A VISUAL TREAT FOR A FRIDAY AFTERNOON

I popped into my favourite London emporium today and as usual it was full of beautiful design. Amongst the handbags, scarves and rare perfumes were some decoupage pieces which I thought were fabulous. Decoupage is the art of cutting and gluing paper images to surfaces. John Derian, an avid collector of antique fruit, flower and animal prints, hand-paints borders over centuries-old ledgers and letters. He combines all these elements into charmingly eccentric collages, which are reprinted and pieced together in layers under glass accessories. His ever- expanding collection includes plates, platters, paperweights, coasters, lamps, bowls, bell jars, urns and vases. Collectors around the world prize his designs. They have been imported from New York to a dresser in London town.

VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE

Annabel Grey is a textile artist, an interior designer and a mosaic artist. Next time you are in London see if you can find her wonderful hot air balloon mosaic at Finsbury park tube station and fantasy arches at Marble Arch tube. Her floral bathroom mosaic is in the amazing arts and crafts house Voewood in Norfolk www.voewood.com

LOOK UP HIGH AND SEE MORE!

I was recently out for a Saturday afternoon stroll and this wonderful relief caught my eye. Mary and Jesus surrounded by fruit on the wall of the Catholic St. Elizabeth of Portugal Church in Richmond-Upon-Thames in Surrey. Someone had a lovely time painting this.

THE WORK OF TERESA CLARK

I often go to car boot sales or antique markets and buy random items old photographs, forks and jewellery. I find the old photograph albums particularly poignant and I feel so sad that these precious records, of lives lived to the full, end up discarded for sale for a few pence. I collect these things but I am afraid to admit they languish in boxes waiting for me to find a new life for them. Someone who brings to life such things is the artist Teresa Clark. In these delicate and breathtakingly beautiful collections Teresa has combined and rescued all sorts of unusal objects. Teresa says she is a " gleaner. A collector. An avid observer of the overlooked and the darkly feminine." She collects ephemera,images and misplaced trinkets. She waits and listens and then assembles them " according to some hidden internal narrative. Like bones thrown together from seemingly unrelated beasts, they hint at past histories and forge new dynamics, connections and narrative associations." Teresa will be attending Origin The London Craft Fair in the first week 6th - 11th October at stand H6 http://www.craftscouncil.org.uk/origin09/ Teresa's photographs are also stunning http://www.teresaclarkphotography.com/ I can't wait to visit to Teresa at the Craft fair in a few weeks time.

A DISCOVERY ON THE WAY HOME

This amazing lady looks out at me on my journey home and she has intrigued me for quite a while. Tonight I decided to stop the car and investigate. She sits in the window of a hairdressers but not just any old hairdressers as I discovered! Inside I found a huge room filled with amazing murals and crystal chandliers. Everyone was extremely friendly but no one knew who created all this brilliant art. I am determined to return not just to have my hair done but to soak up the atmosphere.

BEAUTIFUL CHANDELIERS

These wonderful chandeliers are the work of artist Madeline Boulesteix who I contacted tonight to ask if I could include her work here. She replied immediately and kindly gave her permission. Madeline started making chandeliers after finding about 40 facetted glass drops in a pile of rubbish. She now uses all sorts of objects in her work in particular kitchen items which she says "supplied so many useful forms, like circular metal objects - sometimes already with holes in". Madeline makes humble objects into pieces of exceptional beauty and brilliantly re-uses domestic items like pastry cutters, toast racks and spoons keeping them for posterity within her chandeliers. This takes re-cycling to a whole new level. One day soon I hope to have one of Madeline's pieces hanging above my head. See more of her work at http://www.madelineboulesteix.co.uk/

FLOATING TEAPOTS

Today we walked on the South Downs near Alfriston which was a beautiful quaint unspoilt little village. It was awash with tearooms and this one caught my eye. Clever use of teapots to attract thirsty customers!

JELLY ART

Jelly is fantastic stuff and the Victorians loved using it in the most elaborate jelly moulds. Modern day jelly artists at Bompas and Parr have taken up where the Victorians left off creating amazingly beautiful jellies. Not only will they make you a jelly mould of almost anything even St Paul's Cathedral. They recently created the world’s first glow-in-the-dark jelly. To make the jelly glow food-safe quinine was added to the ingredients. Dr Andrea Sella who worked with the jelly artists said “Fluorescence is one of those truly magical atomic phenomena – an optical illusion that makes things look brighter than they are, making it central not only to safety equipment, but also to detergents and cleaning agents to give that “white than white” look. The quinine molecule, itself, is a natural product from the bark of the South American Cinchona tree that has been added to drinks for over a century.

A HAIRY DOG

It is surprising what can be created with a ball of wool and some felting needles. This beautiful hound is the work of Domenica More Gordon from Inveresk near Edinburgh. The daughter of two artists clearly she has very artistic genes. Apparently her dogs are created by constantly jabbing away at handfuls of wool. Her show of work will run at the Workshop, 96 West Bow, Victoria Street Edinburgh from 19th November. I will have one on my Christmas list.

THE MERMAID SHOP

Every February we spend a week in my favourite seaside town Lyme Regis. One of our highlights is visiting the Mermaid Shop which is a creative treasure trove. Artist Linzi West lives there and has a studio in the front room which you can see from the street. She has a fondest for mermaids as do I and her work often features them. Next time you are in Lyme Regis pop in and see if there is treasure in the pirate's chest. I'll give you a clue the chest is in the floor of the shop.....

Find out more about Linzi and her work at http://www.mermaid-at-the-tudor.com/

PAPERBACK ART

I so enjoy looking at book cover designs especially paperbacks. This great poster has been created by the company http://www.bookishdesign.co.uk/ I have to admit so often it is the cover of a novel which will make me consider buying it. The typography on these books really dates them so powerfully and the covers catapult me back to looking at my parents bookshelves in the 1970's. I have inherited some of these books and now they sit on my shelves. Maybe one day I will have time to actually read what's inside them.

A HOLIDAY OF DOORS

We have just returned from a wonderful holiday on the Greek Island of Santorini. This is just a small selection of the colourful doors we discovered on our travels using the public bus service. Some doors were newly painted others were flaked and weather worn. Many doors had not been opened for years and years.....

A PIECE OF CERAMIC HISTORY

This is a small section of the Little Chapel in Guernsey. The Chapel is a work of art and a labour of love started by Brother Deodat in March 1914. The beautiful mosaic which covers the structure is made up of hundreds of tiny fragments of china tea cups and plates produced by companies like Spode, Wedgewood and Colclough. A bit of ceramic history preserved in the surface of possibly the world's smallest chapel!