Art & Craft Tutorial: How to draw simple flowers course – part one – snowdrops

Art & Craft Tutorial: How to draw simple flowers course – part one – snowdrops

Are you looking for a creative outlet to help you relax and unwind?Starting today I have a free five part course on Simple Flower Drawing, guiding you step-by-step through drawing five different flowers. This course is suitable for beginners, as I take you step-by-step through the drawings.I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of the snowdrops…

Exhibition: Creative Calligraphy’s ‘Inspired by Lindisfarne’ exhibition
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Exhibition: Creative Calligraphy’s ‘Inspired by Lindisfarne’ exhibition

Last October I taught Celtic knotwork to two groups of calligraphers, who attend weekly workshops hosted by Angela Reed of Creative Calligraphy. Angela’s groups are currently exhibiting at the Customs House, South Shields, in an exhibition called ‘Inspired by Lindisfarne’, where they have combined calligraphy, Celtic knotwork and book making to put together a wonderful…

Student Showcase: Junk Journal workshop
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Student Showcase: Junk Journal workshop

Shown above are the two beautiful ‘junk journals’ made by the lovely ladies on my workshop this morning. We used keepsakes, scrap paper, wrapping paper, cardboard packaging and more to make a hand bound journal. These journals can now be used as memory books and more keepsakes can be added. On the workshop we were…

Student Showcase: six week lino printing course for beginners – week 6
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Student Showcase: six week lino printing course for beginners – week 6

It was sad to finish this six week lino printing course this afternoon, as I’ve really enjoyed teaching all the participants at a wellbeing centre in Breathing Space in Witton Gilbert. Today we had fun lino printing on fabric, which uses different printing inks and also I like to use a different method of inking…

Finished Craft Project: Bargello Embroidered Chair Seat Cover

Finished Craft Project: Bargello Embroidered Chair Seat Cover

A few months ago I bought this fabulous ‘Waves’ bargello kit by the Bargello Sisters and Appletons Wool. I bought the kit from Bargello-A-GoGo who I can thoroughly recommend (no affiliation, just very pleased with the excellent service!). I absolutely love the colour combination and really enjoyed the relaxing process of slowing down and stitching…

Student Showcase: Celtic Knotwork Drawing for Beginners Workshop
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Student Showcase: Celtic Knotwork Drawing for Beginners Workshop

I’ve had a very enjoyable morning with two lovely people who came on my Celtic Knotwork Drawing for Beginners workshop today. We started off by learning how to construct the basic knot, and then played with adding break lines to make more intricate designs. We also worked on a simple corner knot motif. Lots of…

Student Showcase: six week lino printing course for beginners – week 5
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Student Showcase: six week lino printing course for beginners – week 5

Due to bad weather and the proximity of the Christmas holidays, there was a smaller class than usual at my six week lino printing class for beginners for a wellbeing centre in Witton Gilbert today. However, as you can see from the photos above, there were some wonderful lino prints made on this afternoon’s class!…

Student Showcase: Lino Printed Christmas Crackers
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Student Showcase: Lino Printed Christmas Crackers

Today I taught a wonderfully festive workshop at The Lodge in Blackhill and Consett Park, where everyone learned how to make lino printed Christmas crackers. I first taught everyone the basics of lino printing, how to use the tools and materials and also how to print. We then moved on to carving out the holly…

Student Showcase: six week lino printing course for beginners – week 4
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Student Showcase: six week lino printing course for beginners – week 4

This afternoon saw week 4 of a six week lino printing course that I’m teaching for a wellbeing centre in Witton Gilbert. This week everyone started working on their own designs. With it coming up to Christmas, naturally the majority of the carvings had Christmas cards and themes in mind. There was also a lovely…

Student Showcase: six week lino printing course for beginners – week 3
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Student Showcase: six week lino printing course for beginners – week 3

This afternoon saw week 3 of a six week lino printing course that I’m teaching for a wellbeing centre in Witton Gilbert. This week we moved on to creating a large design, and also using a couple of extra U-blades. I also showed everyone how to print up a two colour piece using just one…