Gilfling's Designs

My wee space

My wee space, originally uploaded by gilfling.

A lovely time was had by all over the weekend! Setting up for Sneinton Artists Annual Summer Showcase on Friday along with a delightful preview with us all sitting outside drinking wine at the foot of the windmill - a beautiful summers evening well spent.

A drizzly and gloomy day on Saturday with so very few visitors to the exhibition but a fun party with wine, food and random dancing around a table of pizza and salad in the evening (apparently after we left, the table was removed and replaced with handbags but I shall not say any more about that!!)

A blustery day on Sunday with a steady trickle of visitors and a few wonderful wonderful sales for me!

The two larger paintings in the photo have now been removed from my etsy shop as they are toddling off to Derbyshire at the weekend to take part in this exhibition which is inspired by the sea. I will have another two pieces going in aswell - looking forward to a day out on Saturday which will involve dropping these off, drives in the beautiful countryside and of course tea and cake somewhere along the way!

Today I found myself......

Physalis mixed media, originally uploaded by gilfling.

wanting to paint something (more) simple. I have had these small canvas boards forever and a day so had a wee while of peace and calm, collaging, painting, layer upon layer of colour.

I feel my painting is going through a period of transition and development. There is a desire to create the atmosphere that hopefully has always been central to my work, but now with more richness in colour. It was lovely to just paint something for the pleasure of playing with paint.

My blog is so work orientated at the moment! But I guess that is just where my life is......and that is good.

Two of thesenew pieces can be found in my etsy shop.

The Lonely Coast at Midnight

The Lonely Coast at Midnight, originally uploaded by gilfling.

Ok - this is strange to admit - but sometimes.... I wonder....is it ok to be so completely in love with your own work? So I said it. But now it does feel strange, for why would I not be? But the shy part of me says that it is pride and somehow 'wrong'.

But let me whisper to you...... I am so completely in love with this piece. It is hard to put on etsy. But I must. For as the way of the world goes, the only way I can follow my dream, my heart's desire, is if I can scratch a living from it. I can always keep a print - and I know this will make a fantastic print - although it will never match the incredible texture of this original.

It is strange though. I (you, us) pour our hearts and souls into our work, the very expression of our very soul....and then we have to let it go.

And that is the life of an artist.

Of course that is if anyone buy's it!

Cara and her handpainted dress

Cara and her handpainted dress, originally uploaded by gilfling.

Again another short post! I have to admit I quite like this short blogging and it prevents me waffling about nothing. It also means I get more done which can only be a good thing.

But I just wanted to show you Cara completed after I had a shot of her in progress last week. She has the oldest - and I mean ancient - buttons on her shoulders - either that or they are just well used and well loved. I must try and get a close up.

Anyway Cara also sold within minutes last night and will soon be winging her way over to The Art and Soul Gallery in Bothell, Washingon State. The wonderful gallery owner Susan has been incredibly supportive of my work and I am over the moon that both dolls will be travelling over there.

Cara spends her days painting the meadow flowers whose colours fade in the warm midday sun. She dreams of travelling to far flung places, but in reality, knows that nowhere is more beautiful than the meadows and streams that surround her home in the countryside.

Off to the painting studio now where I hope to at last be able to get a decent photo of the larger painting completed last week but could not capture as the light was as dull as dishwater.

Have a wonderful day!!

Esther's embroidered cape

Esther's embroidered cape, originally uploaded by gilfling.

So it seems short sharp blogs are going to be the way to go in order for me to be able to include photos! (added straight from my flickr)

This is my 3rd mixed media art doll - hand embroidered windmill added to her aged cape.

Esther - Esther lives in a converted windmill. She watches the shooting stars at night and cares for injured hedgehogs, naming each one after her favourite clowns who perform with the Russian circus which visits her local village once a year.

She 'was' for sale here - but was clearly keen to travel to distant lands as she was snapped up almost immediately! You can see more images on my flickr

I really loved making her and am already formulating ideas and designs and dreams for more dolls so will be sewing and painting up a storm!

Shop Sales!!

 To celebrate my new look shops (they have both had a wee bit of a make-over) and my up and coming birthday I have decided to have a wee sale. Click onto my shops to view my new wonderful banners!

Gilfling Art Shop 20% off ALL prints - I am increasing this to 25% for all my wonderful blog readers (does not apply to postage) - just mention 'BLOG' in note to seller and I shall send you an adjusted invoice. I have also decide to extend my 'soon to be discontinued prints' so that they can also be included in this sale!!

Prints can be found in the following shop sections -

Reproduction Prints

Giclee Prints

and Ending Soon Prints

Gilfling's Designs Accessories Shop - 15% discount on any order (not including shipping) this increases to 20% for blog readers - again just add BLOG in note to seller and wait for an adjusted invoice.

And I really have to give a shout out to Leila of Redheart13 who designed my new banners and avatars. She was a real joy to work with and I think she has done an amazing job - now I just have to get my listings and photographs up to scratch!!

perhaps this will work?

crafting 365, day 45, originally uploaded by gilfling.

I shall give it a try -loading photos into my blog from my flickr - which I have never done before - wish me luck!

Edit: Well I never! The things you discover that you should have known  a long long time ago! Ok so the solution is to enter the photos from my flickr account and it is easy! Who knew? Ok so this is my latest doll - photograph taken at my studio yesterday - she is going to be finished today and has had a coat of antique inking since this photo was taken - arms to be added and a few other additions and she will done!

