Rock Art!

Born in Malta surrounded by sea and sun, and now based in London, Denise Scicluna is an art psychotherapist, painter and author who enjoys nature, creativity and pebble painting. You can find more of her work at www.denisesciclunaart.com and on her Instagram @denisescicluna_art

February 2015There are pebbles and rocks everywhere, but did you ever consider them to be blank canvases? This book shows you how to transform a humble stone into a work of art. If you live near a beach or a river you will find collecting pebbles easy, but don’t despair if you can’t find anything suitable – grab some polymer clay and make your own. This is the type of hands-on approach you will get from this fun book, as well as a brief look at the three main types of rock and some rock hunting tips. You don’t need many materials to get started but the author provides plenty of help with getting started, varnishing, making clay pebbles plus other useful things. This book is mostly filled with ideas and projects. Look at your stone to see what the shape suggests, then follow the simple instructions and fill your house with monsters, fish, owls, words, mandalas, abstract designs, animals, flowers and people. Turn your creations into place settings, jewellery, lucky charms, games, fridge magnets, bookends and paperweights. The fun, quirky project pages show in a few steps how it is done, with ideas and suggestions for use. All the pieces have amusing names and look as though they would be fairly simple and enjoyable to make. At the back of the book there are photographs of ideas for using the painted pebbles, many of which did not occur to me who had hitherto only seen them used as paperweights! It is always good to see a craft book on an unusual subject, especially a fresh look at an old and rather forgotten one.

• Denise’s World 7Getting Started 8We’re Going on a Rock Hunt 10Be Inspired 14What Do You Need? 16Make Your Own Rocks 18Preparation 20Finishing Touches 22Rock Your Pebbles 24At the Zoo 26, Bicycle Wheels 28, Under the Sea 30, Rock Garden 32, Funny Faces 34, Into the Woods 36, Fruit Salad 38, Wise Owls 40, Let’s Get Linear 42, Easy as ABC 44, Mushrooms 46, Fish Out of Water 48, Up, Up and Away! 50, Keep It Simple 52, Pebble Pets 54, Googly-Eyed Monsters 56, Colour Pops 58, Flower Power 60, Consequences 62, Autumn Leaves 64, Super-Cute Sea Creatures 66, Light as a Feather 68, Rock Stars 70, The Man in the Moon 72, Sunny Side Up 74, Rocky Road 76, Brilliant Bugs 78, Try Triangles 80, Animal Favourites 82, Making Mandalas 84, From Me to You 86, Hoot Your Pebbles 88, Tutti Frutti 90, Pebble Portraits 92, Misfit Monsters 94, Fish Tails 96, Love Hearts 98, Mice ’n’ Cheese 100, Get Folky 102, Flutter By Butterfly 104Using Your Rock Art 106Paperweight 108, Framed Pebbles 109, Bookends 110, Place Names 112, Pendants 114, Brooches 115, Doorstop 116, Magnets 117, Noughts and Crosses 118, Story Pebbles 119, Toy Cars 120, Garden Ornaments 122Index 124Credits 128