Fabulous weekend

I have had a lovely weekend at Strathpeffer on my stall. Unfortunately no major sales, a few decorations went though. So i'm looking at the positives of meeting lots of lovely people. These events are brilliant opportunities to meet fellow crafts people and artists, and there were plenty to meet. I have picked up plenty of business cards and website addresses which will all be going onto the blog soon. I have also begun some christmas browsing, there were so many things I liked that it was hard to find things I would want to give away! I resisted parting with my cash, only to save the moment for the fairs at Eden court in Inverness, coming up soon.

Here are some piccies of my stall from this weekend.

I have decided to set myself a challenge, a new post about a different crafts person, photographer or artist a week. My chosen day is going to be Thursday, starting tomorrow, so watch this space......

Strathpeffer fair

On Saturday and Sunday I will be holding a stall at Strathpeffer food and art fair. There will be lots of stalls showing off wonderful handmade jewellery and crafts. I'm looking forward to meeting some new, lovely people and gaining some contacts for the future. I must try not to spend more than I earn. Hope to see you there if you are in the area.

On my stall I will have all my original artwork for sale, and my handmade canvas xmas decorations. They are hand-painted and decorated with vintage buttons form my Nana's button box. Take a look, I'm feeling slightly festive.

Inspiration

I hope everyone is having a good week so far, it's not long until the weekend. I don't know what the weather has been like near you, but up here in Moray the Autumn sun has been simply amazing. A pain to drive in, but divine for photography. The shot of the rainbow was taken on my way to work this morning, leaning out of my Landrover window. I was pulled over, don't worry. It's days like today when I'm glad I grabbed my camera. I am dying to go walking in the woods this weekend to get some snaps of the fallen leaves, I just cannot get over the varied colours. I have been picking up colourful leaves to press and use on cards, capturing the jewel like colours.

Sometimes a photo can look disappointing at first glance, as the one above did. However I always try to see a positive, and I really like how the violent purple stands out in this photo of heather. Below are some more stunning sunsets, I cannot get enough of them.

Back painting again

I have finally been and replaced my paint box. To fill you in, while moving house I lost a box, the box full of my acrylic paints. I was devastated when I realised. One year on and it was time to reverse the situation. You may wonder why it took me so long? Two reasons, I really wanted to give my pastels a fair chance, and I know myself too well, shopping for paint would be expensive!! And so, I set off with credit card in hand and I have not looked back.

It was expensive, but, I am very happy and I do have some fairs coming up soon to get some reaation. Here are my first offerings, I've been experimenting with more abstract ideas.

Beach Swirl No1

Beach Swirl No2

Golden escape

All these painting will be for sale in mt Filksy shop very soon, and available to look at on my stall at the following events :-

Strathpeffer Pavillion - 6th and 7th November

Victorian Fair, Brodie Castle - 27th and 28th November

Bishops Palace, Eden Court, Inverness - 4th and 5th December

Dark room dreams

I have recently started an evening course in film photography at Moray College. So far I have taken a 24 exposure film and developed it. My first photo was an oops moment, I was in digital mode and just snapped away without any settings adjusted, so we will see how successful that was, or wasn't! Our theme for the course is reflections and shadows, but unfortunately the weather in sunny Scotland hasn't been so sunny of late. So I was forced inside for my photos, I decided to concentrate on kitchen items and a very shiny pair of comedy sunglasses. Tomorrow is printing night, and I am so excited to see how successful I have been, or if it has been a disaster! I will scan in some photos when I get home.

For the course we also have to research photography masters and one of my favourites so far has been the works of Shomei Tomatsu. He is one of the only Japanese photographers to have documented the aftermath of the nuclear attack on the city of Nagasaki in 1945. His photographs are horrifying and eye opening in the same breath. Here are some examples of his work.

Bonbi Forest treats

Here is my Bonbi Forest journey in pictures. I have been eyeing up Lee May Foster's work and jewelery for a while now, and as soon as pay day arrived I decided to treat myself. I was so excited when the parcel arrived, but I didn't expect the amazing packaging that was inside. It was so much fun un-wrapping the necklace, the box was so intricate and gorgeous. I loved the little arrows showing me the way in. A truly fabulous way to package somthing, professional and fun. You can buy your own bit of fun at www.bonbiforest.com

And here is the gem inside the origami box, a stunningly made necklace. I've not taken it off since it arrived, its perfect for dressing up a simple white tee. Love it, more treats will be winging their way to sunny Scotland I think.

'Red sky at night...'

Here is my newest piece of original work, 'Red sky at night...'. It is a chalk pastel drawing that is professinally mounted using white board. The drawing will soon be available to buy in my Folksy shop. If you would like the drawing to be framed I can do that for you, but the delivery time will be longer.
I have tried to capture the vivid colours I have seen in the many stunning Morayshire sunsets. This drawing is from memory, not a photograph. Hope you like it. Comments and opinions appreciated.