New cuff; some Zakka style and a rethink on the Keepsake Box

Close up of my Zakka style needle case (D.Price-Ewen)

This Sunday I made myself stay indoors.  Well, there's nothing like spending a whole day in your PJs doing what you love, right?  Also, Bangkok is in the middle of the hot, hot, hot season (we have three seasons here, as the locals like to say: "hot, bloody hot and f#*@ing hot"!) So yeah, I spent the whole of Sunday making things (in my PJs) from cut up bits of Japanese printed cotton and a sewing machine, thread and needle.  

Placement for needles, left and right....

Never make fun of a team of travelling musicians!  You'll get bashed over the head with a violin and stabbed in the chest with a sword!  I got this fabulous, vintage cardboard print from a store in Bangkok and it makes a perfect backing for my needle case - keeping everything nice and flat and unbendable. 

I love the way you can create, with sewing, a functional something from nothing. Above is my first ever Zakka style creation: made up from scratch with nothing to guide me but the material and the practical matter of having somewhere to stash my spare needles.  You wouldn't believe how long this little number took me to make though!  From the meticulous piecing together of the little Zakka rectangles (which still came out crooked and a little wrinkled (no matter how much I ironed) to the vintage French image on the back - a total of 7 hours!  Phew.  I'm glad I'm not on a production line.  I would have been fired on day one!!

I also finished off a hand-sewn cuff I'd been working on (more off than on), for several weeks.  The hand sewing was taking too long, so I finished it on the sewing machine that I made the Zakka needle case on.

Detail of machine embroidery, couching the bronze ribbon I had in my leftover's basket.

The cuff has a been aged in some areas with the liberal use of a lighter and walnut ink and I'm happy with the final result.

closeup of wooden heart and vellum

Finally, I'm having a bit of a rethink on my Keepsake box, which I'm still working on because I'm not happy with the finish on the cover.  I love the inside of the box (see above and below photos) but  I need gesso and crackle medium to finish the cover.  Unfortunately, crackle medium is a bit of a rare commodity here and it is not cheap, so I'm weighing up my options as to whether I buy from the States or not... If anyone knows of a good brand that I can buy online, do let me know!

Well, that's it for another week.  I can't wait for next weekend because I'm getting some Thai cooking lessons and, of course, I want to spend more of the f@#*ing hot season indoors under the aircon where I can create in my pajamas.

Love Debs

Drawing redefined

Scuba diving the great oceanic beyond...by Jason Kyle Ewen (nearly 5)

Scuba diving with many friends and fish!

My son Jason is nearly 5 years old now and suddenly, from what seems like out of nowhere, he can DRAW!  From squiggles and scratches to the awesome works of art above, I love how freely and enthusiastically he has embraced drawing and painting.  Kids are natural artists, let's face it: no inhibitions, no inner critic telling them they just drew something rubbish.  They just DO!  So, I've decided to do just that myself.  I'm letting my son teach me, all over again, how to just draw.

I have me a selection of pens and pencils, some water colour paints and a nifty little sketch pad and I'm off to the local lake this afternoon to do some uninhibited drawing.

:-)
Debs

The Keepsake Box

The Keepsake Box - closeup of the door and flower latch - by D.Price-Ewen 2013

Ghostly images underneath the door of the keepsake box - by D.Price-Ewen 2013

The little box that could - the rose box slides to the other side of the larger box it sits in to revels the ephemera underneath it - by D.Price-Ewen 2013

Underneath the lid of the box is a wooden heart backed with blue inked vellum paper - by D.Price-Ewen 2013.

I've decided to return to my favourite theme: altered books and boxes.  My keepsake box, above, is still a work in progress with more work to come on the little pull out book underneath the rose box.  It's nice to get back into playing with mixed media again.  My collecting of all sorts of mixed media supplies from trawling through the city's markets and emporiums is beginning to pay off now that it has come time to finding that "just right" piece that pulls everything together.

A page from the Keepsake Box Book - D.Price-Ewen 2013
(a copy of a mixed media piece I constructed from a paper dress kit supplied by my friend Pania Molloy)

Next week I'll post the finished results of box and book.

Till then, have fun in blog land!

