Mamhead Album and WOYWW 391

For the first time for goodness knows how long, I managed to spend a couple of hours in my studio yesterday evening. I took the photos for WOYWW then, because I shall be busy today and might not get time.

I have been getting increasingly frustrated at not having any time or energy to use my beautiful room so grabbed the opportunity after we’d had an early supper as my hubby was going out.

I am continuing work on the two identical mini-albums I started some time ago, after we went with some friends to the beautiful Mamhead Woods near Exeter. Tonight I assembled most of the pages with photos on them.

The first picture shows one of the Zentangle tracing pages being made. I had to think long and hard about how to do this – there is a photo overlaid with a piece of parchment paper on which I have traced the outlines and filled them with Zentangles, so that the photo shows through. I thought that if I bound these layers as separate pages in the binding, it would be much more difficult to line up the tracing exactly over the photo, so I decided to make the layers up as a single page, but then the join would show, as I am going to use a concealed binding system. In the end, I used a very narrow strip of extra-sticky double sided tape to attach the parchment paper to the photo beneath, and I think the result is satisfactory.

As you can see, I was working on my light panel. This enabled me to line everything up accurately, and also to stick the photos to the cardstock which forms the base of each page. On top of the light panel I have got a translucent cutting mat which is ideal for this sort of thing.

I assembled all the pages by running my ATG glue gun around the edges of each cardstock page, and then placing the untrimmed photo face down on the light panel, and lowering the glued page down onto it, carefully lining it up with the edges of the photo. The light shining through from below made this much easier. I then turned the whole thing over and trimmed off the excess with a knife and ruler, and again, the light panel enabled me to see the edge of the page through the photograph so that I could cut it accurately – this was much more clean and tidy than trying to trim off the excess with scissors.

Here are the small photos, trimmed to size. I had printed them out several to a single sheet of paper, sizing and arranging them with my desktop publishing software (Serif PagePlus).

They will be stuck down onto some sort of background sheet adhered to the page base.

Here are the completed photo pages, including a map of the woods. There is room on some of these for text or mixed media to be added.

The traced pages. All the photos were manipulated in some way – posterised, desaturated, made into negatives, sepia-coloured, etc. – using my photo editing software (Serif PhotoPlus).

On the traced ones on the right (not the Zentangle ones on the left) I shall probably add some paint – maybe a little colour, or some metallic paints.

Here are the two Zentangle pages.

I selected some backgrounds from my backgrounds folder which I thought I might use in this project. Plenty to choose from, and I’m not sure what I shall use yet.

My 12 x 12 “mask-and-spray” sheets done with my Infusions paints, and the leaves and flowers that were created during the masking process. I shall definitely be using some of these. I had thought of using some of these papers as end-papers in the albums but have yet to decide.

Finally, a selection of texture-makers – a Fiskar’s Texture Plate, a Tim Holtz embossing folder and a baking texture maker, all in woodgrain or leaf patterns – the Fiskar’s one has a woodgrain pattern on the reverse. I might create some backgrounds using these, or strips of card to embellish various pages.

Lots of planning to do, but once I’ve got the pages sorted, I can begin to think how the albums will come together. I have downloaded some lovely quotes from the Internet about trees and woods which I shall incorporate.

One exciting piece of news – I have been approached by one of the people who run the Inspire health forum which I belong to, who wants to do something to feature the artists among their many hundreds of members. The whole forum is vast, with boards relating to pretty well every medical condition under the sun, and quite a few members belong to several boards, as do I (stomas, general cancer, colo-rectal cancer, cardiac, M.E., and gastro-intestinal – although these days I’m really only active on the stoma and cancer boards). Some time ago a group of us were asking if we could have a board dedicated to art because of its tremendous therapeutic value in a number of medical conditions but our request fell on deaf ears, but now something seems to be happening, and it’s rather exciting. Tomorrow I am going to Skype the lady who has approached me (she is in the USA) so that we can chat a bit about why my art is important to me, and to discuss one or two pieces that I have done that have had particular significance for me. This will be a lot easier to do now I’ve got the iPad Pro (I set up Skype on it yesterday) – lugging a laptop around the studio wouldn’t be much fun! As we are Skyping, I will be able to show her my studio “live” and some of my work. This was a great incentive for me to tidy it up a bit yesterday!

