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Shop Scotland

1 August, 2014 / Katy / 2 Comments

I’m very pleased to announce that I’ve joined the ranks of Shop Scotland!

Misericordia

Shop Scotland’s concept is simple: We give small creative ecommerce businesses a platform to shout from, and we help people around the world discover Scottish talent in abundance. With an easy to navigate site, category specific sections and features, there is always a wealth of fresh and exciting businesses to uncover.

After sadly seeing the demise of many local independent shops and the rise of the tartan tat brigade, Shop Scotland was born to help raise awareness about real Scottish products. You might find tartan on this site but you definitely won’t find tat.

Susan from Shop Scotland is full of exciting links on Twitter and Facebook to help you discover other Scottish businesses and I’ve spoken to nothing but lovely folk since joining.

It also came in quite handy when my poor website had a php-meltdown and had to be rescued by the Lovely Young Man and I could re-direct website traffic to something lovely and professional looking with links to all the relevant places.

So as a token of my gratitude, I’ve been browsing through other Shop Scotland-er’s pages and here are a few gems:

Strumpet Cocktail Hats

You know by now how much I love an eye veil, and it’s taking all my will power to leave my holiday money alone and not buy a dozen killing hats!

Young Glass

Some lovely glass (I’m feeling an urge for a martini all of a sudden).

Off With Her Head Millinery

…and more hats because, well why wouldn’t you?

Nolan – Commission

25 July, 2014 / Katy / 2 Comments

There are two ways to approach a name commission; one is to start with the name and find some history, meaning or aesthetic in it that inspires the rest of the piece.

Another is to start with the shape of the letters, find a font that seems to make the shape sing and then see if that suggests the next step.

This commission was definitely the latter approach, I felt really stuck with it until I hit upon a rather lovely font which then instantly suggested the Book of Kells.

After that, it was just a case of finding my most jewel-like colours and setting to work!

Amos & Boris

18 July, 2014 / Katy / 5 Comments

Some images are so imbedded in your consciousness that you can hardly look at them properly. This project certainly made me look at a very familiar image in a different way.

When I was growing up, one of my dad’s favourite books was Amos and Boris by William Steig. The book is about a fearless mouse who embarks on an adventure, meets a whale and discovers how lasting friendships can endure between very different people.

It’s a favourite in our house too, and so for my Dad’s birthday I decided to experiment with a new technique – watercolour and embroidery.

I’m planning to write a tutorial covering the whole process, but here is a peek at the finished piece.

Nothing to Report?

11 July, 2014 / Katy / 1 Comment

There are lots of reasons to blog – to reach out to other like-minded people, to carve a space in the vastness of t’Internet or just to have a place to express yourself.

Why do I blog?

Guilt.

I may not have thousands of followers hanging on my latest post but part of me refuses to acknowledge that fact. So as the week rolls on and I contemplate what to write about, there’s a certain element of deadline guilt that sets in if I haven’t quite managed all I set out to do.

This week has been particularly frustrating because I’ve got several projects in hand that I desperately want to talk about but haven’t quite got to the point where I can share them.

There’s this one, that I’m trying to finish up while experimenting with some in-progress shots which render most of my Hovel inaccessible.

There’s this one which is still very much sloshing around in the rinse cycle of my creative washing machine.

I’m hoping some communing with artists past might gain me some ground.

Finally, there’s this one which is very exciting… but I can’t reveal anything about it until Sunday.

So how about it, do I get a passing mark for this week?

Light Relief

4 July, 2014 / Katy / 1 Comment

I’m up to my eyeballs at the moment – a commission, a massive community project that I’m co-ordinating (and consistently forgetting that I am also designing and making several rather large pieces for it), plus exam prep and the usual assortment of projects for friends and family that I’m months behind on.

So for light relief, here’s proof that I’m a Proper Grown Up.

Radcliffe and Maconie on 6music recently asked for signs you know you’re a proper grown up and I had a wee ponder. At first I thought that being genuinely excited about a parking space might top my list, but now I suspect that buying light fittings is right up there.

We’ve now replaced almost all the light fittings in the house, along with the light switches (who knew I would have strong opinions about a light switch?) and I have never been happier to usher the motley crew of wicker, peach suedette and paper lantern* shades out of the house. Even the hovel got a nice new shade.

