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California Colours

A little mix here of older college patterns with newer California pieces based on photos I took when my lovely wee Brother treated me to a trip back to LA  in 2008 to visit all the places we lived and hung out at. That place really did have the biggest influence on me colour wise, year round sunshine was not something I was used to in Scotland and although yellow had been my favourite colour as a child (taken over by aquas and most greeny blues by my mid teens) it was a primary yellow, daffodil yellow. I'm sure the other yellows were around but I hadn't noticed them.

Moving to LA opened my eyes to a whole new world of yellows. They seemed to change constantly depending where you were and I think I was as much influenced by the feeling of them as their actual colour. I don't know if there really were sharp the yellows by the ocean in Venice where there was no smog, but it certainly felt that way in comparison to the tainted yellows of Downtown LA and the warm and ever changing orangey yellows of the hot desert areas outside LA. And of course there were those Pacific sunsets.

The pieces above from the California collection (top row 1-3, 2nd row 3,) represent that Oceanside feeling of heading down to Venice beach and seeing how everything looked crisper, with the blues and yellows heightened by the cool clean breeze coming off the Ocean, always so refreshing in the heatwave that was the 80s.

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Free shipping weekend includes new designs

Another Free Shipping weekend on Cally Creates products* including these new fishing net iphone cases and skins when you use this link - offer expires January 12, 2014 at Midnight Pacific Time. *Offer excludes Framed Art Prints, Stretched Canvases and Throw Pillows with insert.

I was yearning for a beach visit but in lieu of that I started looking through old photos and thought these would make nice cards, prints and phone skins. Sadly they aren't large enough to make bigger items but they satisfied my beachy cravings.

Mirka Janeckova

I felt the need for some wintery white and the jewellery of Mirka Janeckova seemed perfect. Then I saw her White Drawings and had to show 3 of them as well, they are very striking and I actually thought they were inverted photos of actual jewellery when I first looked.

Shop - Art Print & Laptop Skins- Ammonite

Ammonite Unframed Print from $16

One of several colour options for my Collioure Organic Cotton fabric on Spoonflower

Italian Gas - Art Prints from $16,
Also as Laptop & iPad Skins $30, iPhone Skins $15, iPhone cases $30

I used to be very sea obsessed, hence my life long love of watery colours, and a fairly long love of shells, though that began to wane when I started to get obsessed by seeds in the Summer of '92. The print above is based on a n A2 charcoal sketch either of one of my own ammonites, or one in the Museum of Scotland, probably 1990 - I forget which. If it was in the museum it was possibly drawn to scale, they have some huge ones whereas mine are fairly small. The background I've added is based on one of my textile patterns from around the same period. The Collioure fabric show is loosely based on designs from that period as is the pattern on the Italian Gas print, but the photographic part of that is from my flying visit to Italy in 2008 when we popped over from France (friend's wedding) for me to take photo's before catching our flight home. A mad 6hrs of non stop photography because there was so much there that I loved.


Ammonite Framed prints from $33
Ammonite skins for Laptops and iPads - $30

Cally Creates - Cushion/Pillow covers

Cushion/Pillow covers available in 3 sizes from €19.99 with free worldwide shipping

I couldn't sleep one night last week so I finally followed through on some projects that have been hanging in the air for years. Like getting my college textiles properly scanned and adapted for digital printing. It's one of those things I keep starting but then abandon because I don't really like editing them on the computer, it seems to take too long so I always abandon the process halfway when the house, garden, family or my stomach make more pressing demands. But a sleepless night and howling winds helped me get back on track and finish preparing some for upload.

The first items available for purchase are these 100% cotton cushion/pillow covers and a 4 napkins (not shown). Since the designs are from my college days in the early 90's I'm calling this collection 'Revived'. The name seems a little ironic given that this is me accepting that I am just not well enough to hand print my own work any more. It's taken a good long while to come to terms with that but now that I have I feel like a weight has been lifted off my chest and I can start getting work out there again, albeit old work - but I think a lot of my old designs are very suited to modern tastes, which was not the case at the time I designed them. Maybe my habit of keeping every-little-thing isn't all bad after all.

