Painful though parting be, I bow to you as I see you off to distant clouds.
Emperor Saga
Monday, 23 May 2016
A Calico Farewell
I'm sad to say it's time for another Design Team farewell. I'm so grateful for and excited about all the work/travel adventures coming my way, but it does mean that I can't give my design team work the attention it deserves. So today, with a heavy heart, I'm saying my farewells over at the Calico Craft Parts blog. I adore working with the Craft Parts, as will be clear to anyone who's read my posts about them - they've inspired some of my favourite creations of all time.
Happily I have a good store of them to continue playing with, but I hope you'll have a chance to pop over to Calico to see some of those favourites and say farewell. Plus there are some fantastic designers joining the team, so do make sure you keep an eye on what they're up to over there!
Painful though parting be, I bow to you as I see you off to distant clouds.
Emperor Saga
Painful though parting be, I bow to you as I see you off to distant clouds.
Emperor Saga
Thursday, 19 May 2016
Encore - Can I interest you in...
Encore Posts
Projects which made their first appearances elsewhere for Design Team duties or Guest Designer opportunities, but which only had a sneak peek here, are being gathered together in the pages of my virtual scrapbook. I'm calling them "Encore" posts and they're formatted differently (all the way down the centre), so you can spot them easily.
Please don't feel that you have to comment all over again!
Hello all! Yes, I'm afraid we're on the Encores again, in between visits to the Forbidden City in Beijing (Part I and Part II if you'd like to travel to the Orient). I'm in the East again this week, but only Eastern Europe this time, doing some work in Wrocław, Poland, for a week - also a lovely city, so I expect there might be some photos from this visit too at some point down the line!But for now, we're travelling in not in space but in time... back to May 2014 when I created this trio of advertising ATCs for The Artistic Stamper. Here's what I wrote back then.
________________________________
Hello all, Alison (butterfly) here with a mischievous little trio of ATCs... each of them attempting to entice you into a purchase you didn't even know you wanted! I love these Artistic Stamper Steampunk stamps - they're like a little touch of time-travel, which regulars at Words and Pictures will know is something I yearn for.
There's the frankly malevolent-looking Phineas Pinchbeck, offering up his clocks to the satirically appropriate clients.
Master Squaretoe's Continuous Lunch sounds just the ticket for a queasy stomach (in the sense of you ending up with one, rather than it being a cure!).
And for the proud possessors of Luxuriant Moustaches, you won't want to be without Professor Barber's patent pomade.
The ATCs themselves are pretty simple, as I think these advertising images pretty much sell themselves. I started with some ink on the craft mat - Pumice Stone, a hint of Vintage Photo and a few spritzes of Heirloom Gold Perfect Pearls spray, which adds a lovely metallic touch.
I stamped the images in Jet Black Archival, and used a blending tool to add plenty more Vintage Photo. I also stamped the Artistic Stamper Mini Polka Dot Background in Sepia Archival.
There are some Tim Holtz Remnant Rub flourishes around the edges, and a dusting of gesso for some extra highlighting and texture.
And finally each of our tempters got his own little bit of metal embellishing: a clock for the Professor...
... some gears to keep the digestive system churning for the duration of the Continuous Lunch...
... and Mr Pinchbeck clearly deserves to be labelled Unique with an Idea-ology Muse Token.
So that's my historical advertising trio for you today. Hope you don't get tempted into anything unwise...
__________________________________
Personally, I'd rather save my money in order to go crafty shopping! Thanks so much for stopping by today. I already know there's no internet where I'm staying in Poland, but I'll probably be doing some hanging out in (wifi-supplied) cafes to try to keep up a little bit with what you're all up to. For now though, thanks for stopping by, and I hope you're all having a great week.
Advertisers constantly invent cures to which there is no known disease.
Anonymous
Advertising - a judicious mixture of flattery and threats.
Northrop Frye
Sunday, 15 May 2016
Beijing - The Forbidden City Part II
Hello all! By the time you read this I'll be on my way to the airport again (really not a fan of the 6am start!). Not quite so far to go this time, or for quite so long - some work with Teatr Pieśń Kozła (Song of the Goat Theatre) in Wrocław, Poland, for a week. It's an extraordinary company I'm very proud and excited to work with regularly.
