That was the response I got from a friend when I said Suffolk artist Julie Driscoll was the next painter to be featured here.
Then…
“Oh my goodness! Julie Driscoll – that 60s singer! Wow – she paints now? And lives in Suffolk?”
Having spoken to a few working artists lately, I realise there is a huge difference between making a living as an artist and making money from your art now and then.
In my next few posts, I will be showing you the work of artists who are making money out of their art and who are working towards the ideal of making a living as an artist.
Read More »Making a Living As An Artist – One person’s Story
To create the paper bead cuffs, I do an abstract painting in acrylics on a sheet of paper slightly bigger than A4 (US letter size roughly).
The paper I use is usually quite thick and sturdy to create chunkier beads.
To find out more about making paper beads and the tool I use, click here to see a previous post that explains the process.
And to watch a video showing how I made a similar cuff bracelet click here.
Read More »Paper Bead Cuffs
Make beautiful ‘Moon Glow’ alcohol ink pendants using kitchen tin foil.
After seeing someone online doing crafty things with ordinary tin foil, I thought it would be fun to try and make some jewellery using that technique.
My previous post was also about using alcohol inks – you can find it by clicking here.
I have been making bottle cap necklaces for years and so I was inspired to use the bottle caps I have in my stash of resources to create some alcohol ink pendants.
Alcohol inks – oh my goodness – you know when something really sets you on fire and you don’t want to sleep?
Well this is it for me! It’s all Mandy Shedden’s fault – since I went to visit her fantastic little craft supplies store in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, I have not been the same.
The store, Keep On Crafting was an absolute Aladdin’s cave of art and craft goodies. I seriously didn’t know which way to turn. Sadly it has closed now but the website is thriving. Do have a look.
Saucer beads can be quite tricky to master when you first get into making paper beads. I tried all sorts of ways but then I… Read More »Saucer Beads – What Are They?
Decoupage can be applied to many surfaces and using a picture frame or mirror is a great way to begin.
I made the one you see here by using an old comic from a batch I bought from an auction house.
Read More »Decoupage Picture Frame
Paper pendants are great fun to make and you can add your own abstract artwork.
It gives you exciting, bold and beautiful one-off pieces of jewellery to wear or give away as presents.
These paper pendants were made by using a discarded cereal box.
I created the curved base that I then mounted my artwork on.
Fun with art – my three favourite words! As adults, we are easily capable of getting a huge amount of fun out of art and craft – if we allow ourselves. Somehow, somewhere along the road of growing up, we stop ‘doing art’ because we can’t do it ‘properly’. As children, until we reach a certain age, we do not care whether we are ‘good’ or ‘bad’ at art. If you watch children at play, having fun with art comes naturally. It was through my creative work with children that I began to think about art and craft in a different way.
A child’s joy is in the doing of a painting, not the end result.
The painting is forgotten when the paint and crayons are put away.
Read More »Fun With Art At Any Age
Why paper bead tools? Let me explain why I considered the paper bead tools I made to be the best thing ever for crafting. Making… Read More »Paper Bead Tools & Templates