Tag: art

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Bluebells everywhere!

A wood with a thick covering of bluebells in blooms

A visit to my local bluebell woods at Blickling Hall in Norfolk was quite simply stunning!

Nothing beats getting outside and reconnecting with the countryside to inspire artwork.

This photo is definitely a piece of art waiting to happen, I am already imagining what fabrics I will use and the techniques needed to recreate such a beautiful scene.

I’m not sure if this a particularly good year for bluebells but the show here made my jaw drop. Go if you can if you are local to Norfolk, you won’t be disappointed.

My single stem bluebell has made it to a card, created by my favourite things, ink, watercolour and applique details in Liberty fabrics.

A little taste of things to come…..

 

A greetings card lays on a table, features a single stem bluebell flower with watercolour and fabric flower detail
Handmade bluebell greetings card

 

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Hello!

Hi there, I have been challenged to ac tually use the blog section of my page her on British Craft House, so here I am. My name is Laura Edmunds and I am a beach clean artist based in Plymouth. I create pictures from the things that I find on beaches using as mush as I can to bring you happy, colourful, dopamine art. At the same time I want to show you what I find and the true state of the beaches and oceans. 

Just a super short one for now, but it’s a start! 

Cheerio 

Laura 

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Winter light. Quiet days and creative making.

Winter in Shetland has a rhythm all of its own. The days are shorter, the light softer, and life naturally slows down after the busy summer season. It’s a time I’ve learned to value deeply — both as an artist and as someone rooted in this place.

 

Some winter mornings begin with fresh snow settling across the hillside, the sun just lifting over the slope and casting long shadows across the ground. Even after all these years, moments like this still stop me in my tracks. The light feels precious, fleeting — something to be noticed before the day properly begins. These quiet starts often set the tone for time spent in the studio, where the outside world gently seeps into the work I’m making.

 

Inside, winter brings a different kind of stillness. With fewer visitors and exhibitions, there’s space to focus, reflect and experiment. The studio becomes a place of calm creativity, accompanied by the simple comforts of warmth, tea… and the occasional studio supervisor.

My cat has perfected the art of winter studio life — curled up in a basket by the window, watching snowflakes gather on the glass. It’s a small, everyday moment, but one that feels very much part of my creative process. These quiet, domestic scenes are just as influential as the dramatic landscapes outside.

 

Winter skies often surprise us here. On clear nights, when the wind drops and the stars come out, Shetland reveals one of its greatest gifts.

Seeing the aurora from home never gets old. The soft ribbons of colour moving across the sky are impossible to fully capture, but they leave a lasting impression. These moments feed directly into my work — the colours, the movement, the sense of wonder — often finding their way into my resin seascapes and jewellery.

During daylight hours, the sea continues to be my greatest source of inspiration. Even in winter, I’m drawn to the shoreline whenever I can be. Beachcombing at this time of year feels different: quieter, more solitary, and often more rewarding.

The sea gives up its treasures slowly — fragments of shells, sea glass worn smooth by time, and delicate sea urchins in all shapes and sizes. These natural forms influence both the textures and colours in my work. Holding something so small and intricate, shaped entirely by the sea, is a reminder of why I’m drawn to using found materials and coastal inspiration.

Back in the studio, these experiences come together. Winter is when I focus on creating new work, refining ideas and allowing pieces to develop without rush. It’s also a time to look back at the year just gone and think ahead to what’s next.

 

This slower season gives me the space to reconnect with why I make art in the first place — responding to the landscape around me, working with materials shaped by nature, and creating pieces that carry a sense of place. Everything I make is influenced by Shetland: the light, the sea, the weather, and the quiet moments in between.

 

As winter continues, I’ll be sharing more from the studio as new pieces take shape. Whether you’re following from afar or visiting Shetland in person, I hope my work brings a little of this winter atmosphere into your home.

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Beginning, 26 November 2024

Welcome

We are Lucy and Roy artists and designers working in the UK. On this site you can buy examples of both our products and artwork.