But while I'm there, you can travel to China again here at Words and Pictures and see some more of the extraordinary craftsmanship on show in the Forbidden City, Beijing. As always, remember you can click on the photos for a larger view - though as some of these were taken on maximum zoom, I'm afraid the focus isn't always brilliant... I prefer getting in close up!
You've seen some of the buildings and admired the rooftops. Today we're going to be getting up close and personal with some of the skill and artistry on display nearer ground level. (Catch up with The Forbidden City Part I here if you missed it.)
I will confess I had mixed feelings as I made my way through the palace complex. It is awe-inspiring, but it's hard not to be aware that this display of power and wealth was built on the back of virtual slavery - not of the 100,000 skilled artisans perhaps, but almost certainly of the more than a million labourers.
(At one point, one of our Chinese interpreters launched into a furious diatribe about the human abuses involved in the construction of the Great Wall - a trip I missed unfortunately, because I had to be in Shanghai a day earlier than most of the company to do some schools' workshops.)
... I felt small and powerless in the face of this immense demonstration of authority and power.
However, I also became angry at the inequality of distribution of wealth. Anger at authority - not a luxury afforded to the people of Imperial China.
Still, you can't help but admire the work itself (even if it's a bit full-on for my minimalist tastes!).
It seems as though every surface - doors, floors, ceilings, window-frames, railings - is gilded, or carved, or decorated in one way or another.
There are the motifs we think of as traditionally Chinese: the dragon - the symbol of the emperor...
(Those within reach are worn away by being touched by millions of fingers for luck - yes, millions... more than 14 million people visit the Forbidden City each year.)
... and the lion. Look at this magnificent chap - symbolising dignity and authority - guarding one of the many stairways.
(And just wait til you see the lion sitting in the Emperor's private garden in Part III!)
I fell in love with this elegant bronze crane - he symbolises longevity apparently. I don't know... are cranes particularly long lived?
More bronze, this time an incense burner, more than six feet tall. They are everywhere, particularly surrounding the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
You can just imagine the intense fragrance wafting around the courtyards, whilst the burner must also have provided a little additional heat and light.
There are also vast cauldrons at regular intervals (308 of them in total, according to my sources) which would have been full of water to be used in putting out fires. Since the halls are constructed chiefly out of wood, that must have been a vital precaution.
(This one is iron, I think, and you can see one of the brass cauldrons in the Part I post, in the quartet of smaller photos all together, top right.)
Though the halls themselves might be made largely of wood, they sit on immense plinths of stone, or in some cases marble - and again the carving is exquisite, and there are tonnes upon tonnes of marble and metres and metres of carving.
This is the ceiling inside one of the Halls - carved, painted, gilded and with some more of the beautiful ceramic mouldings I mentioned in the previous post.
(I'm sorry I don't know which hall this is... I bet there's a way to annotate photos on the iPhone so that you have a note of the details later but I haven't found it.)
You probably spotted it in the background on some of the window carving photos above, but how about some crackle, folks?!
Yes, my crackle obsession found expression even here. Amidst all these glories, I've got lots of photos of crackled paint!
It is part of another magnificently decorative doorway...
At some of the entrances, the huge doors have these brass knobs - nine rows of nine making 81 in total, nine being the most auspicious number according to Chinese superstition, and therefore 9x9 being extremely lucky.
I read somewhere that nine was also associated with the emperor, and that the five claws on all the dragons' feet are also an Imperial signifier.
According to one guidebook, any commoner displaying the nine knobs or a five-clawed dragon could face execution.
Another lion looks on ferociously, with extra dragons at the ready, just in case you needed a further deterrent... and yes, more crackle!
Take another look at the brass window decorations near the start of the post - they do have five claws. And this dragon's foot, carved into the side of a large wooden cabinet has too, though the "thumb" is a little stubby!
