32 Comments

Last week I found I needed new t shirts. Isn’t it sad when the bag they put them in is more interesting than the purchased items. It was made of grass paper. It is gorgeous and will be super to stitch onto, the t shirts were ok too.🤣🤣

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What a fab excuse to go and buy more T-shirts, one at a time 😉

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Oh. My. What a fabulous post! I too squirrel away bits of interesting paper to use for collage or making small pockets or envelopes for my bullet journal. So happy to discover it's not such a strange thing to do! Or maybe it is, but it still feels better knowing I am in good company😂. LOVED the flip book and I found every print in it to be lovely. Not sure which ones you thought ugly, I thought all were beautiful!

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Yay, for collecting paper! And I’m glad you liked the flip book, definitely something I want to explore more. Some of the prints were a little grungy, which isn’t really my thing, but I was pleased with some of the detail I managed to get from the seaweed.

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I liked the flip book! It gave me a better feel of the variety and results of you week. Please would you talk about using a gelling plate as I am not familiar with this. I don't gave formal textile or art training so I learn from artists like you - thank you!

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Hi Ann, glad you enjoyed it! The gelli plate is a soft, flexible printing surface - like a sheet of firm jelly! You roller out a fine layer of ink or paint, then lay paper over and peel off to reveal a print. You can use stencils (or seaweed) to mask areas to take a print and leave a silhouette. Then, when you peel off the stencil (seaweed) it leaves an impression in the ink - so you can take another print, of the seaweed/stencil pattern. Each print is different, unpredictable, and leaves marks which can then become part of the next print. I’m DEFINITELY not expert! As most things, it’s learning by doing - and a lot of help from YouTube!!

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I enjoyed your prints from the beach. I like gelli printing, but many of mine end up a muddy mess. Still, I have fun doing it! The little booklet display format was great too. Love your description of fitting the art play around meals, snacks, tea and cocktail/wine time! A true vacation😉

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It was such a good break, thank you. To be honest, I thought a lot of these prints were a bit on the grungy side! I was pleasantly surprised when some looked ok in the end, I really thought I’d have a stack of muddy squares to bring home!

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I love your prints and the flip book. I don't know how some manage to take limited supplies: I like to have (too much?) choice I think! Those boulangerie bags are great for collage aren't they. I've had a huge stack of them from our local boulangeries for ages and have only recently started using them in collages: I love the way they are transparent when glued over other papers with matte medium.

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Yes! I love the layers and the serendipitous mix of colours and text.

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Thank you for sharing your arting day.

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You’re welcome!

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I love the seaweed prints. Very effective!

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Thanks!

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Really enjoyed reading about your discoveries etc in Brittany. Thanks for the video too. I am inspired to go down to the beach myself now - although it is raining here again ! Jan

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Thank you! I reckon, go for it. Wet weather means you’ll have it to yourself!

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Third comment (I’ll stop then! 😂) but wanted to say I really enjoyed this post. The mix of your day and arting activities was really good to read. Thanks for sharing

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Thank you - that’s so reassuring to know, because sometimes it is a bit 🥹😅😱 putting words out there and second-guessing yourself before you hit "publish"!!

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Love the flip book - great idea and a good way to see all the prints. Those purple and blue prints are gorgeous! I want to find seaweed and print!

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Thank you! It was fun to do. And if you have access to any sort of 'foliage', give it a go!

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Yes please to the art bag video - I always love those 🙂

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Ok! Will do!

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These are fabulous! I’ve always thought art books were a waste of time until I saw this one😊. Did you add extra colour to the booklet pages once you got home, are all these just from the colours you took with you?

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Thank you! And nope, these are just using what I took and exactly what turned up on the prints, photographed for the book. I thought about adding watercolour somehow, as I’ve seen someone else do that, but didn’t use them in the end. Just those three colours of acrylic (plus dark grey and white) I mentioned!

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I would hardly call myself minimalist but a sketchbook and a small pot of pens and pencils ( plus glue stick) are all I take. Experience has shown me that I rarely use more and I’m way too messy to even contemplate a gelli plate! The seaweed prints are very effective though.

Also not having a husband who takes himself off cycling means very little art time aside from the odd snatched 10 minutes!

And you’re not the only one who would choose exercise and a cold dip over a cuppa, but we know all the best people are a bit weird 😉

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You’re so good 😇 - everything you say is spot on, but I crumble at the last minute and stuff it all in anyway then feel guilty for taking up luggage space and not using it 🤪 The gelli plate was very much a one-off because I knew exactly what I wanted to try, and when I’m camping I can only dream of what I could do!

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Not good… just older with a decade or so more experience 😂

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🤩

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just wondering why you advertised enrolling in your Celtic Seascape Course,in which you said enrolment will be open into June and July.As soon as I read your post I immediately tried to enrol only to find that enrolment is already closed. Is this so?

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Hi Marilyn - it would be wonderful if you joined us ☺️ and I’m sorry you got the wrong impression - you haven’t missed anything, it’ll be open IN June and July! For now, I was just giving people the heads up that’s it’s on its way which is why I wrote "soon - watch this space"!

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thank you so much I will keep an eye out , so I don’t miss it. As usual, your post was so funny and engaging as usual, as is your friend Gina, the two of you are really a hoot .Although I do a lot of mixed media as well, when I travel I simplify things by only taking along a stitchery project.I am the only artist I know who does not take photographs, use sketch books, journal, write down ideas, plan.I don’t know how I exist as an artist really.🤔

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Thank you! I don’t know, I think you’ve the right idea - you know how to take a break when you go on holiday! I’m off to see what Gina's been up to right now, I know she’s been away on hols - I’m intrigued to see what she says!

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