Designs

Cyberman inspired adult cotton apron on blue close up
Cyberman inspired adult cotton apron on blue close up

Our product designs are often based directly on our art. We think of them as art. Our specialities and experiences are interior design and a little fashion.

We concentrate on UK manufacturing and these naturally cost a little more than those produced from cheaper sources. Our goods are either handmade by us or produced by small UK businesses. When an item is not in stock there maybe a small delay in dispatch as we check all goods ourselves before sending them out.

Art

Original art painting lion head arts and crafts beadwork
Original art painting lion head arts and crafts beadwork

Our art has a slightly surreal element and sometimes a pop art element. It consists of acrylic paints and glass beads, prints and watercolours. The fine glass beads are hand woven and pieces can contain many thousands of beads. Our canvas prints and frames are made by us again by hand.

Our art sells at exhibitions throughout the UK. You can also visualise our art by downloading an app which will let you place a painting in your room. Please contact us for details.

I hope you will enjoy our work,

Lucy and Roy.

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Life as a (very) mature art student…..

graduation mortar board

If it hadn’t been for the pandemic, I think it very unlikely I would have embarked on a full time degree course at the tender age of 55! As the country locked down back in April 2020, my self-employed taxi business suddenly had no customers; in the absence of anything else to do, my long time watercolour painting hobby suddenly took on a new significance. 

As the summer went on, I reached a point where I couldn’t envisage doing anything else but making art, learning new processes and finding out more about all things arty. I found myself applying for a full-time  BA (Hons) Painting, Drawing and Printmaking degree course at Arts University, Plymouth. To my great surprise, I was accepted! I opted to do an extended course with a foundation year tacked on to the start; as someone who had been out of education for many, many years, I needed the best head start I could get.To my surprise and relief, I wasn’t the oldest student around any stretch and it didn’t really matter. The “youngsters” were great to be around and there was very much a sense that there was more uniting us as new students than there was dividing us. Being around younger people is good for the soul..probably! Also surprising was that as an old dog I could be taught some artistic new tricks and I was still more than capable of writing an essay.

Feeling greatly inspired by my extended foundation year intro, the remainder of my degree has flown by at an almost alarming pace. Exploring new subjects to draw and paint, learning new techniques, particularly in printmaking, engaging in research about other artists and art movements and becoming involved in artistic endeavours in my local community have all contributed to a very rewarding experience. As well as pushing my own artistic boundaries I have also discovered a previously untapped interest in teaching and public speaking.

Hopefully I am finding a new artistic voice and embarking on an exciting new future as my degree course enters the final business end of proceedings, at the tender age of 58. I didn’t really want to retire anyway, so I’m hoping exciting new doors may open for me so I can have many happy and productive years ahead doing something challenging and enjoyable…whatever that may be.

If you think you are too old/ too set in your ways/ too rigid/ too “settled” to try anything new, please disregard these self-imposed barriers. Just go for it! It might change your life!


   

 

Some things I may not have tried if I hadn’t gone to Uni……..

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I never thought I would …….

When I began my career, I thought I would work as a hairdresser for ever. …after all, it’s what I’d wanted to do since starting school. But then…..

…I never thought I would own a town centre hairdressing salon employing up to 15 members of staff.

I never thought I would go to night school to learn how to teach.

I never dreamed that I would become a part time tutor at Blackburn College Hairdressing dept and have my own tutor groups to inspire, nurture and teach cutting and styling skills to.

I never thought that attending a weekly art class would lead me to studying for a fine art degree that I graduated from in 2008. 

I never thought I would be asked by our local council to run our towns very first art market, and as a direct result of this I was asked, with a couple of friend’s to deliver a huge community project in Blackburn town centre called, POP – Project Our Place.

I never thought that a few of us from our degree course would set up a working artist’s studio in the town centre above a charity shop.

