Index Card a Day 2023 (ICAD) - weeks 5,6 and 7

Here's a round up of weeks five, six and seven of ICAD 23.  Above is: Evergreen; Playground; Charcoal (another of my somewhat grumpy charcoal faces); Cottage.

Perspective; Summer and Astronomy (an inked 'galaxy' background).

Week six was Imaginary; Metallic (using an embossing folder and silver card with black acrylic paint brushed on and them wiped off); Zodiac; Levels (another embossing folder)...

...Chandelier; Float or Buoy (using magazine collage); Trivia.

Week seven had Patina (using an embossing folder and acrylic paint dry brushing); Repeat (using one of my hand carved stamps, made from an eraser); Millefleurs; Wabi Sabi (which I chose to interpret using darning)...

...Vermilion; Raindrops and Focus.

Two more weeks to go and the challenge is over for another year.
 

Clematis

My clematis are enjoying the somewhat changeable weather this month and I love to see them flowering happily.  Above is Clematis Venosa Violacea which is sprawling over the winter flowering honeysuckle.

Clematis Perle D'Azur mingled with Rose New Dawn on the arch.

It's a pretty combination.

Clematis Princess Kate is romping up a tripod. 

Whereas Clematis Prince Charles is attempting to dominate the trellis.

Herbaceous Clematis Arabella is adding the the colour in the north facing border.

Clematis Blue Angel is hidden at the back of the north facing border, but is growing alongside Rose William Shakespeare 2000.

I seem to have a collection of blue/purple clematis now (with the exception of Princess Kate).  In the past, I have had many others with redder flowers, but these are the ones which have stayed with me.  I also have some herbaceous clematis which are just starting to flower, so they will get a mention in a future post. 

Index card a Day (ICAD) 2023 - weeks 3 and 4

Here are the next two weeks' of ICAD.  Above, Seaglass; Alphabet; Sunflower and Xylophone. Inks, paint and magazine collage featured here.

Violet; Tranquility and Postage Stamp.

Unexpected and Enchanted Forest.

Inside Unexpected is a surprise...

...and a unicorn is hiding in the Enchanted Forest.  This one took a while as I kept changing the opening sections, cutting bits out, then putting them back.  I used a tree stencil with some inking as well as paper from a paper pad with the starry sky and the unicorn stamp which was embossed in silver. I finished it with lots of stickles (glitter glue).  It got there in the end!

Bubbles; Dictionary (using a piece of dictionary page with the word 'dictionary' circled; Indigo and Pinball.

Finally for now Asanoha, which is a traditional Japanese pattern based on a hemp leaf inside a hexagon. Thanks to the internet for this and for how to draw it too!

Some of these prompts are certainly giving me a challenge but it's an enjoyable one.
 

Wanderlust 2023 - weeks sixteen to twenty-three - Pens

I have enjoyed finding out what different pens can do; watercolour pens, permanent markers, acrylic paint pens and drawing pens.  Above was the first week of 'pens' and we used permanent pens (like Sharpies) on tracing paper to layer up an image. I let myself go to create the swirly background patterns, which was fun!

We used acrylic paint pens on a gel plate to make our own collage paper and then created a collage.

Using acrylic paint pens meant we couldn't be perfect, so these quirky faces were enjoyable - the pressure was taken off.  

Watercolour pens created these pretty flowers.

Paint and stencils created the background and we then had to find faces and bring them out with paint pens - again, no trying to be perfect!

Continuous line with a brush pen and ink drew the rocks and then we added collage papers also created using pen and ink and paints.  I found this really relaxing to do.

Collage for a background and using acrylic paint pens through a stencil started this page. We then added botanical silhouettes with a paint pen. 

Finally, in the 'Artful Musings' series where an artist (in this case, Amy Maricle - Mindful Art Studio) discusses their processes, we used watercolour to created a background. The emphasis was on slow lines, adding or removing pressure from the brush to create the thickness of the line.  I loved this and have since signed up for two of Amy Maricle's classes - The Simplest Things journal and Little Book of Wonders.  I have also bought her book, Draw Yourself Calm, as her slow drawing really captured my interest.

The course now moves on to Sprays and Mists.

The rest of the Roses

It has been a good rose year so far.  Here are some photos of the other roses in my garden.  Above is Cottage Rose.

My latest acquisition, Dannahue.  I will be putting this one in a big pot in the Autumn.

William Shakespeare 2000, still growing tall and attempting garden domination.

For Your Eyes Only, which I repotted earlier this year and I thought I had killed it. The roots were growing through the bottom of the pot and it was difficult to get it out of the pot.  It looked distinctly unhappy for quite a while.  However, it has decided all is well and is flowering beautifully.

Eyes for You, which is a really pretty flower with dark purply splodges at the base.  You can see the different colours it goes through here too. It will be repotted in the Autumn too.

New Dawn flowering on the arch.

Emily Bronte who was also trying to take over.  She has been cut back a bit now after the first flush of flowers. The scent in the garden has been lovely and it has been enhanced by the little white orange blossom which has been fantastic this year. (That will need repotting too, I think...) I now need to feed them all, especially the ones in pots.  A nice relaxing job for this evening, I think.

Index-Card-A-Day (ICAD) 2023 - weeks 1 and 2

Here we are with ICAD 2023.  Above are (clockwise from top left) Sapling; Polka dots or Graphic dots; Espresso; Map.  

