OH SO PRETTY POWERTEX SEAHORSE

So what did you think of the fabulous PowertexUK launch shows on HOCHANDA last night with our fabulous Ma Tex herself, Tracey Evans and my hugely talented Powertex DT teamy, Anna Amelia Howlett of Rosehart Studio?  What fabulous products they have bought us and oh my... their projects!!!!!

I love all the hustle and bustle that preparation for live shows bring with them and I have been very blessed to have been able to play with some of the gorgeous products they have bought you to create this rather pretty Seahorse and in a later blog today there is a perfectly pink Jelly Fish.

Before I started I spread out the embellishments and textiles on my workbench and came up with a rough idea of placement.  I chose to work mainly with the floral elements for my seahorse so that I could get two very different looks.

So to get started, I brushed some Ivory Powertex along the seam of the two main pieces and then brushed more Powertex onto the back of the square mdf piece and pressed this down over the join.  This gives great stability and you can also use this area to put the hanging loop on.

I then spread Ivory Powertex over the entire back and dried off with a hair dryer. I then turned it over and spread Powertex over the front and edges.

Next I started to put the embellishments into place having first coated with Powertex.  I tend to drop them into the Powertex and then rub with my hand.  This ensures that the Powertex gets into all the nooks and crannies and means we will get a superb bond ...you know the kind that Powertex is famous for!

I began at the head of the Seahorse, I used one of the circles that I snapped in half and placed in the nose area to accentuate the smile that I always think of when I look at Seahorse.

I also left some clear unembellished areas so that I could work with the Black Bister later.

I gradually moved down the body of the Seahorse adding some lace to the outer curve accentuating the spine and then some of the RicRac braid on the inner curve.

I pressed some flat and left some proud of the base as this will give extra texture and dimension.  I also left some overhanging the edge, again to add dimension.

I continued to build up the texture using the embellishments and under some of the metal pieces I rubbed some Powertex into some kitchen paper and scrunched up to raise them further and also to aid the bonding with the metal and Powertex.

Once I had added all my embellishments I added some more Powertex to the areas I had left empty.

I then sprayed liberally with the black bister and then used a hairdryer to dry off some of the bister and create a bit more textural interest with a bister split.

I then left the piece to dry overnight.

Day 2...let's get colourful and bring out the character using the various pigments that are in the pigment tray as well as the Easy Varnish.

As with the embellishments I made two colour palettes from the pigments in the kit so that the looks were very different. 

I used the Turquoise and green first and then moved on to burgundy and lilac.    

I don't add all the same colours over everything, I tend to pick out areas but allow some overlap so there is little or no evidence of a join.    

I carried on with the colours over the entire piece.




Once the main piece was coloured I decided to add a pop of colour.


So using the orange I hightlight just a few of the flower centres and the wings on butterflies.


Finally I used silver to add a bit of lustre to what I think is a rather pretty Seahorse!

Below are some close ups to show you how I created the detail, highlights and shadows.

I hope you like her and enjoy using your Powertex One Day Special and create a fabulous Seahorse of your own.

Please share your makes with us over on our facebook page Powertex Addicts United.

Keep watching Tracey and Anna on HOCHANDA and pop back later today and there will be another step project for you to follow using more of today's fabulous POWERTEX products.

Bye for now

Fi xx

Something in the style of an artist I admire

‘Something in the style of an artist I admire.’

Hi Birdy Heywood here again with another Blog.

As a member of the Powertex Design Team 2017 we were asked to pick 4 subjects to cover for our blogs. One option I chose was ‘something in the style of an artist I admire.’

There are many, but 2 artists appeal to me the most. Those are both Gaudi and Dali. Probably because my own style is more surrealistic rather than realistic. I love all things organic.  Gaudi’s art simply oozes with a connection to growth, movement and to the earth itself.

Creating helps me to bring to the fore, my deepest feelings. Some are happy and others are more thought provoking, both allow me to release them and set me free.

Art is all about expression. I see it as a language. A language that can be interpreted in several ways according to the person who creates it and those who observe it.

 

Gaudi’s buildings grow out of the landscape

as if they had been there for hundreds of years.

Dali, well I just love his work too. He dared to leave reality behind

and express himself in the most peculiar of ways.