I never thought that two friends could set up and work together running Ribble Valley Art Studios, an art studio collective in Clitheroe, and it be a success for 9 years.

I certainly never thought I would ever be teaching my love of art in southern Spain, in the town of Baza, with two friend’s that are the ‘Caves of Dreams’.

I never thought that in a worldwide pandemic I would set up, and make handmade wooden jewellery from my back porch ‘Bevart designs ‘was born.

I never thought that in April 2021 I would become sole proprietor of ‘Atelier Arts’ art studios, art gallery with small teaching area in town centre Clitheroe. 

…and I certainly never thought I would be self-employed for all these years, teaching art subjects to a vast array of wonderful students of all ages. Including adults, children, children with needs, young offenders, young people. Thankyou to everyone for giving me these wonderful opportunities.

  

 

Thinking back, my journey has been about considering options, making choices and taking decisions. 

This CORE decision framework is a good place to start.

C – Challenges.  Accept them and stretch yourself outside your comfort zone. Grow and develop yourself and expand your comfort zone. But not so much that you cause yourself, or others, stress. Find the level of challenge you’re comfortable with. What are the challenges associated with your options? Take on enough challenge to keep you interested and developing.

O – Opportunities.  What opportunities do, or what could each of the options provide? Consider all opportunities that are made available. If the opportunity you want isn’t offered, or isn’t quite as you’d like it to be, then find a way to create it and make it happen.

R – Rewards.  Identify what you value. This can be anything that really matters to you – financial rewards, family time, recognition, progression, work/life balance, personal development and so on. How do the options and choices offered provide the potential to get the rewards that are important to you?

E – Enjoyment.  Think about what you really enjoy doing. Make sure the decisions you take allow you to do what you really enjoy. Then do it.

 

This CORE frame work I borrowed from AWD Development Solutions, all other words are my own, Beverley – Bevart designs

link to my art studios, below.

www.atelierarts.co.uk 

Sign up to Bevart’s Broadcast – newsletter below

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Displaying Art – How do we think about it ? Should it be because we ‘like’ it ? Seasonal ? Does it evoke a memory or stir the imagination ?

In my Introduction, I have said that I love to paint. I enjoy the creative element of Watercolours and love to see the paint flow and create different effects with it. 

I tend to create smaller pieces, partly because they can be created more quickly but also because they are easier to post for online sales  and easier to transport if travelling to an event.  Larger pieces tend to be for Exhibitions or home. 

Now, this is my point, what inspires you to buy a piece of Art ? Is it an impulse – just because it ‘speaks’ to you? Or something you look for to ‘complete’ a room or as a gift? 

Many people have said to me that they haven’t any room left for paintings, hence why I have my art reproduced on to gift or household items that I like to call ‘useful’ art. 

But why not swap paintings around ? Many of my paintings are hung in my small studio or around our home. 

Art Studio -Kay Lacey weatercolours

A little peak inside my studio on an Open Day

When I have an Exhibition, paintings are taken down and replaced with a different one. I find that I then ‘notice’ and look at the replacement much more than I had previously. 

So, as we redecorate our rooms – why not rearrange our artwork ?  You will be surprised at how much more you ‘look’ at a piece of art if you move it or swap it for another that you like. 

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Bevart designs and ‘Wabi Sabi’ a Japanese philosophy

What inspires to me to make my jewellery pieces.

Hello, I am Beverley from Bevart designs.

I am an artist that has been inspired to make jewellery from my love of art. So in short, my jewellery creations have been inspired from my artworks. 

I love wood and colour and have combined the two elements to make beautiful art inspired jewellery for you to wear. 

Whilst doing my degree back in 2008 whooooa! long time ago.

I was fascinated by making something that was quite ordinary very beautiful, I incorporated copper pipe and wire and velvet fabrics to bring my 3-D relief paintings and sculptures to life.

 

The photo is a piece that I created for my fine art degree, I embedded a large ornate mirror, red velvet and copper pipe. This work was made in response to self Indulgence and decadence.

