Patterns going mobile!

The last few weeks have been really exciting for Ballistic Owl! I've not only been working on a commission, but I've also had 10 of my designs licensed! 

Keka Case is an American based company who design and produce cases for mobile phones and devices such as Kindles and ipads. They have a core group of designers, which include Rachael Taylor and Debra Valencia, but have expanded their design collective to include some new kids like me! 

At the moment 6 of my patterns are available, but soon that will go up to 10 with my remaining patterns still being mocked up at present. I chose a mix of patterns based on my themes of botanical gardens and microscopic plants cells. So some are more illustrative and others more funky.

They are available to order and are shipped to the UK as well as throughout America. So if you're wondering what to buy your friend this Christmas, why not get them a designer ipad case or phone cover.

News on my commission will follow shortly and I also have now got a job at the Newcastle Art Centre working in the art shop with a possibility of leading some print workshops :-)

The link to my Keka page is http://www.kekacase.com/designer-cases/tracy-bidwell.html

Mixing it up

I have had fun over the last week or so and have got back into screen printing after I had a light bulb moment on what I could try with the designs I currently have on my screens. I knew I hadn't finished with the design, but until now had sort of run out of things to try. 

A while back I read a post by Clarissa Hulse whose work I really love and admire. It was about a trip the John Lewis team paid to her studio and what a great time they'd had experimenting with print. I have always loved the colour blends in Clarissa's work, but for some reason not dared to try it myself.

Last week I had a go and had great fun mixing my inks and allowed myself to be looser in my work and not worry about straight lines or miss prints. If you check out my facebook page you'll see some of the results.

The piece featured below is one of those prints that I decided to use as a further experiment. I've been given a book that explores mixing up techniques and textures and includes a lot of collage using layers of paper as well as fabric. Based on some of those ideas and inspirations I got sewing and playing around with bits of wood, paper and scraps of fabric.......

Across the meadow - by Tracy Bidwell copyright 2013

Detail of Across the meadow - by Tracy Bidwell copyright 2013

On the same day I printed the background for Across the meadow, I also printed these lovely table mats with my Gothic print. A friend gave me the mats to play around with and I'm pleased she did, may have to find some more now! 

Gothic printed in dark chocolate and coffee - by Tracy Bidwell copyright 2013

Off now to play with another print that I did in a similar style! 

Thank you for all your support and encouragement and for reading all my ramblings :-)

Made By Hands of Britain.

I can now reveal that after a few weeks of preparation and some tweaking that Ballistic Owl is now featured on the fabulous Made By Hands of Britain website!

Made By Hands of Britain was started by Gillian, who after seeing a basket weaver on the BBC show Victorian Farm, and was the only person in the country now doing this particular craft, felt that something needed to be done. This spurred Gillian onto create a platform to showcase and promote craft and hand made products within the UK. The website has within it "mini shops" where individual artists and designers can show and sell their work.

I feel so privileged to be part of this and in my own way keep some of the traditional skills alive, of course with a little Ballistic Owl magic! There are lots of fantastic artists on the site including the lovely work of Louise O'Hara from Drawn to Stitch, whose work is full of texture and atmosphere and I love seeing snippets of her work over on Facebook.

My little shop has a mixture of my creations, from digitally printed pieces with hand embellishments to my screen printed cushions. So pop over and have a look and spread the word.

http://www.madebyhandsofbritain.com/makers/tracybidwellprintsandhomeaccessories/home

Structures - if only they could talk

Lately I have been experimenting with a few ideas and have really loved the results so I thought I'd share them with you.

I have enjoyed printing with my little birds and stitching into them, but thought that perhaps a change of theme would be good. I have always loved architecture and the details you might find if you look carefully, and love both old and some new alike. In the North East as with many historical towns and cities there is a vast array of buildings that if they could talk would tell many a good tale.

So I decided to start a new series and so far it's called Structures, I wanted to keep it open so that I could perhaps add other interesting architecture not particular to the North East too. I'm also experimenting with digital print and loving exploring the effects and layers you can build up. It's not to say I'm leaving the beloved hand printing behind, that may come into it later so keep your eyes peeled!