Of course, nothing beats the feeling of making something from scratch - it's what I truly love to do, but since that isn't an option I feel OK about going digital for a while. And it's giving me an excuse to unearth old designs again, which is always immensely good fun. It feels like Christmas every time I open a folder or folio.

Other designs, colours and items are awaiting approval (there seem to be technical glitches) so watch this space to find out when more are added, it most definitely won't be all black and white - You know how much I love colour. I'll try and rework a few designs each month if I can.

You can also buy some of my repeat patterns as fabric from Spoonflower. This one is Collioure fabric in Black and white (colours available too) which you can purchase as swatches, fat quarters and by the yard in several colourways and fabrics including Organic Cotton Knit. $5 a swatch $11 per Fat Quarter.


Collioure fabric in Black and white

Webbed trees & sad Morran news

The flooding in Pakistan meant all the spiders headed for the trees so they were completely smothered in webs, amazing. See more of these amazing National Geographic photographs.

I feel like there is so much sad news this week. Saddest of all, because it can't be changed with time, was that Camilla Engman's lovely wee dog Morran died. It's so strange to feel so much love for a dog you have never met but Camilla's was one of the first blogs I ever followed and Morran was a big part of that, so many great photo's of her that I feel I really watched so much of her life over the last 7 years (see some of the photo's on Flickr too). Goodbye little Morran.

As a fitting artist tribute to Morran Camilla had an open invition in October for people to submit artwork featuring Morran to be considered for a book, with all profits going to charity. There have been so many wonderful entries and many of them are already posted on the Studio Morran blog. Here are a few:


Maite Ortiz


Suana Verelst


Petra Wester Norgren


Marloes de Vries
Fiona Purves
Cady Fontana
Kerstin Svendsen

Sarah Anne Johnson - Arctic Wonderland

Sarah Anne Johnson - Explosion - 2011 (via Julie Saul Gallery)


Sarah Anne Johnson - Ripple - 2011 (via Julie Saul Gallery)


Sarah Anne Johnson - Dark Cloud - 2010 (via Julie Saul Gallery)

Sarah Anne Johnson is a Canadian Artist and these pieces are from her Arctic Wonderland series.
It's hard not to feel like winter is rushing up on us which is probably what is drawing my eye to artists depicting places I associate with snow. More gales and rain this week but with a colder edge turning the rain to sleet. Today it's 4c outside and the windchill is -1, brrrr, time for thermal undies (she said, as if she'd not been wearing them all year round anyway because they are comfy).

Bugs, Buds & Birthdays

So much life in the garden after some fine Spring weather last week. The ladybirds (ladybugs) are making hay while the sun shines! I've only pottered gently but already I can feel my joints and muscles getting a bit more movement in them. Feels like I'm stretching out in tandem with all the buds and shoot tips. Here are the first red leaves and buds on the Berberis...



Clusters of Spring flowers have emerged in the dappled light under the trees and I imagine most of the trees will come in to leaf in April. So much change. See my garden in detail here

It's been a weird month, lots of crappy things at the start so I had to postpone my own birthday but when I finally opened my presents it was amazing, beyond my wildest dreams type of amazing. My brother bought me a MacBook Pro and my parents got me Adobe CS5. I was utterly flabberghasted. I don't think anyone has ever seen me speechless before. I don't think I can ever thank them enough. The whole drive home I just kept saying 'I can't believe it, I can't believe it'.

I can finally make my books and edit years of archived photo's and designs without it being an archaic grind. Well, I will once I can afford to get all my peripherals to work with it, it's so whizzy and new it doesn't recognise my scanner, cables, camera, printer etc. That was one reason I could never get a new Mac, because if I spent any money on it I'd have nothing left to get it workable with all the extra bits. Now I can afford to do that over the next year or so - which is probably how long it will take me to learn all vastly updated software.

