Mixing colors in the studio during storms
Have been quite busy in the studio and started the new year mixing colors. The weather has been quite bad and for a few days we even had what is called ‘απαγορευτικό” which means that boats are prohibited to travel and we are cut off from the mainland.
That’s the worst kind of weather for us on the islands, but because of it I have developed a new kind of admiration and love for shutters. Well…in particular the shutters on the windows of my house. I was trying to take photos outside without getting blown away or soaked to the skin and I jest you not at one point the rain was flying sideways ….ultimately some rain will always sneak in under a door …. but the trusty shutters stop the pelting rain from flooding the house altogether !
I gave up on the photos when huge forks of lightning starting flying sideways across the sea!!
Here is what I have been working on lately and must get finished as I have other projects to start. Inside the studio is warm and magic no matter what weather….no excuse for procrastination!!!
Καλή Χρονιά! Happy New Year!!
Καλή Χρονιά! Ευτυχισμένο το 2013!!! Ότι καλύτερο να σας φέρει και να έχετε πάντα υγεία και αγάπη.
Happy New Year!! Wishing you all the best for 2013 with health and happiness always!! XOXOXO
Christmas Carols in time gone by
The Greek Holiday Season extends from Xmas eve to January 6th, the Day of Epiphany. If you want to know how Greeks celebrate Christmas, why they traditionally decorate a boat instead of a Christmas tree, and just what are these special holiday treats? Click here http://greece.greekreporter.com/
Traditional Christmas sweets
To learn more recipes giving the taste of Christmas and New Year click http://www.visitgreece.gr
Headphone Bag – Psyche as Butterfly Design
The bag is almost finished and I want to share. It was specially made for my daughter’s Urbanears Headphones.
Psyche screen printing frame for side panels of bags
All the printed pieces pieces ready to be sewn together
Here the bag has been sewn and placed next to my lovely coffee mug so you can see the size
Some D-rings just need to be attached
The finished Psyche headphones bag
Side view. Now it just needs the zip pull and D-rings
Screen Printed Ψυχή – Psyche – The Butterfly Winged Goddess, Lover Of Eros, The God Of love.
I’m almost finished test prints for a series of butterfly prints called Ψυχή, or Psyche in English. Psyche was a Greek Goddess depicted in ancient mosaics with butterfly wings and often in the company of her husband Eros. The Greek word Ψυχή, or Psyche as it is known, is a word with a lot of weight. It means the human mind or soul or spirit.
According to Wikipedia “The basic meaning of the Greek word ψυχή (psūchê) was “life”. Derived meanings included “spirit”, “ghost”, and ultimately “self”, “conscious personality”
“In psychology, the psyche is the totality of the human mind, conscious, and unconscious. Psychology is the scientific or objective study of the psyche. The word has a long history of use in psychology and philosophy, dating back to ancient times, and has been one of the fundamental concepts for understanding human nature from a scientific point of view. The English word soul is sometimes used synonymously, especially in older texts”
In Greek mythology, Ψυχή or Psyche was a young girl so beautiful that she caused Aphrodite’s wroth and envy. She sent her son Eros (cupid) , the god of love, to do his worst with one of his arrows to make her fall in love with the most base, worthless person as punishment. However, things didn’t work out the way she planned because Eros fell in love with Psyche and carried her away to his secret palace where he would visit her at night. He never revealed his true identity and asked Psyche never to look upon his face. Urged on by her sisters she took a quick peep at him one night while he was asleep ….. and betrayed him.
I won’t tell you the rest of the story because there are much better places than here to read it but this is just one of many Greek myths that make fascinating reading. A good place to start is THEOI GREEK MYTHOLOGY-EXPLORING MYTHOLOGY IN CLASSICAL LITERATURE AND ART I will add more good sites as I find them.
Ψυχή according to el.wiktionary.org can also mean – generosity, kindness, bravery and courage. All that meaning in a tiny little winged insect.
So, here is my screen print of Psyche as a butterfly…it’s long and narrow because it is for the sides and bottom of a circular bag for headphones.
Color tests-screen printing inks
Still testing color combinations
Screen printed butterfly using red and grey water based ink on un- bleached cotton.
Test Prints. Second colour
This butterfly design was actually a request from my daughter who wanted a butterfly carry bag for her lovely mauve earphones by Urbanears
The bag will be shaped for the earphones when they are curled up and sleeping like this…
So that’s why the test prints are mauve. The silk screen inks are water based and eco-friendly, I wouldn’t use them otherwise.
Tomorrow I’ll do more colorways.
New Project
Just want to share what I am working on. Meanwhile I think I am spending too much time on details!
How to Upcycle Plastic Containers to Make a Cupcake Bag
I’ve collected a lot of plastic containers that I am determined to upcycle into useful objects!
My first attempt is a cupcake bag made from a sturdy Greek yogurt container.
I haven’t posted for a while as I’ve been busy with upcycling ideas ….there has been a lot of of trial and error and it still isn’t perfect but I wanted to show what I have managed so far.
How it was done.
If anyone wants to know in more detail I’ll post instructions and more photographs.
Sunset on Milos with Light Painted Clouds
Such a beautiful still evening here on the island, with colours that just fill your eyes. Such inspiration!
Halloween Ghosts
I just made these today…I think they will look nice and spooky hanging around the house. I bought the scary “skelly” heads in the summer mostly because my kids loved them, and now I’m pleased that I’ve found the perfect use for them.
I’m sure I’ve told you that Athens is a hub for all things strange and wonderful, as far as crafts are concerned.
