http://www.adreamsgreetingscards.co.uk Your patience please until picture compression is learnt and activated. Hopefully the site will be updated by 2025
BACKGROUND STORY:
At her first primary school, Adriene was ticked off with a fellow pupil at the back of the class, for making necklaces and bracelets out of the scrabble-like bendy letters. Had she been home schooled, this aptitude may well have been taken forward to develop the art of Jewellery making. Later at secondary school she did in fact have an opportunity to make some modest enameled Jewellery. She failed her GCSE Biology have spent far too long on colouring in the heart’s blood vessels and lung’s air sacks; yet another indication of her leaning more towards art than science?! Long after taking GCSE Art, and starting A level Art (that had to be abandoned to devote more time to demanding Music Studies) she found time to start sketching portraits and coloured pencil sketches. She believes portrait sketching especially, should be taught to all from the earliest years, to develop observational skills.
Adriene was encouraged by artistic sister Catherine to start sketching. That first sketching experience was sitting by the beach huts at Frinton-on Sea, on an Essex coastal holiday. Adriene copied with colour, a calendar forest waterfall scene and Catherine live water colour painted, the sea and gulls.
At one one of her sisters’ birthday “get togethers” in Wigan, not far from “Wigan Pier”, during a fun, but no talking, almost impossible silent session, (more often the sisters were like Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice lively sisters), Catherine enticed the sisters to sketch each others 10 mins pencil portraits. This is such a fun thing to share together. even 5 mins a day of this would make some progress. Adriene pursued learning portrait sketching tips from generous village neighbour artist Steven Kent, and further self study. Having sketched about 90 pencil portraits to date, she understands, about 1000 sketch efforts are needed to feel thoroughly confident.
Encouraged again by Catherine to try something in colour, she chose to copy a photograph from Gregory’s gift Krishnamurti calendar. She liked one picture so much, it sat for a few years on her cookery book stand in the kitchen. She was inspired to colour pencil sketch a copy of the most beautiful Autumn Forest photograph by the “The Beauty of the Mountain” author Friedrich Grohe, that is with his kind permission. After suggestions and requests from family and friends to make this into a greetings card, Adriene did actually turn this into a card with canvas, framed and mounted versions. It took about 30 hours to get the best version. Adriene later found out, that Friedrich had most kindly sponsored her niece to study Art, Sculpture and Harp at Southampton Krishnamurti School.
After so many admiring this copy sketch, more to do with Friedrich’s stunning photo than Adriene’s art work, coupled with Steven Kent’s encouragement, Adriene had her first cards printed with Community Workshop Ltd. She went on to print 70 plus Greetings Art Photo Cards. Adriene had sold a first Art Scraper Board Rose, as a student in Liverpool, to a shop in Lord Street. It is a bonus when her cards sell now, as it is is a fun hobby. At present her art cards are available in about 30 different outlets, including her first Cards’ Spinner in Long Melford Antiques and Interiors, and a rack of cards in Tea on the Green, in the quintessentially picturesque village of Cavendish. Owner Julie Chatter’s perfect Christmas Cake was finally tasted and shared this Easter 2023. Perhaps it is a recipe from her young International Dubai Chef son?
Adriene was encouraged by Steven Kent to enter her First Art Exhibition in Acton Church. There is a staggering amount of real talent out there in the expansive art World. It is wonderful to dip feet in the mighty ocean and enjoyed meeting, sharing and learning from very talented, practiced and experience artists such as Kevin Franks. Long lost cousins made contact in the last few years, and Adriene’s discovered cousin Kevin to be a very talented artist in his spare time as other family members Gary and Mary who regular exhibits, Kim and degree artist Sally Anne and Sculptor Artist Ashleigh Rae. Adriene was delighted, as novice to have sold about 120 art cards at this first exhibition.
