Manifold meanderings into making
Orchids are something I have an affinity with because I got to discover their beauty in my early childhood. My mum used to grow a few and is reviving this practice this year. Our neighbour also had a little house extension crammed with (now I come to think of it) rarefied varieties. Then, we lived…
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This year’s Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower show inspired me to make some new folly flowers. These are now a summer tradition. Those big chocolatey ones look so exotic. The pink one on the left corner is a new ‘quill and pinch’ manouvre that looks good in six petals. The background paper actually has some…
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I have made this birthday card for a special person. Sometimes, the best way of ‘composing’ a layout is through simplicity. And sometimes, the best inspiration is right in front of you staring you in the eye. The sun had a particularly strong light when I made this card and my early roses were starting…
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Whilst working with my Warwickshire Open Studios series, I became nostalgic about fiestas. Perhaps, becoming slightly homesick, again (a perennial problem for me). For the uninitiated – they are simply parties, a good excuse for getting together, sharing food and feeding people in a spirit of generosity. Where I come from, there is a religious…
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Another abstract moment headed to Warwickshire Open Studios this year. I decided to inject some ‘cuties’ in this one. These inked bug-like things are emerging in my subconscious, as I listen to nature-related topics on the radio while I’m working. I have been listening to this dystopian drama on the BBC, called ‘Forest 404’. Somehow…
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This is my homage to early evening birdsong heard from my back garden. I thought about how best to suggest this beautiful chorus that lasted for hours. I came up with this. There is definitely something to be said about having all your papers just laid out and using what is in front of you.…
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Getting some brushwork to work with some strong tropical colours. I just can’t get enough of these saturated colours. This was an experiment at suggesting some movement. It would appear that yellow is quite an effective mood enhancing colour. Can’t beat it at the moment.
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Thought about mixing pleated papers with coiled and ‘bendy’ ones. The juxtaposition of these two methods was the starting point. Then it became about how the papers cast subtle colourful shadows on the support. Played with several ‘arrangements’ and finally decided on this offering, which reminds me of restaurant food. So my inner gastronome is…
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Spring is here! And I have been busy making new works for an upcoming exhibit called Warwickshire Open Studios. It’s based on my hometown here at Coventry where artists open up their studios for some ‘art fix’ for everyone. This is my first time joining, so I am anticipating it with equal measures of positive…
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Just wanted to share these two cards with the same theme. I had been playing with distress oxide inks for some time now and they do produce these gradient effects and unpredictable colour mixes when water touches them again. So I made these colour stories on 200 gsm watercolour paper and passed them through a…
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This is the third and final work for the Healing Arts Winter Exhibit. These sequined ‘fringed’ flower motifs evoke ‘polypharmacy’ – a phenomenon all too common as we reach our older years nowadays thanks to advances in medicine. Hence, our longer life expectancy. This advantage is not without its drawbacks, however, as we have…
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This is the second piece for the Healing Arts Winter Exhibition mentioned before. Here is a link of the project in its entirety. This work was all about movement. Wreath shapes have a universality across cultures due to its round shape. It looks very comforting, enveloping. So the shape kind of encapsulates this feeling of…
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I have been chosen to exhibit at the local hospital where I work in its annual Winter Arts Exhibition under its flagship charity Healing Arts. This is a platform for hospital staff and volunteers who are creatives, intended to support the Healing Arts charity. Wall space has been given for those short-listed and I feel…
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This was a birthday card for a very special lady. Used a nautical theme here. I had this idea of using sequins in my folly flowers and I really liked the result. Also did some foil work using a laminator and laserjet ink for the gold lettering. Two different sizes of circular die cuts made…
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As a final evolution in this series of posts, I give you lavender. Such a dainty colour. I’m not sure how effective the violet is in the middle, but I went for it. I added yellow accents just to give a complementary contrast and ‘lift’. I think, by this time I was using my own…
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A variation on the pink before – playing with two triangular arrangements (upright and inverted triangles with a white main flower). Geometry is always a go-to design element. It just simplifies the design process, clarifies it really well.
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The Art of Jeff Ting 