Thursday 24 September 2009

Beautiful craftwork.







Following on from yesterday's vignette, I thought I would show you the little box close-up - photographed in the daylight. This tiny box measures twelve centimetres by four centimetres and is about three centimetres in depth. It is made a thick card and then hand-painted. It has tiny hinges to open and close it - and the inside is just as beautiful as the outside.



The lid has a pastoral scene of trees hand painted in delicate greens. Inside the lid is the quotation from WH Davies - What is this life if full of care, we have no time to stand and stare? There are also three tiny sheep grazing. Then in the bottom of the box are three brown and white cows - all so beautifully painted. The edge of the lid has a border of grazing sheep - when I tell you that there are twenty five of them round the lid you will realise how small they are.



I am an admirer of exquisite workmanship in whatever field and this is so well done.



It was made and painted by Catriona Stewart in 1989. I have looked her up in Google but it is quite a common name and there are too many entries to pick her out, so whether she is still making these lovely boxes I don't know. If anyone out there has come across her work I would love to have details. In the meantime just enjoy the beauty of her workmanship.

30 comments:

Heather said...

Your little box is exquisite Weaver - no wonder you love it so much.

Unknown said...

Hello Weaver,

A beautiful thing indeed. The cows look particularly nice!

Thanks for your message. Hope you find something.

Jenn Jilks said...

Beautiful thoughts, beautiful photos, Weaver!

Jane Moxey said...

I used to have a little box by this artist. Where it is I'm not sure. Here's a link I found mentioning her work that might be of interest:
http://privatepress.carpelibris.com/sun-dar.html

Leenie said...

That is, at least to me, a unique way to display watercolor painting. The little illustrations are excellent both in detail and color. So unusual and so beautiful.

Reader Wil said...

I agree with Heather! Exquisite is the right word! Catriona Stewart is a real artist. Hopefully she is still around, doing her paintings.
Have a great weekend Weaver!

Batteson.Ind said...

just lovely! It's difficult enough to paint. never mind so smally..
:-)

Titus said...

I wanted to use exquisite as well!
Never mind, what a truly delightful object and those cows are beautifully rendered.
Thanks Weaver.

Gigi Ann said...

Your little box is lovely. I agree with everyone else it is exquisite.

Anonymous said...

Delicate, intricate and charming attention to detail. I like that the integrity of the paper is not overwhelmed by the painted scenes and the paper texture is still an integral feature of the whole box, not camouflaged. Just beautiful!

ArtPropelled said...

Weaver I found a link with a box painted by Catriona Stewart. There is a poem by John Masefield inside.
http://privatepress.carpelibris.com/sun-dar.html

steven said...

hello weaver - i really admire detail in anything - natural or manmade - there's something that connects handmade work to the very human relationship that it emerged from and then onwards to the person with whom the object resides. i think that process is called craft. have a lovely evening in the dale. steven

Janice Thomson said...

Although these little paintings have little detail they are indeed exquisitely rendered. Amazing how a few splotches of paint carefully placed can turn out to be such fine delicate little paintings. It's very lovely Weaver.

Seth said...

Such a wonderful little box. Thank you for highlighting it!

Penny said...

What a stunning box, lovely when things as nice as this are looked after.
Hope to catch up with you when we are in the UK, not long now.

Sara said...

I loved looking at your 'vignette' & I love this beautiful little box, particularly because it contains some of my favourite words. Like you, the things that I hold dearest are not valuable perhaps in monetary terms, but to me they are treasure beyond compare. My favourite item on your table was the little silver mouse & I can't wait to learn his secret!
PS. Thanks so much for passing on the story of the village ducks! It meant a lot to me x

Sara said...

Oh Weaver, silly me! Having now read through all the previous comments I understand the little mouse's secret. What an apt nickname - to me you appear to be mighty in both heart & soul. What a special treasure!

Anonymous said...

What a delightful closer look at your treasured little box Weaver, because, although on display, it's dainty beauty was well hidden in the previous post.I can see why you love it so much.

Dave King said...

It may be a common name, but that's all that's common about it! Lovely work. Thanks for sharing it.

Golden West said...

Wow! What a special treasure and beautifully crafted.

BT said...

That is quite stunning Weaver, I can see why you love it. Those cows are beautiful. What a treasure.

CHummelKornell said...

Absolutely beautiful. Very appealing to a 'farm' girl from Iowa. Thanks for sharing.

Teresa said...

How beautiful .... and special. Love those unique handcrafted items that bring loveliness to our lives.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Blogland is wonderful - three of you found a link and I have now, I hope, contacted Catriona Stewart to see if she still makes these lovely boxes. Glad you liked the box everyone. Jane even had a similar box - what a small world, as usual.
Hope you all have a lovely weekend and that the weather is kind where ever you live

artistbarb said...

I am living in Washington state and was mesmerized by this little treasure containing my hereford cows from my early years on an Iowa farm, and the verse which I love. So I stumbled upon this site while googling the artist. Would love to hear from her or anyone with similar boxes. Barb

Unknown said...

I have a few sets of her placemats made of coated paper that display the same wonderful detail in vibrant colors. I was hoping to find more but it apears she is no longer producing. My placemats are dated 1993.

The designs are hand painted geometric and floral designs.

christine said...

I love your website--I have a beautiful water colour painted by Catriona Stewart-a still life of pears and a blue jug--I have been trying to track her down for ages!
Mine is not a small piece--it measures 56cm x 42cm without the frame, but I recognised the brushwork immediately. I must look out for more of her work, but there are so many Catriona Stewarts out there! best wishes Christine

christine said...

Hello--I was so pleased to find your site--I have a large watercolour painting by Catriona Stewart--it is a beautiful still life of a blue jug with fruits and I recognised the brushwork immediately! I have been searching for ages for more work/information, with no success until now Best wishes Christine

Dave Walker said...

I had the privilege recently to meet Catriona and show her some of your comments. You can see what she's up to currently on her new website. http://catrionastewart.co.uk/

Unknown said...

I have the same exact box, so they can't be one of a kind and hand-painted, can they?