AUTUMN HAS ARRIVED AT THE ONE CRAFT GALLERY!

The latest window that I have just completed at the One Craft Gallery is seasonal - Autumn has arrived! Autumnal colours, lots of paper leaves, colourful squashes and handmade felted bunting help create the look. The window features the work of one of our newer members - Lila Streether. She has painted a series of beautiful detailed images on black backgrounds which include, Autumn leaves, fungi and fruit (see pic below).

AUTUMNAL CARDS!

Before the leaves really started falling, I created some cards featuring the red berries of Autumn.  I used a background that I already had for the four cards.  Then it was a matter of collaging on printed tissue and painted papers.  Before applying the butterflies and birds images, I went around the edges with black marker pen and added embellishments.  A thin marker pen was used to add scribbles as a finishing touch.  The artwork was then mounted onto white textured card stock.

CONTINUING THE AUTUMN THEME!

I have just changed the One Craft Galley window dressing, and have continued with the autumnal theme, with fallen leaves, seed heads, grasses and fir cones.  I felt it was a bit too early for Christmas decorations.  That will be the next window! 

AUTUMN IS HERE!

Autumn is here and we have just done a window dressing in the One Craft Gallery that reflects the season!  Our superb hat maker, Liz Oliva, had made some fantastic velvet pumpkins and fungi - see bottom pics, and top second left and Phil Davis, our wood turner had produced some toadstools (bottom left), apples,  pears, and a great sunburst bowl (middle right). These items, together with a trug of real apples, crab apples, paper leaves and other goods in keeping with the Autumnal theme, made up our window...

LEAVES FALL IN THE GALLERY!

At the One Craft Gallery, we have used Autumn leaves for our latest window design.  I made them from painted papers a few years ago. Some of them are stuck onto paper-covered wire while others were just piled up as if fallen from a tree!




I also have put in some newly decorated gift bags and tags with a harvest festival theme of fruit, veg and seed heads...

HEDGEROW WINDOW DRESSING

As it is the end of Summer and beginning of Autumn, we, at the One Craft Gallery, have gone for a hedgerow countryside theme with briar roses, grasses, seed heads and boughs of greenery.  I made the roses from paper, which I painted and then waxed, to give a translucent finish.

My fellow window dresser,  jeweller, Caroline Tetley, turned up with half her hedge, which we have hung from various points in the top of the window! We have a feeling that it will dry out and turn brown as the Autumn season develops!

I have just decorated some 'hedgerow' gift bags to go with our theme, using watercolours and felt pens.  The gift tags were made from recycled packaging material, and the finishing touch was some self-adhesive glittery dragonflies...

AUTUMNAL WINDOW

Last year I made paper leaves to decorate the gallery window.  As these were successful I am using them again!  However, to add some hanging leaves to the window, I have laminated some real ones, collected on my early morning walks.  This was done not without mishap!  I learnt that you have to keep the leaves as flat as possible or the laminator  becomes jammed! Not sure how long they will last but as it is just for a few weeks it doesn't matter.  I saw some hanging in a local charity shop window, looking like wet leaves floating down, and the volunteer told me how they were done.

I have also decorated some gift bags using the Autumn theme.  This time for the gift tags I have used dark green mount card which is white on the reverse.  This makes a really sturdy gift tag that hangs beautifully! I cut it using a metal ruler and scalpel and the hole was punched with a leather punch. They were decorated with splattered gold acrylic same as the bags and finished off with white hole reinforcers and sparkly black and gold thread.  I am thinking of making some sets of Christmas tags with mount board to sell in the gallery.

WALK AND MAKE

I had a delightful morning yesterday at Dove Studios, Butleigh, on a half day course with local artist, Fiona Hingston.  Amongst other things, she works with natural materials gathered from the countryside - pressing, drying, stitching, waxing and assembling them into beautiful works of art. For ' Amazing Space ', which is an exhibition of specially commissioned work celebrating 45 years of the Dove Centre, she has collected plant material from the grounds and produced some amazing hanging boxes, full of manipulated bits of nature.

Our first job was to go collecting in the nearby fields, woods and orchard in the glorious sunshine and then bring our bounty back to tables set out in the open.  It is a beautiful spot and a magical, restful place. We then looked at what we had acquired and looked to see what could be done with them.

With Fiona's guidance, leaves and stalks and, in my case, thistle seed heads and feathers, were stitched together.  Apples and pears were sliced and left to dry in the sun and little collections appeared everywhere!  Fiona is shown (top left), cutting up some apples.  I won't be able to go on a walk now without taking a plastic bag, looking closely and coming back with bits of the countryside!

Fiona had laid out a table of inspirational work which she had done.  The seed heads set out in their cabinet looked like precious jewels.  It represents her close observations and responses to nature and a great deal of experimentation and patience.

AUTUMN WINDOW

Here is a flavour of the latest window at the One Craft Gallery.  We used my paper leaves, old packing cases, pumpkins and some beautiful ironwork by our latest guest maker - Chris George.  He uses traditional blacksmithing techniques in a forge that he built himself at home.  His larger pieces include candle chandeliers, pan racks and hook boards.  He also makes a range of pokers, candle sticks and hooks which are also for sale in the gallery during October and November.  He is also available for commissions. His wife is one of our members who makes lovely jewellery using her handmade lampwork beads. A talented family!

A candle chandelier and pan rack by Chris George.

AUTUMN LEAVES

Seeing the leaves around me turn to rich autumnal colours and swirl around in the wind has inspired me to make some paper leaves for window dressing in the gallery.

I started with recycled brown wrapping paper which was crumbled and ironed before acrylic colour was applied to both sides.  I then sponged on raw umber acrylic and randomly stamped on leaf vein shapes.  I then cut out the leaves using two different shaped templates as a guide. The edges were then burnt using my soldering iron - a piece of equipment that I haven't used for a long time!

The leaf garlands were formed, by gluing paper covered wire, to one side of the leaves using PVA.  Once dried they can then be bent to look as they are being blown in the wind.  I shall be using them in the gallery for the next window design.

AUTUMN BAGS

I have just made some more gift bags for the gallery with autumn themes. The ones shown above have gift tags made from bought luggage labels. I often do make my gift labels, but this is an easy alternative when time is short.  The bags decorated with fungus uses brown labels as a canvas so that when I decorate the bag, I also do the same on the label.  For the white tags, I have added a square stamped from a sheet of recycled brown folder treated in exactly the same way as the bag.

WOODY WINDOW

Yesterday, I helped to put together an 'owls and woods in autumn' theme for the windows of the One Craft Gallery, the makers gallery in Shepton, that I am involved with.

The main focus of the front window is a fantastic display of hats made by Liz Oliva, our popular hat maker.  The hats are made of wood - beaten from the bark of a tree sourced from Uganda and Polynesia.  The hats with their natural decorations of feathers, leaves etc are actually wearable. We searched out members work for the owl theme and suitable colours.  We also used pumpkins, logs and apples to add to the autumnal look.