Thursday, December 18, 2008

Last Post Till The New Year - Happy Christmas Everyone

Time to wish all my friends and readers a very Happy Christmas and a wonderful New Year.


This is called Co-ordinating Leaf Bird for obvious reasons.
This is a picture I painted in watercolour when I first started my blog but I have since altered it and changed it to digital colour and I think it has improved it a lot.
This piece is called Contemplating A Sunflower.
A simple, sweet little white cat among flowers.

One of the Victorian monumental angels I enjoy photographing with a tiny touch of Photoshop

The following Christmas decorations (except for the ceramic ladies) are all ones that I made about 20 years ago. I used to have time to make things in those days.


I cannot take credit for these cuties. I found them in a shop a few years ago. They were surprisingly inexpensive. I love the little partridge and the goose. The ladies even have long, gold metallic hair.
These three pictures are of ordinary metal bangles which I have wrapped around with wool (hidden) then very thick, glittery tape and finally various coloured ribbons. The ribbons are wrapped so that the glittery tape is visible in some cases. I then sewed on co-ordinating tiny glass beads and star sequins. They also need a piece of ribbon to hang them up with. The best bangles are the childrens sized ones as they look very dinky. They look lovely suspended from the Christmas tree. The middle picture is of two tiny bangles intersected. You have to hold them in position as you wrap them.





These decorations are simply walnuts which have been opened up and the nuts eaten (very important). The outside is sprayed with gold paint and various items are laid inside one shell. In this case I have used gold beads threaded on wire, strung glass beads, pine cones, ribbons and everlasting flowers, but there are many other things you could use. The trick is to neatly arrange the items whilst at the same time glueing the edges of the walnuts together. The amazing thing is that the dried everlasting flowers have lasted so many years being handled without falling apart. Don't forget to add a little piece of gold thread to hang them from the tree.





These are felt stars filled with fibre and stitched around with very wide, glittery thread and sequins applied with transparent thread. I had great fun making these in different colours.


The following images are the artwork of Welsh artist Dai (David) Harding and his extensive website can be found here.

























Time for the last blog post of the year as I won't have time to blog till after the New Year. Christmas is busy enough as it is without extras added. I think I have finally managed to get all my Christmas letters and cards posted and the presents wrapped. What a rush it has been. But it doesn't have to be if only I could arrange my time better. I promise myself every year that this time I will start the preparations earlier and get everything completed before the last week before Christmas, but everytime I am foiled...by time, or rather, lack of it.

Anyway, enough of that. I thought I would post a few pictures of my "crafty werks" this time. I used to make lots of things once upon a time and I really enjoyed the creative process. These are mostly Christmas decorations which I made for a hospital bazaar many moons ago. If fact they are over 20 years old but they only make a brief appearance at Christmas so that is probably why they are still in good nick.

My artist this week is Dai (or David) Harding. He is a Welsh artist with an amazing talent for different styles of art. You can visit his website here. I don't think I have ever seen a website with so many images on it. A lot of his work is semi-abstract or contemporary. His figurative work has a primal, mythic quality. I particularly like his colourful landscapes. Definitely landscapes of the imagination. I also enjoy the pieces of text he combines with the artwork. He has a collection of very diverse commercial styles as well. A very talented and adaptable artist.

19 comments:

Old World Primitives said...

Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I really enjoyed getting to see the many pretty Christmas ornaments that you have made. Your illustrations are all lovely too - I especially love Co-ordinating Leaf Bird.
:)
Stephanie

~ Phyllis ~ said...

Hi Cathy,
I'm so glad that you posted pictures of your handmade ornaments. They are the best. I especially liked the pink bangle ornament. It's amazing how well the dried flowers have lasted over the years.
I love the colors that you have used for the birds. Your site is always so pretty and colorful.
The smiling cat looks like he is ready for mischief.
The picture of the Angel monument is beautiful. You take such beautiful pictures.
Now that all the hustle and bustle is over it's time to set back and relax and enjoy Christmas.
Hope you have a wonderful Christmas. Stay warm my friend and see you next year.

Cathy said...

Thanks Stephanie. That is my favourite this week too. I love black, white and red. A very Merry Christmas to you too.

Thanks Phyllis. That pink one was the trickiest to make but it turned out well. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year and here's to an arty and crafty 2009.

Holly Zemak said...

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I look forward each week to your blog post, enjoying both your art and the artist you feature. Have a wonderful holiday and we will see you next year!

Gillian said...

Merry Christmas Cathy! Love all of your handmade ornaments - especially the golden walnuts! Enjoy the holidays. G

Cathy said...

Thanks Holly. I am looking forward to finding some more amazing artists to feature. Happy Christmas and a wonderful New Year to you.

Cathy said...

And you too Gillian. Lets hope 2009 is a very creative and inspiring year for us all.

ArtPropelled said...

I've just discovered your blog and am thoroughly enjoying it. Your work is lovely. Thanks for the link to David Hardings site.

Cathy said...

You are very welcome Robyn. Glad you are enjoying the blog. Loved visiting yours too.

Anonymous said...

I really like the coordinating leaf bird - very pleasing & charming image!

Cathy said...

Many thanks Tanaudel.

jenscloset said...

I love everything! I wish you a Happy New Year!

Sandy Mastroni said...

Happy New Year Cathy !!!!
I used two of your cards [ and kept one ] .... just wonderful the work you do !

Cathy said...

A very Happy New Year to you too Jen.

Cathy said...

Thanks very much Sandy. A very Happy New Year to you and yours.

bunnits said...

Thank you for your beautiful blog. Also, thanks for the lovely cards. I'm really enjoying them. My daughter and I both love your work. We especially like the little white cat among the flowers. Happy New Year!

Anonymous said...

Happy New Year Cathy!
I'm looking forward to another year of your illustrations and artist features. Love your blog!

Cathy said...

A very Happy New Year to you and your daughter Melissa. Thanks for your kind comments. It makes keeping a blog really good fun.

Cathy said...

Thanks very much Mellanie. Very nice of you to say so. I wish you a great New Year and much happy drawing in 2009.