Upcycling furniture

The photos show the old kitchen chair from the previous post in the process of being made appealing again. I had re-glued and sanded it in my studio because there wouldn't be enough time for this kind of prep work on site in Pitlochry.

Fruit chair on the painting stand under a marquee

After applying two coats of DIY chalk paint in fresh spring green I stamped on berries and leaves to match the fabric of the old seat cover. Later the wooden parts will be varnished for extra protection.

Finished chair, already raffled off

Upcycling furniture

I'm going to demonstrate how to upcycle an old chair with paint and foam stamps. This is the one I'll be working on, a pre-loved oak chair that had already been painted once before. The seat fabric with fruit print is still in reasonable shape. It covers the original dark green plastic cover and I'll leave it untouched, just cleaned it up a bit.

Fruit chair before upcycling

The demonstration is part of  Perth & Kinross' Zero Waste Challenge and takes place on Saturday, 30th April, 10am - 2pm, at Atholl Road Car Park in Pitlochry.

Linoprinting

The Christmas cards I printed earlier today are now drying - on the living room floor because there's no more room on my drying line for prints. 

Here is an image of the finished two colour print:

Mistletoe. Linoprint on paper 15x15cm. 2016

Linoprinting: work in progress

I need to fill an order for Christmas cards, so I got card stock out and reprinted a batch of cards with my two colour "Mistletoe" motif. These cards measure only 15x15cm, so I can do the registration directly on the press bed using masking tape to mark the position of lino plate and paper. Accurate registration guarantees that the prints of two or more different colours overlap precisely.

Linoplate and tape registration

Workshops

Perth & Kinross Council invited me last year to lead a workshop on chair upcycling as part of their Zero Waste Highland Perthshire project. In January and February 2016 I did a series of sessions with ten participants, showing them how to take an old cherished chair, choose a nice design, then prepare and refinish it. Some simple upholstery was also done. The workshop was a great success because everybody was so keen on giving their chairs a new and very personal look.

Here are photos of our group with their before and after pieces.

Design: furniture

A sad, worn piece of furniture it was when I found it at a charity garage sale somewhere in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Its appearance improved considerably by applying paint and an interesting design - but the colourful lines hold unhappy memories. I gave this coffee table the name Break Up because this is what was happening in my relationship at that time. Well, at least the table sold...

Wood, acrylic paint, acrylic varnish. 1997.

122x43x38cm

Art cards

New: printed cards with motifs of my most popular prints and paintings.
To view the selection go to http://www.corneliaweinmanndesign.co.uk/work/gallery/cards, choose your card and contact me on my website or on Facebook to find out about prices and shipping.