This is the wreath I made for my door. I'm really pleased with my new technique. So much simpler, and less time consuming...so fingers crossed the berries last this festive period. I might add some tangerines onto it, to give it a spark of colour.... I also have made 2 heart wreaths for a customer. She wanted pheasant feathers in them too- this is how they turned out....
Last week,one of my craft fairs was held at BBC Scotland. A photographer was visiting all the stalls getting photos of the crafts for the in house magazine 'Ariel'. It was nice to get my glassware photographed, but rather embarrassing getting myself photographed.... After many awful photographs with my eyes closed, he managed to salvage this one! Thank goodness for digital photography!!!
It has been a busy few weeks selling my wares, but thats all the Christmas markets finished for 2009! I've just a few orders to complete for customers, as well as 2 shop orders, one from Buchlyvie Pottery, as well as a re-order from the gallery in Drymen 'Ealain'.
I'm currently down at my Mums farm in Galloway for a couple of nights. She has a wonderful Holly tree in one of the fields which is oozing in berries....so i'm off to cut a few branches to make some wreaths now......
We have had an awful few weeks of rain, and it doesn't look as if it is going to stop. We are very lucky that our farm is on higher ground, and away from the forth river that runs at the bottom of the 'bottom fields' of the farm. A few days ago we had to move our sheep onto higher ground, as the risk of the forth breaking its banks were pretty high, and luckily we did, or the sheep would have been left with 1 acre of ground to graze and shelter on.
The picture above is a view across the carse of Stirling, and you can see how the forth river has broken its banks, and is starting to flood the surrounding farmland.
I took this picture a few days ago, when there was a break of sunshine/(dry hour!) All the hedges rows around us are pretty sparse & skeletal looking, but some are still clinging onto these beautiful bright leaves that add a bit of vitality and sunshine to the brown landscape!
I love waking up on frost bitten mornings. The landscape looks so crisp and untouched, and the rising sun glows a gorgeous yolky orange hue throughout the violet sky. A few mornings ago we had the most beautiful morning, where the view across the trossachs was breathtaking. We have had lots of work to do on the farm over the last few mornings, including feeding the cattle silage that are still outside, and preparing the sheep for 'tupping'. This is when we split the sheep into groups of roughly 40, and then we put a ram into the field with each group, and hope for lots of lambs in April!
On frosty mornings I always think that spiderwebs resemble crochet pieces, the way they drape off trees and plants, and cling onto fences & gateposts....I imagine a funny image of a spider busying itself away throughout the night with crochet needles...
I was in Glasgow yesterday re stocking on paints. I came across these heart shapes in glass & ceramics. I bought 3 of each shape so I can test them out at my next 2 craft fairs, and get feedback before I buy anymore. They are something a 'bit fun' for hanging off twigs to create a festive arrangement, or use as a sun catcher. The ceramic ones are my favourite, and are currently in the oven, so i'll put a pic of them up once their ready!
I find it so hard to take good quality photos of my products. I feel I can never achieve their true colours or intricate detail, or create good lighting for the shot. I have always taken the photos against white backgrounds, but today I decided to try them against a black one.I feel the black shows off the colours better, I just need to get my lighting right now!! I have uploaded new pics of my plates onto my website, as well as Etsy.
Another new product I am doing for Christmas are these tiny T-Lights. I thought they would make the perfect stocking filler! I am going to sell them for the tiny price of £3.50!
We are just back from a super break in Rome. We had the most wonderful weather, beautiful food and spent 5 glorious days wandering through the ancient cobbled streets. Narrow alleys led us to Roman monuments, Baroque fountains, and historic buildings. The city is like an open air museum, every corner turned, awaited a new artifact to be discovered! It is hard to list a favourite 'sight' or building, but I really enjoyed the walk leading us through the city to the Vatican. The picture of the angel above, stood proud on one of the bridges that crossed the Tiber, on the way to the Vatican.
It was also lovely to catch some sunshine and warmth before our winter sets in. I love the autumnal yellows against the crisp Mediterranean sky. So its back home, and busy busy busy now in my art room, as I've lots of stock to paint. So this week I am concentrating on my cake plates...heres a sneak at one of my Christmas designs.
