Sharon Golding Designs

 I know what you’re thinking!  Shari has disappeared off the face of the Ethernet, having deserted her creative and artistic endeavours.  But no, you are wrong.  I have so much to show you it’s hard to know where to begin!   Firstly, I enrolled in a full time Art and Design course at college and have been so busy and productive, I have had no time to devote to my blog. However, I have lots to tell you about. This course is the best thing I have ever done.  I am loving every day and every workshop I’ve attended. The course covers drawing, painting, collage, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, textiles, photography and art history.  Varied, interesting and exciting.  The first year is a series of workshops teaching us various techniques and building our skills.  The second year is working on our own major projects and specialising in our chosen area. . Two large A1 drawings in charcoal, first of a skull and the second a close up of the eye socket Drypoint print from an etching I created Ha

 Life for me is about staying alive, keeping active and learning new things. Latest thing to catch my attention is sewing.  Never really a sewer (or should it be “sewist”?) in my younger days, I find recently a strange draw to the sewing machine and fabrics.  Well, to be perfectly honest the fabric came first, became a bit of an obsession even, so once I had a fair stash I really needed to use it.  Enter the self learning of how to sew. I’m starting with simple things first, a pillowcase.  What can be more simple? Straight stitching.  Not a problem… I thought! My dolls are all laying around waiting for a new wardrobe of clothes, grumbling about their lot, but tackling a pattern is not yet on my agenda.  I’ve had to talk them into being patient. ;). First things first, straight things… simple makes that will be completed fast to keep my interest alive! Choosing the fabric for my new pillowcase is my first task.  Out comes the stash. Several hours later I find the perfect piece.   Also a

 I’m revisiting painting landscapes in acrylics and here is the start of my process. 1. Rough sketch 2. Block-in  3. Refine 4. Detail. 5. One thing!  (What’s the one thing I can do to improve this painting?) My set up with acrylic paints - limited palette Rough sketch Sorry forgot to photograph the block in stage! Refine the painting Still got the detail to do, but I’m pleased with how it’s going. Have a great day! Best wishes Shari 💕

 Hi everyone It’s hard to stay focussed when you feel so alone. This month has been extremely difficult for me as my husband has been in hospital for an operation and then recently there were complications so he was taken back in.  Obviously, the worry of it all has been extremely stressful and as a result, my mental health has plummeted.  My husband is my rock and without him being his usual strong self, my world is very bleak. In order to keep my sanity I turn to painting or creative work of some description.  It doesn’t really matter as long as I am creating something.  It’s very soothing for the soul. This has been difficult due to all the trips to hospital and the more mundane matters of keeping house.  My family are a constant source of support and give me strength, but I also need my creativity to keep sane.  I have always been that way.   I’m normally a very private person and don’t often share my problems, always putting on a brave face.  It’s what we do, isn’t it? Us that suf

This was such fun to make and I changed things as I went along.  Using a glass bottle (this one is a gin bottle as I rather liked the blue glass) and some air drying clay, I left gaps for windows as I wanted to add lights inside.  An egg box was used to create one wall as it was my intention to make it look like stonework (kind of like crazy paving). Originally I intended to make the roof with strips of card stuck to the bottle stopper, but then I realised this would not be practical as I couldn’t easily open the bottle to add the lights or replace them if necessary (when the battery fails).  So I scrapped that idea and chose to make the roof slightly lower down. I used little strips of wood for the panelled door. Will get some updated pics of the progress shortly. Happy creating!  See you soon. Best wishes Shari 😊  

 Hello All! Back to painting again.  Acrylics on canvas board - a view of the town clock against a very dramatic sky.  Started with a simple drawing followed by block in of main shapes.  Then in to refine and add detail. Not quite finished, but I’m getting there. Have a great week, see you soon! Best wishes Shari 👍

 Hello everyone! Thought I would have a play with mosaics once again.  I’m self taught and have only made a few projects with mosaic, but it’s a very satisfying craft and quite easy to do. I have an old wooden cabinet in my bathroom that I wanted to brighten up and to mosaic seemed a really good option.  I cleaned up the top and proceeded to design the mosaic.  I wanted to keep with my nautical theme in the bathroom and designed a fish for the centre of my mosaic.   Before grouting Grouting done!   You can’t tell from this photo but I added a little pale blue acrylic paint to the grouting which really seems to harmonise the whole piece.  Just got to clean up and give it a rub up.  I’m very happy with the finished piece and it’s so much brighter and cleaner than just plain wood. I hope I’ve inspired you to have a go with mosaic. I’d love to see what you make, if you’d like to share.   It’s really satisfying and quite addictive! See you soon.  Happy making! Best wishes Shari 💕

