Helen – Page 11 – Summerhouse Art

Low Tide and a Haul of Pottery Shards

Posted on April 7, 2013June 5, 2020 by Helen

Bill has gotten into the habit lately of taking long walks by the ocean and he noticed that the tide was getting unusually low. Which of course tripped off the idea that if the tide was low in Victoria it would be the same in Sidney. And sure enough, we found that there would be an all time low tide on March 31. Easter Sunday. The lowest at 1:30 pm! And immediately set about a plan of being there to find beach pottery.

I worried, I fumed, I wondered would we be too late? There had been other low tides but at later times, times we couldn’t get there. Had all the pottery been picked clean? On the day I got us up early, Bill protesting that we had until 1:30pm. I said no I have to be there early, as it’s going out, to be there to find what I need. I had mosaic projects in mind, I needed pottery.

The day arrived, sunny, warm, breezy, it could not have been more perfect. The tide is usually much higher than the next shot. And we were able to get into corners and areas that are usually covered by water.

And what did I find? A beach full of pottery.

Beautiful pottery, in among the beach pebbles and beach glass, lying in the seaweed, ignored by everyone.

All the others searching that day were only looking for small perfect bits of beach glass in hard to find colors, or tiny,tiny bits of pottery that had a pattern on them also hard to find. But us, we love what everyone else seems to overlook. The warm whites and creams of larger pieces, the curve of the underside of the plate or saucer, the speckled surface, the bit of a cup handle, or even the remnants of a spark plug.

The day was perfect, blue sky, the tide slowly going out. We took our time, enjoying every second.

Taking our best recycled basmatti rice bags to the beach we set about collecting. We took breaks from our bent over searching and sat, totally relaxed, faces to the sun, taking in the sounds of seagulls, breathing in the smells of ocean and seaweed. We gazed at Mt. Baker, its snowy peak framed by poles set in the ocean, perches for squawking seagulls. Then back to collecting. And oh,what a lovely haul.

Soon to be maybe another birdbath or column in garden. Or another mosaic frame.

But the loveliest thing is the feel of beach pottery, it’s warmth, its smoothness. If you use the pieces as we do, only fitting and arranging without ever cutting them, you can run your fingertips over the smooth surface of a finished mosaic and feel the gentle curves that have been tumbled for a hundred years in the ocean.

A Sign of Spring

Posted on April 4, 2013January 11, 2015 by Helen

Spring has definitely arrived here in Victoria. A few of the pots of Polyanthus you find at every grocery store, seem to find their way to my little deck. Looking quite happy too.

A Little Happy Easter Vignette

Posted on March 27, 2013January 11, 2015 by Helen

Happy Easter! Hope you have a lovely weekend with friends and family!

and indulge in lots of chocolate too.

International Color Day! Who Knew??

Posted on March 21, 2013January 11, 2015 by Helen

How wonderful! There is an International Colour Day! Apparently proposed in 2008 by president of the Portuguese Colour Association, Maria Joao Durao, to the International Colour Association.

Thank you Maria!

I love color, can’t get enough of it! Almost, no definitely, more than chocolate, which runs a close second. Anyway, who knew? I only found out today! And it just so happens that I, as a colour nut, a color aficionado, a colour fan, have been taking and collecting colourful photos for ages.

I could have done a garden of color. But no, as an artist, I see colour everywhere, and capture it for later enjoyment. Like chocolate. My eyes are attracted to colour in odd places like fire hydrants surrounded by bright yellow poles, to boxes of curtain rings found at a garage sale. Even a fan in my studio. Then there are things like wind socks, unique and colorful cars, even sewer covers. I could own these cars! Well the list goes on.

So, without further ado… colour from a color addicted artist’s point of view. Enjoy. Please.

#2 in the Upcycling Artists Series – Carolyn Machado, Assemblage and Mosaic Artist

Posted on February 28, 2013January 11, 2015 by Helen

Quite a while ago I thought I’d start featuring other artists who, like me, are into recycling or what I refer to as Upcycling. My first featured artist was Leo Sewell, whose sculptures were made from all sorts of recycled bits and pieces. But what he did with them was amazing! But that was way back in May of 2010.

I really meant to carry on with that idea but life happens doesn’t it? Things get lost or found or whatever and this year I’ve been giving my blog a bit more thought, especially about the directions I want to carry on with. And one of the ideas I still want to to do is this feature. Especially when there are so many artists I’d love to tell everyone about. That’s really the beauty of the internet too, that you can be exposed to so much really good work.

So on that note I’d like to introduce on my blog, a remarkable assemblage and mosaic artist, Carolyn Machado. I discovered her work a year or so ago. She was one of the artists in my long list of bookmarked artists before I started with Pinterest. Many of you will no doubt know of her, but for those of you who don’t, you are in for a lovely show. When I emailed her for permission to feature her work, which she graciously gave, she mentioned that she was quite happy to hear that someone so far away was enjoying her work. She also has a blog that you will enjoy.

