Holiday Snaps

Cruise Photos

A few photos from my recent Birthday cruise. If you haven't visited any of these places and you like ancient monuments I would recommend all these places.

Some Lovely places and some wonderful memories.

The Acropolis at Athens 

Alanya Castle

Ephesus, Kusadasi

A traditional Greek village at Ag Nik. Crete.

The Acropolis at Rhodes

Dabble Day Craftstation Sutton in Ashfield.

Fantastic Days Crafting

This weekend I had the pleasure of being involved in Craftstation's Dabble day. A twice yearly event held in Sutton In Ashfield. A great line-up of tutors including-Leonie Pujol, Katherine Sturrock, Lisa Bird and Sue Burrows, some lovely projects.

These are the variations of the project I did.

The Instructors along with Helen Fearn the host of the day.

Future Project -Triangular drawers

Another recent Find

I recently picked these up in a charity shop ( don't quite remember where I go into that many) .

I thought these would look quite cool wrapped in copper or aluminium and then add some patina or Verdigris, watch this space to see if I ever get around to doing them and what they end up like.

Powertex Sleeping face

Waste Not Want Not

Whenever I teach a Powertex Workshop or class I always try to teach that there should never be any waste products. This is a prime example. I always have a few part finished pieces on the go and any liquid hardener that is left at the end is used on these.

Some of my best pieces have been made up of leftovers and offcuts I love this little piece. To me, it looks like a sleeping babe in swaddling.

A Recent Freebie!!

Dumpster Diving

Well, Its not often it happens, but I got a couple of freebies. Well more than a couple but I had to drag them out of a skip. Yeah I know what a scrounger but they were going to the tip? Who would have done the same? They are hand carved and real wood not MDF. The 10p piece is for scale lol.

Recent Horological Finds.

Two new acquisitions

I recently picked these up on my travels, the one on my right is in a Bakelite housing and was bought in Essex. the one on the left is in a wooden housing but the veneer is in drastic need of some TLC and was bought in Notts. They have identical movements by Smiths of Enfield and the movements are in really good condition. I have no idea of age but I'm. guessing 50's or 60's.

Son's Band Going On Tour

Mini EP Release Tour

This is my sons band. You may have seen a couple of their videos posted on here. If you like them, why not check them out live. they are releasing their EP " Emotions Aside " and doing a mini tour to promote it. Its a free gig so why not check them out, or alternately why not pre-order an EP.

Thanks in advance.

"Read All About It!!"

Read all about it

Good morning all. Don't  Forget Craft Stamper is available  in your local craft shop from today. If you do get a copy I would be interested to hear what you think of my first published piece .

Stainless Steel Bottle Opener for Powertex Bottles.

Bottle Opener For Powertex Bottles

We have been asked at numerous workshops for this tool so we went ahead and got these lasered,  out of 2mm Stainless Steel. They are cool and do a great job, so much so that we have sold half of the 200 we ordered. If you are interested please private message me on facebook for prices. They fit the 1 litre and 1/2 litre bottle lid.

Great Steampunk finds.

Steampunk?

I recently picked these up with the intention of doing another steampunk mannequin

 The binoculars are self evident, does anybody know anything about the googles? They aren't dark enough to be welders goggles could they be auto/aviators goggles? If you have any idea I'd love to know.

My sons band and their new single Your Life & Mine - Life Can't Wait

Your Life and Mine, New Single:- Life Can't Wait.

Please have a listen. If you like it please share and comment.
Many thanks.

My First Published Magazine Piece

****At Last****

Well I have been waiting since October to share this news with you.

Late last year I was asked to do a Powertex project for the Craft Stamper Magazine. Being Craft Stamper I obviously had to use Stamps as well but being an avid stamper that was no biggie. I chose a couple of Creative Expressions stamps as you'd expect as I work for them both background stamps. One was a Lisa Horton stamp and one was John Lockwood Stamp. Now I know I'm not on the Cover this time that honour goes to this lovely project by Fran Westmorland.

As soon as I get my preview picture I'll give you a cheeky peek.

The magazine is on general sale on the 7th of April. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed doing this piece and would love to do some more given the chance.

If you buy the magazine I would love some feedback please.

I have been asked to let people know, if you buy the magazine there has been a slight hiccup with the cover stamp the stamp advertised will be on a later issue.

John Glossop Powertex Abstract Canvas Sneak Peak

Work in Progress

Well like most artists/crafters I always have a few projects on the go, whether its a workshop I am preparing for a commission piece or just a little something for myself. This is my latest abstract canvas piece as yet untitled (I don't like to name pieces until they are finished naming them too early stops the creative process and stops the process being organic).

This canvas is 30cm x 80cm and done using Powertex ivory hardener , Powertex 3D flex and the following Powertex bisters,  Green, Blue and Brown.

Thanks for looking John.

Powertex Bling napkin ring

A Touch Of Class

Well Heather has been playing again ( bless her she comes up with all the cool stuff ) and she has made this very classy looking napkin ring.

Made using Bronze Powertex hardener a small length of natural lace ribbon a piece of double faced satin ribbon, blue ricrac and a Creative Expressions glass cabochon embellishment. The edges are softened using Powercolor turquoise .

just love it!!

Laundromatic Art Form

Towel Art

With our Cruise to Greece and Cyprus rapidly approaching I thought I would put some pictures up of this great art form that  we experienced in October on our last cruise. Every night when we returned to our room we would have a different  towel animal sculpture sat upon the bed .

What a great art form.

