With all the flowers outside...

...my mind turned to vases and vessels , and here's what happened.

This little vase measures about 3 inches in height (sans flower).  With the tail included, it's about five inches wide.

Created from a piece of painted cheesecloth (you'll find the tutorial video just below) it has been stiffened with Golden GAC400.  While wet, I wrapped the cheesecloth around a small plastic bottle which had been liberally (and I do mean liberally coated with Vaseline).

I let the GAC-stiffened cheesecloth dry overnight and then used my palette knife to free the bottle from the vase.  Both survived, although the bottle will take a lot of cleaning if it's to be reused.

I do love the look of the cheesecloth,

and rather suspect I'll be playing more with this technique.

Of course, I'll need to paint more, and larger, sheets of cheesecloth if that's going to happen.  And I'll need some more container shapes, and does anyone know where one can secure some bath sheet-sized bits of cheesecloth and gallon drums of Vaseline?   Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

What's happening with you this week?  I look forward to hearing about it all.

As we await...

...the arrival of 2017 it's a time of quiet reflection, and what better colour to accompany that than the peaceful ease of the colour blue.

From journal pages

 to Gelli prints,

blue peeks out everywhere in the studio.

 I've turned hand-painted papers into blue flowers,

 and created Wingdings with it.

 It shows up in heavily textured pieces

 and in those that are quietly behaving themselves.

 Blue philosophizes

 and plays well with green and a host of other colours.

What a perfect colour with which to end a chaotic year, don't you think?

Here's hoping that all your wishes for 2017 come true, in a big way.  xo

It's been a busy week...

...both in the home studio and at Puffin Design. Christmas is in the air everywhere, and even in Creston we've got the snow to prove it.

I've been working on some miniatures recently, and these altered bottles have been great fun.  The tallest is five inches from the top of the cork right down, and it rather feels like a bit of fairyland when I see them together.  I can imagine them as libation crocks for elves and leprechauns, can't you?

Miniatures

Three of the four incorporate the gorgeous Kroma Crackle of which I'm so fond (those flat sides made it MUCH easier to apply than on the rounded bottles), and this one is finished with hand-crafted beads and a piece of turquoise for a floral bouquet against some complimentary ribbons.

'Bottled Blues' miniature altered bottle ©Win Dinn

That crackle is delicious, no?

'Bottled Blues' detail

The quiet colour in this joy bottle is a good reminder that joy can be strong and serene.

'Bottled Joy' miniature altered bottle ©Win Dinn

'Tis the season, definitely.

Bottled Joy detail

One can never go wrong with pink and purple, and this combination is also graced with hand-rolled flowers made from hand-painted paper.  Only an artist!

'Swag' miniature altered bottle ©Win Dinn

 I'm loving that crushed garnet texture against the bottle - thanks for that score, Meg!

Swag detail

 A lucky penny finishes this bottle, done in coppers and gold.  I'm loving the painted cheesecloth tie.

'Luck in a Bottle' miniature altered bottle ©Win Dinn

The light bounces in so many different directions on this one that it's opulent in the extreme.

Luck in a Bottle detail

What have you been up to this week?  Are you in the Christmas mode as well?  Share your link in the comment section and let everyone know!

Post playshops...

is a time for unpacking boxes, sorting, storing and getting back to 'normal' - HA!

This week I've been in finishing mode too, with a painting done (another on the Dark Side),

'It's Time II' 6 x 6" mixed media on canvas  © Win Dinn

It's Time detail - create

It's Time - detail

an antique gold chalice,

'Libation' mixed media altered glass © Win Dinn

Libation Detail

Libation inside

 and a copper-toned bottle.

'Message on a Bottle' mixed media altered bottle  © Win Dinn

Message Detail

Message - more detail

Message - bottom detail

Message - a different full view

And with just over four weeks left until Christmas (did I say that out loud - OH NO), I can tell it's time to get in the creativity mode.  Do you make all your gifts?  Do you have a ton yet to do?  How's your holiday season shaping up?  Please let me know in your comments, and feel free to add your website and/or blog to let our readers know too!

It's been a roller-coaster ride...

...like no other these last couple of weeks.  My studio is chock-a-block full of partly finished projects (what else is new, right?), from this bottle awaiting a final coat of varnish

Mermaid's Song

to a journal loosely packed with paper and ephemera additions,

a gooey layer of Kroma Crackle medium on top of a gessoed box,

some tape waiting for a Gelli printing session to be reborn as washi tape,

and a video workshop in the making.

It's no less crazy at my Puffin workbench either, where another bottle is in the works (not sure what ghoul is at play here, but there is certainly some Halloween in the air),

and a book sculpture starts to take form.

Add caption

And just in case you think this has been a rather colourless post, I'll leave you with some close-ups of the bottle...

That Kroma crackle certainly looks different when it's dried and painted, right?

I hope you're having as much fun in your playroom!  If not, consider joining me this next while here in Creston - we've got some fun sessions for you here.

I'm in here...

...somewhere, although it's hard to find anything (or anyone) in the studio right now.  How did it get so messy?

From completed journal pages (Gelli prints used to the max),

to some that are barely started (that's a fabulous card I received from Laura Leeder there on the right),

to journals being made from Gelli prints,

miniature bottles being crackled,

and bottles and glasses getting their first coat of colour, it's riotous inside.

I've been experimenting with printing on Gelli prints and I like this reminder about how to keep centered. Perhaps it will even work if I take the advice.

I'm in the throes of creating a new colouring book for adults, so there are mandala designs everywhere.  I can't quite figure out where the 3,000 copies of the first book went - did you take them?!

By now you've probably got the picture, and if not, here's the definitive one.  Has anything changed since the last time you saw a full studio shot from here?  Don't you think it's a good thing that I rarely teach in my home studio any more?  Fitting four students in here without using a crowbar would be a miracle.

Why not send me a link in the comments below so I can see your studio madness?  I'd love to know I'm not alone.