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Just a short post to say that I will be away from blogging for a couple of weeks while I’ll concentrate on making . I have plans for new work and a new look to the blog and shop. See you in a few weeks.
This is the finished home sweet home work to raise funds for the Australian bushfire appeal. I’ve been a bit pushed for time with work and my printer is still not working, think I may need to get a new one, so I have decided not to make three home sweet home pieces. I am going to put a bag and a brooch set in my shop and all funds from the sale of these items will go to the appeal, shipping is free on all items. I now have an etsy shop and all the above items are for sale here.
I’ve started work on the pieces I plan to sell to raise money for the bushfire appeal in Australia. I’ve decided to make three different pieces all based on the theme of home. This is a detail of the first work, I hope to have all three finished by the end of the week. I have been slowed down by my printer, it won’t print and I don’t know why, its driving me mad. So I have decided to make pieces without using the computer for the time being.
If you want to keep up to date in the UK with events in Australia my lovely sister-in-law, Kay, emailed me this link.
Its great to see lots of crafters raising funds for the appeal, links of some that I’ve heard about are listed below, if you know anymore please add them in the comments section. 6.5sts has written a very moving post that sums up how so many of us feel.
First of all I would like to say thank you to everyone that bought the postcards they are all sold now. I have decided not to post the final one because I want to move on to a new project that is very dear to my heart. I’m sure you have all seen the news and the horrendous bushfires that have devastated 3 states of Australia. I grew up in Australia and have family there as I’m sure do many people all over the world. So my next project will be to raise funds for the bushfire disaster appeal, I am going to make an edition of 5 home sweet home pieces and all proceeds will go to the Australian Red Cross disaster appeal for victims of the bush fires. I have chosen home sweet home as the theme because while we still have our homes to go to others don’t. I will post more details over the next few days, hope you can help. If you would like to make a donation directly to the red cross you can do so online here.
This is the third postcard in the love letter series, apologies for the poor photo, I was hoping to be finished during daylight to get a good picture, I will try again in the morning and update this image. The final card will be posted tomorrow morning.
At last the second in the series of love letter postcards, this design is based on work I made a while ago and really love so I want to do more with it. I love the bright colours and the reference to old samplers. The last two postcards will be available later today, fingers crossed. You can buy this design here.
I’m so sorry i haven’t posted the next 2 cards, I had a bit of a silly moment on Friday. I’ve been in work the last 2 days I decided to take the cards to stitch while sat in my favourite coffee shop at lunch time…but I forgot to take my threads, so I’m running a little behind. On Monday I will post the final 3 cards, probably at different times throughout the day. I’m glad to say that the first card is already sold and I hope the recipient will be very happy with their unique card. A big thank you to indie quarter blog for a very lovely post about the postcards, you can read it here.
This is the first of a new series of Love Letter Postcards I’m working on, i was hoping to get them into my shop in time for valentines but I’m running out of time. The idea comes from old postcards that servicemen would send home to there loved one during the wars. Many of these cards were decorated by the men some using stitch and their own own hair as thread. I’ve been fascinated by these beautiful cards for a number of years and always planned to do a piece of work based on them.
I will endevour to post a new card in my shop everyday until Monday, then I will post them on Tuesday so they should reach UK postal addresses in time for valentines day. I will only make ONE of each so they are a truly unique way of saying I love you.
They are not just intended for Valentines day, I believe you don’t need a special day to tell the one you love how much they mean to you, any day can be Valentines day if you want it to be. So i will continue to make the love letter postcards from now on.
So I’ve sorted my studio out and I’m ready to start creating new work, above is my work space with reminders of what I SHOULD be doing so I don’t start off down the wrong path again. I love using different techniques and processes to make work, not just textile based, and different materials. I love paper as much as fabric and print as much as stitch and central to all of this is a love type/text/words. I have recently fallen in love with letterpress printing and have set myself the goal of learning this wonderful craft by the end of the year. I used to have an old typewriter, still do but its at my parents house in Australia, which I’ve used before in my work because of the indent the letter makes in the paper when the key is struck and the every typewriter has its own personality. Computers are great for somethings but their is very little evidence of making or the human hand, this is what matters to me and I’m sure it will become evident in the first few objects I experiment with. The direction of my work is all about experimenting with processes and materials. Text will be the main visual, both narrative and decorative and the ideas will come from two reoccurring themes – LOVE and HOME.
During January I have been thinking about where I am going with my work. Initially I intended to continue making more bags and purses, but recent events have made me re-think this way of working. It all started when I decided to have a tidy up and sorting out of my studio (spare room), I started to read through my old ideas books and look at old projects, in particular the 31 days project that was documented on my old blog. I also came across a piece of writing from almost a year ago that really made me stop and think about the direction my work was taking. The piece of writing was a way for me to get my thoughts down on paper and hopefully clarify what I wanted to do, what scares me is that I could have wrote the same words yesterday, I felt as though I’d taken a huge step backwards and lost my way. Below is an edited version of how I felt/feel.
I want to create and I love the process of making, what ever that process is. What I never wanted to do was get into the trap of making things to sell, I know this sounds a bit odd but bear with me. By making bags (a product) I felt I have lost some of my creativity, by wanting to be able to make a living from making something, that something has taken over and become something I don’t want it to be. i feel i have lost my spirit and don’t have the same passion i once had, this shows in my blog as much as my work. I don’t write as much because I feel i have nothing to write about, I’m just making bags. Part of this is because I’m scared that if I make what I like no one will be interested enough to buy it and I will never be able to leave my boring pays-the-bills job. So I need to do what I should have done a year ago and follow my heart and make art objects with real passion and love and not worry about if they are a good business venture, if its meant to happen it will do if I stay true to myself.
