Butterfly Effect

The butterfly effect is a collaborative project being hosted by Trudi Sissions of Two Dresses Studios. I stumbled across it when Seth Apter, Lisa Jurist and Kim Palmer posted butterflies that they'd made on their blogs and decided to jump on in.

I thought a butterfly would be easy...but I was wrong! It should have been easy but I kept over- complicating it. I tried loads of different combinations, layouts and colours and hours later (literally hours!) it suddenly occurred to me- stick to what I know!

So....

I started my design with a nest!

Recycled, red electrical wire, beads, cotton string, cotton doily scrap shaped into a nest...bliss!!

FYI:  Lisa J also makes stunning wire nests! See here for just a few of hers. I have a feeling wire nests could be very addictive!

Red wire practically begs to be shaped into a heart!

My butterfly. Recycled beads, fabric, lace, recycled plastic netting and wire.

I think a nest is a perfect addition to the butterfly, not just because it is very 'me' but because the project is about the holocaust and the great cost children paid. Those children needed and deserved a nest made of love and comfort but what they got was in stark contrast. My nest is symbolic of the one they should have had and symbolic of the inner beauty of each child who suffered in the terrible holocaust.

This butterfly will flitter it's way over to Trudi and eventually find itself in an exhibition of butterflies to remember the children affected by the holocaust. To read more about the project or take part in it visit Trudi's blog.  There's loads of time left to play.

Thank you to everyone who commented on my last post about the birds. Sadly Ang joined Ash in birdie heaven. I don't know why, he/she was chirping away all day and ate eagerly so it was a sad surprise to find him dead in the morning! I trust mother nature knows best...

Coming soon...my 400th post! This is post 396 so I better put my thinking cap on and think of something special to celebrate the big 4-0-0 with!

International Kindness Day- November 13...no kidding, there is a international date dedicated to kindess!

ICE collage #2...currently a work in progress:)

3 things...

Thing 1:
Oh, I need a  picture of thing 1 and thing 2! Never mind! Thing 1 on my list is the giveaway!
Congrats to... ....drum rolll please.....JASMINE of Nature's Whispers! Jasmine won my Blog Action Day giveaway of a Water themed fabric collage. Congrats! It will be on it's way to you soon.

Water themed fabric collage from 99% recycled fabrics.

Thing 2:
I signed up for LaWendula's ephemera swap...and here's what I am sending her.

Fabric bits (lace, vintage lace flower, teeny-tiny daisies...) Paper bits ( hand made paper,nest lino print, vintage cigarette cards, bird book pages...) Odds and ends (Round discs from an old kids game, hero buttons, bottle cap, brads...) The butterflies are fabric and cut out from the print of an old pajama top. Too beautiful for the rag bag! I made the card (with the bird of course!)  from an old photo album page, cigarette card, fabric and papers all either recycled or gifted to me.This will all be on there way to Eliza from Druga Szesnascie very soon.

Thing 3:
It's PULP REDUX! I spent 5 blissful hours buried in the pages of Kim's book yesterday and my final page is not only 99% finished the whole lot is all glued into place in the book. Wahoo! This book is being posted to Debrina's .
Here's a sneak peek of what I did...

My representation of the British flag. I opshop trawled for months looking for the right image for Kim's book. I found souvenir tea towels, scarves and tablecloths from nearly every country but Britain! In the end I conceded and stitched something instead. You know what I will find now I now longer need it don't you? haha.

 

It's been very productive in the land of Pulp Redux lately. Alicia has finished her stunning pages in my book....

A small part of Alicia's contribution to my Labyrinth book.

Artwork and photo by Alicia Caudle.

Lisa Jurist has also been working on pages for Alicia's book "The museum of forgotten things." There are fabulous peeks on her blog and you can see all the work Alicia's done in my book here. It's a bit of a maze to find it all...Alicia decided to keep in with the theme when she posted!

Next post....The big reveal!

Blog Give Away! International Blog Action Day 2010

Water. The life blood of all living things. Water. We drink it, wash in it, use it to grow our food, keep animals and to manufacturer goods. If you are one of the fortunate that is. For many water is scarse and for some what is available is filthy and carries disease. Incase you havn't guessed...the topic of water is the theme for this years International Blog Action Day. Water is not a limitless resource. It dosn't just fall from the sky. Rain is made when all the elements are in the right balance and us humans often upset that balance. It has as much importance to our well-being as air does and we need to use what we get responsibly. This is not a lecture(!) in fact I want use this post to celebrate!

My take on the water topic is about recycling. Recycling uses water in the re-manufacture of goods but it uses less water than creating a brand-new item using all new materials. For the most part I'm talking to the already converted. I'm really pleased about that!  I want to use this post to highlight some artists who use recycled materials in their art. It's my way of saying "THANKYOU" for making the world a better place, for me, for my children and the generations to come. I've also got a little give away going on...

Recycled/repurposed teatowel, ladies handkerchief (clean!) silk scarf,net curtain, 

fabric scraps, second-hand shop lace and ribbon, cotton doilie, white beads from an old necklace,

second-hand blue beads and netting. Hand stitched and attached to a piece of heavy cardboard recovered from an old book. 

The inverted triangle is the symbol for water. It's been a fun challenge to incorporate a triangle into my work which usually features curves not straight lines!

I'm almost a stranger to the colour blue but I enjoyed the challenge of creating this water themed fabric collage. It's also the first fabric collage I've done, not including the work done in our Pulp Redux books! If you want to go in the draw to win the collage just leave me a comment to that effect:) Winners will be announced October 23rd.

So here's my list of water saving earth heroes! No award, just an honorary mention. I dosn't really matter if the intent of these artists is to save water (not saying it's not there intent though!) because the result is the same.They 'do good' and deserve a pat on the back!

In no particular order ....

THE EARTH HEROES LIST!

Lisa Jurist

(Lisa turns found objects, recycled or repurposed fabrics and metals into stunning mixed media works)

Kerin Gale

(Anyone who can turn a washed up light bulb into a things of beauty deseves an actual medal!)

Jasmine

(Beautiful dyes made from natural and earth-friendly sources)

Seth Apter

(Repurposed rusty things, charms and...hands ofcourse! Who knew so many could be found and salvaged!)

Debrina Ewen-Price

(Many beautiful picture frames, papers and fabrics have been rescued by Debrina.)

Caterina Giglio

(In her art many pre-loved and vintage fabrics and images given new life in many forms.)

Alicia Caudle

(Repurposed fabrics, rusty things, old x-rays and pre-loved buttons and lace to name just a few...)

Kim Palmer

(Such beautiful fabrics, beads and even the odd belt buckle have been made even more beautiful by Kim!)

Robyn Gordan

(Carved totems and panels featuring found objects and rusty things! Robyn also gets bonus points for highlighting so many artists using recycled materials.)

I've only given a very brief over-view of these artists, please follow the links and check them out for yourself! Lots of lovely things to see!