Debrina Altered (D.Price-Ewen)

A Retrospective

Andy and Jason on the Chao Phraya River in a taxi boat, Bangkok, Thailand

The beautiful Chao Phraya, Bangkok

Seven months have passed since we arrived in Thailand.  Wow, time sure does fly when you're having fun!  We wake up most mornings still pinching ourselves to make sure that this life of ours really isn't a dream, but reality!  Indeed it is an incredible reality and even more so since doing my blog retrospective tonight.  I know I've been darn tardy in keeping this blog up, which is a pity, as these are some of the most exciting times of my life.  Ah ha!  Perhaps that's the problem right there!  Too much fun, too little art-ing and blogging.

Well, I've got to get back into my blogging routine again.  I just have to.  I miss the community and more importantly, the recording of experiences. I have been blogging since before my boy was born, and when I did my retrospective blog viewing tonight, I watched him grow up page after page after page.  It kinda brought a tear to my eye to watch this miracle child of ours grow, adapt to change and learn so much (we were told he was never going to be because of my severe poly cystic ovarian syndrome).  But along every step of the way with Jason there has come from me, in my opinion, some of the most incredible, satisfying and profoundly moving art that I have ever produced.  I might not be famous, or have a vast following of admirers, but my art is mine and I'm darn proud of the boundless creative energy that has come out of being a mother!

Jason and I at Safari World, Thailand, with our fabulous Orange friends!  Jason is just one month away from turning 5 years old!

Chatuchak market (JJs), Bangkok.  The food is awesome, the craft and art supplies, even more awesome!!

So what does living in Bangkok mean to me right now?  Well, you could say I've landed in one of the world's largest art and craft supplies MECCA!  The markets: Pahurat, Soi Wanit 1 (Sampheng Road), JJs and the fabulous Pinn Shop and B2S are currently my favourite haunts.

Just one tiny aisle of many in this bead shop - photo taken  down Sampheng Lane, Bangkok

It really is a collector and hoarder's dream.  And it's all about creation, baby!  The artist's calling to express the essence of being; to channel the unknown into the known, to flavour the world with all its colour and vibrancy is more than being served up here in Bangkok.   My muses are everywhere - from the towering temples through to the peeling paint and dubious dark alleyways of the slums.  Everything exists here and nothing exists here.  It is the Buddhist's precinct - where contradictions abound and the ghosts are just below the cracks in the path or between the slits in the wall.  The overwhelming stimuli and the hidden and not so hidden voices of the past are coming through to me - like a steam train cranked up with an over-abundance of coal - and I'm struggling to channel it all into my art. Truly!  It's sometimes just too much.

Beauty and spirit abounds in Bangkok!

However, during the quiet periods of my life, when I have time to reflect (like now: 11:50pm) I know I'm assimilating and turning the magnificence of Thailand into art.  It's all happening in my brain and very slowly it's beginning to flow down towards my fingertips.   Sometimes it's leaked out a little.  Like here:

Illustrations: graphite, ink and collage - originals and prints soon to be sold on Etsy

And here:

Cuffs (2013)

and finally here:

Unfinished paintings: left, The Wat.  Right: The Dancer (2013)

So, here's to the new experiences that travel will surely continue to bring.  We are off to Egypt ,Toronto and New York this July.   If I thought I was having a tough time channeling the experiences into art here, I wonder what will happen when I experience all these new places shortly?  I'm too excited for words!

Till the next installment then!
xoxoxox
Debs

Art Journal Pages

The circus has come to town!  Art journal pages, D.Price-Ewen

December already and Xmas is all around us here in Bangkok.  Towering trees lit up in full fairy light regalia and festoons of wonderment every corner you turn,  We're taking our five year old Jason into the city's CBD on Xmas Eve so that he can see the full light display along the sky-walk in Siam.  Rumour has it that most residents of Bangkok evacuate the city at this time of the year in order to celebrate New Year with their rural families. But I imagine the influx of tourists at this same time of year will more than mitigate the loss in numbers.

Alicia's contributions

While I await the holidays with heady anticipation, I have been biding my time by filling up my current art journal - a collaboration between my friend Alicia of Altered Bits and I.  We call these journals "nournals" - a slip on the keyboard one night during a skype session, I believe, brought about this renaming.  And so, the term nournal was coined and nournal it stubbornly remains.  In fact, the term even has a meaning now - as it is a sort of portmanteau of Night and Journal.  It also sounds like nocturnal.  It is an apt name, as it is at night that I mostly work on my contributions.

