The week before last we were in Norfolk and enjoyed an evening stroll along the beach at Cromer. During beach walks I inevitably pick up little bits and pieces and below is a photo of the items I collected that evening. There aren’t many shells on Cromer beach but I just wanted to find odd and interesting items.
I took several photos as the light was so pretty and used some of the pictures as inspiration. I tried to incorporate the items above in a little mixed media box, using a suitable lidded box which I covered with dressmaking pattern paper and some printed tissue before I assembled the pieces. I wanted to make sure all the items had a bit of textile or stitch on them and I particularly like the triangular pieces of shell with the anchor stitching which holds them in place.
There was a lovely shot on the pier in the evening light and when I came home I tried to print it on our computer. Our lack of ink meant the copy was almost completely orange but I quite liked the effect and decided to use that as an opportunity to draw on some painted fabric – an old bit of drop cloth. The picture below uses gelatos, which I’ve used extensively on paper but not on fabric. This needs more investigation, as I loved the effects – the gelatos can be applied really thickly or really watered down so the colour bleeds into the fabric. Below is the finished sample, not mounted properly, but with a frame laid around the border.
The colours really are reminiscent of the beautiful light that evening.
Just as we were about to leave the beach we heard a bird singing and looked up and saw this silhouette with the moon behind, so I have utilised some dyed teabags and quickly stencilled some images onto the backgrounds. Foil moons added, one or two of the better ones may be made into cards.
JOLLIETEXTILES 