Hello Again Halloween Friends !!!
Lovely Halloween ladies made with upcycled newspaper as paper-mache, old but good ribbon and fabric scraps, and old dried grass and twigs from the side of the road on a ramble. Their bodies are paper towel rolls.
Halloween
The witching hour is almost upon us and I have to say it really sneaked up on me. As I live on a Greek island Halloween isn’t celebrated as such so I’m starting my preparations very late….whoops!!!
Every year though, I get nostalgic for my childhood in Ireland and all the fun, silly times making bats out of card and spiders webs out of wool and getting dressed up. I miss making toffee apples…along with burning my fingers testing to see if the caramel was ready to coat the apples. I miss the traditional apple pie which contained charms that “foretold” your luck for the next year…a book for success at school, a heart for success in matters of the heart, a boat or a train for a journey. As a teenager and a student…. I would do more “grown up” silly things such as perfectly peeling an apple spirally, from the top to the bottom, without breaking the peel…and on the stroke of midnight throwing the unbroken spiral apple peel over one of my shoulders (cant remember the specific one) while looking in the mirror…….it would be THEN that the reflection of the “loved one” could be seen. All this was usually done by a gaggle of girls with a lot of apples…gathered in the privacy of one bedroom and well away from younger brothers and parents….it usually ended up in a stampede of hysterical screaming girls thundering out of the house.
Ah…those were the good old days !!! More Halloween memories later.
Dressing up is a vital part of the Halloween celebrations, or shenanigans, depending on how you look at it, so I thought I’d post some Halloween upcycling. One of my favourite items in the fashionable witches wardrobe would be her shoes.
I just love the curled up toes and sensible heel height…… so here are a few links to some very creative people
Here are a few sites I’ve found with some great Halloween ideas for decor, food, fun and games that can help everything go with a bang ….or a bump in the night!!!
http://bucketsofhalloweenideas.blogspot.gr/
http://www.creativetimesmagazine.com/ has free magazine downloads with lots of Halloween ideas
So, is the Era of Disposable Clothes – Fast Fashion Dying?…and what we can do make a difference?
New articles and links about what some call the “unethical” fashion industry, the latest fashion eco-trends, plus why we should all upcycle…and how.
Latest MIY (make-it-yourself) Upycling tutorial for clothes, shoes, and accessories for alittlebita help and lotsa inspiration!
Upcycling furniture using decoupage tutorial and links
We have a new upcycling page with tutorials and links for those who are interested in trying upcycling for themselves as well as learning new EASY craft techniques.
The first post is about a technique called, Decoupage, which really lends itself to upcycling furniture.
from this
to this
Upcycling news
I’m busy in the studio and haven’t posted any pics of work lately, but I have been posting on the “Upcycling is so cool” page. Check it out if you are interested in upcycling…..and the latest post shows how to fancy-up your old shoes by covering them fabric! Meanwhile this is the new mantra:
Thankyou Community Resources Network Scotland for this message
I’m currently upcycling plastic yogurt pots into hand bags…..and it seems it’s going to be a series, and Halloween is looming ahead soon to to it’s all go!!
The Collect Store and Shipping Guide from Terracycle-What an Amazing Recycling Company Unfortunately Not Yet in Greece!!!
See on Scoop.it - Ecology news, upcycling & recycling
My daughter had a summer job in a well known take away coffee shop here on Milos… One day whilst visiting the shop, I noticed them throwing away largish plastic yogurt containers and various square plastic containers. They were fine and absolutely reusable!!!
Many thanks go to the Gregory’s & Coffeeright here on Milos that allowed my daughter to gather everything that was reuseable and bring it home. I now have a HUGE collection of cleaned plastic containers which I plan to upcycle into useful objects. The yogurt containers in particular are amazing and I am currently working on upcycling them into bags…yes bags and I will make them funky and amazing if it’s the last thing I do!!!
That presents another problem too, of couse……..is the Greek market ready to buy upcycled products??? I’m a small business and I have to pay tax and insurance….
If a company such as this existed in Greece-maybe it does and I just haven’t found it yet- I believe that businesses such as Gregory’s & Coffeeright would indeed recycle their unwanted plastic etc.
We need a company like Terracycle here in Greece and I may need advice about how to market upcycled products in Greece.
See on s3.amazonaws.com
Inspiration from Milos- sunset with full moon and fire jumping….and locally made icecream…all in one night !!!
Welcome September. Καλώς ήρθες Σεπτέμβρη.
It’s not difficult to find creative inspiration on Milos, and now that the days are getting shorter, the sunsets just come sooner…..and last night we had a full moon too…as well as the wonderful tradition of …fire jumping… on the last night of August…….. And what a night!! …..because on top of everything else…I found the MOST AMAZING NEW GREEK ICE CREAM!! Locally made here on Milos….more later!
Εδω, στο Κάστρο προσφέρει, πρώτα απ’ όλα, πανοραμική θέα σε ένα από τα ωραιότερα ηλιοβασιλέματα των Κυκλάδων.
A panoramic view of the sunset from “Kastro” in Plaka
More on the fire jumping and the unbelievable ice cream later….I need to get some work done!
I’m painting..Ζωγραφίζω!
Acrylic Paint on canvas : Liquitex cerulean blue hue, cadmium red medium hue, bronze yellow, Golden Fluid Acrylic Iridescent Gold (Fine)
Το Μικρό Μηλέικο Σπίτι – The Little Milos House
Hang tag and little booklet with information about the house – ετικέτα και βιβλιαράκι με πληροφορίες για το σπίτι
