TREAD SOFTLY - POEM by W.B.Yeats

As I am a member of "The Crafts Council of Ireland", textile section,

I was asked if I would like to produce a piece of work relating to the poem

"Tread Softly" by William B. Yeats . A challenge for me indeed as I am not very familiar with poetry and their meanings, but I love a challenge and thought why not!

As I make hand embossed velvet scarves , I interpreted the poem ,(to my own meaning)on a deep blue velvet scarf.

I embossed the "Foot,Stars and Celtic Knot"on the velvet and embroidered the other designs in gold,silver and green threads and silk ribbon for the rose.

I have been working on this for quite a while now so I thought I would share this with you

"TREAD SOFTLY "

Had I the heavens’ embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

"W.B.Yeats"

Beginners Art ,colours

Hi all, if anyone is taking up painting as a hobby I thought you might like a few tips on colours to begin with. When I teach "Beginners Art Classes" these are a few suggestions I give to my group.

By the way may I add I am using Acrylics as my choice of medium ,did you know if diluted with water acrylics can be used like watercolours.

Primary colours are, as everyone knows, Red,Blue,Yellow.
My favourites are Crimson Red, Cobalt Blue and Process Yellow.

Daler- Rowney and Windsor & Newton are the most popular makes in Ireland but I'm sure whatever country you live in there are much more .

You probably know when you mix , red and yellow it makes orange, blue and yellow make green and red and blue make purple and also when you mix white to either it changes the shades, so you have to experience yourself. You can see these are just from the primary colours,can you imagine the choices you have when you start exploring colour.

Believe me this part you'll enjoy immensely

Sap Green is good to have because when you add yellow in different amounts you get a variation of greens.

Burnt Umber is a nice warm brown and great for darkening the tone of other colours. If you use a lot of orange get yourself a tube of Cadmium Orange. Also Paynes Grey is good to have and don't forget White, mixing white is usually the cheapest and as the name suggests it blends well with other colours."

Please don't forget these are only my suggestions .

Next time I will be talking about Brushes and advising on sizes.

Lemons and Limes

At this moment in time I'm working on a textile piece relating to the poem " Thread Softly " by William Butler Yeats. I have to finish it by Friday so all systems go!

Thought I might show you a couple of my paintings which are hanging on my kitchen wall.

As you can see these were painted in 2005.

If your interested ,I will be giving some tips on "Beginners Art"shortly so hope you'll join me

Valerie

Restyling Clothes

What a busy week it's been in my workshop,where I do alterations and repairs.
My business is called "Nips and Tucks".It does not matter what size or shape you are most people have to get their clothes altered,ie-shorten or lengthen hems on skirts,trousers,sleeves.And of course altering the width of clothes also,never a dull moment.

What most people forget is "Restyle of Old Favourites"
It can change your garment so much,change an evening dress by having the hem shortened,great for Debs dresses and already you have a different style.
Adding sleeves or taking them out in blouses and tops or have you thought of cutting the legs shorter in an old pair of jeans.

Thats a small part of my alteration business,if you need to ask anything just get in touch.
Bye for now

Spots on Blue

Been really busy today in my workshop"Nips & Tucks",altering Debs and Bridesmaids dresses.

I won't complain about having plenty of work as their are lots of people without a job in the "R" (recession)dare I mention it! What ever size people are ,short or tall, big or small, everyone needs something altered plus I love meeting people, some even call in for a "chat",everyone has a story to tell,chatting away while I work.I have made a few nice friends since doing this work.

Well I just wanted to show you this lovely Tote I finished today,It's great for going shopping in town and holds quite a lot.

You can see more photos on my facebook page if you wish.

I will be speaking about Beginners Art next time so hope you'll join me.

Art

Yes, I also have a passion for Art.I have been painting for the past 15yrs or more.

Anyone can paint,did you ever hear that and think "no way" well it's true.

What do you think of this painting done by a lady in my Beginners class ? Did'nt she do well. Her daughter has it hanging in her house, proudly!

Why not try,get some paints, Acrylics are great as they dry quickly, good for beginners.

Oil's take a lot longer to dry but the colours are more vibrant.

You can start painting on almost anything, a piece of board, paper, canvas. You can buy some Acrylic paper from art shops which is good to start with. Some brushes and away you go, let your imagination go wild, after all no one is looking.

Let me know what you think or if you would like some more advice on painting.

My Velvet Jewelry Bags

These are my latest Velvet Embossed Bags.

They come in three different sizes

Small, 4x3ins,
Medium 4.5x4ins,

large 6.5x5ins

Great for carrying your Jewelry,etc. if going on holiday

or maby
Crystals,Chakra Stones.etc.

The large size hold, Angel cards or Tarot cards also.

Made from luxurious rich velvet

embossed by myself.