This has been a fabulous year of explorations fuelled by the #our52weekproject on instagram, for which I chose #52weeksofbotanicals.

I deliberately chose this broad category as the umbrella to work under as most of my work revolves around botanicals simply because most of my world revolves around botanicals & I doubt that I'm going to leave the world of botanicals anytime soon.

My December explorations have looped back around to mono prints, but this time on muka paper. ha ! printing botanicals on botanicals & then stitching them seemed like the perfect experiment & it was.
Not all of the results are spectacular but that doesn't matter a tot as I've worked out a lot even with the limited work I have done.
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I now know I can monoprint successfully using acrylic ink on muka paper.
The muka paper has a rough side & a smooth side & this affects the quality of the print with regards to line sharpness & detail.
I now know I can machine or hand stitch on the muka paper.
I successfully used both polyester thread & cotton thread for machine sewing & cotton embroidery thread for the hand sewing.

For the last week of the year I decided to do a little experiment with free motion embroidery/quilting on a reject kawakawa monoprint that I’ve had pinned to my wall for most of the year.
I have never done free motion embroidery before, nor quilting for that matter, so this was equal parts exciting & terrifying.
It was a lot of fun & now my mind is in hyper drive about the possibilities so I’m looking forward to coming back to this later this year.

It’s been a fantabulous year of botanical exploration & it has been absolutely amazing watching the other participants really hone their skills over the 12 months so if you’re on IG go check the hashtag #our52weekproject for everyone’s posts & specifcally #52weeksofbotanicals for mine.

New year calls for a new project & I'll let you know what that will be soon xx

At the beginning of the year Kristin Axtman, from Brooklyn Haberdashery, proposed a year long, creative project Instagram challenge called #our52weekproject.
The rules are guidelines & extremely flexible; you choose your own project, choose a unique hashtag & post to IG once each week.
​That's it !
So simple & so attractive.  
Attractive to me because I like to experiment with different techniques & different media AND I like to have a point of focus & a deadline, albeit self imposed & arbitrary - basically it just helps me get shit done !

Selecting a unique hashtag which relates to your project is a brilliant idea for posting to IG as it means all your own posts will be in one place. 
I've chosen the general theme of 'botanicals' which will allow me to experiment & explore many different things & I'll be using the hashtag #52weeksofbotanicals.

January has been an exploration of mono printing & embellishing the mono prints with embroidery.
I've been making direct prints of kawakawa leaves (piper excelsum) onto calico using water based fabric paint which is heat set by ironing before I add some embroidery stitches. 

On a side note, last year I started 'a thing', guidelines for me to work under, basically, to use readily available materials, which makes things accessible to me & it also keeps the cost down.
This month's project has been a great example of that.
The leaves grow in my back yard.
The fabric, fabric paints & embroidery cotton are sold in my local Spotlight store & are affordable.
The make up sponges I've used to apply the paint I bought in my local supermarket.
I found a superb resource book at my local library.

Below is a gallery of photos which show the process I've used.
​I think piccies are easier to flick through then wading through a sea of words.

I am incredibly excited about this year long project as it will provide a year's worth of motivation & continual exploration.
Continual exploration ensures I will be able to approach my creative year with enthusiasm, excitement & energy.
I look forward to trying new things, learning new things & hell, I'll probably even take myself out & meet new people !
I've said it before & I'll say it again, I love Instagram & this is why.