Adriene’s cards are also for sale in Sudbury’s Goslings Art Shop, Mounted Pictures in the lovely run family Willow Tree Farm Shop, Cafe, Resturant & Hairdressers, Glemsford, Sudbury, with Cards and Canvases for sale in Baalams Music Shop, Bury St Edmunds. Even IF sales are modest, in these changing, challenged C19 etc times when even Clintons Card shops are closing down, all this work, coupled with music teaching and performing, makes for a sense of achievement and fun. Adriene’s card sales in Post Offices, Shop, Fetes and Fayres, enables her to support and donate to several charities, and in her Church and other Charities Concerts she performs with Anne Chorley in their Angels Delight Harp Flute Duo, 20% of card and canvas sales are given towards their Church Funds.
THREE PHOTO ART GREETINGS CARDS below by Adriene.
It took Adriene a few hours to set up each one: The 1st (left) was made with the help of artistic J O, for the heading photo of this website, showing the keyboard of her English Challen Boudoir Grand Piano, Miyazawa flute, Granchino Copy (!) old Violin, Sheet Music for Beethoven’s Violin and Piano Romanze and Johann Strauss’ Voices of Spring Song Sheet with Maelzel’s Metronome to represent some of the instruments Adriene teach. This photo was the then turned into a greetings “Music Art” card. The 2nd (middle) card was made as a possible future CD cover photo for “Angels Delight Harp Flute Duo” It is also available as Card, Canvas,Mounted and framed picture. The 3rd (right) “Music Fun” was made initially as a birthday card for a young piano student, the soft toys to help the newest and youngest music students feel at ease, especially on their first visit and to provide an initial “pretend audience”.
FLOWERS
VERSE:
Inspired by brother John, head boy at school, sensitive pianist, writer of 18 volumes of verse, who could write a sonnet in 10 mins on any given theme, and brother in law Colin who wrote 100’s of poems for all sorts of family occasions, Adriene lately, fast read a Shakespeare Sonnet Gift Book from John, and attempted to write her own vague sonnet-like verse, nearly a 100 to date, connecting some with her art work. On her request John and Colin, wrote some verse to match Adriene’s ART CARDS. No doubt, Adriene knows she needs serious lessons in this art form, but again it has been a fun hobby to write a few and a joy to liaise with two of the poets in her family.
Verse and Portrait Pages will hopefully be included on Adriene’s updated art cards website by 2025
http://www.adreamsgreetingscards.co.uk
BIOGRAPHICAL SHORT STORIES:
AUTOBIOGRAPHY: Every person has a story to tell, many being extraordinary and fascinating. In life’s fast lane, focusing on present tasks, so few have time to talk and reminisce as Mothers did during childhood years. There are about 171,000 people employed as writers and authors in 2021. It can be cathartic to write down one’s own story even just for one’s own and family members memories. Singing for so many Senior Citizens’ Homes, it was clear how songs and music can trigger memories, both happy and sad. Remembering people that shared and helped shape our lives, triggers and snowballs even more connecting memories. So this autobiography will be in continuous development.
The hardest part, as many writers may well know, is to start. For those in need of encouragement to write, Suffolk, Shimpling Park Farm’s Alice Pawsey offers Writing Workshops hosted by writers Tom Henry and Shaun McCarthy http://www.standandpage.co.uk
THREE SHORT MUSICAL STORIES:
After Adriene’s eldest sister Geraldine returned to her maker, inspired by a shower of co-incidences Adriene wrote the following short stories. As a young novice, Geraldine had chosen the name Sister Mary David. She chose the name Mary because of Mary’s nature and devotion to her son Jesus. Mary is believed by millions to be the holiest Saint in Christianity, and in Islam to hold the highest position among women. Geraldine chose the name David, because she appreciated his story of human frailty, humility and repentance. From quite a cosmopolitan family, Geraldine had, and Adriene has, friends of different faiths.
The Harp Story
The Violin Story and
The Piano Accordion Story.
GERALDINE’S STORY – described by her Church friends to Adriene, as an example of a living Saint :
As Adriene grew up her three eldest sisters were at boarding school. so it was a rare and privileged time to share Geraldine’s last two months, struggling to talk with possibly medicine induced oesophageal Cancer, but still generously sharing her story, Adriene is in the process of writing up all these stories.
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Adriene Ellis ARCM Singing Flute Piano Violin Lessons Suffolk Teacher 