . You may find cheaper on Ebay, several versions of the book are out there.

The idea from the course came from Cherry Ann Art a lovely arty friend of mine, the link takes you to her blog, she is a very talented Mixed Media and Textile Artist. Also  there was Julie Howe Paper Mache, Paint and Print are her main loves. Her blog is always full of lovely pictures from days out and details of her imaginative work. Then I must also mention  Linda Wilks currently she's taking a City & Guilds Course in Photography. You'll find many wonderful photographs on her site and some crochet and quilting. It's always good to get together with friends.

More on The Ideas Hub, I will be leading some of the Saturday drop in art demonstrations there. One thing we will be making is Valentine Hearts from recycled card, paper and tinfoil, and another day will be tissue dyed paper and book pages. I shall be bringing lots of lovely things from my craft and textile stash so goody bags can also be purchased.

Now onto some past works. This is one of my paintings in Mixed Media, a detail, I used Poppy Seed Heads, just the top for the flowers. I also used the seeds for the texture in the painting.

Below is a detail from a painting, again Mixed Media. The surface which is house paint mixed with pollyfiller and PVA is then cooked with a decorators heat gun. This makes it bubble. Then painted with a variety of acrylic paints and mediums. The effect looks just like the sheen of colour you get when petrol mixes with water over the road surface.

A little box covered with tinfoil, painted with acrylics. Then bitumen is used to give the dark colour in the ridges. All varnished and decorated with old watch parts. Inside is covered with Victorian images.

A stitched paper and fabric collage, one of a series with a cat retelling the tale of Goldilocks and the Three bears.

This last one is a mixed media acrylic painting, cut up and then restitched together. I've used this to cover one of my art ideas books. Can you see the bird right in the centre?

I am so blessed to be able to make all this art and have some lovely arty friends that encourage me.