 Hi All This week has been busy on the craft front.  Mostly little experiments and ideas at the moment, oh yes, I’m full to bursting of ideas!  Just not enough hours in the day. This post will be about the bits and pieces I’ve been working on this week. Firstly, an update on my sewing themed linocut.  I’ve refined the design, made the needle look better and had a general tidy up. Still in need of a little more work but it’s getting there. Sewing Linocut Next I worked on the little flower rubber stamp.  It needed more definition, so I outlined the centre and marked out the petal separations.  What do you think, better? Flower stamp The sewing box is still a work in progress, but here’s the original box with a new lid cut out as the old one was rotten and beyond repair.  I have the hinges, etc to reattach.   Sewing Box Project Will bring you updates on this as they happen. Finally, some pieces from my art course:- Ink & Wash   Ink line drawing Watersoluble pencil The brief was to des

 Hello everyone, sorry I’m a little late with this post. Well this week has definitely been a printing week.  I have once again succumbed to the lure of linocut printing! I wanted a design centred around another of my hobbies, sewing.  I am upcycling a sewing box (which I will publish here later) and am considering using a linocut print to decorate. Having arranged some sewing elements - scissors, thimble, button and needle - I drew the design directly on to the Lino. Then I used my Lino gouger to cut away the area that was not part of the print - the part I cut away is the negative space around the design elements. As I am completely self taught in the art of linocutting I am not sure if my technique is correct, but it works for me.  At this stage I am reasonably happy with the result.  I had finished cutting and was happy with the linocut, so I tried a trial print to identify areas that needed more work. At this stage I felt either too much ink was used or I need to work more on the

Linocut Printing What a joy to discover something new, unique and beautiful in my craft skills.  Only a beginner at present but I'm loving what I have discovered so far.  Linocut printing.  Draw the design onto the Lino block, then cut away the negative space with the special tool, a sharp gouger which has different heads for different thicknesses. I enjoyed designing this bee and was delighted when it printed out so beautifully.  I must admit it took a couple of sessions to complete as it can be tiring on the hand and this was quite a large design.  But it was well worth it and I was very pleased with the result. I hope you like it too.  If you’re considering trying it out for yourself, go ahead, you won’t regret it! Best wishes Shari

Hello again,  Shari has been busy once again with painting a landscape.  It’s as easy as 1-2-3 … 1. Draw 2. Block in and 3 refine.   Of course after the refine there is something else needed and that is finding the One Thing.  That’s where we review the painting and look for the one thing that will improve the painting.  Live with the painting, keep it in sight each day and keep looking for the One Thing.  Eventually, it will jump out at you and niggle you so much that you have to fix it.  That’s when you figure out how to fix it and voila! Your painting is finished. Waterlily Lake   With this painting I had used a photo reference as a starting point.  I had drawn out my shapes on the canvas with thinned oil paint.  Then I blocked in the big shapes.  Having refined and put in the detail I was not really happy with the result.  So I set about finding the One Thing.  Of course there is more than one thing needed to fix this painting but I always just focus on one thing (at a time). First

 Hi Everyone, Shari is back in the room!  Well, in the blog anyway, 😂. I have been trying my skills again at the handmade rubber stamps.  I have designed a flower stamp and a logo for Sharon Golding Designs… just the initials. Having bought a supply of rubbers, I got out the gouger again and set to work.  After drawing my design and transferring it to the rubber (back to front so that it comes out correct when inked), I started removing the negative space around the design with the gouger.  Care must be taken especially close to the design as one false move could destroy the whole piece.  So if you do try this yourself, remember to take your time and remove just a little at a time. Using the gouger to remove the negative space around the flower design Taking care not to remove any petals from the design. After a while I used my trusty penknife to remove more rubber enabling the design to stand out. The penknife used with care flattened out the cutaway sections and really made the desi

 It has long been my desire to make a lampshade for a lamp that was gifted to me and I have at last accomplished this. With no real idea of how to go about it, I ordered some lampshade backing which is stiff kind of polythene stuff on which to mount your fabric. The fabric was an easy choice as I have mountains of the stuff from my sewing obsession period!  Having chosen a pretty blue-ish country pattern, I set about making templates of the wire sections to be covered. I used stiff card and simply pressed it against a section of the wire skeleton shade.  As there are two distinct sizes on my shade, I had to make two templates. Here are the two completed templates.  I used these to draw around to make both the fabric sections and also the backing mounts.  After drawing four of each template on to my backing mounts and four of each on to the fabric, I cut out the sections.  I think cut out the pieces. The polythene backing came with a sticky side so I was able to mount my fabric very eas

 So I have been working the silver again and so far managed to make two pairs of earrings, two silver rings, and a silver pendant. My favourite the silver twist earrings, they’re just so beautiful. Thanks for dropping by. Best wishes Shari

 Had enormous fun today working in the studio, making silver rings, annealing, etc.  I just adore working with silver.  Here are some pictures of my process. Rings and things  Me hard at work! Soldering And pickling  Have a wonderful day! Best wishes Shari