More good news – I weigh myself on Tuesdays, and I can now celebrate having lost 3 stone (42 pounds) since I started the 5:2 diet 2 1/2 years ago. I have really lost this weight in 18 months, because I don’t really count the whole of last year, when I was advised to stop dieting while my cancer was being dealt with – I worked it out recently and I only lost 1 lb last year! Still, I suppose it was a step in the right direction!

Wishing all my fellow WOYWW-ers a happy WOYWW and a creative and productive week ahead.

St Luke’s Church, Torquay–A Feast of Victorian Gothic Revival

This morning I went with my hubby to a service at St. Luke’s Church in Torquay. He knew the church, and had told me it was lovely inside, but deliberately didn’t tell me too much because he wanted it to be as much as a surprise to me as it had been to him when he first saw it.

As soon as I went in, my jaw dropped and I was blown away! He and I are both suckers for Victorian Gothic Revival, and this was a wonderful example.

The church is Victorian, completed in the 1860s with lavish wall paintings which were restored and embellished during the 1960s after a fire.

Here is a view of the chancel.

Note the beautiful Victorian tiled floor.

Detail of the reredos.

This depiction of the Last Supper is in relief and the table projects enough to cast a shadow.

Wall stencilling on the left hand side.

Detail of stencilling.

To right and left of the altar are four roundels with raised marble frames, depicting the four Gospel writers – in this case, St. Mark. I love the painted lilies to the left as well.

Above the stencilling there are a number of wall paintings depicting angels and other Biblical characters and scenes, and the whole thing is peppered with Biblical quotes and exhortations to worship, often on ribbons carried by angels. When the restoration was done, the launch of the Russian satellite Sputnik was still topical, so the artist also depicted this!

Moving to the right side of the chancel, you can see one of the beautiful brass candelabra. Also in more detail on this picture is the absolutely gorgeous riotous vine complete with golden bunches of grapes that meanders across the wall between the windows, above the altar.

Here are the beautiful organ pipes, painted and decorated with bands of colour.

To the right of the organ is a wall plaque in memory of a chorister which I found particularly attractive.

Before moving on from the chancel, just look up at the magnificent roof!

The whole thing glows and sparkles with the addition of lavish amounts of gold.

Beside the lectern is another memorial plaque with a most attractive gold mosaic background.

The main body of the church is somewhat plainer, but the side aisle roofs are painted, and the glorious red pillars – deliciously Victorian!

The smaller organ pipes, situated by the lectern and behind the organ console are arranged in a glass case so that they can be seen, along with their mechanism.

An example of several wall paintings for the children. These ones are over the exit.

(These pictures of St. Luke’s are the first I’ve taken with my new iPad Pro. I am very impressed with the quality of the camera. I did not use the flash, and learned “on the hoof” how to work it, discovering along the way a powerful zoom, and also a “burst” facility – keep your finger on the button and it takes continuous shots in quick succession. It must also feature an anti-shake device because they came out remarkably clear despite my being unable to hold the device really steady, especially when in zoom mode, holding it high up.)

Some time ago we visited Knightshayes Court near Tiverton in Devon, owned by the National Trust, which is also decorated in this wonderful style with loads of wall paintings. I was so inspired by the decorations in this country house that I tried my hand at reproducing something in the same style in our previous house.

This mural was in the entrance lobby and was the first thing you saw when you came in the front door, and if you look carefully you can see it extends across the door that leads into the house proper. The pillars, arches and ceiling cornices are all trompe l’oeil – the wall is flat.

One of several panels I painted on the lower part of the wall.

As you can imagine, I was sad to leave all this behind when we moved, but I was assured by the new tenants that they loved it and would not paint it out!

Although I am no longer able to paint on such a large scale as this, looking at the detail of the St. Luke’s paintings this morning, I got a huge amount of inspiration and am keen to try my hand at painting in the Neo-Gothic style but on a smaller scale. A while back I started working on some Gothic stencil designs to cut with my Cougar cutting machine, and I am sure I could combine these with some painting in this highly decorative style which is quintessentially English and endlessly intriguing. As my hubby and I are always saying about the embellishments in Victorian architecture, “They didn’t have to do that… but isn’t it great that they did!”

