Tag: powertex

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Powertex Time Lapse

We had great fun in the office this spring creating a time lapse video  
for a new class – The Book Thief.

Watch as Purple Boots takes a simple lead sculpture – built around an  
old book and using an armature to create a figure – and brings it to  
life. Look carefully at all of the embellishments that are added in  
each stage and the use of the blue Powertex to really make the book  
pop. Old bits of lace, keys and string are combined with elements made  
from self hardening clay to produce interesting effects. At some  
points the details seem to vanish as the Powertex is applied to embed  
them into the base.

Watch further and you will see the use of dry brushing techniques. The  
smallest amount of pigment and Powertex’s own varnish create beautiful  
end results. All those details which seemed to vanish are now  
prominent again and we think the copper compliments the bright blue  
beautifully. A perfect gift for any bookworm and a great decoration  
for the mantle piece of any bookcase at home.

Watch this space for new Powertex workshops.

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A Watchful Wizarding Day

WOW! What a hectic Saturday. I had lovely bunch of students in today working with the wonders of Powertex. We had a great balance of those experienced with Powertex and complete novices. It’s good to hear those who have lots of experience helping those new to the craft with hints and tips.

First we learned how to build torsos and limbs by wrapping wire and our base frame in endless meters of t-shirt yarn – all made from recycled old clothing from family and friends. Next came hats created from the natural curves of a dozen toilet rolls! These were decorated with scraps of fabric and lace and embellished with other bits and pieces.

The base layer for our wizards was made form further lengths of t-shirt before detailing such as outer robes, magic staffs, spell pouches and even spell books were added. One of our team generously sorted through her craft stash and contributed lots of beautiful ‘junk’ to our materials – old handkerchieves, doilies, pieces of lace and other trims and lots of the gang dipped into these to personalise their work.This is where the wizards started to become real individual pieces with their own style and character. Beards and hair was added making each one unique before the hats were secured on heads.

The final stage of the Powertex day involves adding touches of colour. When working on a dark coloured model it is helpful to add some dry brushed flashes in a much lighter tone so that the colour added last is more vivid. We had copper wizards, blue wizards and other wizards in tones of green. Each one a gorgeous one off piece which can go in their owner’s garden in three weeks time once they have ‘proved’.

If you look closely you can see a cheeky angel has snuck into the ranks of wizards. One of the students was unable to attend a recent angel day so we squeezed her in. This is only possible if students work in the same base colour of Powertex and we are happy to try to accommodate a different sculpture if there is room.

Make your own Wizard sculpture with Purple Boots on 24th June 2019.

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Mad As A Raggedy Eared Hare

I

n the Spring I popped in my newest sample to the shop – Raggedy Eared Hare. He’s a cheeky wee chap with a jaunty scarf and beautifully textured ears caught in the wind. He proved so popular in the office that we had to add an extra session in for all of the staff and tutors to have a go.

It was a great day and at the end of it, as you can see, each hare is totally individual with little tweaks such as straw hats and bows in their hair.

Joy wasn’t very happy with the colour she created on her scarf and we couldn’t have her going home disappointed so we worked together to redo the colouring – this is actually really easy to do and one of the many wonders of Powertex.

I wonder if any of the hares have found their final homes on doorsteps and beside flowerbeds yet?

Like what you see. Follow this link to learn more about up and coming Powertex classes. The next Ragged Eared Hare is in September. Not long to go.

Purple Boots x

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Meet Mr Raggedy-Eared Hare

I have been guilty of some skip diving this week! I was invited though. A friend is clearing her house ready to move and I have come away with a bag of t-shirts a stack of picture frames and all sorts of other bits and bobs to recycle into Powertex wonders. She was even throwing out some Christmas decorations so that’s got my head thinking of a ‘Christmas in a day’ class where we will use a range of techniques to create a set of Christmas items to include a wreath, a bauble and a decoration of some sort. Its all whirling around in my head but first….figures!

