Small paintings

I found some great wood bases for small paintings the other week and thought I would play with gold foil as a background.

The berries and vine were found clinging to an old crumbling pink wall.

Perfect little painting to sit on a shelf or sideboard.

Red Berries by Julie Smith

I'm back! And I'm playing with embroidery.

Oh my goodness! It has been sooooo long since I was last here!
Hubby and I have built a new house, my grandchildren are now 14 and 11 years old! Lots of good stuff has happened in the intervening couple of years (yes, that long!)

But probably the most exciting things that have occurred is 1. (and the most important!) I have my own awesome art studio to create from! Having said that, I still spread my projects all over the house (much to Hubby's dismay). And 2. Hubby, has finally decided to start chilling back on his building business to spend more time in the shed sculpting in steel. 

Steel landscape sculpture by Wayne Smith

I have to admit to being just little bit jealous by how well he is going and how well the sculptures are selling! Mind you, he has been working with sheet metal for over 40 years, so he should be bloody good at it by now! But, for someone who has no formal art training, he has a great eye for design! 

So life for me, like most others has been very busy between my own fibre craft business's Sesenarts and Crafts and SesenFashion , family, our family business and general home 'stuff'. At the same time, I have started reading Tarot professionally. This has been an exciting little thing for me, as I have been reading the cards for over 15 years and finally came out of the closet as a consultant.  I just love the cards! They are a real combination of psychology and a touch of intuitive or psychic awareness. That's not for this blog though, but if you are interested you may like to drop over to my web page JulieAnnTarot.com

Back to arty crafty stuff! 
What do you do in the evenings, or in your down time? We have had a very cold and wet end of Winter here in down south Western Australia, so there has been a reasonable amount of time spent sitting in front of the fireplace! (My bottom has not thanked me for it though, and I need to get off it and do some exercise!) 

Embroidered wall art

 I have been playing with needle and floss, creating small fibre art works. To me it is 'slow hand'. I take my time and intuitively work the embroidery stitches and beads around the base. The art takes on a life of its own, telling me where to go next and when to stop. A very meditative process!

Fabric collage wall art

Sometimes, I will layer vintage or found fabrics, hand stitch them together then applique other fabrics or papers on top to create lovely little collages. I'm having fun and there are no rules! My style totally!

So what has been happening in your lives? I hope it has been creative and wonderful!

Chat soon.

x Julie

My Big News. And other smaller events.

Sesen Textile and Mixed Media Art Studio

Drum roll please.........
I am incorporating a gallery into my studio! Yes! I am so excited!
Having been involved with little co-ops and had scarves and paintings in other peoples exhibitions or galleries for a number of years, there has been this little voice whispering that I could do this in my own space.
So when we were designing our house, I made sure that my studio would be big enough to include a little section for the public to drop in and check out what I make and how I make it!

But of course life gets in the way and the past two years had been taken up with building our new house and making it a home and I had been caught in the rut of producing same ol', same ol' for the on-line stores. Well, it was easy. People like what I created and it helped pay its way. But in the meantime my studio was becoming an embarrassment and I didn't like inviting people in.

So there I was deciding that enough was enough with the mess and disorganization that was my work space. Something had to be done because I had become lost. I felt like I was achieving nothing and going nowhere. ( mid life crisis/ menopausal hissy fit?).

Mixed media cards and canvasses

 
By the end of December a lot of stuff was thrown out and generally made tidy, when a little door in my head opened and said. "Remember Julie? Remember that you wanted  to invite people in? Well now you have the room!"

Hand painted silk scarves

So my little gallery has become a work in process.
And little section it is too! Only 3.3m square (11").
My wonderful hubby (extraordinaire)built a sectional wall for me to hang paintings up and we put together a shelf for bits and bobs.
I have approached a local artists collaborative to be included in their open studio map and approached the council for zoning to be told that  because I only have a little space and will be open by appointment rather than full time no zoning was needed on their part (yeeha!).

Silk and Cotton Nuno Felted Scarves

So now I need to design a sign for the verge and need to create wall art and other yummy things! I'm thinking I'm about 4 weeks away.
So wish me luck on this next stage of my artistic life!

An Inspired Life

Earlier this year I decided it was time to put brush to canvas again. I had been too long away and had been focusing on the textile arts and crafts and was missing the lusciousness of working with liquid mediums.
Christine Skeggs from SkeggsArts in Bunbury was holding mixed media workshops in Busselton, so I had no excuse!

Christine (on the left) with a few of her art students.

It was time to play again! Yay! Christine has the same affinity with mixed media on canvas as I, so was the perfect teacher to get me going again.
Unfortunately, with this last term getting busy for me with my online stores I was only able to attend one term. But I will be back next year Christine! It was so much fun!

She holds an end of year exhibition for all her students work and luckily I was able to complete one painting. ( I do have another part completed sitting in the wings) This was great for me as I was able to see the amazing creations of other artists in the area.

A beautiful honey eater on display.

My piece (below) was inspired by both imagery from the book Wabi Sabi Workshop by Serena Barton and the words of Lao Tzu from one the books of the late and great inspirational author, Dr Wayne Dyer.

“This is called the Hua Hu Ching, written by Lao Tzu. It’s the unknown teachings of Lao Tzu. Number 51 says, ‘Those who want to know the truth of the universe should practice the four cardinal virtues. The first is reverence for all of life. This manifests as unconditional love and respect for oneself and all other beings. The second is natural sincerity. This manifests as honesty, simplicity and faithfulness. The third is gentleness, which manifests as kindness, consideration for others and sensitivity to spiritual truth. The fourth is supportiveness. This manifests as service to others without expectation of reward.”

This verse above plus another was used as part of the design.

My canvas was created using tissue, wisps of wool fleece and a fine fabric mesh donated by another member in the class. Then washes of colour painted on then wiped off to leave just a tint. I'd wait for one layer to dry before applying the next. 

An Inspired Life

Wayne Dyer had only just passed away a few days before working on this piece and I was feeling quite sad at the loss of this great mentor in life and felt I needed to somehow convey something in this canvas to show my respect for this great man.

He was inspirational in so many ways and in turn was inspired by the Tao Te Ching, so it seemed right to include this verse that was so important to him into the image.

Me

So thank you to both Christine and Dr Wayne Dyer for your inspiration!

Note - This painting is for sale. If interested please inquire.