Here are Stripes or Zebra stripes; Wildflowers and Treble Clef.  So far, I've used pens and watercolour, inks and embossing, collage and stamps.

Week two was: Butterfly; Fuchsia or Magenta; Glyph (any kind of purposeful mark, representation of a character or an incised mark).  I used texture paste for this and tried to get the look of an old piece of plaster.  Signpost is the last one on this photo.

Moonlight (music from the 'Moonlight Sonata'); Superstition ( I have been practising the lettering I have been doing in my talking sketchbook online class); Typewriter.  

I am being pretty literal with my interpretations so far, but we shall see as the weeks go on.  On to week three...

Decorating a tray

Due to the lack of clear surfaces in our sitting room (mainly due to my various craft stashes which seem to be taking over!), I often use the ironing board as a makeshift table. This is fine until someone wants to use it for its intended purpose.  I decided to try and make things a bit easier to move off the ironing board and so bought a plain tray to keep my stuff in.  Well, it wasn't going to be plain for long.  I had recently seen a video by Shemi Dixon on Youtube here where she painted a tray.  I was going to do that, but then as my art journal course had featured mark making using acrylic paint pens on tissue paper, I decided to do that instead.  

I had a happy time making all the marks then painted the tray with a couple of coats of acrylic paint, tore up the tissue paper and stuck it down.  I finished with a couple of coats of varnish and some gold gilding paste on the top and corners.  I am really pleased with the finished tray and it is very much my own design.

Hello to Jacques, Ferdinand, Mary, Olivia, Charles, Geoff, Constance...

 It is rose time again and I have been watching the roses slowly start to unfurl.  I so enjoy this time of year in the garden.

Photo grid created from Photo Grid Online App (photo-grid-online.com)

I do have rather a lot of pink roses.  

Above, top row, left to right are: Jacques Cartier, Ferdinand Pichard and Mary Rose.

Middle, left to right are: Olivia Rose Austin, Charles de Mills and Geoff Hamilton.

Bottom, left to right are: For Your Eyes Only, Constance Spry and Gertrude Jekyll.

This is Susan Williams-Ellis.  Still to flower are Blush Noisette, Cottage Rose, Eyes for You, Emily Bronte, William Shakespeare 2000, New Dawn and my newest acquisition, an apricot one, Dannahue.  I look forward to seeing them soon. I have had many roses over the years and quite a few have not stayed with me.  The ones I have now have all done well, either in borders or in pots and I hope they will be with me for many years to come. 

In other news in the garden, Camassia Silk River is in flower.  Described as lime green to white, they are lovely, shorter than the blue camassias and later to flower.  

Pretty creamy/green flowers.

I am also enjoying a few foxgloves and have just sowed some more ready for next year.  Above is an apricot one which I love.  I also have the purple ones and a white one too.  It's all so exciting at this time of year!

I shall keep a watch out for the next roses to flower.  

RHS Chelsea week...and in my garden - all the As (along with a few others)

Chelsea Garden photos from the RHS Chelsea website

I have been enjoying the TV coverage of RHS Chelsea over the last week.  It is always interesting to see what the designers, construction teams and gardeners come up with.  I haven't ever visited the show myself, nor am I likely to - way too many people for comfort!  Sustainability, gardening with nature and the gardens being relocated after the show seemed to be themes this year, which are all good.  I liked bits of a few gardens including the area above from The Myeloma A Life Worth Living Garden by Chris Beardshaw.  My criteria is 'would I like this outside my back door?'  In the case above, yes I would, a lovely calm green space with ferns and a water feature. 

I also liked the Royal Entomological Society garden by Tom Massey with its wildlife and insect friendly (as you would expect!) planting.  The colours this year seem to be green, white and magenta/purple, and these could be seen on a lot of the gardens. 

There were some beautifully designed, constructed and planted stage sets such as Cleve West's Centrepoint garden, showing how nature takes over a derelict Victorian Terrace and bringing homelessness into focus.  I can appreciate this, but wouldn't want it outside my back door! 

With Chelsea over for another year,  what is happening in my garden?  It's the As - Alliums, Aquilegias and Astrantias.  Above is allium Purple Sensation.

I don't know that name of this allium, but is is another lovely one.  I think I may need more of these in the autumn.

Aquilegia Navy and White was the starting point for my aquilegias but they seem to have changed as they have self seeded about.

I like the darker purple of this one.

I do like an astrantia and have several of the darker ones.  Above is Star of Love or Star of Fire - I'm not sure which. This one is in the border.

Astrantia Burgundy Manor is in a pot and I love this one.  It is a stunner!  I have got three Astrantia Roma young plants growing on, which should be a nice pink shade.  I hope they will flower next year.

Other plants making a show at the moment are Philadelphus Little White Love. This took a while to get going but has started to grow and flower profusely.  As with most Philadelphus, it has a lovely scent.

The peony I repotted last autumn has rewarded me with more flowers than it has ever had.  

My latest camassia, Silk River, is nearly in flower so I am checking it every morning at the moment.   I am really enjoying the garden and the sunny weather has helped a lot, particularly after the cold Spring.  I have lost two agapanthus plants which were overwintered in the shed and obviously did not like the cold snap last December, and a few other small plants, but I am realistic and it just means I can replace them with something else (like another rose?) Funnily enough, I have got my eye on a new rose by David Austin, Dannahue.  I don't really have room for any more roses, but may have to squeeze this one in.  Speaking of roses, they have started flowering, so there will be a couple of posts to come...