Steam - Part Two

Remember this picture that I shared a few posts ago?

Well it's grown a bit. It's difficult to get everything in one picture as the text is stitched in a long line across the fabric.

Now to start work on the main part of the piece that this will be used on .....

Steam

I hate work!

Ok so I know I have to work to be able to afford my house, the car and my art supplies but between work and looking after sick MIL free time during the week seems to get less and less. I have so many things that I want to do and projects that I want to progress sometimes it's just FRUSTRATING!

This is what I have been trying to get to work on the last few weeks but somehow never seem to get too.

The GWE main exhibition is at the beginning of next year just a few short months away and I'm not even started. I think that part of the problem is the thought of working in a sketchbook to try and develop my ideas.

I've never been good at drawing and painting ( a fact that I was constantly reminded of at school) and get frustrated by the fact that I can never seem to translate the ideas that I have in my head onto paper. I think this is why I tend to get stuck straight into the doing rather than concentrating on developing ideas.

I have an idea of what I want to make for the exhibition but in order to get to where I want to be I know I need to thrash out and develop my thoughts in the sketchbook. I'm going to try and shift my thought process slightly and try and think of this as a 'sample' rather than 'sketch' book to see if that helps.

This book arrived from Amazon today. I'm hoping that it will help me on the way to realising the piece that I want to make for the exhibition. I have several good doll/figure making books now. I've only had a chance to glance through this one so far and while I don't think there are any particularly new techniques it's a lovely book with some great colourful photos to inspire. I'm going camping at the weekend, this will come with me so that I can read and digest properly!

Sorry I know this is turning into a bit of a rambling post but before I sign off for the day for any blog reading addicts out there I just want to mention a new blog on the block. I recently 'met' Vicki as we are partners in a swap being organised by Quilt Pixie, thanks for hooking us up Pixie! Anyhow please drop by and visit Felines and Fibre Arts from time to time, I'm sure Vicki (and her gorgeous moon faced kitties!) would love to hear from you!

Great Western Embroiderers at Steam

I haven't posted in a few days which is unusual for me lately, no particular reason other than I've been here there and everywhere and haven't had much time to get to the computer.
Today I spent a wonderful few hours helping out on the GWE stand at the Steam Museum's railway festival which took place this weekend. We had a mini exhibition of our CD case samplers as a forerunner for our main exhibition which will be held at Steam at the beginning of next year.

Here are our rails with all the CD cases hanging from them, a great display idea thought up by Maggie! It was difficult to get a great picture as there was lots going on in the background but you get an idea.
Here is a closer look at my white on white piece hanging amongst the others. This is the first time any of my work has gone on display anywhere so pretty exciting for me.

I can't speak for the Saturday showing but I know we had a great response at the show today. We were lucky enough to have a table in a great spot with plenty of passers by and there was lots of interest in our work. We had some people asking if the pieces were for sale and others who wanted to know if we had any kits available.

I had a blast and am really looking forward to getting stuck into making my piece for the main exhibition, I have the seeds of an idea but there will be plenty of work ahead to try and achieve it so I'll need to put in plenty of thought and effort in the coming weeks. Wish me luck!

Pictures from Steam

Warning : This is going to be a picture heavy post.

It's taken me a little while but I have finally been able to get blogger to co-operate and am able to share some of the pictures that I took at the steam museum on Wednesday. Looking at the pictures that I took and the ones I asked Mark to take I can see that there is hardly anything from the large engines that I thought might inspire me, which is quite surprising.

I apologise as some of these picture are at a funny angle I didn't really feel I could sprawl across the floor to take pics in the middle of the busy museum!

Wheels Engine Controls

Ventilation shaft

Face of weighing scales

Map of Highworth Junction (I love all the linear patterns)

Lantern from the replica 'North Star' (Loved the cross detail and the vibrant colour)

Rusty nuts and bolts from the boiler room

Abstract pattern on the front of a GWR notebook.

There were only a few textile items on display that I saw including some window blinds and a couple of uniforms that would have been worn by porters but these two things particularly captured my imagination....An intricate strap on the back of the door of one of the royal carriages.
Detail from the bottom of the strap

And this terrific abstract design covering a chair which was apparently used in a track inspection carriage (whatever one of those was!)

My favourite thing in the whole of the museum was something that was on display in the storeroom. The storeroom houses bits and pieces from the museums reserve collection, the things that would usually be in a warehouse and not on display and on a lot of these pieces there wasn't much explanation of what they were but I just loved this.Apparently its a fire station call out board used during World War Two. Very difficult to photograph though as it was on a shelf at a bit of a awkward height in a big glass cabinetDon't ask me why I like it so much, maybe it's the simplicity of the numbered pegs and the bright colours, there wasn't a huge amount of colour to be seen in the museum so maybe the magpie in me kept coming back to this little piece.I just want to say a huge thank you to Maggie and Kath for getting us free entry to the museum, and also to Mark for helping me getting these pictures. Some of them here are mine and some are his it would be too complicated and boring to credit each one but surfice to say the better quality ones are Marks :)

Now all I have to do is build on the possibilities presented by all these great items and try and translate at least one or two ideas into something which will form a piece for the exhibition ......

Sketching at Steam

A group I belong to, the Great Western Embroiderers, are planning on having an exhibition at the Steam museum in Swindon next year. Maggie and Kath the group founders had managed to get us free entry into the museum for a sketching day yesterday. What a great day it was. I dragged Mark along with me too as I knew his camera would be better for taking some reference photos.

On my first tour round this great little museum I was thinking 'oh help' what is there for inspiration but I think that was the pesimist in me and after a few more walk rounds in which I kept spotting more and more I now have too much inspiration.....

I have lots of pictures that I want to share but blogger is taking an age to upload at the moment so for now here is one of me in sketching pose :)

Mark has already put some on his blog, I just love the one of all the rivets!