I found a beautiful vintage cotton tablecloth with lovely pastel coloured flowers embroidered on, so was inspired to make these two little dresses.  I’d read the words blossoms and dewdrops together somewhere and knew I wanted to use them on something,  when I saw these beautiful embroidered flowers I knew this was the piece as they were so spring time. I’ve also sewn little silk and muslin inserts into the dress which remind me of hanky style dresses from the twenties.  This  got me to thinking of the new ”Great Gatsby” film that is coming out and I have an old copy of the book, so am thinking that will be on the cards after I’ve finished a few other little pieces.

Blossoms and Dewdrops

Small 25cm long, 19cm wide, paper fabric assemblage.

One small, three dimensional, simple, white cotton dress with a book paper stitched bodice. The skirt of the dress is formed from gathered strips of differing white cottons, one is from a vintage embroidered tablecloth another is from the cuff of a cotton shirt – which has the words Blossoms and Dewdrops embroidered on. The dress is decorated front and back with buttons and some smaller pieces of ruched fabric. Hanging from the hem of the dress is a small teapot.

Blossom and Dewdrops

To purchase this item, please, visit Our Etsy Shop for further details.

The Swan Princess

Latest addition to the Etsy shop, is this assemblage comprised of a wire an papier mache figurine accompanied by a cast metal swan on the stage of a mock theater.

The Swan Princess

Inspired by the mythical creature of many tales and legends, who shape-shifts from human form to swan form, this piece owes its origins to the story of the Swan Maiden.  Folktales usually adhere to the following basic plot. A young, unmarried man steals a magic robe made of swan feathers from a swan maiden so that she will not fly away, and winds up marrying her.

To find out more about the fairy tale, try these Wikipedia pages -the fairy tale. If you would like to read the fairy tale, you’ll find it along with other fairy tales, freely available in Kindle format and many more, here at the wonderful Project Gutenberg . If you’ve lost your copy of the fairy tale and want to replace it or would like to buy a hard copy, try this list at Amazon The Swan Maiden

To purchase this item, please, visit Our Etsy Shop for further details.

Some time ago I made another art dress entitled The Swan. This one was made as a commission piece, you would have had to be quick to spot this one on Etsy, she was only up for a few hours.

The Swan - Art Dress Assemblage.

The Swan - Art Dress Assemblage.

Small 18cm long, 21cm wide, paper fabric assemblage.

One small three dimensional ballet style dress. Tailored and stitched together from old pleated book pages and white cotton remnants. White feathers and small beads decorate the dress with the edges being touched with silver leaf. The inside of the bodice is also covered in silver leaf.

I’ve been working on the “The Princess and the Pea” for what seems like ages but, she’s finally here.

The Princess and the Pea - Papier Mache, Wire and Fabric Sculpture.

Of course, she’s inspired by the well known Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale “The Princess and the Pea”. In the fairy tale, a young girl is revealed as a princess after claiming to have had a restless night, caused by a pea being placed under the multitude of matresses and featherbeds upon which she slept (the actual number was 20 matresses and 20 featherbeds – I stopped at 15 ).

The Princess and the Pea - Papier Mache, Wire and Fabric Sculpture

23cm wide, 33cm high and 16cm deep, the piece depicts a small princess wearing a billowing silk nightdress, awakeing from her restless slumber, yawning and streching as morning approaches.

The figure is made from wire and papire mache. Her hair is made from soft viscose, gathered and ruched, which falls in a lomg plait to the floor. Her nightdress is 100% silk – after all, she is a princess! On the rug are her discarded slippers, patiently made form little pieces of paper.

Now to the bed, it’s also made form wire and papier mache and sits atop a book as if coming alive from the story. A ladder sweeps in a curve to the top of the bed. Whilst her mattresses, each one individually handmade, come from all over the world - Indian cottons, Chinese silk and satins, beautiful cottons, linens and 100% cashmere. The sheets under which she lay, like her nightdress are made from 100% silk, overlayed with warm luxurious blankest made form vintage lace and cahmere.

The photos shown here, unlike the ones on Etsy, were taken against a dark background. I’m  not to sure which I like best, what do you think?

To find out more about the author – Hans Christian Andersen and the fairy tale, try these Wikipedia pages – the author or the fairy tale. If you would like to read the fairy tale, you’ll find it along with other Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales freely available in Kindle format and many more, here at the wonderful Project Gutenberg .  If you’ve lost your copy of the fairy tale and want to replace it or would like to buy a hard copy, try Amazon – The Princess and the Pea

To purchase this item, please, visit Our Etsy Shop for further details.

I’ve made a dress with a similar title before but, this one is a slightly bigger, has a different underskirt and more beading.

Dress For A "Mid-Summer's Night Dream"

Now I think about it, this dress is similar mostly due to the colour.

Dress For A "Mid-Summer's Night Dream"

She is 18cm long, 23cm wide. Tailored and stitched together from old pleated book pages, and fabric remnants. Differing colored decorative glass and enameled beads glint and sparkle at the waist and bodice. A dreamy dress ready for a moon lit midnight ball.

Please visit   Our Etsy Shop for further details.

Art Dress Assemblage - What Katy Did

Art Dress Assemblage - What Katy Did

She’s been a while coming but here is the next in the series.

Please visit Our Etsy Shop for further details.

Sue is busy in the kitchen making cakes and candles with our daughters and her mum, to the total bemusement of Vivian ( looks like we’re not going to get a blog post out of Sue today).

They think I look cute but really I'm bemused

Now I understand his confusion.  The girls are not making cakes and candles but making candle cakes or cakes which are candles.  (Yes Vivian, cakes you can’t eat!!! Why???)

I could wax lyrical about this cake but ....

So, what to post? As the title of the blog suggests, Sue is an artist who expresses herself through different media and styles but, over the past 12 months has focused mostly on her art dress assemblage pieces – work on the Princess and The Pea continues..

The Princess starts to take shape.

But, of all Sue’s work my favourite is a collage she made many years ago.  It took her a long time to complete and even longer to get framed and hung.  Though I always say we should sell it, truth is I couldn’t part with it; perhaps one day we’ll have prints made.  I’ve never been able to get a good photo of it (it went behind glass before we got a digital camera) so for now I’ll have to share this digital image with you.

My favourite piece of Sue's work

Be sure to click on the above image, to see it at a decent size!!!!!!

Have a great weekend ya’ll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Art Dress Assemblage - What Katy Did

Art Dress Assemblage - What Katy Did

I did say there was more than one so, here is What Katy Did – number 3.  I always try to post extra photos to back up those I use on Etsy but, on this occasion they all turned out being somewhat the same. I didn’t want to just have repeats of those Etsy photos so, here instead is a video of What Katy Did – number 3.

Of course you can always pop over to Etsy to see the photo set, click here