Redmayne House Obituary

A gap cleared in the sky today.

After 35 years a light shone in the basement.

My family home in Brixton is surrounded by 60s built council estates. 

That's just what I know and that's just what I grew up with.

In the last 10 years gentrification has been creeping like a rash across the south london landscape.

Most of my childhood was surrounded by violence and trouble, 

Of course I wanted that to change.

Of course it did change, the area got attention, the area improved and we were all pleased to see issues get tackled and challenged.

But there is a tipping point...

Big corporate companies move in, property developers move in, local businesses can't afford it any more, local residents can't afford it any more, council estates get knocked down and luxury flats go up...

Memoirs of Redmayne House.

From the French windows of my victorian council house and rubbled filled garden,
I can see the entrance to Redmayne House.

Unlike the main estate this one stands alone.

A unit, down half a road with shops below.

I would go and buy my Beano and my sweets and my crisps
with my 50p pocket money every week.

There were three shops there when I was small,
There was a, long-gone, middle shop.

I'd forgot
but I think I dream about it sometimes and the eighties sunlight streams through the door on a hot summers day.

The bear is what my dad called the big black guy who owned the first shop
but he was also known as Buddy and his shop was known as Buddies,
he who owned the first shop.

It was always smoky and always had a gaggle of older black guys in it.

Everything in the shop was out of date but he was always nice to me
which was rare in my neighbourhood.

The far shop was Grumpies,
I brought my first fags from there,
he was not happy about it but I was 16 and brought 2000AD from there.

Grumpy got grumpier and I stopped going there.

He didn't like anyone, always miserable,
but I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't have to put up with a lot being there,
next to the second roughest estate in London.

The stretch of grass along Redmayne House,
if you looked close was full of weeds, dog shit and needles,
my dad pointed it out to me.

One time, I looked out the front window and saw a big man beating a women holding a baby,
he was beating her with a wooden chair leg.
He had chased her round to Redmayne, house entrance.

We called the police.

The police couldn't see what was happening
so we relayed what we could see to the police car sitting outside.

I was never told what came of that, whether she was rescued or killed.

So it goes.

The entrance to the garages claimed at least 3 of our cats lives,
RIP Elvis, Pigsy and others I have forgotten.

Sometimes we would walk along the back wall overlooking 12 foot drop garage entrance
with it's anti climbing paint and glass inbedded in wall.
Occasionally we'd sit on the garage roofs.

When the building was to be demolished a few years back
it was clear a few families in there refused to leave.
You could see life in window ledges full of plants or laundry. 

Buddy and Grumpy left, the shops went first.

Over the last year, squatters tried to claim it
I'd see these guys sneak through the fencing
then later gathered on a street corner drinking Special Brew.

Course that's illegal now so they didn't stick.

Word came round a year or so ago telling us the new plans.

The money men decided to make the new luxury building 8 stories high and closer to our back wall.

Goodbye blue sky.

The new rich neighbours don't like the garage road that goes behind their wall..

Which means the taller building is closer, thanks for asking us new rich neighbours.

Bye-bye sun, bye-bye sky.

My mother keeps saying, well if we get global warming we might be glad of the shade, but the truth is their home will be darker and gloomier.

No one listens to a council tenant, even if they are the locked-in elderly who have been protecting and improving this area for the last 30 years fyi my parents have taken in and supported hundreds of people in their lifetime on this corner next to the 2nd roughest estate in London and who will be more trapped at home more than those who approved this decision, thanks for asking.

But that is how it goes with the gentrification...money talks not listens.

So Redmayne has come down, and we, in our home, look out in awe and wonder at the empty space, soo much sky, so much light.

In time the noise levels will be up as they build the luxury monolith and slowly the window to the sky will be bricked up.

The in-between is now the gap of sky the peace.

The birds who sat on the building, the magpies and crows, now hop about in the space remaining, bemused.

And so it goes, so do we.

DECO ART: Ink Effect Paints

So I had my paints from the lovely people at Deco Art and their blogger scheme and I had a mission to complete.
My chosen subject was Finches.
I set myself up with picture reference and sketched out on paper my drawing.

