Creative collage workshops

Usually when I run a workshop I take everything and the kitchen sink! But I have decided to take control of myself and I've been reorganising my paper stash and art materials. I've ordered some new lightweight boards to work on and given all my boxes a Spring clean ready for a new run of workshops. There are still some places available on my July 6/7 weekend workshop and my 13 July one day workshop.....come along and ruffle my papers!

There is still the offer of set of my landscape art cards when you book two places together.

New Work

Here's my newest print 'Valley'. It is a big one! It's my feature piece at the Sock Preview Show that opens today at the Town Hall in Loughborough.  Using contemporary wizardry it is a print taken from three works from my British Landscape series.  It measures 45cm x 110cm, a size that I couldn't easily work at because of the constraints of sewing with a domestic sewing machine on paper.  The print quality is amazing and captures every detail of stitch, paper and ink.  It is printed on German etching paper with archival inks.  

The work was commissioned by a customer who had already bought my 'Valley Deep' piece.  And so I created 'Valley High' and 'Valley Steep' to compliment it and these three were united for 'Valley'.

I'll be in the gallery at Sock, Loughborough on the weekend of the Makers Market (March 23rd and 24th).  Hope to see you there!

It's arrived!

As an avid reader of Country Living Magazine for I don't know how many years, I am soooo excited to have my work featured on the Emporium pages!  My 'home' print is from an edition of 250 and each is stitched by me making each unique and maintaining some of the texture of the original. 

It's been a busy few weeks updating the website to include a shop section.  You can now buy all my prints, cards and ceramics here.

My Essential Kit

The lovely Emily at Folksy has featured me this week for the My Essential Kit feature.  Have a look!

Helen Hallows creates original artwork using ink, collage and stitch, “I aim to capture fleeting moments that catch my eye”. Helens collection includes artwork, coasters, bunting, greetings cards, and porcelain homewares. With such a range of products what on earth is in her essential tool kit?

1. Stretching tape. I work on watercolour or pastel papers with ink washes so I always use stretching tape to keep the paper flat.

Inks. I love the little bottles of pure colour lined up in my studio. They give an intense, permanent colour.

2. I apply the inks with a brush or Chinese calligraphy bamboo pen.

3. I collect vintage papers: old book pages, endpapers and book jackets, sheet music, vintage wrapping paper and wallpaper. I supplement these with book binding papers, scrapbooking papers and paper that I’ve painted or drawn on myself.

4. My trusty Elna sewing machine. Called a ‘Quilter’s Dream’ it suffers me forcing it to sew through paper and stitch freely. I’ve had it for fifteen years and it’s never caused me any trouble. (Of course, I’ve just given it the kiss of death!)

5. Cottons. Something else for me to search out when I’m in junk shops and at carboot sales. I have hundreds of them and love the gradations of hue and shade. I have them in an old set of tool drawers with a drawer for each colour.

My letterpress H stamp. I finish each piece with my makers’ mark, a HH stamped with this letterpress letter. I have only one and it sometimes goes astray which fills me with panic.

6. My ‘Helen Hallows’ stamp. This features on the back of all my original artworks and as a transfer onto the bottom of my ceramics. I stamp my bags with it at fairs, and it’s on my blog, website, business card and all correspondence. I’m even thinking of getting it tattooed!!

You can have a right old nosey around Helens Folksy shop here Helen Hallows. She is also exhibiting at The Sock Galleryin Loughborough from 30th November – 15th January 2012.

If you have an essential crafting kit you’d like to share please send it tofrankly@folksy.co.uk.

Kit photograph ©Lyndsey James Photography 2011.