 

Artwork – 5ft x 3ft plaster, paint, velvet, copper pipe, mirror and varnish.

Entitled  – ‘Indulge’

SOLD

 

Fast forward to now, in my fine artwork I use gold leaf and mark making using unconventional tools. My ethos in my creative life is ‘Making the ordinary beautiful’ a few years ago I discovered WabiSabi a Japanese philosophy and way of life.

 The Japanese people embrace things that would be normally deemed as useless or boring or very ordinary, old, cracked or broken, they fix and make beautiful. I am fascinated with that as a thing in its self, so the way that I use WabiSabi and making the ordinary beautiful into my artwork, is that I embrace things that could possibly go wrong, like, unintentional marks, the drips from the paint the knots in the wood!

I fix good with love, polishing and gold/silver and rose gold leaf.

The pink and green artwork photograph is a painting that I made a couple of years ago, I have used wax and mark making to create this ‘Indian Summer’ inspired piece. We went on holiday to Goa, whilst on a market trip we met a lady selling the most amazing fabrics, she was wearing the most exquisite sari, my painting was inspired by this trip.

 

Art work – wax, oil paints and gold leaf, painted on board.

Entitled – ‘Indian Summer’

 

This is just a little insight into the jewellery making and the things that inspire me to be creative.

Bevart designs creations! are inspired by my paintings, travel, and WabiSabi.

 

Thankyou Beverley x

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Meet the Maker – Beverley from Bevart designs

Meet the maker blog

Beverley Chapelhow – Bevart designs.

I am Beverley, of ‘Bevart designs’ I live in the beautiful Ribble Valley in Lancashire. I will always be that artist that fell into making jewellery making and designing, many people have said that my artwork would make lovely jewellery pieces, this got me thinking and I started to create and work on this possibility. I made a few pieces and put them on display in my studio… to my delight I sold a few, 12 months on I was accepted for a great art and craft show called ‘Art in the Pen’. I took with me my framed artwork and my jewellery, I made more sales than I thought possible. Being encouraged by this I applied to sell on ‘The British Craft House’ and was thrilled to be accepted.

I have always taught art classes to adults sometimes with a crossover into craft making like flower arranging, printmaking, card making etc.

I am inspired to create any art work including my jewellery by nature, the Japanese way of Wabisabi, travel, and other artists, I love the work of Greyson Perry, Yayoi Kusama, there are lots more!

my art studio

I graduated from university in 2008 with a degree in fine art, with a friend and colleague we wanted to still try and work together in a studio environment, we wanted to find a place where we could provide affordable studio space for other artists. I am currently the proud owner of ‘Atelier Arts’ an art studio collective with gallery and teaching space in Clitheroe from here I sell my paintings, I teach art classes to adults including general art and life drawing , I also teach art in Spain with partners ‘Caves of Dreams’  we provide a full all-inclusive art holiday experience in Baza, the region of Andalucia.  

Teaching in Spain

What is the dream? The dream was always to own an art studio, the other is to be selling my work more regularly, whether that’s jewellery or my paintings to build a following and to become successful.

I am currently working from home and we have a workshop in the garage, so I can keep on creating and making.

My proudest moment business wise is owning my current business and that being a success. Forever proud of our two daughters growing into confident, successful, independent women.

My creative future looks like this, over the past year I have been experimenting with ice dyeing and eco printing on fabric. I love textiles and pattern, this is something I want to add to my shop in the future in the form of scarves as I believe this would enhance my jewellery range. I am also planning some Yoga and Art retreats, I want to provide creative relaxing workshops based around self care, using our mental and physical self in a creative way using clay and paint.

To relax and have fun I love to tap dance, I regularly take part in yoga, pilates and meditation. I also love photography and to travel sketch and paint.

I also enjoy a good night out with friends in the city of Manchester drinking cocktails!

I also adore cake, what is my favourite cake ….any cake!!! But very partial to a lemon drizzle