WOYWW 390 An Alternative “Desk,” Mandalas and More Gold

Nothing to show my fellow deskers in the studio dept. this week because nothing has gone on in there except adding to the tip. I’ve been really busy. Today, I decamped into the kitchen and have been cooking most of the day. I love getting stuck in in my lovely kitchen. Here’s what I’ve been up to. Sorry it’s a bit long, but just flip through the photos!

General view:

Preparing the pastry for two quiches and some mince pies:

One quiche pastry ready for blind baking. The foil is to stop the pastry rising. It’s resting on my favourite recipe book, which I had for a 21st birthday present!

Making the first batch of mince pies.

The filling for the quiches, made with onion, yellow pepper, diced sweet potatoes (some roasted in sesame oil, the rest softened in the microwave), garlic, herbs, seasoning, cooked in olive oil. Once cooked, I added some grated cheddar cheese.

Steaming some beetroots ready for the freezer.

A nice big batch of butternut squash soup being cooked – with onions, carrots, yellow pepper, garlic, herbs, broccoli stalks that I’ve been saving and freezing, vegetable stock.

Preparing supper in advance – a lump of lamb’s liver and bacon casserole defrosting, and some potatoes and carrots ready to cook. I steamed sprouts and sliced courgette with sage in the steamer part, over the other vegetables. Four veges cooked on one ring!

The blind pastry cases for the quiches, cooked and ready for filling.

Two batches of mince pies and two quiches ready for the oven. The filling was spooned into the pastry cases, and a “custard” made with eggs and milk, herbs and seasoning poured over, with a final sprinkling of grated cheddar on top.

The butternut squash soup, liquidised. You can see the blender jug on the left.

The fruits of my labours today: butternut squash soup, two sweet potato quiches, two dozen mince pies and some steamed and peeled beetroot. All freezer fodder for now!

The Before photo (chaos!):

and After!

I like the final clearing up, when you end up with a nice clean tidy kitchen again – a sense of satisfaction of a job completed, and lots of nice nosh to enjoy in the coming weeks!

Art Projects – iPad Pro, using PaintStorm and Procreate apps

I’ve been working on another mandala and this time I’ve put some “gold” in the centre rather than a Zengem, since I’m on a gold roll at the moment. I went a bit mad with this one because I started with a canvas on PaintStorm that was much too big, so I shall never be able to print this out at full size! It’s very intricate-looking at a smaller scale. Here’s the outline:

and here’s the colouring I’ve done so far – note the touches of “gold”:

I’ve done a bit more gold for my Bible study group visuals too – this is the final one for last week’s session, not done in time for the last WOYWW:

and here’s the finished visual, showing how I used this image:

For this week’s session, these are the drawings I have done:

I’ve still got quite a bit of work to do to finish preparing the session by Friday!

Shoshi Health Update

I’ve got my 6-monthly oncology appointment tomorrow morning. I’m not worried, as the latest CT scan came back clear of cancer, and I’m sure the appointment will be fine – just a chat about how I’m getting on. I shall tell her about my hernia (Miss Piggy) and the support garment that is coming, and also about the clots on my lungs but she may already know about this, as my surgeon, who ordered the CT scan, has probably shared the results with the MDT (multi-disciplinary team) who have overseen my care since my diagnosis back in January last year.

I lost another pound this week – if I lose one more pound, I will have lost a total of 3 stone (42 lb) in 2 1/2 years – not that I really count last year because I lost a huge amount in hospital and then put it all on again, having to abandon my diet while undergoing surgery and treatment, and ended up only losing 1 lb last year! Ideally I’d like to lose another stone, but it’s coming off very slowly these days and that may be a bit optimistic!

Kitty Health Update

Phoebe has got to go in to the vet sometime in the next week or two to have some teeth extracted – they’ve put this off for some time until her epilepsy was stabilised. They reduced the dose of her epilepsy meds recently and her liver function has improved which is good – they take regular bloods to check on her general health, in order to balance therapeutic levels against adverse side effects. She will have to stay in overnight when she has her operation and it’s going to be very strange without her here! Hope she doesn’t get too stressed… Both kitties are eating quite well these day (little and often – it’s like having kittens in the house again) and both have gained weight and seem very well. They are 16 and 13 respectively. Both are on medication permanently and have to be fed separately because Beatrice is on a special diet. Life is complicated Chez Shosh!

Sorry I didn’t visit many of you last week, and those I did, were rather late! It may be the same again this week as I’ve got a lot on and not a lot of time to do it.

Happy WOYWW everyone.