I've been fiddling with some old designs just to get a feel for what's new in Photoshop CS5 (I was using Photoshop 7 and I abandoned Illustrator about 9 years ago). They are so much faster though freakishly more complex. I can see there will be tears ahead trying to get to grips with Illustrators bazillion new options. I'm glad I don't have any deadlines.



And as for In Design, it didn't even exist when I got my last Mac, I've always been a Quark Xpress girl. I can tell it's going to take ages to learn since my brain struggles to remember my own phone number these days, but it will be so worth it. Learning curve here I come. Just think, no more compromises, no more workarounds, no more frustration as I wait an hour for a book page to save. These things are annoying at the best of time but when you have M.E. every little bit of wasted energy is like a huge chunk of wasted life. With my memory coming and going I really want to get things put into more books to keep it all from slipping away completely.

I'm so excited I can barely contain myself. And so grateful. With all the shit happening around the world I feel guilty about something so good happening to me, but then I think that I should just appreciate how lucky I am, when lives can be upturned in an instant it would be crazy for me to make the most of something so positive happening.

My work + olympic pool

2008 Olympic Swimming Pool designed by the China State Construction Engineering Corporation jointly with Australia's PTW Architects and Ove Arup Pty Ltd (more images)


3 layered papercuts 1991 based on The 4 Day Sketchbook, 1991

The roof and walls of the new Olympic pool reminds me of much of my work, and made me realise I haven't posted any of my old work since the 1st of May. So let's remedy that right now...


Drawing from The 4 Day Sketchbook, 1991


A print (recent) of a drawing from The 4 Day Sketchbook, 1991


Papercut (1992) based on a drawing from The 4 Day Sketchbook, 1991



Several papercuts, 1991-'92, layered together

If you are new to my blog you can see more of my work in this style such as this felt brooch, this & this papercut, this book, this crochet. Or see more work in general by clicking the My Work tag at the end of this post.

Little and often

More from that fabulous box of goodies Daphne sent last month, I really love her illustration for the foxglove packets! And the hand stamped papers around the ribbon are ace, as are the colours (see, I'm not only about the brights and the blues, as Daphne knows) Daphne, the foxglove seeds are going far and wide to all the places ravaged by trucks and diggers in the last year. They seem to be munching up the Edinburgh Greenbelt at a steadily increasing pace but at least now the dumped soil ca begin to have new life thanks to you. I'm also mixing in other seeds from my own plants, like feverfew and herb robert, buddleia and even transplanting some snowdrops, a few bulbs at a time on each walk with Lucy. Little and often.

Not much blogging, I had several emails to catch up on on Wednesday and it totally wiped me out. Not been reading any either, which is driving me crazy. However, I have managed, in small bursts, to finish the O' Brian book I had picked up again, and am half way through the next one. Again, little and often, even if it's only 2 pages at a time.

Have a great weekend folks, not sure if I will blog before next week, I'm really trying to rest up.

My trip - clue No.7

I loved this whale mural, only 1/3 showing - it is huge.

People have been busy

Heather Smith Jones: Work in her New Etsy Shop

I'm only just beginning to catch up on what my blogging friends have been up to while I was away... needless to say many of you have been very busy. It'll take me ages to visit you all, I'm still having minimal computer time but so far it's become clear that Lisa was installing, Vanessa was writing words of wisdom, Gracia was, Heather was opening a NEW shop, Bibbi was experiencing winter but expressing spring, Camilla and Karin have been bearing the fruits of their collaboration...


Camilla Engman and Karin Eriksson collaboration 2008

There has been lots more happening but the computer is being seriously weird just now so I'm shutting it down for the day, I'm hoping it just needs a break after all the photo's I made it deal with.

And the winner is...

