Mixed Media Journal cover inspired by William Morris

I absolutely adore the beautiful nature inspired art and design work created by William Morris. Associated with the Pre-raphaelites. In the late 19th Century he created the Arts and Crafts movement as he felt the need for more creativity in the decorative arts. He also had a taste for the medieval. One wonders whether he drew his inspiration from the beautiful tapestry's created in medieval times. As a textile designer himself I could imagine this would have been his Pinterest board of inspiration for some of his pieces.

My interpretation is a very subtle nod to Morris lots of pattern, nature, acanthus and texture with my own colourful twist. I like how innovative his work was and is to this day, it strived forward and created something visually stimulating and different to anything that had been before. But also keep the handicraft feel which was something he would stand by. A man after my own heart he would not let machines take over, this however would be a hindrance as not many people would be able to afford his work.

I also like how he didn't fit into a mould and it's inspiring to think he created his own movement and style from there. I often have trouble explaining my style because it too doesn't always slot in to an established genre or form. I just explain my style as it's very 'Anna'. Anyway enough of my thoughts and wafflings here is what I created........

As I do with all my designs I decided on my layout before I got messy. You don't have to do this yourself, it's just my preferred method of working. All materials were as usual supplied to me through Powertex UK in my lovely design team kit. Journal kits will be coming soon to the website.

Top Tip: Mould a job lot of all your embellishments so when you need them you can just focus on your projects. I used the daisy mould https://www.powertex.co.uk/moulds/367-fossil-mould.html with the stone art clay https://www.powertex.co.uk/14-stone-art to make mine.

I wanted to get some texture on the base layer of the journal before I put all my embellishments on so I added some lace, cardboard and Easy structure  https://www.powertex.co.uk/30-easy-structure through the arty quotes stencil https://www.powertex.co.uk/the-secret-art-loft/301-30-x-30cm-arty-quotes-stencil.html and then painted a coat of black Powertex over everything.

I then added on the embellishments and decided to add the acanthus on there too. I used the stone art clay on top of the mdf acanthus shape and then stamped into the clay with  https://www.powertex.co.uk/rosehart-studio-stamps/375-rosehart-studio-stamp-aphrodite-s-kiss.html

 I also stamped the back cover using aphrodite's kiss and Cassiopeia with some ivory Powertex.

I used a piece of lace on the inside of the front cover. All the pages are bits and pieces of patterned paper and wrap I have in my stash. And the coloured yarn holds them all together.

I dry brushed the with yellow ochre, turquoise and burgundy powercolor and varnish. I also added some bling to the front. Well, I'm off to get stuck into to more creating. Toodle pip Anna xXx

Dotty about you!

Well, I know we've only just got through Easter but summer will soon be knocking on the door and reminding me of the days when as a child we would spend our summer holidays in Devon at my Nans. I think my favourite outing aside walking along the river Otter to Otterton Mill for cream teas and yummy swizz roll was the Ladram bay beach trips.

We would pack up the picnic basket and set off early. The whole day was filled with beach fun! Playing in the rubber dingy with my sisters and shrimping in the rock pools. Looking for the crabs, starfish and wonderful fishy creatures lurking under the rocks.

I have to say I never did manage to spot a sea horse. But they are rather lovely don't you think?

Which leads in nicely to my latest project that I am happy to share with you all, you lucky things! I decided to go a little crazy and use two colours on this piece. I was going to use some ivory too but I thought better off it and tried to keep it a little simpler. 

Top tip: Always give yourself an idea of layout and where you are going to place your items. I always take a picture of  the layout on my phone as a reminder. However, this is not mandatory and set in stone, sometimes I completely change my mind on layout once I get going. 

https://www.powertex.co.uk/home/328-mdf-seahorse.html

I wanted to make sure I added some kind of texture underneath the circles. So I gathered together all sorts of lace, corrugated card, wall paper, scrim to name but a few and started putting them in place to have an idea of where I wanted them.  

Next I removed all circles and got the base prepped with texture and colour. Blue Powertex for the top half and green for the bottom half.

So you may be able to spot on his belly I used my circle stencil and structure paste. I also used the arty quotes stencil in places but got a bit excited with some other texture and covered most of it up. But I'm ok with that. There really are no rights or wrongs or mistakes with Powertex, it's all about play, fun and going with the flow.

Next I put all the circles and flowers back into place and gave them a coat of Powertex. 

Top Tip: If you mix a little sand in with your powertex and gently brush over certain areas of the raised circles it adds a little texture and extra detail when dry brushing.

Then it was dry brushing time. I used yellow ochre powercolor along the neck, back and tail.Then popped on a little gold colortrix. For the front I mixed dark blue and pale yellow powercolour and added white for highlights with a touch of pearl colortrix for a little shimmer. And voila!

The mdf seahorse bases are available to buy at www.powertexuk.co.uk. However, I am afraid you are going to have to wait for the circles to be released on Hochanda on the 9th June. Sorry about that. But it's sure to be a great show I promise! I know what a tease, right. On the plus side you get to watch me on my Powertex tv debut! I know exciting right. Eeekkkk...not long now! Lucky I will be with our Tracey. Have we got some cracking stuff to show you! 

Toodle pip Anna xXx

Mother's Day

I'm pretty fortunate to have my lovely mums support when it comes to my artist venture. 

She has always wanted me to follow my dream of becoming an artist. Today we had a lovely day with my Nan who is suffering from dementia. But we had her's and my favourite! Cream tea yum. 

 I made a special little Powertex heart in my favourite colours for mums present. Hope you all had a magical day making memories to treasure or remembering happy times with your mums. 

Toodle pip Anna xXx