June 12, 2011

Recycled furniture: Chair

This chair is part of a set of four stylish oak chairs which I traded for a recycled and refurbished chest of drawers. The bland looking wood was sanded and stained, the drop-in seats needed re-upholstering. I dyed and printed cotton canvas and gave it to Eve Kyle, an interior designer in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada. She did a great job fixing the seats and covering them with my fabric. Four chatty people might sit on four chairs around the table at a dinner party, so I called the chairs Conversation.

Oak, cotton canvas, Procyon fabric dye, Setacolor fabric paint. 2000.

Painting: Watercolour

Work created in my watercolour class, practising the use of a sword brush, and how to set accents with ink drawing.

French Chapel
SAA watercolours on Bockingford NOT 
300 gsm. 2011.
Size: 28 x 38 cm

Clay sculpture: King and Queen

Vaguely influenced by the work of Czech artist Lubomir Silar I slab built these two figures. For a change I applied glossy brush-on glazes. The mount is still missing - I need to think about whether I should use one pedestal for each of the figures or put them together on one base.

Earthenware, brush-on glazes and underglazes. 2010.
Height: 35, 37 cm

Fabric design: vegetable print

My only sample of a fabric printing technique where one uses cut up vegetables to transfer paint onto cloth, here an apple and leek. I didn't apply this technique more often because I don't like wasting food - but the effect is interesting. I learned about vegetable and fruit printing at an excellent workshop facilitated by Maiwa Handprints Ltd. on Granville Island in Vancouver, Canada.

Cotton T-shirt, Procyon fabric dye, Setacolour fabric paint. 1998.

Design: utensil containers

In Canada I used to sell my hand painted furniture at many different craft fairs in the Vancouver area. Not too many big items would fit into my Jeep Cherokee, so I painted a few smaller pieces which also added variety to my sales display. Here is one sample in different designs: a box with many small drawers (yes, it's from IKEA). Useful for storing pencils, erasers, paper clips and other small stuff that usually clutters one's writing desk!

Plywood, acrylic primer, paint, varnish. 1998.
Sizes: 28 x 21 x 28 cm, 41 x 21 x 28cm

Painting: Watercolour

Around the village of Machen in the Rhymney valley there are many trails through fields and woodlands like Forge Wood. Its name reflects the regional history of metal working and mining. Walking on these trails I can enjoy the change of light, the colour shades on leaf, bark, stone, flower... This watercolour depicts one of these impressions, translated into colours I like.

Sunset in Forge Wood
SAA watercolours on Bockingford NOT 300 gsm. 2011.
Size: 38 x 56 cm

Ceramics: fruit cover

My daily breakfast includes fruit. Leftovers tend to attract fruit flies, so I needed something to cover apple wedges or banana halves. Thinking of the shape of a cheese cover I made a fruit cover. The plate is thrown, the dome coiled.

Stoneware, brush-on glazes. 2011.
Diameter: 20 cm, hight: 12 cm