Focus On Life - Capturing Colour

This week over at the Studio Sublime Sally asked us to "capture colour in all it's vivid brilliance".  This suited me just fine, as I have a pretty vibrant project going on at the moment - in my last blog post I showed the gelli printing I've been doing around the theme of coral.  I decided to photograph some of the bits and bobs I've been using to transform them from plain prints into pieces of art.

I am loving the colour scheme of red and lilac - it happened quite by accident, starting off as red and blue but with the paint mixing on the gelli plate and roller the blue turned into a lilac colour.  

 I fell in love with these beads a long time ago and have never known what to use them for, they've been waiting for the perfect project!  I'm very pleased they work so well with the prints - a small justification for buying things I really don't need but can't resist!

Focus On Life - Collage of Love

The theme for February over at the Studio Sublime has been cabin fever.  This week is all about beating cabin fever and creating a collage of love.

 I have had rather a long stretch of artistic inactivity, but the greyness of winter, the appalling weather conditions and the dark, cold evenings have encouraged me to nip off to my studio and make things!  So I decided to photograph some of the little areas of my studio (the not so messy areas actually!). 

I love my space, I love working here and I love the bits and bobs around me that I've collected over the years from flea markets and antique fairs.   

When the lid got smashed my great-grandmother's sugar bowl became my new brush pot! I know the bottle is a bit wonky but it is very sweet and I can't bear to chuck it out!

I have a weakness for anything arranged in colour sequence - I think my OCD tendencies come to the fore when I'm sorting and storing ribbons!  I also have a weakness for sari silk and I like to have jars of certain colours on hand to grab when needed!

Focus On Life - Quiet Calm

This week over at the Studio Sublime we were given the challenge to focus on the quiet calm of the world as it re-energizes around us. 

 I rather liked the way the sun was shining through the leaf of this Senecio Greyi in my garden, showing that beautiful vibrant green surrounded by the heavy frost - actually the plant foliage is usually grey so I don't know where the green came from!

Focus On Life - Getting Outside

This week our challenge over at Focus on Life was to get outside and focus on the change cooler temperatures bring to our surroundings.

I took this photo this morning at our local beach - that's the Isle of Wight in the distance.  After what has felt like weeks of torrential rain today we finally saw a small window of opportunity to get out and enjoy some sunshine - it was cold and blowy but very refreshing - in fact I much prefer the beach in the winter rather than the summer! 

Focus on Life - Silhouettes

I don't quite know where the last week has gone but here we are again for the Focus on Life challenge!  The subject is silhouettes and although I'm not sure if it fully meets the criteria it is about as silhouette-like as I could manage!

I added sepia tones and resisted the strong temptation to lighten it!   

I have posted another two versions of the same image on my blog over at 

Velvet Moth Photography if you fancy a look - I'd love to know which you prefer!

Focus on Life - Week 1

Happy New Year to you all!

I have dusted off the camera and decided to take up the weekly Focus on Life challenges over at the wonderful Studio Sublime this year.  My commitment wavered greatly last year, although I really enjoyed taking part.  Confidence, mojo, inspiration, call it what you will, seemed to completely abandon me and I've had great difficulty trying to get it back!

Anyway, here is my offering for week 1 - the subject is minimalist.

I love shells and this one looked empty so it came indoors to be added to my collection - until I found the occupant slithering across my computer desk, slightly traumatised but still in one piece!  

Focus On Life Week 31

Over at the Studio Sublime the prompt for this weeks photo challenge was 'Hues of Blue'.   I don't usually work with blue, although it's a colour I love, especially in the garden, so it gave me the perfect opportunity to photograph this beautiful sea holly that is growing just outside my back door - it was quite a painful experience as it's about 90% prickles! 

I also found the Ceratostigma in bloom and looking glorious - such a wonderful shade of blue - and decided it would look quite good against some old, blue books. 

I gave all the photos a 'bluish' feel using textures from Pixel Dust and French Kiss.

Focus On Life Week 30 and Waddesdon Manor

For the Focus On Life photography challenge over at Studio Sublime our prompt has been to 'catch the sun'!   This weeks photo was taken at Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire, where we went for a wonderful day to meet up with friends and visit this wonderful French chateau style house.  I love the way the sun is streaming through the windows and glinting on the stairs.

A few favourite images - slightly less fussy and more neutral in colour than most of the decor!

From May through to October 27th Waddesdon are holding an exhibition of work by Joan Sallas based on the art of napkin folding.  Most of the exhibits were made from linen napkins, or larger pieces of table linen, and they were quite stunning.  These are little bonnets, all folded using traditional designs and techniques.