The first two pages of my late November/early December contributions

The very first two pages of the Nournal, by D.Price-Ewen

I don't want to give too much away at this stage, as I would like the rest of my contributions to be a surprise for Alicia when she finally receives my nournal to make her own contributions again,  We pretty much continue with this pattern of exchanges until the book is finally filled up and the originating owner gets to keep the finished journal.  We have already completed one of these nournals and based on the strength of our long distance friendship, I think this exchange will go on for many years to come.

Well folks, that's me for a few more weeks.  Xmas is nigh and I imagine we will be wrapped up in our own domestic lives around that time, so if I don't hear from you, I'll understand, lol!

All the best,
Debrina

Paper Dolls Gone Awry

What's inside this strange little box?

The altered matchbox of clinical and anatomical treasures!

Complete with pop open door (I used two little domes, which I sewed on).

After some settling in and even more reflection time in Bangkok (it's been over 3 months now since we moved), I have finally fulfilled one of my creative promises!  This promise was one I made back in July to my dear, sweet, incredibly patient cousin Daniel.  Before we left for Thailand, I sold, exchanged and gave away some of my precious creations.  Daniel, in fact, purchased one of my still unfinished mixed media paintings (below).

The plan was to send Daniel three installments (this being the first), which are to be attached by his wife Amber (a curator by trade) to the painting above.  Dan will be doing his own thing with these pieces too (with plans to photoshop and maybe even animate the paper dolls I create).  The first installment is a large altered matchbox (Swedish Sakerhets Tandstickor), covered with end papers from an ancient, age spotted Burmese romance novel (!) and then burnished (to remove air bubbles) and finally finished with a liberal application  of Ranger walnut stain distress ink.

The box is like a little wardrobe, stands on its own and has a little door that pops open and clicks shut.  Another little box of treasures is soon to follow this one, but in the meantime, I'm busy thinking up another theme.  I chose the anatomical theme from the pieces I received from Altered Bits (thanks so much Alicia!) and because I like the idea of something that isn't pretty and perfect (as most paper dolls are).

All settled and artwork takes a new turn

Ghosts of Bangkok D.Price-Ewen 2012

Well, we're all settled into our new life in Bangkok, Thailand.  Lovely new house, lovely company and great but awfully busy full-time job! In fact, apart from the taxi drivers (the majority of whom will take you for a proverbial ride to rip-off town), we love everything about this place!

I've not had much time to art, but the week long holiday ends tomorrow and I finally have something to show.  So, here it is - a new turn for me: abstract.  The choice is deliberate - it is the only style I could think of to reflect my feelings about this ancient city.  The ghosts of the past  are everywhere.  As you move through the city, you also see nature and industry striving to co-exist and, although it's not an impossible existence, there have been some losers as a result of phenomenal progress in this developing country.  These then, are the ghosts of Bangkok.

This new work also heralds the start of a series, keyed towards my first major exhibition which will be staged in Bangkok, naturally.  Just don't ask me when or where exactly! Ha!

I'm also returning to blogging after many tardy, half-hearted attempts.  The fact that I get plenty of teacher holidays make it seem more manageable. I see a few of my old blogging buddies are still here but quite a few have also dropped off the landscape.

Bangkok, Oriental City

SOLD! to the man in the check shirt....

Well, this is the last post I'll be making in New Zealand folks!  Two weeks ago I accepted a library position in Bangkok.  Whilst we're through the panic stage, we're still transitioning into the ex-pat stage, which means pack up, sell up and ship out.  I've had to sell and give away my art and studio contents (boo hoo)...but with the promise of continuing with the exhibition I had planned (my first) called Childhood Memories, in Bangkok. As you can see in the photo above, one of the pieces I'd been working on was sold. Dan, the man in the check shirt, will be installing the little white boxes I had planned on suspending from the canvas.  The boxes are still a work in progress too, so I will be posting them to him from Bangkok.