Here are some of my first pieces in the series.

 Flour Mill - copyright Ballistic Owl 2013

 The old school - copyright Ballistic Owl 2013

 Tryptych - copyright Ballistic Owl 2013

Millennium Bridge - copyright Ballistic Owl

Detail from the Quayside - copyright Ballistic Owl 2012

All the prints are created from images in my own vast archive, collected for college projects and trips around the UK. I've loved adding little embroidered details just to highlight key features, sometimes very tiny features! These are now available through my Etsy shop and I will be adding more as I create them, more waiting to be printed as I write this.

Don't forget to look out for my variations, will post about those once I've had a play around.

Thank you for dropping by and don't forget to tell your friends about Ballistic Owl and where you can find me on the web.

Liebster Nomination

Thank you to Lauren Cherice Designs for nominating me for the Liebster Award. Firstly here's what it's all about, it is to nominate and share new up and coming bloggers that have less than a 200 followers. You answer the questions that the nominator has sent and then ask 10 or 11 more to other bloggers with less than 200 followers.

It's similar to a blog hop, but you get to know a little about the person behind the blog too. It's about sharing and support for fellow bloggers within your field.

So here are the questions Lauren asked me:

1.Who is your biggest inspiration? Design wise it has to be Lucienne Day and the way she took the 1951 Festival of Britain by storm. I love the optimism of the whole of 1950's era and the way they were not afraid to try new things.

2.What is your favourite food? Mmm tricky, I have a sweet tooth so puddings are probably it, especially Pavlova or panacotta!

3. Reading or Blogging? I would say a bit of both, I love finding out what other people are up to and what projects they are working on. But I also like sharing what I'm up to or something that has inspired me.

4. Countryside or Beach? The countryside! Always full of inspiration and I love taking pictures of flowers and interesting views or worn stone walls.

5. Have you got anything exciting planned for the rest of 2013? I'm trying to build up my little one woman business at the moment and hopefully once a few teething problems have been resolved, it will tick along nicely.

6.What is your biggest achievement? It's got to be going back to college/uni to retrain and achieving a 1st class degree! I enjoyed every minute of my degree course and made some lovely friends and learnt tons. 

7. Ice cream or chocolate? Tough one this as I really like both (just eaten a curlywurly!), my favourite flavour ice cream is rum and raisin.

8. The one thing you can't live without? Please can I have two things?!?! My cats Snowflake and Sparkle, gorgeous silver tabbies, who keep me company in the studio. My lovely Marek who bless him always gets my latest creations to look at! Oh so technically that's 3 oopps!

9. What is your design starting point? I always start with visual research and then move onto         drawing and draw until I feel I have enough to start designing with.

10. What is your favourite memory? Being proposed to on the very top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, magical :-)

So here are my nominations:

Jayne at http://mygorgeousangelpie.blogspot.co.uk/

Mavis at http://mavisglover.blogspot.co.uk/

Jeanie at http://jeanieandjewell.blogspot.co.uk/

Laura at http://curiousdoodles.blogspot.co.uk/

Pauline at http://embroidererspicnic.blogspot.co.uk/

Some great blogs that I follow and enjoy reading and seeing what they're up to.

So to my questions.....

1. If you were given a travel ticket where would it take you?

2. Favourite designer and why?

3. What flavour ice cream would you choose vanilla or rum n raisin?

4. If you were put on a desert island what book would you take?

5. When you work do you have music on or like to work in silence?

6. Night owl or early bird?

7. Where would you most like to see your work displayed/sold?

8. What is your main source of inspiration?

9. Banana or strawberry milkshake?

10. What is your favourite colour combination in a design?

11. If you had the chance to work alongside a famous designer past or present who would it be?

Have fun!

You can also find me on facebook https://www.facebook.com/BallisticOwl and www.ballisticowl.co.uk

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 :-)