skeleton leaf frames

 

Skeleton leaf frames

 

 

Dritwood mirror

 

 Driftwood mirror

 

Upcycled broken shell mirror

When I found this frame it was in a very sorry state complete with several fake flowers, in fact it looked ready for a journey to the local tip. After some serious work I hope you like the new lease of life I have tried to give it.

Broken shell hangers

Driftwood mirror

 Driftwood mirror

 

 

 

 

Upcycled frames and mirrors

Obviously the bulk of the materials I use come from nature, hence the name "Of soil sea and sky".

However many of the frames, boards, wires and other accessories to my art work have to be brought new from the craft shops.

I do also try to hunt out and upcycle any suitable bits and bobs that I can find. In particular the box frames and mirrors that form the basis of the pieces can sometimes be found in charity shops or car boot sales.

Usually these neglected pieces require a large amount of work to get them ready to be used, and buying second hand is sadly no longer always a cheaper option.

The thrill of looking at an old frame or mirror and trying to see beyond the current exterior is almost as great as the excitement of hunting out a great natural find.

I have the great intention of doing a before and after shot, but sadly I tend to get excited and prep the frame and create a new piece from it, before I get around to taking the before photo. However my next great find will be hopefully heading this way soon.

A child free day

I happened to have a day off work today, so with a rare child free day I headed out with the dogs to Southampton.

The dogs had a great run and very luckily the rain held off for the whole morning, at one point the sun even managed to come out!

Stormy weather always brings with it some great finds, and today was no exception to that rule.

2 hours of beachcombing produced some really lovely pieces of beach glass, driftwood, broken shells, holey stones, and even a few pieces of beach ceramics.

A truly great days hunting, and I am very excited to see what I can create with the materials.

Magazine scraps quilling - work in progress

 

 

 

These are so colourful, with the benefit of using recycled material. Brightly coloured junk mail and magazine pages cut into strips, hand rolled and glued to make these lovely coils.

Driftwood stripes

 A great and unusual pair of driftwood art pieces, such great pattern and texture.
And for a closer look at the individual pieces................................

Driftwood mirror

This much more substantial starburst design gives a very beautiful pattern.
And a closer view............

Pintrest

I am a bit of a technophob, and it takes me years to catch up with the crowd, as evidenced by my very recent joining of facebook.

If you use Pintrest its a great place to store images that mean something to you, I only joined this week, and I am loving having such beauty at my fingertips.

Back to my point, if you would like to see the "Of soil sea and sky" images all on one page then take a look here:

http://pinterest.com/traceyt171/of-soil-sea-and-sky/

Cheers

Driftwood art pieces

 

I like the combination of the different textures and types of driftwood in this piece, especially the very industrial rusting screw next to the much more natural pieces of wood.

 

Broken seashells

 

These shells are all broken when

 found and when grouped together

 they give a very pretty and tactile

 appearance.

Solid beachglass

When beachglass is used in art it most often is used to create very delicate pieces of jewellery or sun catching hangers.

However I like the feel of the much chunkier and more substantial pieces of glass, and I think they look great in creating a more solid looking piece.

Industrial driftwood

I think there is beauty in all driftwood, and I especially like these pieces of wood that man has had a hand in shaping, at some point in the woods history.

The nails, rust and screws all add to that lovely solid feel:

 

 

 

 

Who's who in soil sea and sky...

My name is Tracey, I am a mum, parent supporter and Nurse and in my spare time I love to walk (with the kids and our two beagles), and scour the local woodlands, countryside and seaside for treasures ( as my kids call them) to use in my wild collectors art.

I work with many materials from broken sea shells to beach glass, and try hard to capture the rustic and untamed nature of the treasures in every piece I create.

The vast majority of pieces are collected and created at my home in Hampshire or the Isle of Wight.

I am no photographer, so the slightly out of focus pictures are all my doing I am afraid. However My husband Alistair is the photographer, and you will see some blogs containing my favourite wild images that he has captured.

If you have any comments, any suggestions or would like to enquire about prices or buying a piece then please contact me via email at :   tjhat57@yahoo.co.uk

Beach glass - small 6 by 6

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some of the smaller and more delicate pieces of beachglass in a box frame. I like the dark blue, but I think there is something to be said for the other colour backgrounds too.

 

Wait for it......

I have many pieces that are awaiting the finishing touches or just sitting patiently waiting for me to get on and photograph them.

Sadly with it being half term getting the time to take pictures of the pieces in the daylight is beyond me, so watch this space and the photos should start to appear over the next few weeks.

Material - terracota

As usual I collect these random things, get them home and then think what on earth can I do with that.

These have a lovely feel, but are very bulky, so this time I am well and truly stumped for a good idea.

Material - Bark

I recently saw tree bark being used in some very lovely pieces, and had never really thought of using this material before. Will have to think about this one.....

Large frame - skeleton leaves

 

(12 by 12 frame)

 

I really like this larger size and this gives me that real sense of a wild woodland floor.

Skeleton leaves - small frames

 ( 6 by 6 frame)
 

I think the colours work very well against the gold background, and I like the very ad hoc scatter style. I did try a more set pattern, but I think the more random scattering is much more effective.

 

and a nice close up.....

 
And a few more frames, some including the lovely holly leaves. I am determined to find something nice and seasonal related to do with these, so watch this space...

 

 

A lovely weekend of hunting in the IOW

 

We left the kids with thier grandparents and headed off for 3 days in the lovely Island of Wight. We had some great days of hunting on Bembridge beach, the beaches near Yarmouth, Fort Victoria, Ryde, Seaview and Compton Bay.

 

Its strange how each beach on different days seems to just turn up one type of find, it must be something to do with the weather I guess.

Large driftwood frames

These are all 12 by 12 frames:

 

and zooming in.......

 

 

 Its such a find to hunt out a large piece of driftwood, but I also enjoy finding the beauty in these much smaller and often over looked pieces.

 

I love the natural pieces of wood that have just been worn down by the sea, but I especially love the pieces that the sea has reclaimed. Its lovely to find pieces of wood with some paint remaining in situ or some of its man made shape still intact. I also really like the mystery behind the partially burnt pieces that wash up at times.

Qulling

Quilling

 

These could make a very unique and pretty addition to a child's bedroom, or just be used to add colour to a room. I think these are very striking, but then I am biased:

 (6 by 6 frames)

and a nice close up......

 

 

 

 

 

and another nice close up......

 

 

For those of you that have not heard of quilling before its very simply the craft of curling thin strips of paper to create various curls and shapes. Often the curls are used on homemade cards, but I think using them in bulk is very effective.

 

Its been a while since I have done any quilling, but its very enjoyable, and lovely to see the great results, so watch this space for future creations and experiments.

 

At present there is a big trend to create a type of quilling using junk mail and magazine pages, so I am looking forward to giving this a try

 

A good days hunting

Despite the very bad weather, or maybe because of it myself the baby and the beagles had a great day out collecting today.

I am guessing that the wind had whipped up the sea and the trees making all sorts of finds very easy pickings.

 

 

 

I will have to go out hunting for treasures on foul days more often!

On the theme of leaf skeletons

Today while walking the dogs I found some holly leaf skeletons. These look great, so I am excited to encorporate them into a piece.