Autumn 'Until the last leaf falls'

AUTUMN INSPIRATIONS

I adore Autumn and the relief of the long summer heat is just a small part of my favourite season. It is the glorious fall colour and the slow reveal of interlaced branches, the scent of woodsmoke in the evening and a cool chill in the early morning.

'Until the last leaf falls' are a range of glass Autumn leaf sun catcher's that transform pencil sketches into luminous glass. See my website for more details.

There are 2 books I love to read in Autumn, both urban fantasies. One is 'The Autumn Castle' by Australian author Kim Wilkins, and that is where the title comes from. The enchantment in the story (that connects the land of faery to modern day Berlin) can only last 'Until the last leaf falls'. The other novel is 'Memory and Dream' by Canadian author Charles de Lint. One of the quotes included in this book captures my feelings perfectly about Autumn and Winter trees... that feeling of waiting and promise.

"I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure in the landscape - the loneliness of it - the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it - the whole story doesn't show."
                                                                                                        -Attributed to Andrew Wyeth.


PROCESS: The glass process is powder printing and fusing. I turn my sketches into a screen print and push the coloured glass powder through the screen. For the leaves I cut, drill and finish glass circles  and use up to 6 different glass powders of varying Autumnal hues to create unique colour ways. After the circles are 'screen printed' I fire them to fuse the glass powder to the glass 'plate'.

Plasmodesmata commission and cat

Working on the design offerings for a commission based on plasmodesmata. Thistle doesn't care.

Sketchbook December 2013 - January 2014

My sketch and note book from December to January. A lot of these are done on the bus, so shaky writing happens

Sharing artistic hurdles on twitter

I can't say how much these tweets lifted my mood, to share my current frustration with deer legs.

I admired and met illustrator Vesper Stamper through Pinterest. It was her folk and fairytale themed artwork and our shared history of being born in an army hospital that made me say "Hi" through her website. While I have plenty of glass colleagues in which to share the joys and frustrations of working with glass, sharing subject matter is less common. Thanks Vesper!

@Spikeabell I *know*! Actually, it's their front legs that stump me.
— Vesper Stamper Illo (@vesperstamper) February 1, 2014

@vesperstamper yes, the front legs are the worst. There are some clips on YouTube of deer walking, that are helpful
— Spike Deane (@Spikeabell) February 2, 2014

examples of annoying deer legs

Deer and their skinny legs

I'm trying to draw a deer silhouette for a project.  They have very skinny knobbly legs, that I just can't seem to get right...

Drawing dryads

So once again I turn to google images and Pinterest, for images of nymphs and dryads from paintings and statuary, for images of dancers of ballet and contemporary styles to try and get the poses I think i'm looking for. Drawing isn't my best skill, so it takes time and slowly I begin to get a sneaky feeling that this isn't going to work. The whole project seems either to classicly twee or too fantasy art driven. I wait 'till my partner gets home for a second opinion... he agrees, not quite the thing. So time to stop and reasses.

dryad sketches

Underwater

I have been looking at a lot of underwater photography, specifically people floating, diving and swimming underwater. I want to capture the delight of being underwater, that weightlessness in the poses. I'm planning a series of etchings that mentally i'm calling the Mirror series. I want a selection of underwater poses that are "mirrored" slightly by the seals (see the lower image), suggesting the dual nature of the selkie.

Now to work on the seals.

Basic poses, now need detailing

Selkie sketches

Here is an idea i'm working up for a non-glass (maybe) idea for our Depths & Shallows exhibition.
Intended as a series of etchings, seal and woman mirror poses.

Silhouette feedback

So I thought I had all my images sized and ready when I get some feedback from the non artists in the house, about the Cinderella/Aschenputtel character.
"Why does she have a brush?" I'm asked. I try to explain how she needs something to denote who she is, since my previous suggestion and drawings of pumpkins were pronounced "twee". Considering her silhouette is in front of trees I conceded a brush was a bit useless. I thought and suggested a lamp, which we all agreed was atmospheric and suggested twilight or evening.

The thing with silhouettes is, you have to get the clues in without over complicating or making them look odd. With her holding the lamp, I needed a position where her arm would not obscure other details that I wanted or look as though she has an arm grafted from her stomach (even though it was anatomically right) and look very strange. It can be a curious balacing act.

So I spent another few hours working on these.

the 3 options

Father's day this year is also the first day of Spring

This is a card for my Dad, I have come a little unstuck with my rubber mould for the 'Woodland Tankard' so it is still a work in progress. So here is Spike the hedgehog (one of the characters on the mug and a sometime source of nickname inspiration for me) in the Dunce's corner...

The first day of Spring was lovely and warm with the garden fragrant with Daffodils, Jonquils, Hyacinths and Snowdrops.

Paper 53 (the app)

Love the sketchy ness of it and the notebooks, I may even keep all my notes and sketches per project in one space...hmmm maybe. Here's a Selkie, given my usual sketching ability I'm pretty happy with the app.