This was an phenomenal piece of carved artwork, with the dragon hovering over the waves of a turbulent sea. Sadly, it was behind a glass window, and the other photos, including the one I tried to get of the whole cabinet, are too full of reflections to see much.
Just outside one particular doorway, I was rather taken with this huge lantern - again more than six feet tall in total.
Notice also the very high threshold to the doorframe... that's to keep out evil spirits and ghosts, and it's not reserved to emperors. You have to step high to step over a traditional Chinese threshold even outside the Forbidden City.
So, that's another selection of highlights for you... I hope you'll be able to join me again for Part III soon, when we'll make our way into the Emperor's private garden to see what and who he keeps there!
Thanks so much for stopping by, and I'll see you again soon.
The difference between something good and something great is attention to detail.
Charles R. Swindoll
But while I'm there, you can travel to China again here at Words and Pictures and see some more of the extraordinary craftsmanship on show in the Forbidden City, Beijing. As always, remember you can click on the photos for a larger view - though as some of these were taken on maximum zoom, I'm afraid the focus isn't always brilliant... I prefer getting in close up!
You've seen some of the buildings and admired the rooftops. Today we're going to be getting up close and personal with some of the skill and artistry on display nearer ground level. (Catch up with The Forbidden City Part I here if you missed it.)
I will confess I had mixed feelings as I made my way through the palace complex. It is awe-inspiring, but it's hard not to be aware that this display of power and wealth was built on the back of virtual slavery - not of the 100,000 skilled artisans perhaps, but almost certainly of the more than a million labourers.
(At one point, one of our Chinese interpreters launched into a furious diatribe about the human abuses involved in the construction of the Great Wall - a trip I missed unfortunately, because I had to be in Shanghai a day earlier than most of the company to do some schools' workshops.)
And I suppose it was having the intended effect on me...
... I felt small and powerless in the face of this immense demonstration of authority and power.
However, I also became angry at the inequality of distribution of wealth. Anger at authority - not a luxury afforded to the people of Imperial China.
Still, you can't help but admire the work itself (even if it's a bit full-on for my minimalist tastes!).
It seems as though every surface - doors, floors, ceilings, window-frames, railings - is gilded, or carved, or decorated in one way or another.
There are the motifs we think of as traditionally Chinese: the dragon - the symbol of the emperor...
(Those within reach are worn away by being touched by millions of fingers for luck - yes, millions... more than 14 million people visit the Forbidden City each year.)
... and the lion. Look at this magnificent chap - symbolising dignity and authority - guarding one of the many stairways.
(And just wait til you see the lion sitting in the Emperor's private garden in Part III!)
I fell in love with this elegant bronze crane - he symbolises longevity apparently. I don't know... are cranes particularly long lived?
More bronze, this time an incense burner, more than six feet tall. They are everywhere, particularly surrounding the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
You can just imagine the intense fragrance wafting around the courtyards, whilst the burner must also have provided a little additional heat and light.
There are also vast cauldrons at regular intervals (308 of them in total, according to my sources) which would have been full of water to be used in putting out fires. Since the halls are constructed chiefly out of wood, that must have been a vital precaution.
(This one is iron, I think, and you can see one of the brass cauldrons in the Part I post, in the quartet of smaller photos all together, top right.)
Though the halls themselves might be made largely of wood, they sit on immense plinths of stone, or in some cases marble - and again the carving is exquisite, and there are tonnes upon tonnes of marble and metres and metres of carving.
This is the ceiling inside one of the Halls - carved, painted, gilded and with some more of the beautiful ceramic mouldings I mentioned in the previous post.
(I'm sorry I don't know which hall this is... I bet there's a way to annotate photos on the iPhone so that you have a note of the details later but I haven't found it.)
You probably spotted it in the background on some of the window carving photos above, but how about some crackle, folks?!
Yes, my crackle obsession found expression even here. Amidst all these glories, I've got lots of photos of crackled paint!
It is part of another magnificently decorative doorway...
At some of the entrances, the huge doors have these brass knobs - nine rows of nine making 81 in total, nine being the most auspicious number according to Chinese superstition, and therefore 9x9 being extremely lucky.
