Friday 25 November 2011

Ancient Strings and Fabulous Things

Jane Wild and I went to a fabulous workshop and concert based on Senegalese music, last Saturday. It was by a group called Ancient Strings and Fabulous Things led by Doudou Cissoko.

Doudou and percussionist Alicia Davies led the workshop which involved a bit of singing along to an instrument called a kora, some bashing of a pseudo calabash and ‘body percussion’ – aka clapping and slapping. It was huge fun. Here is a pic of Doudou. He has the kind of face that you want to paint.
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Here he is with the kora – a twenty-one stringed instrument. The strings used to be made of hide but now they are strung with fishing line and the sound is amazing. Find out more at

http://www.reverbnation.com/doudoucissokosancientstringsandfabulousthings

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Lynda Monk’s book 'Fabulous Surfaces' is flying off the shelves – just back from Harrogate where we took several orders and where Lynda is taking part in the Art and Artists section. I’ve been trying out her white spirit distressing techniques and they work amazingly well.
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She’ll be providing free classes for everyone who has the book. Starting after Christmas, they should really cheer us up through chilly January. I was thinking of setting up a Facebook page so we could all see each other’s work, but I know that not everybody likes Facebook. We usually have a Yahoo group but I find it very tiresome to organise and it seems to attract nasty spam. How else could we do it? Your views are welcome.

Here are the winners of the ‘Fabulous Surfaces’ giveaway. Deb Jackson and Barbara Wilson have each won one of Lynda’s lovely hand-made books and Ann Aket and Cynthia Tanti have each won a copy of ‘Fabulous Surfaces'. I haven’t checked whether you’ve bought this book already but, if you have, choose another from the http://www.d4daisy.com/ website.

Heather Martin and Esme Wright have each won one of my Birdie brooch cards. If you are a winner, please email me your snail mail address maggie@workshopontheweb.com It would be so helpful, even if we already have your snail mail addy, as it’s quicker than getting Fee to look it up. She’s a bit busy posting books right now!


There were loads of packages of goodies – too many to mention here but you’ll know if you’ve got one.

Our decision to go to Harrogate was made rather late so we had trouble finding a hotel and wound up in a two bedroomed flat for almost the same price. It was very classy and great value for money. We’ll be going back there, I think.


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I have lots more to tell but lunchtime is here so I’ll soon be back with the rest of it.

Friday 18 November 2011

Big Giveaway

We are having a lulu of a giveaway on the d4daisy site http://www.d4daisy.com/. This is to celebrate Lynda Monk's book Fabulous Surfaces which should be here next week. Not only giving away copies of the book, but lots of materials, yarns and threads and some of Maggie's birdie brooch cards.
Click on the 'let me know' button on the d4daisy site to be included - no obligation to buy, we'll just let you know when the book is there. If you are already on the list, you will be automatically included, no need to click again.

Wonderful stuff (like this bodice) is the book - we're so pleased with it.
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This is a super brooch. Michael liked it so much that he put it on the cover.
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It doesn't seem possible but we have been in our 'new' home a whole year today. This was us on 19th November last year.


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It looks a bit different now. It was such a good move for us as we love it here, on the edge of the forest. Should have moved here years ago.




Saturday 12 November 2011

Printing, proofing and a bit of old tat

We went haring up the motorway this morning to meet up with Michael, the other half of our d4daisy publishing venture. The printer’s proofs of Lynda Monk’s new book, Fabulous Surfaces, were ready so, to save time, we met at the services to do the final proof. I have to say that the printer has done a great job and the colour is breathtaking.
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Here we are, spread over a picnic table, as it is always a bit dark in the restaurant. Luckily the weather is mild. I think I’m very brave taking a photo of a photographer – shan’t show him this.
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Clive is next on the production line.
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Proofing is very nerve-racking and it’s so easy to read what you expect to be there, rather than what is. We always involve Katherine James, a professional proof reader, and it is amazing what she finds. If anyone is thinking of self-publishing I would really recommend a proof reader (the cost is not great) and Katherine is a textiles person too. I know from my time editing Embroidery magazine that the bigger the heading, the more likely a mistake!

We’re all delighted with the book as it is the first one in our new ‘Workshop’series. It should be available on the d4d site around the 24th. www.d4daisy.com

This is subject to the vagaries of printers, of course. We once published a book around election time and found out, too late, that they were printing all the manifestos. Guess who got priority?

I shall be doing some Lynda book give-aways on this blog and on Facebook later in the week.

What do you do with old work? Do you recycle it or chuck it out in horror? I’m giving a talk in Bristol next week and needed a piece of metal threadwork to fit a theme. Looking at this City &Guilds piece, I can see all the errors but I can also remember how much I enjoyed making it. I had never done anything like it before as I came to C&G from a machine embroidery and drawing background, unlike most of the others who were familiar with more traditional techniques. Perhaps it’s good to revisit work from the past. What do you think?
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We are planning our local Christmas Party in Christchurch. There are always more people wanting to go than there are tickets, so this is a reminder to the usual suspects (or anyone else who fancies a fun day). It only costs a fiver and a plate of grub and we have Ruby Lever, always a popular choice, for the speaker, plus trade stalls etc. Email me if you haven’t got a ticket yet. maggie@workshopontheweb.com

Btw, regarding the collagraphs in the last blog, I used Daler Rowney Georgian Block Printing medium but Jenny Bullen tells me that oil paints on their own work very well. Thanks for that tip, Jenny.

Monday 7 November 2011

Fun with the Sizzix

Rather a long time since I posted about dashing off to Urchfont to the Text. 21 group - or whatever our group is called. I keep getting told off for getting it wrong! We have been so busy with Lynda Monk's new book, 'Fabulous Surfaces', that I've had no spare time. We are nearly there now and hope to be at the printer next week.

Back to Urchfont - we had a wonderful few days concentrating on printing techniques. Jane Wild gave us a class and came up with some amazing ideas for everything from mono-prints to collagraphs. Needless to say, it was the latter that I was concentrating on, having upgraded the pasta maker for a Sizzix Big Shot Cutting and Embossing machine.
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Sorry about the strange angle, but you get the picture. It was so much easier than the pasta maker. It is designed to heavily emboss paper, so printing doesn't put a strain on the machine, as Wendy thought it might. I had to add a couple of pieces of felt to the platform that holds the plate and, when that was done, it gave perfect prints very easily, just gently rolled through. I couldn't believe how easy it was.

I made the plate, below, from textured wallpaper, scrim and kozo fibres, all stuck to mount board with PVA glue. Jane also introduced us to carborundum - a fine grit that you sprinkle on to PVA. It's great for texture.
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I have always used acrylics with a retarder for printing but Viv from Art Van Go recommended oil paints with a special printing medium mixed in. This gives you so much more time to work on burnishing the plate - the point where the excess paint is removed. These are my prints - sideways on as Blogger is having one of its turns!



What do you think?

Comments

The jacket worked really well, Heather – will show a pic of it next time. I’m thinking of selling it back to Marks as a designer special.

Ticks – Clive seems fine, thanks. You do have to be careful because deer ticks carry Lyme's disease, very nasty. We live on the edge of the forest so lots round here and, on the day it attached itself, we’d taken the family to the 'scruffy pub' down the road for lunch. This is right on the edge of the golf course and is in the woody bit. Other people have posh eateries in their golf courses but ours is cheap and tatty. The food and staff are lovely and the kids like the table football machine.

Smudge does have tiny ticks but Clive’s was huge. Perhaps they scale themselves to their victim.

Had a giggle about putting the tick killing stuff on Clive too – it doesn’t seem to work on Smudge.