A FLYING START

For a couple of years now I have had a strategy in place to beat the post Christmas blank page. In the build up to the festive season making plates and deliberately starting work that needs to be finished goes hand in hand with my mince pie and decorating routine.
I am pleased to report that it still seems to work. I timetabled days in my studio leaving family to do creative things with left overs.

This left me time and space in my head to rework and resolve these crow collagraphs.

A family trip to Slimbridge Wildfowl Trust fired me up to create more bird compositions.

I even had the energy to do some experimental enamel. I received some eBay purchases of pocket watch parts before Christmas, so I have been itching to make things with them.

With steel moths and an etched copper disc I experimented using my new riveting skills.

I am finding if I look at something long enough ideas pop into my head, so using small but powerful magnets I attached this moth construction to a previously enamelled fork. If I add text to the cutlery and do a little more work on the moths I may have a set of work I could use...can I hear you saying spoons?

With a brisk return to college in the first week in January I have been able to start a new enamelled concertina book. Very much a work in progress, but again all the components were prepared before Christmas, so I just have to continue rather than try to start again, psychologically it works for me.

Happy New Year everyone and here's to a creative continuum.