Oh and I simply must tell you - I am retiring a selection of prints from my shop - they will be ending 31st May and will not be appearing again in this format - (they may appear as mini prints sets or postcards at some point in the future) but for now this is the last chance to get them at the 11 x 8 size. You can see them here

Ok - now to toddle off to my studio!! Have a wonderful day!

A day out in the Dales

Oh dear - I am still having problems adding images (or doing anything other than typing out a basic post) on typepad due to the compose changes - is anyone else having trouble with this? So I do apologise for the lack of images but you can always head on over to my flickr or one or the other of my etsy shops should you wish something to gaze at!

Buuuuuut I do have good news. If you were to hop on over to my accessories shop you might (or might not!) notice that it is a little more empty than it has been for the last couple of weeks. This is because I took a trip out to a gallery today - Studio 61 in the beautiful derbyshire dales, mainly for a visit as I had wanted to go out there for a while....but I also took a bag full of prints and accessories....you know..just incase!

Well I am over the moon to say that my work is now displayed in this wonderfully warm and welcoming gallery which sits in a small village, in the most incredible setting. It really is the most beautiful gallery with a vast range of wonderful work - both arts and crafts and I am delighted to be a small part of that. With a gorgeous art cafe as well as a restaurant and ice cream parlour, it really is worth a visit! There are photos of the gallery shop on the website and it is as wonderful as it looks if not even more so.

It is strange as I get so nervous at approaching anyone to discuss my work, but I have such a clear impression of the types of venues that I wish my work to be displayed. So much so that it takes months for me to work up to applying to these few places! But I guess I am not doing too badly - I have only approached 2 galleries and have been successful both times so my intuition must be doing something right (so far anyway!) Still it is a nerve-wracking experience and I know I have been very lucky in the responses I have had.

I will also be exhibiting in the gallery's summer exhibition (part 2) for the months of July and August and can't wait to get started on work for it - the theme is the sea so as you can imagine this suits me perfectly with my ongoing subject matter of those women awaiting the return of their sea faring husbands. Infact I have a half finished piece started just this week which would fit perfectly.

I was so dissapointed to have forgotten to take my camera with me today as really Derbyshire is heaven on earth to me. If you ever get the chance to visit, please do, you would not be disappointed. I dream of living in an ancient cottage with garden studio, looking over fields and streams there someday. I shall take my camera next time I visit the gallery.

You might notice I have been playing around with the design of my blog a little. I have created a separate page for all the blogs I read (link to be found under the Sites of Wonder on the left hand side). I decided it was best to create a separate page as I wanted to list ALL my favourite blogs (the list was long overdue for an update) but it is going to be quite a list! I am adding to it gradually as and when I have time and may eventually divide it into sections.

Okay that is enough for today! Take care x

Drastic action.......

was needed (or so I thought) to save this new piece just painted today in my studio.

A marvelous day, a wonderful day, in which I was just lost in words and images, covered in paint, aching feet and legs from standing for hours and hours.

You see, I had become fascinated with an image of a nautilus shell, the chambers almost like the compartments of our minds. Containing dreams, emotions, memories and how it is almost like our heart. The way in which we can be removed from all that and gaze upon these elements of us as if we are separate - but really we can never truly be separated.

But after seeing images of embryo's on the news (the whole debate going in government at the moment) and that is all I could see in the shape! So I decided drastic action was need and I cut out a circle around to spin it and see if it would look better the other way up.

Mmmmm, no it didn't.

But with a bit more work (and tissue paper and paint to cover up the join) and the original way up, I think I just got it  (click to enlarge). This was to be listed in my etsy shop tonight but I forgot to measure it! Perhaps tomorrow with another new piece just started today.

Character Forming

Good morning! Well after working in the loft the whole of yesterday's bank holiday I am raring to go again. Feeling very inspired at the moment but that is coupled with the very real worry of hardly having any 'paid' work at the moment so I also need to be using this time to develop potential opportunities for my work. I have a couple of boutiques to apply for and really need to get onto finding out about local exhibitions too. My brain is all of a flutter and as ever I have too many ideas going on at once but as long as I am working it is all good.

My in progress project at the moment is dolls! Gosh I have had it in my mind for what seems an age to try my hand at making some of my characters and ideas into 3 dimensional form so thought I would start off with a simple pattern. As I had such a clear idea in my head of the shape I wanted this has really turned out to be far from 'simple' process and the pattern making has really been torture on my wee brain.

You see, the one thing I really struggled with in college was pattern cutting. Not only pattern cutting, but 'seeing' 2 dimensional shapes in 3d form. When drawing I would inevitably draw my perspective wrong - a line that faded into the distance sloping down the way, I would draw as if it was rising. An angle that swung the left I would draw to the right. I would never realise it was wrong until it was pointed out to me. It is the same with pattern draughting. I just cannot 'see' the shapes correctly. Inside out and back to front and left to right just confuses the socks off me and I often have to do a pattern numerous times in order to finally see why it isn't working. I have often wondered if this was some form of dyslexia? I am also incredibly clumsy and have no sense of my own personal space and can't tell my left from my right half the time!

So all this means  that...Yes...dolls are on their way....but painfully, painfully slowly. Perhaps the next pattern I shall try will be flat. Ho hum.

Thank you so much for your wonderful comments on my interview with waterrose - it was great fun to do!