Juliette Orton

                            Some lovely friends took me away to the beach recently to blow the cobwebs away. We had fantastic weather (in November!) and it was just what I needed. I couldn't resist posting these pics of the beach which was literally at the end of the garden!   julietteodesigns.co.uk julietteorton.blogspot.co.uk facebook.com/julietteodesigns twitter.com/julietteorton 

A little while ago I had the pleasure of introducing my 'Stitch'n'Rip' technique to some members of Marlborough Embroiderers' Guild in a 1 day workshop. I remember receiving this booking nearly a year ago and I am always shocked by how quickly time passes! I started the workshop by showing some examples of my work which use the 'Sitch'n'Rip' technique and several of my sketchbooks were available to look at and use for inspiration.          I then explained the different stages of the 'Stitch'n;Rip' technique and gave my students materials so that they could have a go at making a flower in order to understand the process. They created some fantastic flowers!               Having gained an understanding of the technique, I gave the ladies some materials to create their own interpretation of one of my Plume pieces. On a linen background, they combined paper layers which included some pre-printed patterns and gold pap

I do love natural textures, in fact I think I might be slightly obsessed about them! I have just been looking back at some photos and found quite a few that I still find inspirational. Lichen on a stick Watermarks in the sand Pebbles on the beach Sand on slate Fabulous dried flowerhead Leaf watermarks left on the patio Frozen leaf layers 'Marian's Marvel' at RHS Wisley more sand ridges left by the tide It's amazing what you ca n capture on camera, I certainly wouldn't call myself a photographer but I do use photographs a lot in my initial rese arch . I t ry to hang on to any interesting photos as you never know when they will come in handy.   julietteodesigns.co.uk julietteorton.blogspot.co.uk facebook.com/julietteodesigns twitter.com/julietteorton 

Since I've started a new sketchbook recently I thought I could do a diary of sorts to explain how I have put the various sections together. I chose the theme of 'Layering' as I was looking through some old A-Level Art & Design question papers and this topic appealed to me. If you want to create your own sketchbook obviously you could choose any theme you like, just make sure that it's something that interests you and you will find plenty of inspiration. I favour an A3 size sketchbook but there are no hard and fast rules on this, and it's best to go for a scale that you feel comfortable with. I started out with a title page and a 'mind map' of written ideas of anything that I felt could relate to the theme of 'layering', a brainstorm of sorts. This is a good way to get over the dreaded 'first page fear' when you just can't bring yourself to start your pristine book and any mark you make is overly scrutinis

I had a lovely evening at Chiltern Embroidery and Textile Group in Tylers Green earlier in the week, it was good to be back there after giving my own talk back in March. I took my Mum and a friend to see a talk given by Wendy Dolan on 'Art, Architecture and Stitch' which was right up my street! Wendy is a textile artist who uses fabrics and threads to create textured designs with some wonderful results. I have met Wendy several times before as she is from Sussex (where I grew up) and we also have some mutual friends.   Wendy's talk covered how she develops her work from sketchbooks through to her final designs and she showed us photographs that had inspired her from a variety of places such as Barcelona and Venice. My work is also very sketchbook led so I could easily identify with her thought process. I am also drawn to textures but Wendy's work differs from mine in that she starts with plain coloured fabrics, stitch and thread -