Now it's officially official!

My C&G diploma arrived today. Well, actually - two of them did, each in a separate envelope with a unit certificate, one for Design and one for Embroidery. [This is the complicated way that C&G works.] I don't think I should have been sent two - but I'm not complaining!

That inspired me to get moving on my homework. We were asked to start a sketch book for the Creative Textiles course I am taking next term. We have to record words and images, including a study of two artists featured in exhibitions we have visited during the summer. We were told we could make our own sketchbook but I resisted the temptation as I have several impulse purchases to use up.

You may have noticed that I have been to several exhibitions this summer. By my reckoning we have been to 7 art exhibitions, as well as museums and other visits. I am finding it hard to limit myself to two artists. So far I have played around with images by Sisley, Hodgkin, Gormley and Lambie. [I have been very restrained about Klimt as I used him so much last year.]

Today I decided to stick all the postcards etc. from our visits into the sketch book. Of course I couldn't just stick them on plain white pages - I had to paint the pages first. Preferably with more than one colour. And paint the covers. All of which took time to dry.

When I began wielding the glue stick I realised that I will need a second book - although I haven't really started with playing around with the images yet.

I have had a play with this though:

http://www.krazydad.com/kaleido/

It is ever so slightly addictive ...

This is the original picture.

Finding words to go in the sketchbook has been more difficult. I can usually produce some sort of image [provided no-one expects me to actually draw anything!] but I have a harder time with words - odd when I enjoy writing so much. However a fellow student pointed me in the direction of this, on writing haiku:

http://www.virginiaspiegel.com/blog/archives/854

You may ask what writing haiku has to do with embroidery but I found it works almost like a mini-mind map, encouraging you to focus on the features of whatever you're writing about that are most important to you. And those are the features you need to think about in designing your image.

I wrote one this morning about an apple tree in the garden - which I may pluck up courage to post, when the weather improves enough for me to take a photo of the tree in question. [The brief spell of sunny weather which served to remind us what UK summers used to be like has ended, probably never to return.]