This is a Chaffinch

I had already decided I wanted to try and mix the colours, and so I splodge some out on a lid.
As I began I remembered, from the tutorial, that the colour reference to look at is not the paint but the colour spot on the lid, hmmm I thought, but that doesn't work with mixing.
So in my usual experimental way, I was painting 'blind' with the colours and taking an element of risk and surprise in the outcome. I set them down to dry for at least half an hour.

Greenfinch

Chaffinch

I had been flummoxed on what fabric to use. On the instructions it says you need to use mainly synthetic fabric with a maximum of 40% cotton.
I dug around in my fabric-suitcase-stash and realised all of my fabric was cotton.
The tiny scrap I had found to experiment with had failed miserably barely picking up the colour.
So I decided to trek to the charity shop.
The charity shop also lacked the ideal fabric, but I managed to find a polyester net curtain and a pink duvet cover.
I do like the challenge of making something out of what you can find.
I think if I was doing a piece of work to make multiples of for bags or clothing, I would go to a fabric shop and be more specific. But with this round I was experimenting and having fun.

So I returned armed with my strange fabrics, an iron, some tunes and a cup of tea.
And this is when the magic really happened.

I have to be honest after the first two trip ups, I had lost heart...I had also forgot to follow the instructions properly (iron should be on full heat with NO STEAM)

As I ironed down on the back of my paper as hard as I could, I hoped it would work.
I peeled back the drawing and it was a miracle.
My brown blodgy painting was this gorgeous colourful ink effected painting on fabric. I was super chuffed.



I printed a load of copies, though there was a certain amount of hit and miss of the quality (I will wash fabric before printing when I do it again)


It continues to be transferable especially if your original was painted on thickly. (protect ironing board covers with an  old teatowel otherwise you may get a bit of colour on there)

In the next part of this project I am going to cut them out and put them on other fabric and embroider into them.

I do like a good crafty experiment.

I was thoroughly pleased with the soft ink effect these paints produce, they would inspire me to use in a way one would use watercolour. I think my next piece with them will be a garden scene with flowers, the colours would blend beautifully.


I did one extra self portrait for fun.

A Crafty Bloggers Dream Come True!

I do this blog for fun, just like I craft for fun and relaxation. I am always pleased when someone tells me they enjoyed a blog post or something I've made.

So when I got an email out of the blue offering me free crafting equipment in exchange for testing it and reviewing it I was super chuffed. That only happens to the other craft blogs I read!

Late last year, DecoArt, a large American based craft equipment suppliers, offered me any craft equipment I would like to try, in exchange for a blogpost, talk about a kid in a sweet shop! 

It's all part of their blogger outreach program, they have an excellent scheme set up in supporting and promoting artists called the Helping Artist Program it's the perfect relationship and makes total sense.

So I had been approached offered anything I would like, and was grinning with glee, ready to craft!

Then my brain froze, I went completely blank, what do I make, what should I make, what would I like to make.

As a crafter of pleasure and relaxation I do tend to follow my whims, for instance I am well into crocheting right now, and have developed a thing for origami cranes (they are so lovely). 

But I wanted an idea I would be driven by and wanted to explore as I created it.

Over the past few years I concluded that I am mainly driven by textile based work, stitching and sewing and painting on fabrics. So I was drawn to DecoArt's fabric paints selection.

Firstly I went for the SoSoft fabric paints, as in my experience of fabric paints they can be stiff or plasticy, so I wanted to try something that had SoSoft in the title. I also saw they had T-shirt paints and I thought it would be fun to make some T-shirts.

The product that really caught my eye was the Ink Effects range, I watched their video and it was truly intriguing. You could paint on paper and then do multiple prints by ironing onto the fabric.

I liked the idea of not struggling with the fabric but using the canvas of paper to comfortably paint in your image.

Now I needed a concept.

Over the year I have been hyped up into a birding frenzy by my neighbour at work and joined the RSPB. There's a couple of 'Birders' at work, who've got me looking at birds more closely. 

