Everlasting passionflower lovingly crafted from textiles. The satin cheese plant I made led to my decision to make a textile passion flower….I studied the beautiful flowers that I have been growing in garden for 15 years.Some all-white varieties surprised me in the garden this year.Passionflower study in coloured pencilsMonochrome study aiming to simplify the forms.Watercolour study of passiflora.I then took the designs into stitch. This was the first iteration of the passion flower with a little fused Angelina fibre panel for the centre.Free motion embroidery and ribbon couching to create the second flower design.After considering different fabrics I decided to use satin with scrim behind for the third flower experiment.It was important that I create depth for the flower’s corona filaments, anthers and stigmas. I used felt, a bead and embroidery silks.My intention whilst working at Chelsea College of Arts at the start of the month was to create screen printed designs that I could later add 3D passionflowers to. A passionflower couldn’t exist without its leaves. I created this one using satin that I have designed and printed using Colourcraft products, with felt behind/underside made at Stitched Up and Fleeced in Sheffield.
The final addition was the tendrils shaped with a little love as inspiration. Photographed in the sun, which is what prompts the passionflowers to reveal their striking beauty.
Thanks so much for reading to the end. I’m delighted with this work and will be looking at the display of it. So watch this space by popping your email address in the box at the top of the page to follow my blog. Normally a maximum of one post per week, a little bright creativity into your inbox
Here is the work that led to the passion flower creation.
And finally here are flowers I painted in pomegranate juice (and a little green watercolour). The juice was a stunning pink so I could resist making art with it. The work is inspired by a great book I’m reading The Joy of Watercolour by Emma Block.
Had a great week at UAL Chelsea College of Arts, working in the Textile Print and Dyeing Room. Here’s my favourite work – screen prints (including foil) and silkscreen painting.
This two colour screen print was created using cut paper.Experimenting with foil
Silkscreen print, from hand painted design. My earlier screen potent can be seen where they had marked the cloth.Design inspired by element of passion flowers, as part of ongoing study of this plant species. I love how this came out and like the tendrils.A productive few days work.My final and favourite piece was using cut paper and three colours.
I’ll be developing these pieces and creating with them so pop your email address in the box at the top of the page to see how they develop.
If you’re interested in this work here are other related textile work I’ve been busy with…
I had an idea to make a cheese plant, this was inspired by seeing the cheese plant when doing Yoga With Adriene. I didn’t want a cheese plant that would grow too big or might result in soil spilling onto the carpet, so decided that a mini one would be ideal.
My favourite fabric at present is satin, I love how the light catches it and used it recently for the Bird and Flowers Cushion. The cushion featured leaves and so I can recognise the idea flow through these projects.
The Bird and Flowers Cushion
Following this commission project I made a bookmark, a pretty lady emerged, and then an eye mask.
So botanics were a theme flowing, or should I say ‘growing’ through my work, largely this was inspired by Botanica – Encyclopedia of Inspiration by Uppercase Magazine, a book I love. My garden is also a huge source of inspiration and vital to my creative process.
Here’s the cheese plant creation process in a one minute video. Including a quick animation that I was inspired to make. This quickly shows the steps to creating the miniature cheese plant…
This video and my growing collection of art videos can be seen on my YouTube channel.
I’m really pleased with this outcome and eager to see where this leads on to, I have some ideas but not ready to share them just yet.
I wanted to make a really special and unique gift for a loved one, encapsulating all the things they love about Blackpool and the Lytham St. Annes in Lancashire.
I transferred carefully selected images to a range of fabric textures using sublimation and gel medium methods. Then stitched into the images before assembling them in a kind of patchwork.
I added hand painted seaside icons such as ice-creams, buckets and spades, fish and chips.
I included some of my own repeat pattern fabric designs and sewed into the design to represent the sea, rollercoasters, the beach and also to accentuate elements of the design.
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I chose a candy stripe fabric to represent rock and a fun ice lolly fabric for the reverse side of the cushion. Bright blue bias binding and zip really made the colours ‘pop’ in the design.
I’m delighted with the outcome, as is the recipient who hopefully will have many hours enjoying the images, detail and references which will evoke nostalgia, memories and encourage a new way of seeing a favourite place to visit.
As a small sofa-friendly project over the easter weekend I decided to embark on a small embroidered portrait of the little dog that spends some days with me.
I found a high res picture that really showed the detail, and began first to represent the darkest areas gradually and carefully colour matching the different tones with embroidery silks, and representing the different textures. I took a drawing in silks approach, using drawing techniques that I use in life drawings.
I was pleased with how the embroidery began to take on his likeness and reflect some of his character. I added a paw print, from a picture I captured of it whilst walking during a snowfall.As I liked how the portrait looked in the embroidery hoop I decided to turn that into the frame, giving it a collar effect using a football boot lace (ssshh!)
The little dog is a lhasa apso with a lovely coat and sooo cute. He’s a great little guy who it is fun company.
The little dog’s owner was really pleased with the picture and how it captured the detail of his face and coat.
This is not the first cute dog that I have had the pleasure of capturing in art, I previously used acrylic paint to illustrate a children’s book about a white dog called Sam who wanted to fly.
