red_swirl

Big Sis has been making some interesting comparisons recently - Little Sis "zoomed to Mum like a helicopter" ie. was passed to me across a dinner table.

Posted by red swirl at 23:40 | Permalink | Comments (0)

The three kings, or three wise men or the travelling men (from Little Owl and the Star).

"We three kings ..." is one of my favourite carols, the words are really interesting, particularly if you sing through all the verses explaining the significance of the gifts and of Christmas.

Collaged again from old cards, 2003.

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A shepherd and sheep I made long ago, maybe 2003. Never made the important people in the story, but I've three kings to show you later in the week.

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Thanks for the encouragement last week, guys ;)

Mood: Do I love it (POST only what you LOVE)? Nearly, not really. OK concept, 'tho. And perfectionism can be a hindrance at times ... says she who just re-edited the post thrice.

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DRAT! I realised they just changed the topic over. OK THEN, here's a really quick juggle:

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I had a fun day eating yummy cupcakes with the Kaotic Kraft Kuties ... oh, and I made some badges too. The badge design is inspired by stranded colourwork (inside and outside) and, of course, house rabbits.

Mood: *Sorry, but I doubt there will be much sewing or knitting here before my exams are finished ... in 3 week's time ;)

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Merry Christmas everyone! All of my family just got over being sick, so I didn't get to complete the Advent Birds ... still, I reckon 19 is a pretty good effort ;)

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Mood: Guess who suddenly started thinking "We bought a reasonably modern camera, it really should have some sort of macro function ... yes, it's been a l.o.o.o.n.g year.

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Mood: We went to an Advent service yesterday, because my favourite Christmas carol is for advent: O come, O come, Emmanuel. I love the mixture of assurance in the words that Emmanuel WILL come, combined with the doubt in the music, expressed in a minor key. And yes, the service was lovely and Squiggle enjoyed the music enough to be mostly quiet ;)

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Oh, and I think I've given up on photographing the birds where I'm actually hanging them, on the front window.

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Really, I shouldn't use the flash - but if I don't take pictures just after drawing, I never get a chance in daylight. There's also a light blue watery background that's hard to see.

Mood: Squiggle had fun today. After I collected her from Lster, she went crawling all 'round Dymocks and watching the Victoria Park ducks.

Posted by red swirl at 23:56 | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've been seeing so many great robots arround recently. I love Claire's / Loobylu's links and wow, how much effort were Mimi's softies here and here? And great use of sewing items to make them look mechanical! It seems all the best ideas are already taken!

So what's new in the world of robots? Baby-bots?

Ballet-dancing vacuume-cleaning bots?

Menacing assembly-worker bots?

Surely not!

Posted by red swirl at 11:25 | Permalink | Comments (2)

I don't draw from photos much (ever), but as I don't have a cat, I can't see a cat's shape in my mind. The first picture is more careful and more spotted, whereas the second one is moving away from the photo, and freeing up a bit.

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Participation
1+ participate in Illustration Friday most weeks;
2+ participate in A Month of Softies most months;
should I add ... participate in whiplash? I'm interested to see what whiplash's going to be like ;D

Practical
3+ knit at least one hoodie for Squiggle;
4+ knit "blu" for Squiggle;
5+ a pencil case for me (felt?);
6+ make some covered boxes for Lster to keep all his stuff in;
7+ make a Roman blind / curtain;
8+ a necklace like I learnt to make when I was a teenager (see photo);

Learning from other's patterns
9+ a rag doll (not too country-fied, I may have found the pattern);
10+ Doo Ka Ta;
11+ a Wee Wonderfuls pointy kitty (a punky one, made from Lster's old jeans??);
12+ the penguin;
13+ a Jess Hutch bunny or Kate;
14+ a Camilla Engman bear from The Happy Hooker;
15+ a Nekomimi or Dachshund by Runo;
16+ a sock doll or monkey or bird;

Softie characters in my head
17+ Miss Priss (needle felting), maybe even her boyfriend;
18+ 'facture' duck or hen, probably duck;
19+ ocean girl or graphix girl;
20+ finish Mr February;
21+ amigurumi alien (I have the wool);
22+ amigurumi dog;
23+ Japanese fan cat (moulded felt);
24+ tattoo girl/boy;
25+ make a softie or series of softies, consciously thinking about the design;

Challenges
26+ knit socks (and find a decent pattern);
27+ learn more Japanese by making something from a Japanese book or magazine;
28+ knit and felt a bag or slippers (from this book);
29+ try painting with oils (I never have);
30+ sew something on my Mum's sewing machine (the Roman blind, perhaps?);
31+ knit something aran or intarsia;
32+ learn a fancy crochet stitch, like a leaf or flower;
33+ make a Fimo doll.

