Armchair Travelling 1 and more...

We have just returned from a visit to Australia to visit the Hopper Juniors.  We arrived in Sydney in time for breakfast and then took ourselves into the city on the train and on to Manly via the ferry.  I have lots of photos of Manly so didn't take any this time apart from this advertising hoarding.


Normal photography service was resumed the next day when we visited the Powerhouse Museum.  I have been pondering whilst away about how many photos I take and that I do nothing much with them afterwards so I tried not to be so trigger happy this time.  I only took 469 in the almost 2 weeks - that's a low number for me.

So there's a somewhat eclectic mix of photos for day 2.  This was our first visit to this Museum despite many visits to Sydney.









After the Powerhouse Museum we walked towards Darling Harbour where we popped into the Chinese Garden of Friendship which we had never visited before.








Darling Harbour is a frenetic place so it was amazing to find this oasis of calm in it's midst.

We walked up to Town Hall to get the train back to Rockdale.  I loved this anchor outside the church.

On day 3 I went to the ladies meeting at Hillsong with Naomi, Andy went to work and Roger went for a walk.  The weather wasn't much good in the afternoon so we stayed in and prepared for our road trip - planned for the next 3 days.

Thanks for joining me today.
Bernice

I signed up to do Karen Stamper's Online Course because I couldn't wait for the September workshop that I had invited her to do at The Studio in Solihull.  I have found it very beneficial to do both.

This is as far as I got with the online course.  I used a Khadi paper zigzag book.

At the Solihull workshop I used the recommended Seawhite concertina book.  I took photos of various stages. 


Using Seawhite inks in black and sepia


Posca Pen sky after adding a skyline




Adding foreground features


The inspiration was Venice although I have had a couple of comments about it looking like Marrakech!

Since the workshop I have tried to find a way of incorporating Karen's techniques with my preference to find a style that works for me.

This is only the first layer.

I'll let you know how I get on.

Thanks for joining me today.
Bernice

My last post showed a large number of photographs taken at Forge Mill Museum.  Today I'm going to show my sketchbook page by page.  I didn't necessarily work on the pages in order but this is the order they are in the book.

Our first task was to go outside and concentrate on one aspect of what we could see and find the colours represented there.  I chose the mill building but other people chose the flowers or other buildings.

During the three days, Hilary introduced a variety of techniques for us to choose.  We could try them and discard them, or continue to experiment with them.  We all chose different things to do.




This page was worryingly the colours I associate with my Venice work.


Hilary encouraged us to go out and draw 'en plein air'.  However, I traced one of my photos using layout paper and sketched it up a bit with a pen.  Then stuck it in.

I tore pages and extended pages.


The museum had some metal tiles that could be used for rubbings and a mock up in the museum of what they thought they looked like originally.

There was also a photo of what they had found in the abbey.  I made some small eraser stamps and combined these with the photo and the rubbings.

In the modern part of the visitor centre there was a really interesting drain cover. I made a stencil and combined that with collaged photos.  One of the other participants made this lovely chain stamp.

This page sticks out like a sore thumb.  I need to knock back the green.

Normal service is resumed.   Wax resist, watercolour and collaged photos.

I had a lovely time and really like some of my pages - that's very unusual for me.  Whether I ever finish the sketchbook is another matter.

Thanks for joining me today.
Bernice

In September I spent 3 memorable days with my friends Lorna and Sandie at Forge Mill Museum on an art retreat led by Hilary Beattie.

We spent the three days immersing ourselves in the place.  I took lots of photos - mostly outside the building.  I didn't really ever get to the inside.  Before I went I was planning to do about the cogs and wheels of the machinery but I never made it that far.

In today's blog post I am going to share some of the photos I took and then in the next blog post I'll show you my sketchbook.

The room we were working in.

Bits and pieces around the mill








 
 




Next time - how these photos and the place itself impacted the work in my sketchbook.

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice

Continuing on from my last blog post, here is August.

The background for this page is a photo of some of the fabric I made at Committed to Cloth.

I was booked into a Breakdown Printing & Colour Families workshop at Committed to Cloth.  As I was still unable to drive Roger drove me there and went walking each day.  Unfortunately for him it was some of the hottest days of the summer so he had to choose walks that would enable him to stay out of the sun as much as possible.

Meanwhile I was having lots of fun at the C2C studio.  I had gone prepared to have to sit and listen if I couldn't actually do the tasks.  However Lesley had prepared amazing handouts and any notes I needed to take I made on my iPad as whilst I couldn't write properly I could type.  I'll do another blog post about the workshop.

On Saturday 11th August I made my first solo outing.   I went on the bus to the NEC to the Festival of Quilts. I didn’t bother to take my camera as I was going to use my phone. However I left my phone at home as well. Dia & Cath took the photos for me. I met up with Helen for a coffee and went round some of the exhibitions with her. We also had lunch together.  I left early in the afternoon as tiredness set in and I knew I would have to walk from the bus station to home.

The main reason for taking photos during the past months is to record even the smallest of progress.  One of the Hand Therapists said it was a good idea to be able to see the progress.  This week there were three firsts.  I managed to hold a cup of coffee in my right hand, I managed to iron the washed cloth from the previous week and I used scissors.  The fingers still weren't bending properly but strength was returning to my hand.

I had an appointment with the Consultant and the Hand Clinic.  I have been so impressed with the staff at the QE and their dedication to get my hand back to normal.   Another first this week - I used a knife and fork rather than just a fork to eat my dinner.

I have been able to sew using both the machine and some hand stitching.

Sadly I've run out of the days of the week washi tape.  I have some on order but it's taking forever to arrive from Canada.  So I shall save sharing September with you until next month.

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice



Mary Brack, Valerie Sjodin and I are using one journal to record events, experiences and relationships and to explore our word’s meaning in visual and fun ways. We are each blogging about our experiences and our art. If you would like to connect with others about creatively organising your word, your ideas, thoughts, prayers, events, or your projects all in one journal, you are invited to join our Facebook group: Everyday Journals – Living Your Word of the Year.

Hashtags on Instagram: #everydayjournals2018, #livingyourword2018

Check out the other blogs:
Mary: www.foundonbrighton.com
Valerie: www.valeriesjodin.com/blog