Technique pratice.

Throughout our travels I have been keeping a little patch work diary using some of the techniques I have learned. Great time killer for long bus rides!

Panama and Kuna villages.

We sailed down to Columbia through the San Blas Islands off the coast of Panama where the Kuna tribes live. The Kuna people self govern their islands and like to live very close to each other in straw/bamboo house settlements. They create a unique style of aplique on fabrics and use colourful body adornments such as string beads wrapped around their legs.







Walking the plank to the drop toilet-Kuna Village!



All the buses were like this in Panama, blasting out loud music.

Natural materials and more bamboo!

Ideas and inspiration for flooring and lighting with bamboo-Permaculture course July.




Learning how to make cob for building a natural house(house below). Sand, straw, manure and soil, made by stamping up and down on it!

Permaculture Design.

We are about to head to the north of Costa Rica to take part in a two week Permaculture design course. The course includes learning about sustainable living, organic farming and the area I am most interested in which is working with natural and sustainable materials for building and designing. Go to below website for more info.
http://www.ranchomastatal.com (go to events page)

BAMBOO DESIGN.

A week working on a farm on the Osa penisula jungle, Costa Rica.
I spent time working with bamboo to make furniture and prepare as a building material.
Bamboo is a fantastic wood to work with as it´s strong, versatile and sustainable.
My head is ticking with ideas of how I can use it for my own designs!

Solentiname islands. Nicaragua.

Stayed on the most wonderful remote island on lake Nicaragua- the islands tranquility and colourfulness attracts many artists to their shores. Painters and woodcarvers share the islands with farmers and fishermen.
Mancarrón is Solentiname's largest island, where we stayed, it is here that the priest and poet Ernesto Cardenal’s historical parish is to be found. Father Cardenal arrived in the islands in 1966 and is known for establishing a communal society for artists in the early 1970s which persists to this day. The community developed its own naïve art movement based on existing folk forms, and with some help from painter Róger Pérez de la Rocha.


Ernesto Cardenal’s parish, a beautiful little place with colourful paintings of wildlife.

Leaving the island at 5am-one of the most beautiful places in the world!

Elle Deco, France.

I´m really pleased to see that one of my lamps has made it into Elle Decoration, France this month, thanks to Serendipity, Paris- (www.serendipity.fr)They are currently selling a range of my designs.