This weekend I went to Sydney amidst the pouring rain and howling winds. Suicide on the F3 – the maniacs all speeding up to 140ks.  I mean really – you do have to wonder what gets into people on the roads when it rains.  Maybe they are just driving creatively? Hmm…..

However in among all that I did manage to experience some tranquil moments indoors. Antique lamps, Siamese cats and vibrant Warratahs…..

Manu – meditating…..

The Warratahs are beautiful at the moment.  Fresh from the Sydney morning markets …..

Remember that picture from last week?

Can you guess what this is?

Well here it is  unveiled -

Gorgeous Mosaic Shoe Heel Detail

And here is what it looks like front on….

China Mosaic Shoe Front Detail

And the sole… What does that look like?

Shoe Sole Detail

Isn’t that a truly wonderful creative piece?

SO, who made this exquisite master piece ……

A very talented lady Fiona Edmonds.

Fiona Edmonds

She shared a little about how she made this delectable shoe -

” I used a real shoe from an op shop -about a size 9 I think. I prepared the surface so that I could mosaic onto it. I  used delicate morsels of damaged fine vintage china, a vintage brooch, ruby mirror glass  and also the makers mark – notice where it says “pink vogue” & “queen” – with the crown? All up it took me a year to complete! ”

Wow now that’s perseverance and dedication for you!

Fiona’s main business is equally gorgeous – putting on Vintage High Teas for people.

Here is a little snip from her about us web page:

“Fiona first developed a passion for vintage china soon after her grandmother entrusted her with a small collection of fine china trio’s. Her Grandma had received many beautiful fine English cup, saucer & cake trios as thankyou gifts whenever she played piano for the silent films at her local cinema in Sydney……….”

If you live on the Central Coast of Australia or even in Sydney – what a wonderful afternoon with girlfriends.

Afternoon Tea Anyone?

If you are interested in contacting  Fiona here are her details:

Well I’ve been longing to go back to France and today a little bit of France came to me!  There is an annual French Market Day held near Avoca Beach on the central coast. It was simply delightful. There was everything from tall ladies blowing bubbles…

Magic Bubbles

To things in tubs….

Spring Vegetables

Afternoon tea….

Cake Anyone?

Fabulous Soaps …..

French Soap

AND …. Things in Jars

Gorgeous Jars

But wait …… that was not all – One stall had one of the most exquisite pieces of creativity  I have  seen in a long time.

Can you guess what this is?

Look for the answer in my next post……

Phew – I have finally done it.  After around 2 months preparation the three hours whizzed by in the blink of an eye. I find that colour mixing is the one thing that bamboozles students more than anything else. It seems that much of the information floating around on how to do it is far too simplistic and leads to nothing more than ”mud” and frustration.

Colour mixing with paint swatches

It seems that everyone attending had a ‘light bulb’ moment or two which was fantastic and certainly a desired outcome on my part.

Steve mixing a graded tonal chart

We covered all the basics of colour mixing on the day beginning with a look at how light produces what we perceive as colour when we look at something.  This was followed by some graded exercises in tone and understanding technical terms as; hue, tints, shades, chroma and more.  We finished up the day with the students all working on a very quick study experimenting with complimentary colours.  Here is Jo’s work which came up really well.

Study using complimentary colours

I would like to thank everyone who made the time to come and explore  this difficult subject with me and I know it will stand you in good stead as you continue your ‘Arting’! Well done !