Goodbye Stanley

The last couple of months have been a tricky time.
I spent the Summer completing my second book for the Tate, a commission that I enjoyed very much. 'Stanley's Plan' is a story about my beloved hound, Stan, and his mission to get at a big pie.
Unfortunately, the very same week that I got the proofs through for approval, Stan was killed in an accident.

I was with him when the accident happened. He ran into a fence at our local park, whilst off chasing a squirrel, (one of his all-time favourite activities).

To say we are heart-broken doesn't begin to cover it. Stan was such a big part of our everyday lives, and his big personality was adored by our friends and family alike. I was overwhelmed by the good wishes that people gave us when they heard the news, and I'll be forever grateful for our wonderful kind friends who have helped us immensley.

This picture is of our first meeting, at The Dogs Trust in Evesham. It was January 2011, we chose Stan when one of the staff nodded and said 'He's a good dog' when he saw us looking at him. 

Stan was a handful, the king of chaos. He pulled on his lead, stole food, took up the whole bed and had the worlds worst farts. But I loved him, and am happy that we got to share our lives with such a friendly and fun dog.

We've adopted two new boys. Bertie and George are settling in well, and I'm looking forward to the adventures we will have together. I'm happy to report that neither of them seem very interested in squirrels.

Lucy McLaughlin at Lazarides Gallery

Some really beautiful abstracts in a variety of media, at this London show until Saturday 18th.
Lucy's new work achieves some wonderful contrasts, with printed wood grain in monotone and eye poopping day-glo orange.

I love the confidence of Lucy's trademark feather brush strokes, and the use of them in  abstract composition. You can read more about her work here: http://www.lazinc.com/ and here:http://lucy.beat13.co.uk/

That time again...

I've been uploading this years Christmas cards onto my 'Not on the High St' page today. 
Every year I make a few designs, which I block print onto simple white board. I like that the cards are black and white, it seems to make them stand out amongst the vast choice on the site.
Delivery for card packs is free this year. Here's the link:
http://www.notonthehighstreet.com/ruthgreendesign/product/five-hand-printed-festive-squirrel-christmas-cards 
Look out for some other new products, including my notecard packs, very soon (with any luck, tomorrow!).

Interview for BG School

Bambino Goodies and BG school asked me to do an interview recently. You can read it here:
http://www.bg-school.co.uk/meet-the-brand-ruth-green-design/

Rosie Moss

Last year at the Christmas craft fairs at Midland Arts Centre I found these beautiful designs by Rosie Moss. Her wonderful illustrative style is printed onto fabrics which are used for purses, bags and cushions.
I bought a couple of purses from her, intending to give them as gifts, but found I couldn't part with them. They are so beautifully made, and the designs are really enchanting.
So, I paid a little visit to Rosie's website: http://www.rosiemoss.co.uk/ and learned from her blog that she is a fan of the great Enid Marx. A copy of 'English Popular Art' has been on my desk for most of this year, and I was delighted to see much of the Marx folk art collection at the recent Tate show.
You can follow Rosie on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/rosiemossdesign

Spring Sparrows

The sparrows have been making a right royal racket outside my window today. Anyone would think it was Spring or something.
Here are a few pictures of my new 'Sparrow' print in progress. It's been an interesting one, as I decided to make the print composition as I sampled the different layers, rather than finalising the image in a drawing before I made my screens.
Above is the drawing and film for the colour layers.Here's the finished print, it will be available on the website soon.

 Three colours down, and another to go.

And the final print.

Prema

Spring was definitely in the air yesterday.  The daffodils  were right on the brink of opening at Prema, a charming arts centre and cafe in the village of Uley, near Dursley in Gloucestershire.
I was lucky enough to spend the day here, setting up a new 'Girls Who Draw' exhibition. As jobs go, this was a pretty cushy one. I had to endure the terribly comfy sofa, and delicious treats from the cafe, including this:

A cheese and cumin muffin of extraordinary proportions, bought for me by Karoline Rerrie.

Prema really is a special place, based in a converted chapel, it provides exhibition space, workshops and a hub of creativity. Oh and great baking, did I mention that??!

Our show runs from 3rd March until 13th April. Karoline has filled the entrance to the centre with a folk art forest made from her wonderful prints, and this runs for the same dates.

Some Fun with Etsy

I've joined Etsy!
I know, I should have done this ages ago, there are no excuses.

The 'Treasury' feature gives you the opportunity to curate a collection of your favourite items from the site. I had some fun with this one yesterday:
https://www.etsy.com/uk/treasury/NDE0MDk1OTR8MjcyNTY5ODU3NA/wood-is-good?ref=pr_treasury

You can view my new shop here:
 https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/RuthGreenDesign?ref=ss_profile



Enjoy!

Love Day

I've been making some Valentine's cards for the forthcoming festivities. There are 3 new designs, all available from my 'Not on the High Street' page. Just follow the link, delivery is free!