TIE DYED SKIES AND SEAGULLS.....

So this is a post about things that have arrived through the post over the last couple of months......................

Myself, Chrissie and Lesley have collaborated on a little project entitled: "Oh, I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside.........". It was a project broken into four topics: "On The Pier", "On The Beach", "Seaside Holiday Memories" and "Favourite Seaside Resort"....

We were to make 2 tags each (roughly 7" x 4") which illustrated the four titles and at agreed dates (3 weekly) we were to post them off to each other. The idea was that we use ANY medium in the construction of the said tags, try and learn new methods/techniques along the way and above all, not get stressed about timescales/completion etc, but to have F.U.N! As the project progressed we also all seemed to gravitate towards the idea of not buying anything for the work but using "stuff" we already had in our homes. Thus, at the end of the project we would each have eight pieces of work by someone else and then a final additional project would take place: we would each individually make a covering/container to house the body of work.

I cannot stress what a wonderful thing this was to take part in. There was the humour contained within the occasional e mails we exchanged regarding progress, the nail biting worry on opening other people's work, that yours wasn't good enough (and then the realisation that we were all in the same boat and felt the same). There was the sinking in the stomach feeling when someone didn't get their piece of your work within the timescale it should have taken to get there and the relief when it did................. :O)

There was the whole learning process........................... (in my case a lot of it was about different glues and what they did/didn't "do!!!!!). Punch and Judy appealed greatly to me, and I learnt a lot about them, but didn't use them in the end.......... but that knowledge is stored away in my (very) grey matter, perchance to be used in the future??? New crafts were tried (in my case, basic papercutting........... trust me, Rob Ryan can sleep easily in his bed..............).

But enough, here are photos of what I received from the other two: Hopefully, if you click on the photos you should get a better view:

"ON THE PIER" ........... by Chrissie: (Her sky was tie dyed, hence my post title)

"ON THE PIER" by Lesley (this was an amazing three dimensional tag!)

"ON THE BEACH" by Chrissie, a beautiful stitched textile piece:





"ON THE BEACH": Lesley's work had paint charts with blue representing the sky and yellow the sand. The humour in it was wonderful!




"SEASIDE HOLIDAY MEMORIES": Here I was lucky enough to be sent a beautifully hand felted piece by Chrissie..........

and the sweetest of retro caravans by Lesley:
The last set of tags was entitled: "FAVOURITE SEASIDE RESORT". Chrissie's tag was another wonderful textile based piece which had photographs stitched to it





and Lesley's response was a fictional seaside resort:


The last part of the project is to make the covering/container.... we still have this part to do at our own leisure. It is here that the "seagulls" part of my title to this post comes in: this was a little joke enclosed by Lesley with one of her tags:

I shall be using it on my "container"........................................ I do hope if you have enjoyed seeing these wonderful, creative pieces of work that you visit the other two blogs to see what Lesley and Chrissie received (both from myself and each other). We are also thinking of perhaps doing another project in the future (not necessarily tags) and wondered if there would be any others amongst you who would consider participating? ........... Just "floating" the idea....................