I have had a LOT of fun over the Easter break working with my daughter on some new Powertex ideas. I have also been trying hard to come up with a way to use Powertex that doesn’t involve getting covered in it. I personally love the feeling of working with my hands covered and daubs on my cheeks but I know its not for everyone. Watch out for an amazing Seahorse class. This project can be created with a brush. I can’t guarantee NO MESS but there will be less.

So my daughter and I created the Raggedy Eared Hare which will be coming to a Tudor Rose Classroom in the autumn. Here’s a cheeky peek of his little face!

More about him later though.

In the coming months I have three classes which will teach you how to make beautiful sculptures for you gardens just in time for a few days of the British summer. I have created a seated figure that would look superb amongst your flower beds or kneeling by a tree. I also have a standing figure class which could be a Halloween sculpture too if witches and ghouls are your thing.

 

The last of my new classes is the Fantastic Fairy. You may have seen my Bronzed angel in the store last year, well my fairy is a more delicate version of  the angel and is currently sitting on top of our display cabinets guarding the coffee shop.

We will be using ivory Powertex and subtle colours to highlight all of the gorgeous textures in the fabrics that make the figure.

Why not come along and have a calm day making with all of the mess cleared away by yours truly? One of our lovely customers told me her most recent class was the most relaxed she has been in ages which is exactly how I would like you all to feel after a day in the studio. What’s stopping you?

Purple Boots

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New Powertex Workshops!!

Another super Powertex class today. We had a group of complete beginners who have created some beautiful pieces and gone home totally inspired. Lots of the gang created steampunk pieces and have incorporated some great little details using old watch parts and recycled keys. Powertex is a fantastic way to recycle all those knick knacks you no longer have a use for. We also have some more beautiful ethereal samples made with butterflies and bows. As you can see the pieces are all totally individual and have been coloured according to all the individual tastes of the artists. Even better Powertex is totally weather proof so these pieces can be used to embellish a garden fence or exterior wall.

I’m really looking forward to seeing the work this talented bunch do at home and inspiring them again at one of the up and coming Powertex courses here at Tudor Rose. We’ve got three amazing new Powertex workshops coming up where you can try your hand at making a seated figure, a standing figure, and a fantastic fairy which would make a lovely summer addition to your garden.

Find the details and booking for the seated and standing figures here. Booking for the Fantastic Fairy isn’t open yet, but watch this space!!

 

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Sculpting with Powertex

My first foray into Powertex work was a sculpture of a figure so this week I have been dabbling in the human form. I am trying to use different ways to build the armature for my pieces so this was an experiment into the wonders of kitchen roll tubes and foil. With a bundle of masking tape it was all getting very Blue Peter.

Once I had created a kneeling form that I was happy with I started bringing it all together with lots of old, natural fabrics and a healthy dollop of trusty Powertex. I love seeing the way the fabrics take on the shape of the armature and drape so that the clothing takes place. I especially like giving my figures hoods as I like the mystery they create so this figure is no exception.

Powertex is a great way to use old, stained linens so here I have incorporated some lace and even a few charms for effect. The feather charms we have in store at the moment are my favourite and find their way into lots of my work.

I was going for the bronze statue look with this piece and focused on some metallic tones to achieve this end. I hope you like her…or him….

If I have captured your imagination and you would like a piece like this for your garden remember Powertex is completely weather proof! The next opportunity to make this figure is on Saturday April 28th 2018.

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Purple Boots and The Ocean Wave

I am looking forward to more Powertex workshops as we approach Christmas and I am making lots of new products to tempt you in to one of my courses. This week I have been working on mixed media pieces inspired by the sea. My best friend recently moved to Cornwall and her son is a surf instructor so he has had my ten year old out on the waves while the mums watched and ate cream teas. Then my daughter convinced me I had to have a go and I managed to stand up. I’m am actually quite proud of myself. I always tell my girl she should try things once and then she will know whether she likes it and can politely say nope not for me if she doesn’t. She’s a totally natural surfer, her mother, not so much and no one needs to see me in a wetsuit but I may just give it another try.

