Operation Competition

It's all very well making work, putting it in my shop, but my limited range of facebook pals don't neccessarily like or want to purchase my artwork.
I like to believe that this is because I'm the only one who gets it, so I can wallow in my own misery and depression and never have life be any different, if only to perpetuate the vicious circle of pychological misery that makes me feel more creative in the first place!
However it could just be that I'm not hanging around in the right circles.

So Step 1 in getting my name out there, circulating among the masses, is to hold a competition. I have listed this on theprizefinder.com , loquax.co.uk and UK competitions. I'm not sure if UK competitions have listed it actually but who cares. Here is a link below to win the picture above.

http://katyfryd.co.uk/mailing.html

So this has been working nicely, with a steady stream of entrants building up a mailing list for me, and also increasing my 'likes' on my facebook fan page, due to the nature of the competition question.

However, although never a bad thing to get one's name about, I'm not sure if these are the right type of people as they could just be people who want things for free. So Step 2 in the next blog.

New silk work on Etsy

It's so difficult to remember to blog everytime I do something new, but I'm trying to keep a record of my antics, so although this is a bit belated, I updated my shop with some new silk work.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/katyfryd

Sometimes I think that I shall, somehow, just become rich from the ideas in my head, or sketchbook. So it is good to get them out there in some saleable format if only to raise some money to get some more materials and/or survive to create some more.

But I need to work on my customer base.

BP Portrait Award 2011 at the National Portrait Gallery

I've got a great idea for a portrait for the BP Portrait Award 2011 at the National Portrait Gallery. But it's going to stay under wraps for a while. I've taken some initial photographs which are also going to remain secret. But I'm writing this now so I can come back later and put some photos here.

Meanwhile you can entertain yourself with this year's entrants and take a bet as to whether or not I'll get in.

58 works were selected from 2177 entrants in 2010, so this is just over two and a half per cent. Tricky.

http://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/exhibitions/bp-portrait-award-2010/the-exhibition1.php

Hope for unattainable love - The Blue Rose

My latest cushion - a blue rose.

Did you know that roses do not contain the gene for making the colour blue? So up until recently the only way to get a blue rose was to let a white one absorb blue dyes.

Last year genetically modified blue roses could be bought for the first time.

In some cultures, blue roses traditionally signify a mystery, or attaining the impossible, or a never ending quest for the impossible.

In Chinese folklore, the blue rose signifies hope against unattainable love. "The Blue Rose" story is about an Emperor's daughter who is being forced to choose a husband and falls in love with a wandering minstrel. The quest for her suitors is to bring her a blue rose. Despite attempts by many at faking this item, the only one she accepts is the minstrel's, which is actually a white rose bathed in blue light. Despite her father's protestations, he realises his daughter knows best and lets them marry. Ah sweet!

My blue rose cushion in my etsy shop.

My first shop

Needing an outlet for my most recent experiments, I have created an 'etsy' shop.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/katyfryd

At the moment I am really concentrating on silk work. I wanted to make something that is practical as well as beautiful.

After drawing the outline with gold gutta, I painted with water and silk paints and then
sprinkled with effect saltz.

My Rasberry Ripple Rose hand painted silk cushion looks good enough to eat.

Very arthousey Whirlpool films.

These are a couple of videos that I have finally got around to playing with and editing together. I took the original footage back in March 2010 when the River Beult burst it's banks. I ended up walking through some of the flood water in just my trainers to get this footage and then had to walk home squelching all the way (suffering for my Art). I really liked playing around with the sound on these ones. I reckon the whirlpool with debris film would be a good one to loop for about 5 hours, yeah!

Moomintroll spooked.

I've been working on a hand painted silk Moomintroll cushion for my friend Suzi's birthday present.

I did have to alter the design somewhat, as the paints were not behaving themselves. But I quite like the finished product with poor Moomintroll looking afraid of the dark.

I can't actually sell these unless Oy Moomin Characters Ltd agree to let me buy the product licence. But I don't really want to sell them, it's just a special one off.

Art Auction in aid of the RNLI, Margate Harbour Arm Gallery

I've just discovered that my work is being included in the 100 lots being auctioned for the RNLI Margate charity.

I can't tell you which piece is mine, as the auction is anonymous, but if you visit the Margate Harbour Arm facebook page you can see the 100 lots and have a good guess.

Although hopefully you will mistake it for a celebrity's postcard and pays millions for it. All for a good cause.

Of course they've only gone and got my name wrong and put Fryde. I am going to have a big strop - don't they know who I am? ;-)


The website for the gallery holding the exhibition and auction:
http://www.margateharbourarm.co.uk/

The facebook event page:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=116806448363495&ref=mf

The facebook page for the gallery, Margate Harbour Arm: http://www.facebook.com/margateharbourarm

The facebook album with pictures of the hundred lots.
http://www.facebook.com/margateharbourarm#!/album.php?aid=30630&id=111868658837602

The RNLI Margate facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/margateharbourarm#!/pages/RNLI-Margate/349254616993

The official RNLI youtube channel:
http://www.youtube.com/officialrnli#p/a

Silk Painting - Gifts for the teacher.

The other day I had a visit from Oscar and Seraphina who wanted some help making gifts for their teacher.

We decided to make silk cushions. The gutta is very difficult for a small child to use. Seraphina is only 5 years old so I got her to tell me what she wanted in the picture and painted the gutta outline for her. After drying and ironing, I mixed up some silk paints for her and gave her a brush and some kitchen towel. I said as long as she washed and dried her brush between each colour she could do whatever she wanted, so she did.



Oscar finds painting difficult so he directed me telling me which colours should go where within his design.

The result 3 beautiful cushions and hopefully 3 happy teachers!