Decoupaged Glass Plates with ICA ladies

We had our first ICA Castletroup guild meeting for 2018 and it was a privilege to show the ladies how to make a decoupaged glass plate.

There were 15 of us and we had fun putting the pieces together. Because of time constraints, I had prepared most of the materials earlier. (weave paper, serviettes, modpotch)

The ladies were very good and handled their plates with care. The results were stunning and everyone brought home a piece of art! These plates should be hand washed.

Although everyone used the same fairy cake image, the possibilities are endless : flowers, christmas scenes, sweets etc.

Where did I get this idea for the plate? Well, when we were gallivanting one day, we ambled into a gift shop and browsed around. What caught my attention were some pretty decoupaged glass plates. I had a look at one of them and decided I must make one at home. And so I did and because I have a teacher's heart, I thought it would be lovely to share this skill with my friends as well....................

PLAYING WITH CLAY

I signed up for a 10 week beginner's ceramic course at the Killaloe Ballina Family Resource Centre late last year and had a wonderful time pinching pots and coiling. Basically it is back to those days of clay dough fun. We met every Thursday for two hours. As we could only do so much during class time, I bought extra clay from the facilitator so I could do more at home and paid her for the firing.

There seems to be a craze in Ireland for fairy doors and fairy villages. Since I do not believe in fairies I decided to make a door for Peter Rabbit to be placed at the foot of a tree in my garden.

                                                                         After Firing

Before Firing

I've always enjoyed Beatrice Potter's books and Peter Rabbit and his sisters Mopsy, Flopsy and Cottontail remind me of my own children. Even my Facebook Profile photo is Peter Rabbit's family.

The rabbit family has a neighbour. The very loveable character Stuart Little, so I made a door for him as well.

                                                                       After Firing

Before firing

I decided to make a pumpkin and a gourd as well for Autumn.

And a Christmas tea-light tree and Choristers for Christmas.

Then I decided to make things for the garden. Mushrooms and a fish chime to begin with.

Having gained enough confidence, I proceeded to make a miniature village for my garden.

Our house

St Flannans Cathedral, Killaloe

A thatched cottage

two senior citizens and their home

and two big menacing looking blackbirds to protect my crops in the garden

I still have unfired bits in the kiln so hopefully all the pieces for the garden will be completed by Spring.

THE ART OF BOOK FOLDING

Now who would have thought of it - giving an old book new life - simply by folding its pages! I saw some objects created from folded pages and I thought I must give it a try.

My mind works like a photostating machine when it comes to crafts. Just like that - no lessons, just observation of the finished products being displayed.

I started making the simplest form - the mummy hedgehog. After that I went on to make the daddy and the baby. All these while watching some good documentaries like George Bernard Shaw or James Joyce on television.

I was hooked. I went on to make more complicated projects like the Christmas tree and the Bird cage.

Then I decided to make something for the wall with a Christmassy theme.

Since this will be stored away after Christmas, I decided to make another one for the rest of the year.

Finally I decided to challenge myself to make one even more difficult than the last.

I created a big top for the circus. My friend gave me some small elephants when she moved house a number of years ago and I thought they fitted in very nicely with the circus theme. I managed to find a very thick book with lots of pages in order to create a 360 degree big top.


                                                                         front view

                                                                               top view

                                                                        inside of the big top

PUMPKINS GALORE

Autumn is my favourite season. This season of mellow fruitfulness where leaves turn a myriad of rich browns and reds. And the fruit that captures the essence of Autumn is the humble pumpkin.

At the October Castletroy guild meeting, some of our members decided to make a pumpkin pin cushion. Due to time constraints, I prepared the basic pumpkins and stems and the ladies did the rest.

 It was a beautiful night altogether and everyone did so well. All the pumpkins were lovely and I  enjoyed facilitating the session.

BATIK & PASTEL NAGOMI ART

I have always been interested in batik painting. When we went to Kuantan, Malaysia last month, we stayed at the Swiss Garden Resort which was a stone's throw away from the Kuantan Natural Batik Centre. I went there and did a simple piece of batik painting and immediately fell in love with the art.

When I returned to Kuala Lumpur I decided to look up Sam Karuna, a master artist in batik art. 

Sam invented Dyetik. Dyetik involves placing little dots on the material to form the desired image, à la Pointillism (a technique developed by Georges Seurat in the late 19th century). The result is a uniform mottled surface glow that Sam effortlessly tweaks to incorporate depth and dimension to his paintings. Unlike traditional batik techniques, he uses relatively less wax and more dye in his works.

This technique requires the use of a fine brush to paint the dye onto the fabric, a process called micro-pointillism.

So I went to his studio and spent 4.5 hours learning the basics of batik painting from canting to curing the art so the paints will stay fast and not bleed. Sam was extremely patient and I enjoyed the class thoroughly.

According to Sam, the word Batik means wax painting on a piece of cloth. The basic principle is to define a theme by blocking out the white part of the material with a mixture of melted paraffin and bees wax with any impression of dots or lines. Then adding on the colours, which will be absolved by the non-wax parts. To reach the dominant theme, the wax is dissolved, leaving the colours. The process is repeated until the artist reaches the motifs, making this a very interesting and challenging medium to work with.

Besides Batik painting, I also learnt Pastel Nagomi art from Lee Hsia, another patient and creative teacher from Melaka. Pastels are available in several types: hard, soft, oil and pastel pencils, each with their own unique characteristics. One of my favorite applications for pastels is sidewalk chalk drawings.

Pastel Nagomi Art originated in Japan. Nagomi means 'Harmony' and this art form is therapeutic, something similar to adult colouring. 

Lee Hsia taught me how to use pastel chalk, fingers and stencils to create a number of beautiful designs.

Now that I'm back in Ireland, the challenge is to practise both batik and pastel nagomi art on my own without the help of the tutors. I have bought the necessary raw materials for both the art techniques and can't wait to start trying out soon....