Its been a pleasure to share this story and its fab to have you here, please share my site with friends who’ll enjoy it x
I write my blog as story by story I’m logging my creative journey and writing my book. If you’d like to read the chapters as they are created you can follow this blog. It’s presently a small and select group but it would’ve lovely to have you join us. 😊
Ta da: I’m delighted to share the Inspire by Kim bear. Made from fabrics that I have designed using techniques including batik, tie dye, dry point printing.
When flicking through a magazine that my friend brought two years ago after my knee injury I saw a bear pattern that I just had to make in my fabrics.
Starting to emerge
There was a little magic happened when I started making in fabrics that I have created myself. I chose contrasting fabrics next to each other for a colourful, as you’d expect from me no doubt, cheery bear.
Bashful Bare
I used free machine embroidery to add a colourful heart and make his nose.
Loving the fabric colours meant that I loved the process. The making was also a great boot camp for my sewing techniques as the size of the bear made for small seam allowances which were sometimes fiddly.
The bear is intended to delight. He carries the messages ‘Be’ and ‘Light’ as a reminder not to take things too seriously, easier said than done. His ear has the Inspire by Kim brand and he has ‘Kim’ on his foot, a little nod to the Toy Story films with Buzz Lightyear and Woody each having ‘Andy’ on their foot.
I’m excited to see where this latest make will lead to next. Watch this space and follow my blog if you’ve enjoyed this post. Related makes are:
Sheffield is a great city and it would be wonderful if a local company could manufacture the cheese graters as a useful momento of people’s visits to the steel city. Story in The Star newspaper today.
If you’re a Sheffield based business that would be interested in defelop by a prototype and or manufacturing the cheese grater please email me at inspirebykim@outlook.com
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“My latest paper masterpiece, “Hot Days Eating Cool Ice Cream”. It is pretty with details and interest, always something more to see and packed with pictorial love from corner to corner.”Â
Read the full story:Â
I often have an idealistic view of what an event will be like. For instance say to me garden party and instantly an image conjures of pretty bunting flapping in the wind, smiling faces, beautiful colourful tablecloths, bright blooms, pink lemonade with ice glinting in the sun, gorgeous dresses and a cloud leisurely tracking across a vivid blue sky. My idealism can often lead to the reality being a little disappointing. I had seen this  as a trait that was negative, that I was being naive and childishly silly.
But I have realised that it is this ideal world imagination that is the magic that can make my special kind of art.
My growing number of paper cut creations, finely crafted like a self-made jigsaw, come from this visual idealism.
Best seen in their original form the pictures are intricate and unique. In their creation is a calm happy place for me, one where I am in that sweet spot between consciousness and subconscious. Piece by piece, thought by thought I cut and stick to form a whole that when I step back I wonder how that came about.
When I was a youngster I would get frustrated that my art did not look like I had envisioned. That I could not recreate on paper the picture that I had in my head. But my paper artworks never start from a whole vision, it begins like a building, first the walls go in place, then I furnish the building with pretty furniture from my imagination and add personal items that belong to the imaginary owners, curated over their lives.
Ta-Da… My Latest Picture Revealed
I very recently completed what I feel is my latest masterpiece, “Hot Days Eating Cool Ice Cream”. Like the earlier smaller (A4) Beach Huts, Allotments and Ski Chalet (all in the strip above), it is pretty with details and interest, always something more to see, but this new piece is A3 and packed with pictorial love from corner to corner.
I created the Ice Cream artwork with new colour understanding after studying the relationships between colours. As a result it really pops off the page.
So here it is for your visual consumption. Have a Flake with that.
Hot Days Eating Cool Ice Cream – Copyright Kim
Hot Days Eating Cool ice Cream is a design made entirely from pieces of paper cut into shapes to make a bright, colourful work of art. The design feature an ice cream cafe on a sunny day. The ice-cream maker also sells the delicious ice creams out and about in the sparkly ice-cream van.
Two girls are at the cafe to enjoy ice-cream and a small white dog trots by to in the hope of a little chocolate or sweet treat.
In the distance people enjoy the fun and thrill of a rollercoaster ride and a plane flies overhead to spread the work about the wonderful ice-creams.
This is my first paper cut work that prominently features people. This was a challenge, at first I painted people and cut and added those, but later recreated them in paper and am happier with the paper characters.
Here are some details from the picture… (watermarked).
Of course Maltese Terrier Sam, as in each of the paper-cut pictures, is there – Copyright Kim
And now the fun starts on creating canvases, fabric and products which will take the picture out and about and on the move in the world.
Hot Days Eating Cool Ice Cream – Copyright Kim
I am seeking an art agent or art business mentor/manager to assist my art out into the world. Please share my post so that it can find its way to the ideal person to help.
If you’ve enjoyed this post here are related posts to feast your eyes and imagination on. Enjoy!
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I’m delighted with the outcome, as is the recipient who hopefully will have many hours enjoying the images, detail and references which will evoke nostalgia, memories and encourage a new way of seeing a favourite place to visit.
Early work by Kim 
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