Wednesday 25 February 2015

February Art Bead Scene Challenge


Amapolas, 1913
Illustration published in "News of Spring and Other Nature Studies"
By Edward Julius Detmold

In case you hadn't guessed, today’s post is all about this month’s Art Bead Scene Challenge.  This beautiful watercolour illustration has filled me with a sense of anticipation for new life after very a long and cold winter.  You have no idea how happy I was earlier this week when I noticed my crocuses had started to flower!  The movement within the image doesn’t just suggest life, it’s screaming it, and yet the tranquility of the colour scheme gives me a peaceful calming sensation.  None the less, I find myself sitting here willing summer to come quickly!!  Having read the insightful history of Edward Julius Detmold, it’s almost impossible to fathom how someone with such insight and capacity to create such beauty could have been such a tormented soul on the inside.  It’s truly tragic!!

This has been an exciting month for me because I have finally taken the plunge to start selling some of my creations.  I’ve been doing the Art Bead Scene challenges for a number of years now, but this is the first time I’ve entered the ‘Bead Makers’ section, so naturally I’m excited about this too.   I chose to focus on the butterfly and aimed to express the movement and tranquility I felt when looking at the illustration.  My two entries (pictured below) are both made out of ceramic clay and are both are available in my Etsy shop.  Thanks for Reading. xx




Monday 16 February 2015

The beginning....

Hello and welcome to my first ever blog post.  I've been procrastinating about starting a blog for years, the main reason being the time commitment. I'd hope Facebook would make a good substitute, having used it for years to keep in touch with family and old friends overseas, but I’m quickly learning that a Facebook page is not quite as straight forward or as easy to negotiate as I'd hoped it would be.  So here I am at the beginning of a new journey, one where I hope to make new friends, one that I hope you will find interesting, and one that I hope we will both find rewarding.

Now for the bio bit.....

My name is Melanie McGready.  I live and work in a small village called Spa in a beautifully scenic part of Northern Ireland.   I’m not originally from here.  I was born in England and brought up all over the place: Australia, USA & Saudi Arabia to name a few.  My Dad's Australian, my Mum's English, and I’m very much a mixture of the two.

I studied photography at College many moons ago in the pre digital era, and although I have an absolute passion for photography, I have always had creative impulses to do more with my hands and when I discovered polymer clay back in 2010, so began my journey with clay.  I fell in love with the versatility of the medium and set out to learn every technique going.  The possibilities are endless and five years on I still can’t wait to try the next technique on my ‘to do’ list.  I bought a small electric kiln in 2014 and now I’m hooked on ceramic and precious metal clay too.  Subsequently Cherryhill Studio was born.  I'm very passionate about what I do and every piece I make, and feel blessed that I can.

If I’m not hiding in my little studio sanctuary you’ll find me kept busy by my husband, four daughters, six alpacas, two Cavalier King Charles Spaniel’s, and a gorgeous British Short Hair kitten named Casper, who I’m considering renaming ‘Claws’.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post and becoming part of my journey. xx