Another month, taking us halfway through the year.
It’s a bit of a wobbly video, but here’s how it’s looking so far:
the year so far
Today is a few wild flowers. We don’t call them weeds in our house.
30th June
There have been some very long days, and some very hot days.
long days of June
As always, a few very simple stitches to witness the days passing.
June 2025
It doesn’t need to be complicated. Life is challenging enough without making extra work for yourself.
June, detailJune, detail
July tomorrow, and the second half of the cloth. There is a seam where I had to join two lengths, but you’ll hardly see the join once a bit of stitching covers it.
July ahead
I often look at the blank month ahead and wonder what it will bring. It seems strange to think that this time next month I will know what it brought, and today’s future will become the past. Good job I have a needle and thread to anchor me into the present.
Probably a better descriptor than ‘monochromatic’, since the latter could feasibly be any single colour. You can probably see how much I’m still enjoying my achromatic sketchbook – basically all just black and white, exploring compositions through painting, drawing and collage.
murmuration, pen and watercolour on cotton paper
I’m using two shades of black (ivory black and mars black), white, and buff titanium. I’m also allowing myself a little Payne’s grey and Goethite (a subtle warm sandy colour) here and there – probably a little outside the black and white rule but then I make the rules so I can also break them.
watercolour on soft cotton papercolour palette and pebbles
I gathered together a wide range of substrates when I made this book, including canvas, cotton rag paper, cartridge paper, watercolour paper and handmade papers. Each one takes paint and ink slightly differently, making this sketchbook perfect for all kinds of exploration.
pebbles, painting (left) and collage (right)
I’ve also used plain black india ink here and there.
ink on canvas
And some collage:
collage from magazine papers with textlayered papers with text
There’s some figurative work (or play) too. I like birds. I think the ability to fly would be my superpower if I could choose one.
Raven, coloured pencil on watercolour background Magpie, coloured pencil on watercolour
Something a little looser:
crow, black ink over watercolour
I also created some printed/stamped papers that I’ve stuck in here and there.
watercolour (left) and hand-printed paper (right)
Today I’m looking through some fabrics to make some textile/stitched samples.
black and white fabrics and threads
I’m actually starting to run out of pages, and I can easily see the attraction of a second volume. I would never have expected black and white to be so interesting and engaging. Just proves the value of venturing outside your comfort zone and having a go. I do like a creative adventure.
Recently I wondered what a monochromatic mixed media sketchbook might look like, containing explorations of line and shape but exclusively using tone instead of colour. I figured there was only one way to find out.
black and white sketchbook
I’ve made a sketchbook, about 10″ square, including black and white papers of various thicknesses and textures. It had to have a cover, of course:
sketchbook, front coversketchbook, back cover
I’ve painted some collage papers using only black and white paints and inks.
painted collage papers
Early days, but so far it’s interesting. The absence of colour is making me consider tonal value much more carefully and consciously than I usually would.
black and white sketchbook
The paper you can see in the photo above is very unusual and really beautiful. It has some sort of fibre or yarn embedded in mulberry paper to form those circles.
lovely paper
I included some of my favourite Two Rivers watercolour paper and only used Mars Black watercolour with details in fine drawing pen.
landscape in one shade of black
Most of the other pages are still in progress, and I’ll probably move backwards and forwards between them.
mark-making and hand-printed paper
I guess some things really are black and white or shades of grey.
I’ve been sorting through my fabrics and scraps, and I’ve put together a couple of options that are now available in the shop.
The first is a sheer and semi-sheer/textured fabrics scraps pack that looks a bit like this:
FSH – sheer fabrics scraps pack, example
You can see average contents here:
sheer fabrics collection
The second is a lightweight fabrics selection, mostly hand-dyed, and mostly cotton with some scraps of silk and/or linen:
lightweight fabric scraps, average contents
And one in the making:
lightweight fabrics
Both packs are good for layering, to create little landscapes or stitched samples. I used some of the scraps to create a very long cloth, which I’m starting to explore.
a long landscape
Not sure where this one is going, but it looks like a long road. It’s about 4″ wide by about eight feet.