What I love about her work is the sense that each piece of the assemblage has been lovingly saved and then slowly set into place. In her bio she says that she uses recycled materials quite deliberately because she is attracted to the overlooked beauty of things that have braved the passage of time. I can identify with that sentiment entirely.

Carolyn has a touch with her works that makes her little bits and pieces transcend their humble origins and become something that looks almost jewel like. They have a taste of the Orient about them, being quite simply designed, with a quiet and meditative sensibility. Since I use old odd little ornaments and bits of old dishes in my work too, I’m happy to see that I’m not alone in appreciating their value.

Of course, not all of her work is quietly meditative, some have a sense of humour and a feeling of fun like her Mexican piece or some of her paper collage pieces.

Carolyn shows her work in a rather prestigious show in California called Festival of the Arts at Laguna Beach. You can get a glimpse of past festivals on youtube and also an interview with Carolyn there as well. She also offers workshops on assemblage, so if you are in California, do check her website events page.

I’d also like to share a little video that Carolyn has sent to me about her studio and see a bit about her and how she works. Enjoy.

Carolyn Machado studio tape

I hope you have enjoyed my second in the series I hope to maintain. As I said in my previous post I’m loving Pinterest since it allows me to have a visual bookmark at last. I’ve just started but I’ve gotten quite a few really interesting artists collected already and hope to feature more on my blog.

So thank you to Carolyn Machado for allowing me to feature her work and also thank you for being such an inspiring artist.

Oh No She’s on Pinterest Now! and other new stuff

Posted on February 23, 2013January 11, 2015 by Helen

Yes, it’s true, I’ve gotten myself a Pinterest account. I’ve even gotten on Facebook. Who knew I’d get all into the social networking scene?

I actually got a personal Facebook page first, just to keep in touch with all the kids and rellies too. And you know these days I’m remembering Birthdays for people whose birthdays I never even knew before. So that’s nice. They all get one of my collage birthday cards. And I get to see all the nieces and nephews too and what they are up to.

Then just a little while ago I started a Facebook page for Summerhouseart.com. I’m a bit slow, it took me ages to set up, but it means I can say when I’ve got a new blog post up and also spread the word on a lot of other sites I really like and support. All about art, recycling and mosaics of course. So if you’re on Facebook, please feel free to pop over.

In the last year or so on the blog I started to notice something new called Pinterest. People were Pinning my mosaics! I’d see their Pinterest boards from my stats page. And I thought Wow what a great idea!

I mean I’ve got a list of bookmark folders down the left side of my Bookmarks screen that goes on for ages. But the thing is, I can never remember exactly why I bookmarked them or what they are about or look like. So, hey, here comes Pinterest and now I can bookmark with Pictures!! Perfecto!

So for those of you who have been pinning my mosaics, please please accept a huge thank you from me. It’s been great to see how many times my mosaics have been pinned and I really appreciate how it’s brought even more people to see my little blog.

So it took me a while to get onto Pinterest too. For that I went to the library (big fan of the library I am) and got one of those Dummies books and found out all about it more or less.

And one thing the book tells you to do and that I’m slowing getting done, is watermarking my images. Because one thing that I’m finding out on Pinterest is that sometimes you just can’t get back to the source of the image you like. Don’t you hate it when that happens? So, at least for mine, you’ll always be able to find where mine come from, at least the one’s that are fresh ones.

And now I’m on Pinterest just pinning away. I’ve been going through all my old bookmarks and pinning all that good stuff I’ve been saving for ages. It’s taking a bit of time and I’ve got lots left. Plus I’ve been finding so much new good stuff to pin on other Pinterest boards too. I think I’m getting hooked on it.

So please have a look at all the stuff I’ve been pinning. You might like some of them yourself. You’ll find a badge on the right side of the blog. And again, thanks so much for pinning from my blog. As they say at Pinterest, Happy Pinning.

My Over the Top Cats and Roses Mosaic

Posted on February 18, 2013May 31, 2015 by Helen

Actually, I created this mosaic a few years ago. Another one of those shrines that come together almost serendipitously. I had an idea of creating a mosaic with cats and to that end I’d been collecting all sorts of cat ornaments. And although there are quite a few on this particular piece, there are still an awful lot left over that are still waiting for homes on a mosaic or at least a shelf or windowsill. I do sometimes bring them out to the kitchen windowsill to sit among the African violets. But I wander from the point…

Ok I had a amassed a huge collection of thrift shop cats, since I tend to have a soft spot for cats. And I was looking for some sort of a background to set them against but nothing had came to mind. Then one summer day, Bill and I came upon a garage sale that had a lovely collection of rosy bone china saucers. As I remember it, the cups were missing so the saucers were going cheap. And they were absolutely full of bloom and color, you could almost smell the scent of roses coming off them. I snapped them up. I’d suddenly had a vision of my cats with all these roses!

