Qubes

I love picking up potential art materials in charity shops and car boot sales.
These are unloved things that I am trying to turn back into loved things.
They are also cheap.

Qubes takes two puzzles (one pound each),
each consisting of 27 linked cubes that need to be assembled into a single 3 by 3 cube.
The cubes have been unlinked, inked and framed.

Selfie

This started out as a photo selfie, tackled with oils and pastels.

Holy Spirit 1

Once upon a time my car mechanic was a genial chap called Spud.
We warmed his shed by burning wooden offcuts from a local sawmill.
I asked one day if I could buy a bag.
I know we are not supposed to make graven images, but I'm hoping for forgiveness...

Skipwood

Two friends hired a skip while building their home,
and the challenge was to create an artwork using nothing other than things rescued from it.

S

Another charity shop piece - I love the patination on these blocks given by years of play.
The frame was a gift from my friend Dianne.
Sun (top left), Sky (brown layer), Sea (blue layer), Sand (red layer), Settlement (mixed layer).

Peavey Boogie Woogie

I'm not really a bass player, but one day I found myself in a band as one.
I needed an amp, and for some reason bought a huge and completely impractical Peavey.
Within a month I had broken it up into the cab (which became a raised bed for plants)
and the front grill (which became a canvas).
The name is a nod to Piet Mondrian, who created Broadway Boogie Woogie.

Necklace and Earrings

Back to used children blocks.

Chrysanths

House-sitting for a brother-in-law one summer in Worthing
led to experimenting with watercolours.

Rainbow 1

A time convalescing in hospital found me
connecting stray bits of wood coloured with old-fashioned poster paint.
The rainbow is a motif running through things I make.

Totem Square

A charity shop find, fifteen numbered blocks in a wooden frame.
Turn them over, paint and reassemble.
A respectful nod towards authentic totem poles.
Totem Square is in Alaska.

Labyrinth

The broken top from a Rosemary Conley set of weighing scales.
A friend, Vicki Burke, has taught me about the spirituality behind labyrinths...

River

Visiting a craft fair led to meeting a wood-seller.
These pieces were practice offcuts on sale for one and a half pounds.

J-Ange

Jenga blocks from a large set and a small set. Both charity shop finds.

Seven Setsquares

Finding three large setsquares at a car boot led to four Ebay purchases.

Octopus

An Ikea candlestick (for eight candles) and a balti dish. Assembly time; 30 seconds.

Mathematician DNA

A charity shop find that invites the reconstruction of the five Platonic solids.
Instead a mobile inspired by the DNA molecules that hang in biology labs.

Logo Planet

Logo is a graphics program where simple programs can generate complicated pictures.
The program producing this picture was two lines long.

Webpage last edited January 2025

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