Over Easter this year we had a family of 5 staying with us – the weather turned nasty on the Sunday so what better way to spend the time than to run a wire and mixed media workshop?! We had been to the beach the day before and had collected up lots of goodies to use, which we tipped into big bowls in the middle of the table which everybody dipped into. Ages ranged from 7 to 50 and there were 7 of us altogether. The following pictures are what they made in under 2 hours – I’m pretty impressed by the variety, imagination and inventiveness!

I’ve just finished this ‘Flying Eyes Lady’ which I started a few weeks ago and have been working on when I’ve had a free few minutes here and there. She’s made from iron wire, steel wire, a fishing line ‘scribble’ picked up from Wonwell Beach, fishing line from my own collection and some wonderful discarded uncut glasses lenses which I picked up at my local scrap store.

Exciting news – I have another date for a wire workshop, incorporating found and up-cycled objects.

This one will be at The Up-cycled Home at Mount Edgcumbe on Saturday 14th June from 10am – 4pm.

The cost will be £50 and this includes a delicious lunch. Tools and materials will be provided, but please bring your own ‘found objects’ – they could be anything ranging from a scrap of fabric from your childhood, some sentimental broken jewellery, flotsam and jetsum from your beach pickings. Let your imagination run free!

For more details, email me at becky@thewellnowco.intarcs.com

Learn to make funky characters out of wire combined with found objects/fabric/your old treasures – whatever you’d like to bring along to incorporate.

Come and create your own funky characters from wire and found objects.

Bring found / up-cycle able objects that have a special meaning to you or small items that you’ve picked up on walks to incorporate into your creations.

Ideas for small objects to bring could include corks, beer bottle caps, shells, fabric from a favorite worn out piece of clothing, broken jewellery, beads, small photographs/postcards, and I particularly love bits of rusty metal I find on the streets like washers. Basically, anything that inspires or interests you!

You will learn a variety of techniques working with wire, snips and pliers and you’ll leave with a unique funky handmade character to inhabit a special place in your home.

Wire and tools will be provided, there will be a small charge for wire.

Times are from 10am – 4pm, light refreshments are provided (tea, coffee & cake) please bring a packed lunch.

Cost of the workshop will be £45 plus a little extra for materials.

My dear friend Simon was a super duper artist and ceramicist who died tragically far too young. He’s got a retrospective show coming up at the V&A in London, it will be more than worth while visiting, his work was inspirational and free. Showing from 5th April 2014 – 4th April 2015.

http://www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/3172/simon-carroll-expressionist-potter-4589/

Today I finally finished making my Pistachio Queen! She is made from stainless steel wire, silver plated wire, enamelled copper wire, a champagne cork, a piece of rusty metal picked up from the side of a road, drift wood and lots of pistachio shells.
I started her about 6 years ago when I saved and painted some pistachio shells gold and turquoise, and finally this year I’ve been adding to her parts when I’ve had the odd hour here and there.

On 31st May 204 I am running a workshop on making little characters out of wire incorporating up-cycled and found objects; while there may not be time in 5 or 6 hours to make something as complicated as the Pistachio Queen, you could come away with your own inventive person to hang in your home. Here are a few things I would be bringing along to the workshop if I was attending. The bits and bobs include washers, scribbles of fishing line found on the beach (make great hair!) bits of smoothed glass, zip pulls, fir cones, an old glasses lens… the possibilities are endless! You could always bring along sentimental items like scraps of favourite fabrics, broken jewellery or even old photos. The sky is the limit! For more information, please go to the contact me page or comment below.

Jenny Mendes is an artist I came across when I first joined Etsy.

I absolutely LOVE her work. In a time when there is so much art being churned out by so many people in every media imaginable (or even unimaginable!) it’s so refreshing to find art which is so utterly unique; everything she produces is instantly recognizable as hers.

No more words, just take a look at these lovely pieces by Jenny Mendes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See more of her work here: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/jennymendes

More mini collages this morning, then at lunchtime I remembered I was actually meant to be making earrings for a little shop in South Brent called www.theforestandco.com

… so I started doing that but then got a bit more distracted and ended up making lots of new tiny stud earrings instead… so TOMORROW I’ll make the earrings I was meant to be making today!

I’m back in my studio today for the first time in weeks and it’s GREAT of course.

I cranked the heater up (it was colder inside than out!), crossed a load of stuff off my long long list of things to do, found some amazing music on the internet to listen to http://www.broadwayproject.co.uk which inspired a couple of mini collages, there’s some lovely metallic ink on there but it doesn’t show up well in the photos :

Hello,

Just to let you know that I’m planning some exciting wire workshops for adults, by popular request, in 2014. These will be running mostly at Mad Hatters Studio in Plympton. http://www.madhattersstudio.com/

If you would like to be kept up to date about these, please email me at becky@thewellnowco.intarcs.com and I’ll let you know what’s happening and when.