OH NO........The 4th week of the summer holidays is nearly over. That sickly feeling is starting in the pit of my stomach and I've already started to dream about being back at school......which is always a sign that September is on the horizon. I'm not quite sure how much making is going to take place when I am back at school but I am going to do my best to keep it up.
This week has been my most industrious by far. I think this has been, in part, because I have done a lot of finishing work, with previous weeks spent designing, pattern making and cutting out. I have a proper little production line in place and even roped Damian into the process. He was, of course, only trusted with menial tasks such as trimming, turning out rouleax straps, sweeping up and making tea.
It was this week that we decided to list a selection of items on Folksy (check out my shop by clicking here). So far, I have only listed the peg bags but plan on listing my other work in the coming days. The interest has been promising (like eBay, it tells you how many people have viewed you item) but no sales just yet. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
I've also used this week to explore ideas for other items and ways of making them. I really want to have a go at printing some of my drawings onto fabric, so we visited a couple of screen print works and have done some internet research.
Jo, a friend of Damian's, asked if I did a selection of diaries and notebooks, so that got me thinking. I've been experimenting with a few ideas, and the first sample looks like this.
The idea needs a bit of tweaking but they are coming along. Is this the type of thing you had in mind Jo?
Now that I've got quite a few things ready to sell, I decided to apply to stand at a local craft fair. It's in the run up to Christmas and is organised by a local craft collective who go by the name of Craft Candy. I'm told spaces are limited so competition is tough. I'll keep you updated on how the application goes.
Well, that's about it for news this week so I though it would be nice to finish off this blog (now that I'm in the swing of it) with a little about what inspires me and why I do the type of work I do.
Ephemera....feelings in the most unusual items.
The ideas behind my work developed many moons ago from an interest in recording the passing of time. This became even more pertinent when both my parents became ill, realising quickly how feelings and emotions can be documented through everyday, and mostly throwaway items. When returning home to visit my parents I started to collect items like shopping lists, hospital appointment cards, train tickets, receipts etc; materials that documented this period in my life. Although the items were very personal to me, I also started to think about their aesthetic qualities and how they could be introduced into my work. These ideas still form the basis of work. As I still live in the house my parents left, I am surrounded by them in the tiniest and indiscriminate of items. Its not just the obvious items (photographs, clothes, jewellery etc) that links me to them, but the obscure also. I have the character traits of both my parents in that I am a hoarder and I love making lists. Both my parents lived in this house for the last 30+ years of their lives, so you can imagine the amount of material I am left to work with!
To help illustrate what I am trying to say, I will use the follow piece of mixed media work.
 |
| You may have to click it to see some of the items! |
- A list of LPs, written in my Dads hand, with a a relief ink drawing of flowers from my garden
- A packet of fishing line, from Bennetts of Sheffield
- A vintage crochet pattern, given to my by Damian's parents
- A torn strip of musical score, hand written by my Dad
I hope this little insight into how my head processes the information it observes, adds some understanding to my work. I feel my ideas are still in their early stages and I will continue to write about them as they develop. Until next time, thank you for reading.
No comments:
Post a Comment