Well my goodness me-what does happen to time...this time last year I had just started working in an Art Gallery -all nervous and excited and its now a whole year later and I'm leaving-all nervous and excited again for what is around the corner. The plan was to take some time off.....I really need to get to grips with my diary planning. I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported me over the year, but especially all the artists and designers who have trusted me with their work. It has been a very successful year, and WE have proved that people do LOVE art-they must do-sales increased month on month-despite the horrible weather and a broken leg...and visitor numbers trebled.........so a big THANK YOU to everyone. So what will I do now......

First get my work to the new exhibition organised by Interface Arts.
Cafe on the Green in Durham City is a lead into the Lindisfarne Gospels coming to Durham this year.
They are  fabric digital prints, embellished with stitch. The image was taken from an original painting I did a couple of years ago of Coastal Grasses on a holiday up in Northumberland-one of the most beautiful coastlines in Great Britain.

Then on Saturday I will be doing a Talk & Demonstration on Screen & Transfer Printing at the DLI Museum and Art Gallery in Durham City. I will be bringing along samples of my work, lots of different types of equipment & materials so you can see first hand what you will need to get yourself started. Then I will do two demo's on both techniques. The talk starts at 2pm until 3.30pm(ish) and it is free but museum entrance fees still apply. It is a great museum and well worth a visit-plenty of parking too!

Then its time to start concentrating on a brilliant new exhibition in September. This started out as a little exhibition to celebrate the fantastic artistic talent we have in the North, it is now turning into an Art & Design Festival-three main venues,  a gallery, a church and a town hall, over a month and there will also be a programme of events of music, poetry and talks. We had an overwhelming response to our 'call out for artists'.Thinking we would get about, well you know, about 20-maybe 30 responses......so now we have 85 expressions of interest....so my goodness what a celebration it is going to be. Lindisfarne Gospels-1000 Creations. To keep up to date and see what artists & designers are exhibiting click 'like' on the FB page. I will keep posting here too-plus if you would like to be a part in this exiting exhibition-contact Lindsey@lindseystarbornart.com.

And then I'm off to Manchester. London, Oxford and Cambridge-all in the line of duty of course-essential research......and maybe a little holiday......before I begin the research and planning for my solo exhibition in 2014......and then my workshops......and then........

Photography-how many of us take a zillion pictures, then have to go through them, then delete 90% of them!!! So I decided to bite the bullet and go on a Photography course!
David William of Calico Images  who ran a Product Photography in Barnard Castle, it was a small group of 6 which meant we learnt so much! 

                



 

 



The best part was how we were shown
that Photography did not have to be too
expensive-greaseproof paper to make the
light subtle ... table lamps as 'under lighting'...
tin foil to help with reflection...

 

 

 

This one is still a little fuzzy and the light is not great but I like the layout. I use a little Digi camera and I was told to put it on the macro setting that way I can take up really close pictures. It is also best wherever possible to have the camera on a tripod so a Gorilla Tripod was purchased and use the timer button- this eliminates any wobbles.....

 

Then just to make sure we remembered everything...we were given a great handout...and an email address....and telephone number.....big mistake me thinks!!!






I cannot believe the sun is still shining-nearly a whole week and I managed to squeeze in a bit of gardening!! But not before a thoroughly enjoyable evening at Darlington Arts Society.

A lovely friendly group who meet every Wednesday, very relaxed and

they do quite a few exhibitions.

 

I was invited to do a talk on Screen Printing. So I took along a few bits and pieces and also did a couple of demonstrations.


This screen was exposed in my little Print Shed with a hologen light-the neighbours do wonder what I am doing especially as I have a bath in the greenhouse to wash them off!










Here you can see how the Pigment is pulled through the
screen using a Squeegee. You need to test your screen to see how well it prints before you begin your final printing, and also count the 'Pull thru's' to see how many it takes to produce a good print. This all depends on the type of printing pastes you are using and your fabric.





I do try and show people how they can do things on a smaller scale too Thermofax Screens are great if you are just starting out on Screen Printing. I also try to save money wherever I can-here I use an old plastic loyalty card instead of a Squeegee-the results are just as good! You can get your own images onto the Thermofax Screens or you can buy their custom made ones.