Lino and doublers

It's all official, my course has made it into the Art Centre's autumn brochure! To book call Newcastle Arts Centre on 0191 2615618 and we'll look forward to seeing you in December.

I'm busy planning and plotting what we'll do and doing plenty of visual research so I'll have loads of images laid out to inspire the class. Here's a couple to get the creative juices flowing.

Buttercups and Daisies linocut by Helen Roddie

Happiness on the underground linocut by Pedro Demetriou

The workshop will be relaxed and fun, so don't worry if you've never done a linocut before there will be plenty of help and time. It can be a simple or as complicated as you like. Once we get printing you can print on almost any surface and I will bring in some interesting papers for you to try.

As well as printing I've also been enjoying making wet felted flowers that I have then made into brooches. I was really pleased that I managed to teach myself how to make double petals too! All brooches are hand stitched and beaded and will be on sale in the Craftshop very soon. 

Some of the brooches are inspired by the ever changing sky in Scotland that we watched every day from our holiday cottage in Ardnamurchan. A couple are my take on hot house flowers in the exotic section at Kew gardens, with their layered petals and interestingly shaped petals. Others, well you'll just have to pop into the shop and read the back of the card to find what inspired them.

Currently reading: Sonic Wonderland by Trevor Cox (all about sounds and science)

What I'm up to at the minute: still working on my art journal when I get time and designing linocuts.

A chip off the block - Lino printing

Exciting news, I'm leading a one day workshop at Newcastle Arts Centre on the 12th December!

I'm really excited (and a little nervous) about doing this workshop as I love lino printing and it will be great to spread the word about this lovely print technique. It will be a fun and relaxed workshop,where we will look at the design of your plate, as well as cutting and inking techniques. We will also explore how you will be able to use your new skill at home and other surfaces you can print on. 

The workshop is well timed for Christmas so you could come and make a gift or card, alternatively you could make a plate for any occasion so you can enjoy using it at home.

For details on how to book your place please visit http://www.newcastle-arts-centre.co.uk/

A selection of my lino plates.

Art journals and getting creative or a few of my favourite things

Have you ever thought about making or creating an art journal? I have been doing a little bit of research about it both online via Pinterest and blogs, but also by flicking through a few book dedicated to art journalling techniques and hints. I love to experiment and try new stuff out, but have never thought about putting it all in a book. Some things that I've tried have worked and I've squirrelled them away for another day and stuff that hasn't worked, has found it's way into the bin.

Lately I've found that I have wanted to make and design things but feel that I have a lack of recent artwork to use. That has led to a bit of a creative blockage and some frustration. I've felt the need to get back into drawing again, but finding a topic to inspire has sometimes proved uninviting or a case of "that old nutshell again". I have thousands of my own photos stored on my ever faithful but slow computer and always think that would be good for a project, just for them to sit there gathering digital dust!

So I bit the bullet and after digging around for ideas on how to kick start myself again I decided to try journalling. I may not stick to 1 page a day, it may be more like a page or 2 a week as I juggle it around work and other commitments. But I'm going to give it a bash.

My theme then......A few of my favourite things. Here is my list to prompt my lovely new creative journal.

The list is in no particular order, just what popped into my head at the time. It is by no means the limit of my favourite things either as I have many and the word FEW means just that.

Armed with my list it was time to get on and start.......I picked my first topic Marek and decided to use a picture of him that I really love and have lovely memories of a day out drinking coffee and chilling out.

 Marek, he calls it the "on the dodgems."

 First outlines. I coloured the page so I wouldn't be working straight onto white and as I sometimes struggle with proportions I traced a few lines from the photograph. I then drew in a couple of outlines and dark strokes in his hair.

 Adding skin tones can be a little bit tricky, but I tried to look for the colours in the photograph and keep note of highlights and shadows.

 Hair done, but his eyes need a little more work and softening.

I decided to tackle the eyes later and moved onto his jacket and shirt.

After some thought and asking a work colleague about the eyes and background, I managed to soften the eyes and add a little more detail to them and then added the dodgem (sofa he was sitting on) too.

I drew the picture with a mixture of media to help reflect the textures in the photo, Polychromos pencil crayons are great and add loads of colour and are easy to blend and shade. If you use a burnisher it smooths out some of those crayon marks.

So now I feel I have the creative juices flowing, well almost and will endeavour to complete my whole list of favourite things and enjoy experimenting along the way.

All images Copyright to Tracy Bidwell @Ballistic Owl

Busy bee and coin purses

Wow I've just realised how time has flown since my last blog! Hope I still have a few loyal followers out there :-)

I've been pretty busy at the art shop and also have a spot or two in the Craft Shop selling my brooches, cards and my new little project below coin purses. The lovely ladies in the shop have been keeping me quite busy with requests for hand made bits and bobs, so on my days at home I've been creating all sorts of lovely stuff. To see some of the things I've been making and to keep up with my studio life check out my Facebook page.

The Craft Shop is a great place for those unusual gifts for birthdays, weddings and Christmas or just because you want to treat yourself or a loved one. They stock handmade pottery, jewellery, cards, bags and have a lovely selection of cards and wrap too.

My gorgeous little coin purses are on sale £13.99 for the small (approx 10cm x 10cm) one and £15 for the larger ones (approx 15cm x 12cm). They are printed on 100% cotton, lined and with a good quality zip.

Layout idea and prep for screens.

Coin purses in progress all hand screen printed and machine stitched.

Little collection all complete and ready to deliver to the Craft Shop.

Thank you for stopping by and hopefully it won't be as long for my next post.

Reading: Girl gone by Gillian Flynn

Next project: felt card toppers and more printing.