busy - busy - busy...

...well it's been really busy - I have had no time to blog - I am now finished my last project and will be completing my foundation degree in Applied Arts in June - then out into the world of self-employment.  Here are some sneaky pics of what I will be displaying at my degree show in June...x

                                                my enamel abstract and detail flower studies

felt and stitch brooches

detail of silver stylised 'aubretia' brooch

enamelled agapanthus 'study' mounted on waxed oak



monoprinting...

finding my happy place

...where to find happiness?...it's all around me...it's just noticing it and catching snippets of it...and remembering it...realising it.  This is my new brief, however I have been working on it for some time now.  To get me started, I jumped head first into drawing...places and people - to draw connections with places...I don't know about you but if I find a place I like, I go back time and time again.  For me, those places are quite local to me - certainly in the North of England, as I love this part of the world.  Some of my favourite places are Saltaire, Masham and Jerveaux Abbey, York and Durham, they are all beautiful in their own way and are inspirational too.  I love taking a notebook with me when I visit places or go on holiday and so my notebooks - there are many - are a main focus - as I write lots of lists and quotes and ideas in them which I am going to use as inspiration and to hopefully create my pieces and designs.  For my products this time and this will be for my graduate degree show, I will be enamelling and perhaps etching in jewellery and in ceramics I am practising monoprinting techniques.  For textiles, I have not totally made up my mind, I am however really interested in making a piece of textile art with gorgeous embroidery... what I do know is that I want all of my products to link together and have a narrative, by sharing my notes and I suppose diaries about my journeys and travels, I will be able to achieve this...which is an exciting journey in itself...

...I made it...

All finished, polished, drilled and stitched... and handed in, my last brief is now a thing of the past and I await my fate - my marks! What a journey it has been...but worth it when you get such positive and lovely comments from your tutors and colleagues.  Thanks to Emma, my tutor who during our 'critique' said I had made my acrylic jewellery pieces 'my own', what a lovely compliment, it's boosted my confidence no-end. 
I did say that my brief was a thing of the past, ...only I am very inspired by what I have learned and made and the outcome and I would love to continue making my jewellery and developing it further.  As I said before,  it has all been inspired by images of disease, plant and human cells - seen under the microscope.  What is weird and great is since doing this 'brief', I have learned about the  'Festival Pattern Group' who in 1951 for the Festival of Britain, designed and made textiles, wallpapers, ceramics and more, inspired by x-ray crystallography.  It was a huge success at the time and I am really excited about the prospect of using this to inspire me to create my own 1950s style 'contemporary' textiles and prints and ceramic collectio,n perhaps?  The Festival of Britain theme has also initiated the idea of me doing my dissertation propsal around this idea. The other exciting part is the fact that many of the fabrics and textiles were printed onto 'the then new' - rayons and nylons which were produced and invented by ICI - not sure if this links with ICI local to me, but I will research and find out!
Well, I am now starting to research a new brief, we have been told to think about happiness, what makes us happy and the places, people, objects which make us happy.  I have already been to my happy place last weekend, Masham, North Yorkshire and visited my favourite Suncatcher's Cafe had my 'Spicy Bean Burger' and then visited The Gallery, Masham, that's all I need to get me to a happy place, although I could not get any Becky Crow earrings at the gallery, they had sold out, but that's great for Becky and great for Josie.  So, I will go and sketch my favourite bits of Masham!  Oh, and thanks to the City and Guilds Felting Group who put on a fab display and exhibition, I am inspired with felting again and it was lovely to see Thelma - my felt tutor!  'Till the next time...bye for now and thanks xxx

On the Make...

I'm nearly there, another brief nearly finished.  It's 'make' time, and all that sampling and trying new things are all paying off.  It has been a roller coaster of a ride, making samples in ceramics, acrylic and a range of textiles to make a range of products all stemming from the word 'lens'.  My products have been inspired by bacteria, cells and such like, when viewed under the microscope.  I have looked at a range of images to inspire me - and actually diseases and 'nasty' things look quite beautiful under the microscope.  If this brief was to continue I would have liked to use my inspiration and research on raising awareness - for example on Cancer, this could still happen, in the future, who knows? 
I have really enjoyed being challenged and have done so by using different techniques, or building and working on existing skills, as well as using new materials such as acrylic and in textiles I have learned to crochet and worked on many techniques.  I hope to have a range of acrylic jewellery including necklaces and cuff/bracelets inspired by 'tuberculosis'.  A test tube rack complete with test tubes and concial flasks, wearing textile jackets made from crochet, felt, machined embroidery!  All inspired by disease and cells too! And finally a ceramic installation - of porcelain and stitch to represent Legionnaires Disease to complete the range!  Well back to making...