Category: Artist Blog

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Trees and silk, my two loves

Bringing an idea from the initial thought, to sketch to fruition takes its own sweet time. It has to be allowed to be born when the elements are ready to come together. My current creation is a fantastical hat made from sari silk ribbons, silk, cotton, felt and silk wools. Beads will be added too. There my be Celtic symbols too as this is most definitely an Irish hat. Continue reading Trees and silk, my two loves

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Wherever you lay your hat.

While the outdoors continues to draw me to explore and photograph, I am spending some time being creative at home. In a previous post I wrote about the hats we are creating and this is the one I made as a stand alone piece. I have a few others that are paired with a cuff. These hats and cuffs are handmade using traditional millinery techniques and are in silk and cotton.
These are some of the cuffs, I have hand dyed cotton lace and ribbons to match the silk ribbons. While many of my pieces are shabby chic, there are also cuffs in gothic blacks and reds, there will be bridal ones too. I can see young ladies at their graduations wearing them and elegant ladies at garden parties looking fabulous. Any occasion that calls for wearing a statement piece. Continue reading Wherever you lay your hat.

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Musings.

Yesterday evening I spent a few hours out wandering with my thoughts and my camera. I am blessed to have a magical place close by to immerse myself in, to watch the seasons change, the cycles of life turn and the wonder of natures beauty explode in a riot of colours and aromas.
I love getting up close to the flora and fauna and trying to capture some of the essence, to wonder and sometimes I am inspired to write a few words. Continue reading Musings.

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Green fingers…again

Time just seems to be flying by, weeks disappearing into months. One happening that remains constant are the cycles of life and also natures ability to recover. Back in April, the lady who owns the place we live asked if I would like to build a vegetable garden where some old decking lay. An unusable part of the garden that needed a facelift. One thing I seems to do is bring back old gardens and give them new life wherever I have lived, be it here in Ireland, in Spain and in Morocco. I was up for the challenge. While the space was being cleared and new soil added, it was time to decide on a plan. The property was scoured for reusable resources. old fencing posts, old decking, tree rings, stones etc. Willow twigs were cut to make fences and plants were bought from garden centres. Hopefully my choices will grow into an amazing colourful feature. Continue reading Green fingers…again

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Wildly Created

I have been super busy these last weeks and months diverting time to a collaboration between myself and my daughter. Her long time dream of creating one of a kind handmade hats and masques has become possible with all the at home time given to us during the pandemic. Combining our skills seemed the most beneficial route even though we didn’t know if we would be compatible creators. Seems we had no need to worry. Wildly Created will soon come online and our beautiful accessories will be available to browse and purchase. Exciting times. Continue reading Wildly Created

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Arashi Shibori silks

Shibori dates back to the 8th century in Japan where traditionally indigo was used to dye fabrics. There are different forms which with folding, stitching, compressing, binding and twisting the fabrics, form an array of designs and unique patterns. I adore working with silk and have been making hand painted scarves for many years. I like to explore new ways of applying dyes and came across the Arashi Shibori technique a few years ago. Arashi means storm and the patterns formed using this pole wrapped method create designs like driving rain. It is at its best when used on long pieces of cloth. Since the late 19th century, Japanese artisans working 2 together, could wrap up to four 12 yard kimonos on 12 foot poles saving a lot of work on older methods and techniques. This is perfect for silk scarves. Once I had got the gist of the process I played around with it, twisting and folding the fabric as I wrapped it, this created amazing feather like patterns. I try to keep to no more than four colours which in turn when blended will form other colours, these must be thought about too so they are all compatible. Continue reading Arashi Shibori silks

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For the love of Silk

I am sure I am not alone in this timelessness…no idea what day or date it is and the days seems to swirl by as weeks disappear into months. My idea to do a weekly blog post doesn’t seem to be reachable at the moment as other things take over. That really isn’t a big deal as I set that goal, and goals can be stretched and changed. After more than a year of lockdown, there are some really challenging issues that seems to come in waves of mental torture. Nature is my usual escape route, thankfully spring is springing which gives lots to marvel at. I find it difficult to settle to my creative pursuits. New goodies to play with helps though. I have some luscious silk tops and merino wool which I may incorporate into my textile works. I would like to try felting and use them in that, but that’s for another time… I found a UK supplier for silk fabrics and dyes instead of one in the US and I am happy with the quality. Continue reading For the love of Silk