A splash of Colour
Raindrops / Colourful textile brooches in progress / Raising Ghosts / Shop news
Hello! I’m packing in a lot of colour this time because days have been grey and working with colour has been so therapeutic and needed.
Today is sunny, and I’m thankful for every bright day now it’s proper winter. It has rained - a lot. So much so, that drips have been making their way in through gaps in the roof tiles, trickling down the rafters and drip, drip, dripping into our living room, which is very distracting. It reminded me of this old Beatles classic. Not to worry though, Robb’s on the case - as a temporary measure he’s placed a bucket in the attic to catch the drips and will be replacing missing slates as soon as he has a free day. Fingers crossed for dry weather!
But it’s not all doom and gloom; last time I was adding the final two in a series of semi abstract landscape paintings to my shop, and am delighted that since then The Water’s Edge found a new home. No idea how the buyer found my website but just know that I’m very happy and grateful they did. To be honest, sales have been very slow this year which makes every single order something to celebrate!
I'm having a short break from painting to work with fabric, thread, beads, and colour. It almost felt like an urgent need that made me drop everything, and pull out my big bag of cotton fabric scraps, and boxes of embroidery threads to make something tactile and joyful. Once I’ve decided how to finish them they’ll be brooches.
It pleases me that I had all the materials already squirrelled away, so there was no need to bring more stuff into the house or spend any more ££s. It’s extremely satisfying to find a use for even the tiniest of scraps. A lot of the beads were gifted to me - I felt bad that I hadn’t found a use for them until now. I’m using cork for the bases which not only is great from a sustainability point of view, it’s also perfect for brooches because it’s so light and won’t drag your clothes down with the weight.
They’re a follow up to some I made by binding belt buckles a couple of years ago. Working with your hands is a proven way to lower stress levels. The whole process of making these brooches feels calming, almost like a meditation - the colourful results are much more energising, like sugary sweets coated with a sprinkling of hundreds and thousands. Styling them for photos will be fun!
Raising Ghosts: Rachel Larkins
Raising Ghosts is an exhibition by Rachel Larkins at the Scottish Gallery, Dundas Street, Edinburgh.
To say I enjoyed this is a massive understatement! I’ve been to quite a few art exhibitions recently but this one really stood out. Rachel Larkins, an artist from Dorset, worked for two years to create drawings, diorama, and jewellery for this show. She conducted a massive amount of research on Scottish folklore before the work of making even began. The themes are dark and mysterious - sea catastrophes, sailor’s widows, skeletons, amulets, talismans, and dolls. Everything is beautifully made, and although an eerie undercurrent runs throughout the work is never gory. It always displays humour and a love of historical artefacts. I will visit again before it ends on the 23rd of December.
Shop News
These cat art greeting cards are available from my shop now. They’re professionally printed from my paintings Marco, in the Evening Light (above) and Cat on a Mat Too (below)
In the Original Art section of my website you will find many small, expressive, colourful, and affordable paintings.
You can expect to see the brooches appearing soon!
Until next time, I hope you’re staying cosy and finding ways to bring some colour into your life!
Best wishes,
Julia x
Congratulations on the painting sale! That's just the best news. Your colourful brooches are a balm in these grey days - I can see why you enjoy making them! Thanks for another enjoyable window into your art world!