Karin!
Mr P picked the names from folded papers at random. Congratulations Karin. I thought you might like this one as your prize since you like colour. I did it in my first year of art college when I was still mainly using bright colours (before I started to use lots of white and neutrals. I don't have it here to measure it, but I think each page is about 10 x 7cm. When I find it I'll make a cover for it (because I never was good at finishing things). Click image to see more detail...


'Flourishing' : watercolour and ink on paper, 1990
6 page concertina fold book from a design for wrapping paper and bedlinen

It was inspired by jellyfish, radiolarians and similar minute sea creatures, so much inspiration in the ocean. It wasn't until the next year when my health got much worse, that I started to see these shapes and forms as being also like the cells in our bodies. I never realised this before, but perhaps that's why I moved to neutral, earthy colours and white on white? Maybe it signified life taking a serious turn. Not that I abandoned colour, but I used it 50% less.

But wait, more winners because I like things in 3's... I asked Mr P to pick two more names to each receive a black and white copy of a mini book developed from pages of the 4 day sketchbook (click on 'the 4 day sketchbook' label at the end of the post to see more pages). Karin, you'll get a copy of this as well as the other book. The names he picked out were Heather and Deedeen, well done ladies! I will contact you all by email to get your addresses. Here are a few more shots of the original 4 day sketchbook with some of the pages that will be in your printed copies...



a few more pages from the 4 day sketchbook, 1991

Pairing: Irina & Lucy + Giveaway at 50,000

Well, there we go, January whizzed past in a matter of moments. How can we be 1/12 through 2008 already? I'm glad so many of you enjoyed the white posts. I will continue to post some of them through February, after all, it is still a wintery month here in Scotland (as evidenced by the second day of snow gales outside. But there will be a lot more colour as well, I need the colour.

I'll ease into the switch over with what I think is a good wintery pairing. I'm such a huge fan of Irina's illustrations, and this one looks so good matched with Lucy's brooch. I do like a good pairing, watch this space for more in the future. Happy February everyone.


Irina Troitskaya: Frost on flickr


Lucy Sarneel: Brooch Ensemble, 2004 via Klimt02

Now, in other news... Today, or tomorrow I will be getting my 50,000 visitor since adding the Clustr Map to my blog last May (see side bar).

My Clustr Map 7 Jan 2008 with 'show smaler clustrs' option on, Europe has totally disappeared! Hello everyone.

As far as I understand it doesn't include people viewing through rss feeds like bloglines, so I'm pretty thrilled and astonished. To mark the occasion I'm going to give away one of my little handmade books to one person who comments on the day it hits th big 50. I'll get Mr P to draw a name from a hat at the weekend and I'll contact the winner to get their address details.

Only one problem... you may have a long wait for your prize! My books are still packed up so I won't be sending it until I find them all and start posting out the pieces for the book collaboration this year, which is all a bit health dependent just now. Good luck, I hope you win!

Just me, thinking about things

Design for print and papercut 1991


Unfinished test cut from one of my papercut sketchbooks 1991
(reverse side shown)

I have mountains of white art, books, ceramics, textiles that I planned to photograph and show from my past, but my energy is at it's lowest in 17yrs, even picking up the camera seems like preparing for a mountain hike, so I'm afraid you are stuck with the things I had already taken shots of for other purposes. I do have some good pics, but it's things I'm still haven't the courage to show. You'd think I'd feel easier about it 17 years on but the fact that I made this work when I first had M.E means that all the feelings I had invested in it then are all popping up again mow, so it feels current, not old at all.

This next bit is just thoughts that needed out of my head after a particularly difficult time walking Lucy today, nothing to do with art so you may want to skip it.

Update - My post was depressing me a bit so I've moved it to the comments section, but have left the relevant photo's here and also the link to Danger: field liable to sudden collapse. Also the link for Marley, losing our jobs, and Lucy (who was called Tia then).

View from the dangerous field, December '07


Hedge on the edge of the dangerous field, December '07


Giant Hogweed in the dangerous field, December '07