Well, that should keep me busy!!

Posted by red swirl at 18:12 | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (1)

Mood: Squiggle has learnt what the 'page' button on a cordless phone does. I turned the ringing off for her, but her pointer finger went straight back to the button ;D I let her play, although the rabbits got a bit worried

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Well.

I'm finding it harder and harder to explain these images for Illustration Friday.

However, some possible explanations are:
+ I have mixed feeling about tattoos - I can appreciate them on other people, but would never want one myself;
+ I thought a love-heart was the obvious tattoo motif, but wanted to do something different ... started thinking about some Pet Shop Boys lyrics "Violence. Religion. Justice. Death" (remembered wrong - see Paninaro) and decided they'd make good tattoos. Pseudo roses instead of hearts;
+ I've been wanting to try out black ink painting for a while;
+ I've been learning Hiragana (Japanese syllables);
+ I like the contrast of the flowing ink strokes and square-ish red texta;
+ breast-feeding makes you think about bosoms in non-sexual ways;
+ I'm female, so that was the natural body to draw.

Mood: Thanks so much for the comments on my previous Illustration Friday! ;D

Posted by red swirl at 18:17 | Permalink | Comments (4)

It just had to be cicadas this week, an insect I know well and like. Not sure why they are in a patchwork quilt, but the idea of paper patchwork quilts has been in my mind lately. Below are some details - a cicada inspired by Aboriginal art, the most realistic one, a cute one and one where I was playing with darkened outlines.

Posted by red swirl at 06:45 | Permalink | Comments (5)

Tea. Pouring into a Chinese cup. Painted with ... tea.

I've been thinking of trying a watercolour for Illustration Firday for a while, so it was good excuse. I soaked 3 tea bags in an old, washed vegemite jar. Took ages for the picture to dry, 'tho.

Mood: Looking forward to some crafting on the weekend ... and I guess some first-week-back study.

Posted by red swirl at 18:46 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Song. It's funny how the mind works. First I was thinking about songs, and how many types there are - not just rock and pop, but opera, hymns, jazz, medieval chants - and that's just songs in European cultures!! I was thinking of trying to use as many colours as possible, and I had the idea of using the 4 letters to contain them.

Then I started thinking about the octave and how it's actually part of physics, lots of cultures have recognised it, and how songs can be analysed quite mathematically. I had decided to do a swirl for the "s" of song, sort of like a fern, and I guess thinking about the octave as a natural phenomena, I decided to defpict all different types of nature, using a limited palette. There you are. The complete opposite of how I started out.

By the way, I think the bamboo must have been inspired by my cookie cutter, the inside is here.

Mood: Do you like the website redesign?
Sorry, I had to cut & paste all the existing comments - but thanks, it's so great to hear from you!

Posted by red swirl at 20:23 | Permalink | Comments (1)

Simple. A plate, a wooden table, a red wall. My homage to Scandinavian design, to its vibrant colours, clear shapes and contrasts of plain wood and plain white. I'm thinking Marimekko, Ikea, Kosta Boda and how what you see as a child influences the designs you like as an adult.

Marimekko is still a big influence on artists and crafts people - see whip up. Sometimes people rather laugh at Ikea, it's funny diagrams and put-it-together-yourself philosophy. But I have fond memories of Ikea Gordon in the '80s, and of the contrast between what Ikea's furniture and most other furniture available then. And I still can't understand some designers on the UK changing rooms hating pine. Maybe I've never looked properly at the woods they love, only seen the bad quality knock-offs made for those Aussies who can't come to terms with living here ...

It's interesting that Mum, Nan and many other Sydneysiders were so influenced by Scandinavian design and Marion Hall Best. I fully understand that bright colours and a sense of space and clean are vital in countries that experience long, dark winters. But why should the same things work so well where there is plenty of space and light? I don't know ...

Of course, simple design is not simple. My drawing captures a little of how I feel, but can't match what I see in my head.

Mood: so glad it's cooler!!

Posted by red swirl at 16:54 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Chair. An orange chair of my Grandfather's that I still have. Of course, the illustration is really about how much I love baby Squiggle's strong little legs.

I never said illustration was my strong point, particularly not from memory. But it will be interesting to see how my style develops as I challenge myself each week.

Mood: Tired. Must go to bed earlier - it's tempting to stay up and do things while Squiggle sleeps.

Posted by red swirl at 01:59 | Permalink | Comments (2)