Old skin

The rhubarb paper looks like old leathery skin and it is very tough.

papier mache

During August I give classes in creations using paper and recycled materials in the old school house in our village.( There are some pictures on   www.stagedepapiermache.com )    At home I've just finished a 'carved wooden panel' for the medieval banqueting hall using cardboard, washing line, and pulped loo paper pressed into an old biscuit mold and baked in the oven.

If there is anyone out there who by any chance would like me to explain anything I will be happy to do so.

Today I decided to try to make paper using rhubarb.  I boiled some up in water and sodium bicarbonate - it has turned black which is good I think because the lignin is breaking down. It may be a disaster - I thought the other day that out of every six of my ideas, one and a half seem to work - the sun was out and I had a sudden rush of optimism.

    I mended a ring for Liesbeth last week :-

The story of Liesbeth is good and happy and gentle. Thank you for being in the world.

I have to create.

I live my life by making things, their meaning is my story, and everything and everybody is important.  It is forever unknown,  always frightening , and every step is uphill,  but I have to go there.
  These are two recent drawings before I turned my attention to creating a medieval banqueting hall. More about that later.

                                                                                                              'Third drawing again'
                                                                                                        Charcoal and chalk on paper
                                                                                                                   47cm x 82cm

                                                                                                               'Drawing with old car horns'
                                                                                                              Charcoal and chalk on paper
                                                                                                                       52cm x 58cm

  My husband, Bill, is a glassblower. Amongst other things, he makes miniatures for dolls houses and I do enamelling or gold on them - this next picture is a group I took out of the kiln yesterday - the wine glasses are 12mm high.

An adaption I did of some other miniatures that Bill makes are these earrings for wine lovers.... ( these are Pouilly Fumé .. delicious!... and Pouilly sur Loire is not far from where we live)

While we're on the subject of jewellery here are just two examples of my latest bead ideas, made in glass in the flame of a glass blowers torch.

These next beads are made to resemble  the glass that you find on the beach , that was once something else, and has been broken and lost and has been turned by the ravages of nature into treasure.

                                                                                                           beach glass bracelet

the beginning

My house, or, Ma maison.