The entire process of distilling our life down to the essentials is proving difficult but worthwhile.  To me it has meant a couple of boxes of books and all my friends' art.  My studio fits into a little plastic case, where my ATC supply stock resides.  The rest, it seems, can go!  So until we arrive in Bangkok there is virtually no chance of my producing art.

Till then, take care and my next posting will be from Thailand!! 

Zombie gatherings and robot assemblage!

Arrrgh!  Zombies on the prowl...D.Price-Ewen 2011

Where does all the time go?  Oh, I know! Having fun;-)
A busy month that really has just flown by, October has been all about preparing for my next art fair (November 11) and taking robot jewelry orders.  I keep selling out of these fun and (if I may so)extremely cute creations:



Chunky robot - D.Price-Ewen 2011
Now Seth's, Mr Chunky here has become my pinup poster boy!

 Currently I'm working on a new range of robots - less metalic, more colour (just for now, at least).  Originally intended for kids at my fairs (with kiddy prices), these geeky little fellas and gals have appealed more to teenagers and adults so far...though my son, Jason (3), certainly loves them and has become my quaility control tester.  As you can see, below, his job is to pull them apart soon after baking, so that I can permanently fix the bits and pieces in with ultra super duper super glue!  Past that, they're virtually indestructable!

Ready to be assembled, robot geekery - D.Price-Ewen 2011

The month is coming to an end now but, of course, there was no way I was going to let it slip by without attending a Halloween party, and I was fortunate enough to attend a very fun, slightly spooky, bash at my friend Pania's.  Well, what a great way to wrap up the month!  I'll leave you with some fun photos from last night's extravaganza:

Biker chick's, when they have an accident, should go to hospital immediately! Not this one...the zombies got to her first.

I wouldn't trust her, would you?

Urgent surgery required....

Beetlejuice Buzz!

Frida gone awry - that's me!

The husband, Andy, as his most beloved alter-ego, "V"

Not to be outdone by his parents, Jason hams it up big time for the camera!

Pania, our hostess with the most-est amazing makeup!

Spring is here; I have a new F/Bk page and the recent Alt.Shift.Craft market...

Altered Book for the Alt.Shift.Craft fair: "From Paradise Lost to Paradise Found" D.Price-Ewen 2011



Spring is here!! Well it's true!  It's a beautiful day here today and I am doubly blessed in that I also have the day off work (paid for by work!).  Anyway, I have some great news: I've launched my new Facebook page: Debrina Altered Creations.  I'm having a giveaway here to celebrate.  All you need to do is "like" my page on F/Bk and either leave a comment under my handbag post or here on this blog and you're in the draw.  The prize is one of my altered handbags: you choose the theme and I tailor make it.  Take a look at the one on my new F/Bk page or the one below this post here (you can't have that one though - it's sold, sorry - anyway, see my post below this one). 
What else is up?  Well, I'm getting into a bit of this:



Sandy Carter Photography of the Swamp City Rats Roller Derby girls 2011

My first Roller Derby practice was on Saturday.  I'm still recovering!! Lol.


I'm nowhere near making it onto a team yet, but I'll get there...just you wait and see!  I may be 40 but some of the girls are even older than me and they rock!
 
What else has happened?  Oh yes...
Finally, I attended on the weekend (as a vendor) the latest Alt.Shift.Craft market. 

Thank you Carole (in advance??) for the use of your image!

Here are a few of my offerings.  Not a whole lot sold this time around...different venue, different lot of customers.  But I made enought to pay for my table, get new art supplies and buy other crafter's works!  Always nice.

"Complete" - mixed media assemblage. D.Price-Ewen 2011

Severed arms earrings.  Nothing like making people puke.

Pill box - with a twist.  D.Price-Ewen 2011

Charm bracelets...

Assorted handmade rings...



"Butterfly Boy" (with poppy seed case for a hat!). Assemblage by D.Price-Ewen 2011

Cuffs!  Don't forget, all images are the copyright D.Price-Ewen 2011

Till next time, you lovely people! 
Debrina
P.S. Don't forget - like my facebook page (see my left-hand side panel) and be in the draw to win!!
P.P.S. Have you notice Altered Bit's new collaboration? The tallest handmade book in the world?  Visit it here:


http://alteredbits.wordpress.com/2011/09/25/the-tallest-handmade-book-in-the-world-project/