Tête-à-Tête

My latest painting. took a while to complete, partly because it is close to my heart, partly because of the break-down of my computer.

The painting is the second in a series of paintings, all inspired (loosely) by the poem 'Hollow Men' by T.S. Eliot. It's one of my favourite poems and I love the imagery in T.S. Eliot's poetry. I've seen a documentary about his life and work recently and it made me want to paint this.

I have slightly modified the first painting in the series with a new technique to frame my paintings, therefore here it is again:

Panier Avec L'Oiseau

Tête-à-Tête

Here is the new painting where the original caged bird is joined by a raven.

The raven is a very spiritual bird and I've always found it interesting; be it in Edgar Allen Poe's poem 'The Raven' or in mythology the raven is a fascinating creature.


Here is a close-up of the bindweed:



And here is a close-up of the two birds' faces. I am particularly pleased with their eyes and expressions.


There will be two more paintings in this series, one I've already started, the other is still in the planning stage.

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Once all four are done, I am considering to have them professionally printed and will offer them together with some of my dress designs in my Etsy shop.

Origami Dress

Maybe a bit mad but it needed to be done. :-)

Origami Dress

I am so in love with this dress, and I even thought about if it could be done, but the fact is, I might be okay with a crochet hook, knitting needle and a paint brush... but sewing needles are just not me. Anyway, this is a dress for the red carpet at the Oscars not for every day or even a special day...

Each layer of fabric has been designed around an origami fold (looseley), like the Kanzashi flower which is often used in Japanese accessories.

Each and every pattern was made by me and layered over the 'fabric' to create the damasque effect.


The shoes are based on a popular Japanese design and look a bit like the Geta sandals.

Mermaid Shawl - Progress Report - Part 2

A day and a half have brought me to this:


It is slow going but utterly satisfying. The funny thing is, it looks jolly complicated, but it isn't, really. I use it to try out new patterns - some I make up, others I get from the net or from my stitch library. The good thing about this is that I get to try a pattern I like the look of but don't need to do too much of it if I then find it's too fussy or I just can't remember the stitches... It does happen quite a lot with lace patterns. Some just don't seem to have a 'rhythm' that works with mine.
I am particulalry pleased with this fish tail. I hadn't intended to make a fish tail, but when I tried out that 'little scallop' pattern I thought it looked like scales... so one thing led to another and here's my pretty fish tail. I think I'll embroider it with some sequins at some point.

On the topic of embroidery, it took me all morning to embroider these beads and finish off all the loose threads (which is why it looks a little tidier now). Embroidery or sewing isn't really my thing which is why I try to pick up stitches or crochet on existing edges rather than have to sew on bits...

Here's a little ruffly coral that was knitted separately and incorporated with the rest of the shawl with a bit of creative crochet. :-)



And here's a limpet:


All in all there IS progress, but it will take time...

... mind you, I just ordered some specialist yarns (glitters, snarls, metallics and other fun stuff) in reds and pinks for the next one... this could become an addiction....