Whoops

Have just realised I said that I was rather finished with the two books rather than pleased...although I did feel a bit finished trying to complete them in time.

Finished!

Well, both books are finished and have been assessed by someone from City and Guilds. Now I just have to wait for the results. I have to say I was rather pleased with both completed books....let's hope the verifier from City and Guilds was. Unfortunately, my books are at the workshop at present but as soon as I have them back I will post some pictures of the finished items. I have really enjoyed the course but am glad it is finished. Every time I wanted to do some other arty or crafty thing I kept thinking I should be getting on with the C and G things. Now I can get on with some of the other things I want to try.

Rather than finish the blog with the finish of the C and G course, I have decided to continue the blog with news and pictures of the other things I am doing. I want to use some of the techniques and new materials I have learned about in collage pictures which I have started doing. I also want to make some more books as I enjoyed that part of the course.
So....watch this space. I will try to add to the blog on a weekly basis but here may be some breaks.

Block printing

We had a go at block printing using some Indian wood blocks which are works of art in themselves. We printed on both paper and cloth but this one is my favourite of the ones I did, mainly because of the elephants. I painted the cloth with mauve paint and printed the pattern and elephants in black. Unfortunately it all went a little uphill. It is quite difficult to line up the blocks correctly but I like it.
I am hoping by the time I post my next blog the oak book will be finished and the star book all but finished....and I intend posting at the end of this week!!!!!

More from the Oak

A couple more pictures from my first project book. The bottom pcture is a collage of an old sailing ship to represent the fact that oak was one of the main timbers used to build English ships including the Mary Rose and the Victory.
The upper picture shows some watercolours of various fungi which depend on the oak tree. The left hand page show fungi which benefit the oak by giving nutrient in exchange for those they take from the oak. The right hand page shows fungi which give nothing to the oak in exchange for what they take and in fact can damage or kill the tree.

I realise that I have out up these images rather piecemeal without explaining the way in which the book has been planned. It is not in chapters as such but the topics covered in order are:

- the life cycle of the oak
- the different parts of the tree looked at in more detail
- the uses to which the oak has, and is still being put
- the oak as part of the history and mythology of England
- the oak as a symbol
- quotations mentioning the oak

I am still working on the cover but it represents the trunk of the oak with a door cut into the front. Hopefully, this time next week I hope to have the cover finished, and indeed, the whole book so I can upload the rest of the book including the cover......and then I have to finish the second book..but more about that later