3D Projects
Pal Tiya: Dragon Castle

Posted on 12th July 2018 by Neil

Once upon a time, on a screen in front of me, there appeared an advert for a new non-fired clay that promised to be weatherproof when cured. That clay was called Pal Tiya, and it was new to the UK having travelled far from New Zealand (via manufacture in USA, but let’s not mention its carbon footprint). And that advert caught my eye, more than once (ah, the joys, and effectiveness, of placed ads). And so it came to pass that I joined Bob and Joe at a workshop to make my very own castle. Continue reading →

Original Designs
Quilt No 021: USA Memories

Posted on 2nd July 2018 by Neil

Eighteen months in the making, this is my completed ‘USA Memories’ quilt recalling our trip to New York and Boston for Christmas 2016.

Our first selfie together on Top of the Rock, looking across at the iconic Chrysler Building. The poignancy of One World Trade Center and our walk along Battery Park. Every town’s outlet mall had to be checked out for North Face bargains (none to be had). Trinity Church was right outside our hotel in Boston and had an amazing carol service late on Christmas Eve. Stowe, Vermont, was where the fabric came from and where there was still snow on the ground with more forecast (we were too late for the Fall leaves). Above the Bay at Thornton Adams was one of the B&Bs we stayed at – not the most bizarre, but we did have the house to ourselves for the whole evening, not seeing our host until the following morning. Vermont’s Finest, of course, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream factory tour featuring experimental ice cream flavour of white chocolate and coffee (oops, we were sworn to secrecy). And finally, the Mayflower at Plymouth – we didn’t see the ship, but the museum was fascinating. Fabric snapshots of a fabulous break.

Continue reading →

Art Journal
Art Journal Page: What to write

Posted on 25th June 2018 by Neil

I don’t experiment much in my art journal any more, which is a shame. I have developed a style and, generally, keep to it with occasional variations. This week, I was inspired by the work of one of my colleagues at That’s Crafty!, Lynne Moncrieff. She has a wonderful grunge style that uses nature as inspiration, developing textures and colours from natural inks, pigment crystals and sprays.

So I raided the tea bag waste bin for old tea bags and reached for the sprinkles. And learnt that I need to do far more experimentation with both! The pages started to come together with the various bits of ephemera and using some tea bag paper to mount them on. It finally knit together with a healthy dose of vintage photo distress ink and oxides.

But what to write? Well, having done so, I wish I hadn’t! I found a fountain pen and filled it with sepia ink – but of course, it didn’t really like the gessoed page. Tracing over it with a cocktail stick dipped in the same ink gave a much better finish, so next time I’ll go straight to that. I recovered slightly by spritzing with water – the smudging and feathering is now deliberate rather than accidental 😉 Continue reading →

Art Journal
Art Journal Page: Want to Fly

Posted on 18th June 2018 by Neil

In my last art journaling post, I wrote about knowing when a page is finished. This time around I went a step too far and completely spoiled the layout. See the staining through the gesso middle left and bottom right? That’s archival ink soaking through several layers of gesso. I thought once the butterflies were on, and the gesso painted around them that I would stamp more butterflies over the top. What a mistake to make…

Continue reading →

3D Projects
Altered Art: Solar Light Post Roses

Posted on 3rd June 2018 by Neil

There was an adage in my first career as a doctor, that goes along the lines of ‘see one, do one, teach one’. Today, I saw a Youtube video where a copper tube magically became a copper rose. Me, being me, thought ‘I’ll have a go at that’…

Meanwhile, in the garden, I’d just been sorting through the solar lights that, well, still lighted up. Most didn’t and I’d kept the stainless steel posts that they were on, just in case they became useful. And because I had those, and didn’t have copper pipe, stainless steel roses were on the cards. Here’s what I made this afternoon. Each rose has a diameter of approx. 10cm and now takes me just 25 minutes to make.

Continue reading →

Art Journal
Art Journal Page: Border of flowers

Posted on 30th May 2018 by Neil

It’s my monthly art journal session on Monday evening, and this month’s theme is ‘Spring Spraying’. Spray inks, stains and paints are always a fun, and fast, way of making a background. Occasionally, the spray reaches the page… Using stencils and then embellishing with other media, such as white pigment pens, finish the page off nicely.

Speaking of finishing a page… There are some who ask, ‘when do you know a page is finished?’. Here’s an example. The first pic shows where I originally finished the page. It was only when I was editing the photo for posting that I decided I hadn’t finished after all. The second pic shows where I left it after a little more work:

Continue reading →

Altered Art
Altered Art: Weathered, Part II

Posted on 29th May 2018 by Neil

A friend of mine put me onto Gaslands – a post-apocalyptic turn-based game that happens to use Dinky/Matchbox cars. Now, I have to admit that I’ve not actually played it yet… the fun bit has been creating Mad Max style car makeovers. The cars need to look battered and weathered, so there has been a lot of dry-brushing. Just using acrylic paints is enough, with their almost matte finish being much better than the glossy original. Continue reading →

3D Projects
Altered Art: Weathered, Part I

Posted on 28th May 2018 by Neil

In my efforts to move things out of The Studio, I have started making things for sale. That, in turn, has created stock – for the first time ever – which then needs its own storage, but that’s another issue. I bought these papier-mache frames a long while back, originally to use for Powertex painting. Instead, I have created a weathered faux-zinc frame complete with moulded flower motif. I popped in an acrylic mirror for good measure. What do you think?

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3D Projects
Altered Art: Powertex figurines

Posted on 25th May 2018 by Neil

It’s been some time since I have had my Powertex and old t-shirts out. This week, however, saw four new figurines completed. For the uninitiated, Powertex is a pigmented liquid textile hardener – add to absorbent fabrics/surfaces, squeeze out, drape and allow to dry. With the addition of varnish and more pigments, it is possible to create faux-bronze finishes.

A bit more detail

Ranging in height from 16½”/42cm to 23″/53cm, they stand on faux-granite wooden bases. The heads and shoulders are pre-cast plaster. Everything else is either a wooden dowel, masking tape, foil or an old t-shirt. I also raided my button box for suitable buttons to make brooches.

Art Journal
TV: Art Journal Extravaganza for That’s Crafty!

Posted on 21st May 2018 by Neil

I’m on your viewing screens again today, at 11am and 3pm. I’ll be demonstrating various mixed media techniques featuring an art journal bundle packed with specialist papers and card. Alongside this will be new stamps, stencils, paints and sprays from That’s Crafty!. The Design Team have produced some amazing samples – it’s worth tuning in just to see those.

You can watch on Sky 673, Freeview 85 or Freesat 817 or live at hochanda.com if you are an international viewer. You can also catch up using the TV schedule button on the Hochanda website up to 10 days after the shows go out.

If you have a moment, send some love (or some questions) to studio@hochanda.com and see if you can get your email on air!