Almost as soon as I decided on the theme, I found at another sale soon after or it could have been the same day, quite a collection of rose ornaments with these deep purple roses as well.

I put together a bit of a unique color scheme. Not so pastel, with that dark green around the rim and those dark almost black roses. And now I also had the place for some really outrageous rose ornaments as well. I decided to go over the top!

And it must have been too, because when I had a big display of my mosaics at the local municipal hall, I got written up in the local community paper. And what did the writer wonder about? Well, as I remember, she wrote that although she loved all the mosaics I’d made, she thought the whole Cats and Roses shrine was a bit too sweet and she hoped I was being facetious when I made it.

All I can say is that she did get the gist of it. It was meant to be Over the Top. But I like the combination of Cats and Roses, they have an affinity. Both so beautiful but with sharp bits like claws and thorns. So maybe not so sweet after all? Who cares? It’s not meant to be serious.

But it’s over the top Kitsch too. And I love kitsch. I once heard of a garden that was full of things that were over the top kitsch like flamingos, vintage signs and the oddest things for embellishment. What I loved most, though, was the unapologetic sign in the garden that said to please tell the gardener if anything “tasteful” was found and he would make sure to remove it right away. Love it. Hope you enjoy my little Over the top take on Cats and Roses.

Perpetual Valentines for a Happy Valentines Day

Posted on February 11, 2013January 11, 2015 by Helen

I’ve been collecting Heart shaped boxes for a few years now. It’s sort of like a perpetual Valentines Day in my kitchen.

They are all hanging up, well almost all of them, on the wall in the kitchen. Today I thought I’d share a few new ones that haven’t yet made it to my wall of hearts. Sort of my way of wishing everyone a Happy Valentines Day! Enjoy and I hope you make sure to have some lovely chocolate too, or flowers are good if on a diet. But chocolates are better. Very necessary for the full enjoyment of the day.

Creating Texture and … Boomerangs?

Posted on February 1, 2013June 5, 2020 by Helen

The fun of working in Pique assiette mosaic is the inspiration you can find in a simple plate design. Trolling a thrift store one day, I’d found just a couple of plates with a pattern around the edge that just felt like the 50’s, bringing ideas of mid century design with it. I love that time in design. So optimistic about the future, so modern, and colorful.

One of the first things I show my students, sometimes even before we go shopping for good dishes to break, is how to create texture with lines. These plates are a perfect example. All the lines pretty well went from the outside to the inside of the rim with all lines going toward the center. But, when you break the plate, you have all these nice bits and pieces with lines that can be put back together in every which way. And that arbitrary rearrangement is exactly what creates this lovely texture.

detail bits,Boomerang Mirror by Helen Bushell summerhouseart.com Since the design on the plate inspired me to think 50’s, one thing sort of naturally led to another.

Boomerang Mirror by Helen Bushell summerhouseart.com

Boomerang Mirror by Helen Bushell summerhouseart.com A popular shape then was the boomerang which inspired a whole lot of boomerang shaped tables at the time. Ok I didn’t have enough dishes to create a top for a coffee table, but, I did have enough, with a little embellishment from other colors and tiles…..

to make Boomerang mirror. It’s not that big, at its widest point only 24 inches, but it packs an nice punch of lovely 50’s inspired color.

Boomerang Mirror by Helen Bushell summerhouseart.com

New Years resolutions? .. . or trying to create order in my chaotic studio.

Posted on January 6, 2013January 11, 2015 by Helen

The new year has begun. Usually my New Years resolution is not to make any resolutions. Resolutions are usually difficult goals, like lose weight, eat less sugar, eat less chocolate, eat less of all the things I enjoy that are bad for me. We’re talking deprivation here. So no, I don’t make resolutions. I don’t want to start the year thinking of LESS. I want to start the year thinking of MORE.

MORE happiness, health, wealth, laughter, creativity…..

Ah creativity, that brings me to my studio. Another area that I could use MORE in. As in more space, more time, more organization? Ah yes, perhaps since I don’t have more space, it’s time to get down to organizing all the stuff I’ve got in there. So many dishes, so many shards that I can’t throw out and have saved for future works.

So I’ve dragged out all the little pots and trays full of broken dish shards left over from making Pique Assiette mosaics. I’ve spread them out and started to reorganize them. It’s looking like chaos here. But I’ve set myself to sorting, categorizing, creating piles and piles colors, textures, patterns and whatever, all the while taking lots of tea breaks to keep from being overwhelmed with the chaos I’m creating.

chaos-in-studiowm And hopefully, when I’m finally done, the shards, at least will be saved, sorted and ready to be used. Another recycled package put to good use. All those salad packages make the best transparent storage ever. These packages plus other smaller ones I save from where ever I can, go to good use here.

boxes-of-shardswm Ah chaos to order….now that’s a start for the New Year.