Chandeliers everywhere, and lots of gold and more gold! 

 The bottom right image is of the dining table with more folded linen on it, in the shape of a Griffin and a table fountain. 

I am linking up with Mary over at Mosaic Monday this week.    

Focus On Life Week 29

This week over at Studio Sublime the prompt for the photo challenge was 'routine'.

Focusing on my routine I decided to show a photograph of one of my favourite regular routines - the first cuppa of the day, reading my emails and browsing other blogs!

And yes, it's another Anthropologie mug - and it matches my little collection of quartz and stones perfectly, which is why I couldn't resist it! 

Focus On Life Week 28

This week over at Studio Sublime the photo challenge is 'pretty patterns'.  I photographed this spectacular black and white butterfly in a local wildlife centre - it had only just hatched so the wings were in perfect condition and I thought the markings were so beautiful - isn't nature wonderful!  

I also added pictures of my tea knife handles, an etched glass water jug, my old typewriter and a bean flower in my local garden centre - I hope it's not cheating too much but from my archives I pulled out the mosaic floor pictures and the wrought iron gate - they just matched so well I thought!

Focus On Life Week 27

For the Focus On Life challenge over at the Studio Sublime the prompt for this week was 'texture'.  Ooh, so much to choose from, but finally I focused on a large lump of coral that has been out on my desk while I've recently been doing some coral design artwork.  I decided to photograph it against some old antique lace as it has a similar delicate, lacy look but is so completely opposite in texture.  It's surprisingly rough to the touch for something that looks so 'spongey', and it's actually disappointingly unpleasant to hold considering it's so beautiful!   

Focus On Life #25

I found this weeks challenge quite hard - Sally at Studio Sublime asked us to take a photo that represented who I am, and come up with one positive word that describes me.

 The last few months have been quite difficult for me, but I am coming out of it slowly, and this made me realise I am a lot of good things: a wife, sister, aunt, niece, cousin, friend, artist, tutor... and I am lucky enough to be able to live in my own home, doing the things I love - creating in my studio, photographing my garden, baking, socialising.....! 

So this week "I am ME - and I very much appreciate it!"

I saved this little cabinet from the local tip years ago - it used to hold scientific scales - anyone old enough to remember them from school days?   I sanded and waxed the wood, and the hubs fitted a glass shelf in it.  It lives in my bedroom and holds all my precious bits.  It represents ME!

A prayer book given on my Christening, a monkey egg cup from my dad because as a child I used to have an imaginary friend called Monkey Boy, a crystal from a friend, an invitation to my degree show, the pretty heart my sister gave me for my wedding last year, a little turtle from my mum when we were on a girls holiday in Austria, my Dad's RAF button,  my great-grandmothers silver thimble..... and so on, and so on - hope you haven't nodded off!

Focus On Life #24

This week's prompt for the Focus On Life challenge over at The Studio Sublime is green. 

This was taken in the garden and I used an Eva Ricci texture on it.

I wasn't sure if this worked or not, but it's growing on me - I quite like that shade of green with the brownish sepia tones.

This is the large platter that lives in my kitchen with the fruit on it - and the occasional good-looking veg! 

 The smaller bowl is from Anthropologie and I love it - I do tend to buy more lemons and limes than I can get through because they look so good in it!

Focus On Life #23

This weeks photographic prompt for Focus on Life over at the Studio Sublime was 'Typography'.  I LOVE books - I have books pretty much in every room of the house, from brand-new to very, very old!  I quite often buy books simply because I am drawn to the title - which can lead to disappointment or sometimes an amazingly good read if lucky!  Barbara Kingsolver's Poisonwood Bible has to be one of my all time favourite books - the cover is delicately plain yet appealing, with gold embossing and a simple, intriguing title.  I am also drawn to the beautiful titles of Gail Tsukiyama's books - a wonderful author, she is definitely another favourite - who could resist titles such as the Language of Threads and Dreaming Water!

   I am sure I will never be a Kindle kind of girl - I often just hold my books, and rub my hands over the cover and drink in the beauty and texture of the book cover - it is a huge part of the enjoyment of reading a good book!

Focus on Life Challenge - Food

Over at the fabulous Studio Sublime is a weekly photographic challenge that I have recently found -  and this weeks prompt for a photo is 'food'.  So I used that as the perfect excuse to buy this delicious home-made Dorset Apple Cake from a local stall.

I loved the way it was wrapped, with the pretty mint green ribbon - it almost looked too good to eat - but not quite!

I am also linking up with Mary over at Mosaic Monday.