This is officially known as the Jelly Mould, Mum bought it for us as a first anniversary gift. Our seventh anniversary is on Monday and after sitting in a box for over five years and a brief spell as a living room light in a rented house it finally took its place where it belonged to be.

The kitchen lights came from Manchester, and as soon as I can find an extra non-standard, non-metric sized nut and bolt combo, I can get the other shade and cage up. (Suggestions of helpful websites gratefully received.)

The Boy picked his own, mainly because it was blue…

The rest came from the truly astonishing Meadows Lamp Gallery. I have lusted after their refurbished (Art Nouveau!) goodies for years and now they’re mine!

The (very) long-term plan is to get something truly spectacular for the dining and living rooms, but I think I’ll have to give my penny pot a chance to catch its breath for a bit!

*Because I know my parents are reading this, I appreciate the irony of the fact that I was determined to replace the paper lantern shade from the old house at the new. I’ll add it to the list.

Guest Post at The Gift Shed

27 June, 2014 / Katy / 1 Comment

Remember the very helpful guest post from Emma at The Gift Shed about organising your life? Well, it was only fair to write her one in return, and now you can read my efforts.

Just click here, and don’t forget to have a browse through the rest of Emma’s blog or fill your paper-y needs at her shop!

The Satisfaction of a Job Well Done

20 June, 2014 / Katy / 1 Comment

I’ve finally ticked off my most long-standing item on my To Do List (that’s the worst of these electronic lists, they mock you with your own inefficiency).

You can now place your commission orders directly from the website.

Choose your format – frame, hoop or mini canvas and your font style, add extra text if necessary, and head to the checkout page to add your text and colour choices.

I’ll then email you with a PDF of your design so you can check the spelling and layout and then I get to work creating your masterpiece.

It was absolutely worth waiting 187 days for that, wasn’t it?

Coming Over All Matrimonial

13 June, 2014 / Katy / 0 Comments

I love a wedding, do you?

I’ve got a few friends’ weddings coming up and they’ve made me feel all nostalgic for the excitement and fevered planning that went into our wedding.

(Although I must admit, I find great relief in being well through that stage. It was fun while it lasted, but matronhood suits me quite well.)

I have a variety of visions for these pieces, ranging from a gift for the work colleague who you wish well but don’t fancy buying a lone dinner plate off the uninspiring gift registry to a rather sweet bridesmaid’s gift to an ironic gift for the couple who are passionately devoted to their cohabitative state.

Mr & Mrs hand embroidered hoop - Misericordia 2014

I must apologise for the rather traditional wording, I’m desperately awaiting my first Dr & Mr or Ms & Ms, so please get commissioning!

Out of the Blue Arts Market – 7 June 2014

6 June, 2014 / Katy / 0 Comments

I know I said I was taking a break, but I’ve wanted to do the Out of the Blue Arts Market for while, so when I got a chance to grab a space, I did!

If you’re free, I’d love to see you there – there’s a lovely cafe there so you might as well stay for a slice of cake and coffee!

Tin Type Adventures

30 May, 2014 / Katy / 0 Comments

It’s been a long time since we’ve had a photographic post, but I’ve been inspired by these gorgeous tin types, so here we go.

David Emmit Adams works in traditional photographic media (paper negatives and wet plate collodion) and uses the fact that these processes allow you to expose directly onto the display surface rather than projecting an image to make a final print.

I found (via Poppytalk) the series called Conversations with History which uses discarded tins as a base for images of the desert in which they were found.

Shadow with Cans – David Emmit Adams

Here are some of the images created on surface of the tins, which have been pre-exposed, giving them the

[This] rich patina is the evidence of light and time, the two main components inherent in the very nature of photography.

Traces – David Emmit Adams

Traces – David Emitt Adams

I can’t urge you enough to check out Adams’ website, there are whole other bodies of work which I could blog about, but I’ll let you discover them on your own because I have another photographer to tell you about!

Ed Drew took the first tin types in a combat zone since the American Civil War as a reservist on duty during his BFA.

Ed Drew – Afghanistan, Combat Zone

Oh those wrinkled edges, streaks and bubbles…

Ed Drew – Afghanistan, Combat Zone

They make me go a bit wibbly, gorgeous!

Ed Drew – Afghanistan, Combat Zone

(via Petapixel)