 

Now to my own particular work of art

First of all I want to tell you how this came about.

Many years ago, an ex partner of mine was jealous that he had not been part of my past. He showed dislike for my much treasured paintings and drawings dating back from the time I was a teenager. I dreamed then of becoming and artist. Stupidly, as a token of my affection, I made a fire and threw all of my paintings and sketches on it to be consumed by the flames. 

This picture is the only one that survived. I sketched it with a ball point pen on a scrap of paper when I was 13 years old whist on a visit to Germany.  A relative scanned it and sent it to me a few years ago.  Seeing it again bought back all sorts of emotions.

Teenage years as we know, are difficult. As a victim of abuse when I was seven I often felt trapped, dirty and useless. Drawing helped me to express myself and I drew many such heads growing out of the ground. Heads with no arms, no bodies. The surrounding landscape was hostile and barren. Somehow these bodiless heads survived, silently observing the destruction of what had once been a beautiful world.  My family called me ‘weird.’

I see now that what I was expressing, was that feeling of being helpless and trapped.

As I took this idea further my POWERTEX Creation released me.

‘The Release’

Dali created, heads growing out of the ground, strange creatures with long spindly legs, melting clocks that defied space and time. Gaudi erected the strangest but also the most beautiful of buildings, each with a life of its own and a message with each of them.

I decided to use my strange bodiless heads from childhood to set me free.

One of the heads had to break free and I felt it was to be me.

I knew that with Powertex this would be possible, more effective and enjoyable than just a drawing.  Besides, each month all Powertex Trainers have a challenge set. This is just for enjoyment so no pressure.  During the month where a ‘Collage’ was the subject, I decided it was my chance to tackle the subject of letting go.

As with everything created from the heart and deep subconscious, I was very emotionally charged.

Apart from the heads themselves which I created out of polymer clay using my own moulds, the rest of the creation was made using only Powertex products.

The heads trapped on the ground were rooted on the rocks.

I created the rocks using natural fabric soaked in Bronze Powertex.

The background was created using Easy 3D Flex. 

This is great as it cracks whilst drying revealing crevices.

I created the heads out of polymer clay

I used an old t-shirt for the rocks, then when dried I used lighter colours and

dry brushed it to bring out the texture. (More on dry brushing later.)

Easy 3D Flex  is great for creating the texture of the dry, cracked, earth

Gaudi’s style influence me whilst creating the rocks with strange shapes. For these I used torn up egg  cartons. The foliage was created using Paper Dec and the little berries using Sand and Balls. Both Powertex products.  I used Powertex Hardener Green for the foliage and Bronze Hardener for the rocks.

I love the texture of egg cartons. Hah, Hah, little things please little minds

​and I am easy to please.

I mixed a tiny bit of Bronze  Powertex with some Ivory to create a clay like shade then added Stone Art to create a clay that I could form. With this I created little rock formations.

Powertex Stone Art

Dry brushing really brings out the texture. The egg cartons have a natural stone like surface.

I began first of all to brush a lighter shade of brown over the surface gradually mixing lighter

and lighter  shades until I ended up with just the Ivory.

Once I have finished a canvas using the Powertex

I find such wonderful textures to play with

in a photo editing programme called Picassa. (

A free programme)

Anything is possible

CREATE YOUR DREAM

Powertex UK

have a wonderful range

of trained tutors

So take a look to see who is

from your area.

Rainbow Unicorn Dreams!

People often ask me if I can turn their ideas in to works of art. I've never said no even if I have no idea how I'm going to create the final piece. Pushing forward, constantly challenging myself and breaking out of my comfort zones and colours, mostly produces some of my most loved work.  

SO....its safe to say that I have pretty much fallen in love with this commission piece and will be sorry to say goodbye.

It is however going to a home where I know it will be loved and cherished as much as I would. And to be fair I can't carry on keeping all my work I fall in love with I would run out of room in my house and be poor! 

I hope you love this little rainbow unicorn wonder as much as I do. All created with my favourite universal medium Powertex. In exactly a month today I will be making my Hochanda debut with our Tracey and boy, oh boy do we have some exciting projects, ideas and NEWshhhhh.... products to show you.

  ❤ Toodle pip Anna xXx ❤