I read somewhere that nine was also associated with the emperor, and that the five claws on all the dragons' feet are also an Imperial signifier.
According to one guidebook, any commoner displaying the nine knobs or a five-clawed dragon could face execution.
Another lion looks on ferociously, with extra dragons at the ready, just in case you needed a further deterrent... and yes, more crackle!
Take another look at the brass window decorations near the start of the post - they do have five claws. And this dragon's foot, carved into the side of a large wooden cabinet has too, though the "thumb" is a little stubby!
This was an phenomenal piece of carved artwork, with the dragon hovering over the waves of a turbulent sea. Sadly, it was behind a glass window, and the other photos, including the one I tried to get of the whole cabinet, are too full of reflections to see much.
Just outside one particular doorway, I was rather taken with this huge lantern - again more than six feet tall in total.
Notice also the very high threshold to the doorframe... that's to keep out evil spirits and ghosts, and it's not reserved to emperors. You have to step high to step over a traditional Chinese threshold even outside the Forbidden City.
So, that's another selection of highlights for you... I hope you'll be able to join me again for Part III soon, when we'll make our way into the Emperor's private garden to see what and who he keeps there!
Thanks so much for stopping by, and I'll see you again soon.
The difference between something good and something great is attention to detail.
Charles R. Swindoll
Friday, 13 May 2016
Encore - A Happy Garden
Encore Posts
Projects which made their first appearances elsewhere for Design Team duties or Guest Designer opportunities, but which only had a sneak peek here, are being gathered together in the pages of my virtual scrapbook. I'm calling them "Encore" posts and they're formatted differently (all the way down the centre), so you can spot them easily.
Please don't feel that you have to comment all over again!
So that Words and Pictures doesn't become purely travel-blogging this week, I've decided to squeeze in another Encore for you today - not a very old one, but it has a definite breath of spring about it, so it seemed a good time to share it. I'll be back with another instalment of China adventures in a couple of days (if you missed Part I of Beijing - The Forbidden City, just click the link), but for now here's what I wrote for the Artistic Stamper blog back in February 2015.
___________________________
Hello all! I've been playing with some of the lovely new gardening stamps just released here at The Artistic Stamper to create a gentle tag. There are some fantastic new releases. If you haven't seen them yet, do check them out. So here's my relaxing garden tag - a fairly simple affair, but it gives me lots of pleasure.
I started by putting Distress Ink onto a large acetate gridblock, spritzing it with water and stamping onto a watercolour paper tag. I did some spritzing and flicking of water to create even more of a textured look.
The fork and spade are stamped in a combination of Coffee and Potting Soil Archival inks and clear embossed.
I stamped the very useful "extra bit of earth" next to the main image, so as to 'fade out' the earth rather than have it stop abruptly.
I added another layer by stamping the tiny bubbles from the Borders 2 plate in colours to coordinate with the background.
The sentiment is from a PaperArtsy set, and is stamped in graduated Archival inks - Cobalt, Leaf Green and Olive, I think, and then clear-embossed as usual.
I tried out a number of different embellishments, but each time I preferred the simplicity of the tag without any extras until I suddenly remembered these tiny wooden confetti circles, hiding in my stash.
I glued them in place and gave them a tiny swipe of Chalk Fresco paint from one angle.
The Distress-dyed ribbons at the top are tied with some Idea-ology paper string, and the whole thing is mounted on some distressed corrugated cardboard for that rustic look.
And that's your lot for today. Thanks so much for stopping by - your comments and visits really mean so much.
_______________________________
Well, my grateful thanks for your visits are as true today as they were when I wrote this post. It's always lovely to hear from you, and I've been so happy to read your comments or just to see the continuing healthy visitor numbers during my enforced absence from Craftyblogland. It's a pleasure to share the journey with you. I'm afraid I'm about to set off journeying again, but not for quite so long this time. I'll miss my craft desk - haven't managed to get there as much as I'd like in this brief visit home - but I wish you happy crafting all!
The love of gardening is a seed once sown that never dies.
Gertrude Jekyll
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)