Then my father and I, with some binoculars next to the French windows and bird feeders, did the Big Garden Birdwatch in the summer and I counted 5 greenfinch in the tree. 

Now I have developed a particular fondness for the finches, I decided I would make them a subject for a textile project

Join me in the next instalment to see my experiments with Ink Effects, textiles and Finches.

Crafty Boom!

We got a few crafty ladies in our studio who know how to turn over a stitch or two.
We, ladies also like our musicals, so we decided, every now and then, we'd take over the big TV after work, switch on a musical and stitch away at our projects for the evening with some giggles, cake and the occasional wine.
There's been alot of yarnbombing around this summer and it gave us a taste for what a little bit of Flash Decor can do. Then one week we came up with idea of doing a bit of craft bombing after hours in the office.
Of course the optimum place to decorate would have to be the one place we are never allowed into...the boys loo.

So with a tad bit of forward planning and some red wine, we got super hysterical and bombed that loo. We were in absolute stitches, the funny type, it was just deliciously ridiculous.
We had card bunting with life affirming catch-phrases, leopard print toilet roll covers, flowers and hearts everywhere, a rather fetching woollen urinal pipe cover+ guest and posters of Justin Bieber.
Yeah maybe we went a bit too far on that last one.
The reactions the next day were priceless, from fury and disbelief to cackles of laughter and jolly smiles. Some of the boys plotted revenge whilst others appreciated the supportive quotes, no one liked the Bieber and the bosses took photos of our masterpiece.It was a rollercoaster of reactions.

And then that night the lady elves took it all down and moved it in to their toilet, the ladies loo, except for the woollen urinal cover which no one wanted to touch and a Bieber poster, that ended up under the toilet seat.

I think the boys forgave us in the end and some wanted the decorations back.
All in all it was worth it, and it cheered up an otherwise average week.

Tower Block Paintings Miniatures

I got this idea, I'm really into painting tower blocks on minature canvas'
I see tower blocks everywhere, south london innit
If London flooded, tower blocks would be like ships or islands in the sea.
My sister use to live in one but they demolished it. She lived on the 15 floor and had a pigeon nesting on her balcony. We went to see some other tower blocks get blown up it was bizarre.
I like drawing buildings because of the little squares windows.
For painting I use Gouache and my canvas are titchy.

Crochet Winter Wear-Snoods

Crochet has been a big hit for me lately. It's so good to do on the bus and so portable that it's been project after project.
The cold weather kicks in and out comes the hook and yarn.

For my sis' birthday in april I made her a snood, I was so jealous as it's very warm and cosy that I made one for myself.

Of course my mum drop some hints so I raced to get one made for her Birthday in 4 days.
It's a pattern I got from Ravelry.
The key I find is the wool, as you want it to be chunky, to get that stiffness, and colourful, for fun.
The stiffness is good as a wind blocker around the neck.
The wool I used is Sardir Indie- nice chunky and colourful and a really good and affrodable site in the UK for all the colours is  Wise Badger.

Finished my mum's snood in time! Here's Mum with Snood and with her new gloves I made too

Comfy Crocheted Fingerless Gloves

I found a simple pattern for fingerless gloves off Ravelry and thought I would have a go.
The first glove I made I forgot the abv. language and started it wrong, I had to restart and rework about 5 times but by the time I had finished, I remembered.
The glove was really comfy and flexible (I find normal gloves a bit like a hand muffler and sort of constricting).
I thought I'd give a pair to my sis too. They were supposedly for Christmas but I ended up giving them to her as soon as I'd finished them (I get over excited!) as I thought her hands would be cold now.
They are Sirdar yarn, as they have nice colours, good wool and affordable price.
I have just finished- last night- making purple gloves for my mum again super comfy. I really need to get on to making ones for myself as they are sooooo comfy.
I think I am going to be making lots for friends over the winter becasue they are sooo comfy.
I know it says for men, but they are really comfy.

Did I mention they were comfy?