Being near the sea always inspires me and I often take my sketchbook out and about when we are on family holidays. I love the ocean especially when it is rough so it made sense to try to capture the feeling of the huge rolling waves. I am experimenting with white Powertex as I really want the colours of the sea to show through. Being a total beachcomber, I always manage to come home with pockets full of sea shells, driftwood and sea glass so I have incorporated some of these pieces into my waves.

Cotton lace and old t shirts are a great medium for Powertex so after applying a base layer of fabric I spent a couple of happy hours sculpting a pair of canvases. I wasn’t sure about how  effective lace would look in a piece of ocean art so I opted for narrow pieces that echoed the waves. Several coats of Powertex were needed over the bulky parts of my work to help them stay in place and then I moved to a layer of colour. What I love about this product is that I can happily make mistakes, either in colour choice or by using too much colour, and these can be rectified with a quick dry brush of gloopiness ready for me to try again. It really takes the fear of making mistakes away as I know I can’t ruin my work.

I had great fun experimenting with these.

 

Purple Boots x

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Purple Boots and the Powertex – Part 2

Back with my Powertex uniform on…well not so much a uniform as my painting clothes! Powertex is designed to make fabric hard so obviously it does exactly that, not so great in your favourite jeans. My ‘out of the frame’ pieces have been so popular and the course is filling up so I have produced another sample to entice you.

My fantasy house is made from a large pickle jar. I love the way this great product lets me upcycle so many things. I start with a design idea – where will the windows and door go, do I need a chimney? After some very careful wrapping, using t shirt yarn that I make with my trusty rotary cutter, I am ready to Powertex. A firm brushing embeds the Powertex into the yarn and forms a great base to build on.

An hour later I have a quirky, individual roof for my house, the door is attached and the window frames are ready for some titivation. Old lace or crocheted doilies are spot on for this part of the project. A little drying time and my house is ready for colour. Today’s decoration is teal and purple but Powertex can be coloured in lots of different combinations.

 

Why not come along and make your own? Your house could soon be living at the end of the garden for the local fairy population, or go darker and make it appeal to some hobgoblins, perfect for the Halloween doorstep. Because my houses are built around a jar, just add some battery powered fairy lights for a whole new effect.

Next project is a seated figure. Perfect for a spot in the garden. Best get my thinking cap on.

Join Purple Boots for her Fantasy House workshop on Wednesday 29th November.

Click here to book online.

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Purple Boots and the Powertex

 

I have been having lots of fun this week experimenting with our new range of Powertex products. Having worked with a visiting Powertex tutor I took myself off to Powertex UK to learn more about this exciting product.

Powertex fabric hardener and textile hardener is an environmentally friendly water-based liquid sculpting medium. It can harden absorbent materials such as textiles, paper, cardboard, fabrics, leather and fiberglass and can be easily combined with self-hardening clays, concrete, stone, ceramic, wood, sand and Stone Art.

Over the summer I have been collecting a range of materials to recycle as Powertex offers masses of opportunities for ‘green’ crafting. I have turned many old t-shirts into t-shirt yarn which we will come in really useful once I move onto bigger figures. Old jewellery is also a great resource, broken necklaces and old buttons and beads. I also discovered some lovely but stained old crocheted doilies in a charity shop and these too will be getting the treatment.

As a way of introducing Powertex I am running a course called Out of the Frame. This week I have been busy making the samples. First I covered my base materials – old frames and canvases – with some of those recycled t-shirts then I got creative. Powertex is absorbed by the fabric but takes some time to become hard so it allows for lots of opportunities to change my mind and reposition the elements of my designs. In order to get some elements to adhere you need a little patience and some jiggery pokery with scraps of lace and paper.

 

Time for a brew and step back for half an hour, and now the pieces I have been working on are well on the way to dry. At this point I need to pick a palette of colours for each piece I’m working on. Steampunk is gradually turning into shades of blue while my fantasy frame is a little more subtle with metallic shade.

Unlike other coloured media you cannot go too wrong with colour on Powertex pieces. If it’s too strong I simply take a little Powertex on my brush and blend it over to soften the effect. A little patience, a little layering, and I am done.

 

Now….fairy houses….hmmm!

Purple Boots x