Powertex Doily Stands in Use

Stands for Mini Statues

Awhile ago I made some mini Statues to teach as a half day workshop. I was never happy with the way they were displayed, until now. I decided to put the doily display stands that Heather has made to use and used them for these mini statues. they look the bees knees as the statues are now displayed in a tiered way which shows them off lovely.

Powertex Doily Stand Decor

Experimentation by Heather

 

Well this week we did a bit of reflecting on our Powertex samples. It seems although we have some lovely finished pieces ( as well as some lovely works in progress) we have been  overlooking our display equipment . Our stands although not visually offensive lol are detracting from our finished pieces. So, Wednesday and Thursday of this week Heather, has been working on a couple of ideas to improve our display. She has come up with some lovely ideas.

The following bronze hardened doily collection look stunning in the flesh but for some reason are let down by the photography . the tiered MDF stands work great for pieces of the same size by giving a variation of height.

A Rare Day Out at Canons Ashby

A bit of R & R

As much as I like what I do It's sometimes nice to take a little time out. On the way back from our Powertex Workshop in Romford we stopped off to take advantage of our National trust membership. The venue was Canons Ashby in Corby, Northamptonshire. Home to the Dryden family since 1550's.

Later home to Sir Henry Dryden from 1837-1899 a Noted Antiquary.

If you are ever in the area and would like to see a great old house while supporting the National Trust pop in and have a look.

Shabby Chic at Crafty Corner, South Shields.

Shabby Chic book Workshop 25/03/2017

Another fantastic day in the North-East at Crafty Corner in South Shields . This was our second visit to this shop and today we taught the Shabby Chic brag book. This is basically a mini scrap book designed to take dimensional memories. A fantastic day and every bodies book turned out great.

Thanks to Dave for looking after us. Hope to see you all again soon .

Saturday 18 March workshop

Another Fantastic Day

What a great day at That's Crafty in Romford , Essex.

I hope I speak for everybody when I say we had a fab day Powertexing down south .

The ladies made some really lovely bottles and plaques.

It always amazes me how the same kit and the same tuition can give such diverse results, and that my friends is the beauty of Powertex.

Powertex Shining star

Powertex Shining Star For March

Well what a nice surprise.

It is nice to be part of a great team and have your achievement recognised.

It has been a very busy month for us  on the Powertex front, but well worth it .

Powertex works in progress

Sample Pieces Made at NEC March 2017

I had the pleasure of demonstrating on the Powertex stand this last week .

These are the works in progress from the demo  The top one is a Mannequin roughly 18" without the stand.

The skull plaque is  one of my favourite pieces, can't wait to finish it.

A Sunday Stroll

A welcome breather

It made a nice change this Sunday to have a nice stroll in the grounds of Rufford Abbey. It makes a nice change when you work 7 days a week to have a bit of a break so a couple of hours strolling the grounds and a nice hot chocolate gave just a little respite to the hustle and bustle that is a modern day life.

The guy in the top right had aright Bee in his bonnet and was honking his head off about something.

The Saga of the ever growing Garden update

Still getting bigger

Well progress is slow but it moving forward .

This picture shows how much of the trees we have removed and how it has opened up the space.

This picture shows what appears to be a tree but is in fact the old concrete clothes pole which I dug/wrestled out of the ground on Sunday. The next job was to bag  the rest of the detritus ready for the skip coming. I have temporarily propped up the neighbours fence on the right hand side until something more permanent can be put in place.

The next job is to Take down the Elderflower tree ( top left ) and the Cherry blossom down
(top right) I can then re-define the boundaries. The groundworks can then start. Watch this space.

Search engine issues

Hi all,
         It has come to our attention that the blog has been invisible to some search engines. I am surprised as the amount of traffic that comes to the blog is quite staggering. On the plus side it should be visible to everybody now and the visitor numbers should be even higher . To all those that do visit the blog and comment , thank you very much for your time and watch this space for some imminent blog candy.

Fantastic day at Samuel taylor Leeds

Another full day of Powertex Fun

A Powertex packed day at Samuel Taylor Leeds. Garden Plaques in the Morning and Solar powered bottle bling in the afternoon.

Some stunning finished pieces well done ladies.

Hope you ladies are back yo do the abstract canvas later in the year.

At the painting stage

Nearly there..... at the dry brushing stage. All looking good.

Powertex Garden Plaque & Bottle workshop at Samuel Taylor Leeds

All setup and ready to start a day of fun and crafting at Samuel Taylor Leeds.

Check out my sons bands latest music video.

Your Life & Mine - Nothing New (Official Music Video)

This is my sons bands latest video. Have a listen, watch the video and let me know what you think.
If you like what you hear they have just done a great cover of Ed Sherans Castle on the hill check it out on youtube.

Powertex Garden plaque 4 March 2017 at Craft-e-Liza

Introducing more people to the world of Powertex

Yet another enjoyable day introducing new people to Powertex. This time the venue was Craft-e-Liza in Mansfield ( quite close to home ) and a lovely bunch of ladies the majority of whom have never tried Powertex before .

The picture below shows the various stages of colouration from bronze through to Verdigris.

The finished plaque with the new Faerie on.

Informally explaining the qualities of Powertex before they got on with a cracking workshop.

The lovely finished garden plaques. Well done Ladies.

Zombie flesh " Experiments in dimensional Texture"

Texture Treat

I really loved making these, they were a complete pleasure and I love how they turned out.

This technique is called the "depths of decay"

Lots of visual layers.

I call this technique Zombie flesh but if you do it in blue tones it looks like moving water.

True Zombie flesh and tone ( I think having never seen a zombie )