The Sea book is complete!

My book is now complete! This is a front view.



Here is the open book. My apologies for the photograph here. It looks a little odd sloping to one side, but that was my fault. The book was standing upright, you can just see the odd angle of the horizon. I have shown this photograph merely because it gives an indication of the wealth of textures there are amongst these lovely pages.



The inside of the front cover.



The inside of the back cover. Thanks everyone who sent me a page.



The book is designed to open right out, as you can see here, fanning the pages out and making them easier to display. The spine is woven and beaded. I used sticks as uprights and used blue, green, purple and grey-blue ribbon to weave in and out making the structure more solid.

My next challenge will be to get a shelf for my workroom so I can display all my three-dimensional pieces out of direct sunlight.

Thanks Ruth. I really loved taking part in this project.

A sea page!

This is my January page from Kath. It is exquisite. The background is felt with some beading and stitching to add texture. It just speaks of the movement in the sea.



The signature on the back is simplicity itself.



A small detail for you to enjoy. I feel very privileged to have this gorgeous page in my collection. Thanks so much, Kath. Please could you respond and tell about the materials you have used in this piece?

A new Sea page!

My page has arrived from Maya. It is so lovely, with such a lot of detail not immediately apparent.



There is a lot of hand stitching, with lots of beads simulating the movement of the sea. The stitches holding the fabric in place remind me of Kantha stitching. There are many pieces of foil, and silk making up the background, all adding to the texture.
The piece is edged in handworked blanket stitch. I wish my stitches could be so neat.



Adding to the detail, there are sequins added in to the back of the blanket stitch edging. What a lovely idea!



Here is Maya's letter, giving some idea of the techniques she has used.



Thanks so much Maya, I love my new page.

Windows for Elizabeth.

I was delighted to hear a short time ago, that my page for Elizabeth has just arrived.



The windows page was based on my photographs of this delightful little chapel on a bridge crossing the Great Ouse.



The picturesque town you can glimpse beside the waterfront is called St Ives. I can recommend an exploration of the area, since the town and it's small museum is well worth a visit. More photographs from my trip can be seen here.



It was great fun to interpret one of the glazed windows for Elizabeth. As you can see from the note I sent with the page, I used a number of techniques. The gessoed piece of canvas came from a damaged artists canvas I had taken to pieces. The frame will eventually be used for some screen printing experiments.........



I could not resist putting something behind the window frame.



So the window is hinged using beads, so that it can open to reveal............



Hence the title..............



The back is made using a piece of scrap silk and some mulberry paper.

The Sea has arrived!

Now, isn't this delightful. I was thrilled to receive a package through my letterbox this morning from Liz. This is my June page - a little late, but it was well worth waiting for...........

All those lovely details.



I just love the beaded blue coral. The textures are just gorgeous.



Just look at the stitching on the seahorse. It looks like there are such stories he, or she could tell of adventures amidst the coral.



The fabric for the back of the page itself just could not have been more perfect.

And the letter from Liz, tells of the techniques she has used.

Oh Liz, I do agree about being near the sea. It is a magical place, with all the smells and sounds. I live right in the centre of Cheshire, a county almost in the heart of the UK. But you are right, a journey time of around an hour and a half will bring me to the coast. I am so fortunate.

Thanks so much for my page. I look forward to day when I can put all my lovely pages together and make them into a book. I intend to exhibit the book when it has been made, but do not know where, or when, just yet.

Seashore

This is the page I sent at the end of March for Juliette, so I do hope that she won't mind my posting about it. I was so glad to hear that it had arrived.

The photo in the insert was taken on the island of Grand Turk in the Caribbean.

I included a description of the piece, which you can read about here. (Just click on the photo and it will enlarge.)

I had been lucky enough to travel to the Caribbean on a cruise earlier this year, and knew that this spot had to be used for Juliette's "Seashore page". The colours of the sea were truly amazing. Living in the UK, the sea always seems various shades of grey with some blues. This depends on the time of year, of course. In the region of the Caribbean, the colours were so intense, it really took my breath away. I took a number of photographs.

One shows the sand and a footprint left by the man I had seen sweeping the leaves from the beach a few hours earlier. I had woken very early just as dawn was rising and was able to watch activities to clean the beach ready for the passengers to disembark. It is truly surreal to see a huge cruise ship visit such a tiny island. It dwarfs everything around it. But life goes on as usual, calm and unhurried.

As I had mentioned to Juliette, I was reminded of a passage from a children's book much loved by my own daughters when they were younger. I was able to share the book with the classes I taught too. You can read it below. Margaret Mahy is a superb writer. I love her descriptions, they are so vivid. The photo is of a scan I made of the page in my battered, much read copy.

Should you wish to read it for yourselves, the ISBN number of my copy is this: 0-14-050624-1.

It is called "The man whose mother was a pirate."

Dreaming of diving in the sea - the photos

I really can't think of a better way to introduce the photos I promised in my post yesterday, than to show you the note sent by Johoanna.





The dreaming girl in the photograph looks so very sweet. Here are some details of the stitching around the photograph.

The printed fabric background really adds movement. There are many beads and small stitches alongside small shells. The textures are really interesting. Thanks so much to Johoanna.

The next photo is on the front of the card bearing the message from Johoanna, shown above. What a gorgeous green frog.

Juliette's page

Hi Juliette, I've just posted your page. Hope you don't mind if you get it early, we've so many strikes going on here in Greece now I thought better safe than sorry! Hope you enjoy whenever you receive it.

Thanks Mandy

Just got a great page from Mandy. Machine embroidery, lino stamps and beads ON the card with extra flower beads for when I make up my book!! Thanks so much, Mandy, I love it - such a varied and colourful start to the year.