The not so desolate North East and how it inspires me!

One of the most recent topics of conversation in the North East this week has been the comment made by Lord Howell of how fracking would be OK in the North East as it is a desolate place. It has been commented on numerous times in social media and has been taken on board by groups such as @NorthEastHour and https://www.facebook.com/groups/DesolateNorthEast/. Who are all for promoting how great the North East is and wanting to show that the region is a great place to live and work.

As a textile designer and maker I love living in the Newcastle and find it a great source of inspiration. My latest prints inspired by the puffins on the Farne Islands is just one example of how where you live feeds into your work. The pictures below taken by Marek were then used by me to produce the delightful characters in my prints below. If you are a regular visitor to my blog you will have seen my previous post on these cheeky little chaps.

Staple Island Puffins- Picture credits Marek Bidwell

 Fish Supper- Tracy Bidwell for Ballistic Owl copyright 2013

The Offering- Tracy Bidwell for Ballistic Owl copyright 2013

It's not just the wildlife that inspires my work but also the built environment and the beautiful countryside. The Baltic and Central station have fantastic architectural details and the prints shown below are from those great landmarks from architectural history.Newcastle's Cathedral is also a beautiful building with many great details to inspire the creative mind.

 Baltic Flour Mill- Tracy Bidwell for Ballistic Owl copyright 2013

Central Station- Tracy Bidwell for Ballistic Owl copyright 2013

 Newcastle Cathedral - Picture credit Tracy Bidwell

Gothic Cushion inspired by the Cathedral door- Tracy Bidwell for Ballistic Owl copyright 2013

The architects of the past, such as John Dobson left us with a great wealth of inspiring buildings, whether they be industrial or residential. Even having lived here for many years I'm still discovering fantastic buildings within the region.

As for the countryside we couldn't really ask for anything better, open fields, woodlands, coastline and meadows. As well as a wealth of beautiful stately properties and gardens. Images I take as I walk around these places all form a vast library for me to work from either in print or stitch.

 Secret Garden (detail)- Tracy Bidwell for Ballistic Owl copyright 2013

Grasses from around Cragside's extensive grounds- Image credit Tracy Bidwell

So as you can see I love nothing more than going round where I live and taking pictures that then inform my designs. So lets hear it for the fabulous North East and all it's beauty and variety!

To see more of my work please go to www.ballisticowl.co.uk or visit my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/BallisticOwl

Buy my work at www.etsy.com/shop/BallisticOwl

Puffins galore and Drift

I've been a little quiet of late and that is due to several things. The first is that I went on holiday and had a great time in the Lake District and in Northumberland. The second is that I've been working on a little project for an exciting opportunity that arose while on holiday.

One of our day trips was to Staple Island the home of the puffins within the Farnes and wow did we see lots of these funny little chaps. They were all full of personality and I loved watching them landing and taking off as they are not the most aerodynamic of birds. The little chap pictured below really charmed us with his little present. I came away inspired and knew there was a project theme to start work on.

The offering- photograph copyright Marek Bidwell 2013

 After a lovely lunch in Seahouses we popped into Drift a gorgeous art, craft and gift shop owned by Julie and Nick. They asked me if I would produce some prints for them and that is what I've been working on. It's been so exciting to have a live project and I enjoyed it so much and feel I've caught a little of each personality in my prints. Today I took them in and I'm delighted to say that they took the lot as well as some other pictures I'd taken. So I now have my first stockist whoop!

L-R Gossip, Fish Supper and The offering, copyright Ballistic Owl 2013

If you find yourself at Seahouses do pop into Drift and look for my puffins and perhaps take one home with you!

 Drift art, craft and gift shop Main street, Seahouses.

Thank you for stopping by and I promise to not leave it so long next time :-)