Stitched Collagraphs - 'On The Mend'

This is a series of collagraphs I've been working on lately, using a lacey (and racey)  upcycled negligee, ripped up, torn apart then printed. As you do.

The prints were based around feelings of anxiety and negative thought patterns. Feelings such as these can sometimes leave us feeling torn or broken, however, with time, we can be mended. But you are never the same again. I liked the idea of using a personal item, such as undies, and printing them for all to see! Laying it bare. I found this quite hard to do as it is so personal, making me feel quite self conscious. So of course, it makes loads of sense I go post it on the world wide web.

Check out the detail picked up in the lace! The print also has a beautiful slight emboss.

Collagraph plate in prep stage.

The monoprint which started the idea for a collagraph.

Ripped and stitched back together with text.

This went a bit wrong! The paper got stuck to the plate.
I managed to pull off some of the print and put it back together.
 I quite liked the print in the end. The detail in the lace is still so crisp.

Stitched Birthday love

January is such a skint month, straight after Christmas my bank account has been rinsed. Yet, there seems to be more birthdays in this month than any other! It doesn't bode well for the detox either.

Enter the handmade card. I do love a hand stitched item and taking the time to make cards for loved ones shows you love them the most! Not that you're too poor to buy cards at all...

Here's one I stitched earlier. 

hand stitched appliqué card.

Winds of change

How long can I get away with saying Happy New Year? This is my first post for 2014, 12 days in,  surely still acceptable.

New Year, new me! Isn't that the saying? Each year I start out with the best intentions..thinking about exercising, cutting back to just the one bottle.. but this year I have a wedding dress to fit into, so might actually have to do some work!

Although..even if I do chunk up, I'm making my dress, so just add in a couple of fat panels on the side! Problem solved.

Creatively speaking, I'm starting fresh. A new sketchbook is a great way to do this. Its full of blank pages just aching to be filled with goodness! I've been reflecting on themes I'd been working on and they are just SO last year. I'm ready to move on from them and push my work in new exciting areas. Who knows where this will be? Not this girl. I kinda like that though, its nice to be here now, in this moment.

There is that lovely feeling of hope and promise in the air.