Arty Farty book-lust

Hey friend :)
At school I recently ordered a whole stack-a-books to inspire my classes and myself in Textiles Design. Hopefully these will help us/ them/ we to be more creative. I know they have already worked their arty-farty magic on me and I am full of ideas, my inspiration-tank est full!

we'll start here

I love traditional techniques used in a contemporary way, blackwork here...sooo labour intensive (all handstitch)!

graffiti is a passion of mine, and this Textile version is beyond yummy. Scattered words and images hand stitched.

beautiful aesthetically as well as disturbing and uncomfortable

narrative work is another passion of mine: feelings, messages, codes, links

I would whole-heartedly implore you to check out this book if you are a lover of any of the following: textiles, embroidery, subversive stitch, graffiti textiles, contemporary art, feminism, guerrilla textiles.

I originally saw this book at the Knitting and Stitching Show and didn't have the money to buy it. So glad I could at least get it at school to lust over...swoon! The artists in here are so inspirational it makes me want to cry.

If you liked this you may way to check out the author's blog, he is called Mr X Stitch.

What inspires you?

Love, me x

the first ever Re:Loved giveaway (eep!)

Yups it's giveaway time people.

I hope you have been liking my new collection of hearts, I have had lots of positive feedback about them face to face which is loverly. I thought it would be a great time to have a giveaway to say thanks for all your support both of my blog and creative persuits in general.

Sooo....friends, family, blog/  twitter/ facebook chums you are all welcome to join in to win one of my most poular art cards:

You can decide to send it or keep it for framing...I won't tell anyone :)

Here are the rules for the giveaway:

1. Leave a comment below, tell me if you will be sending a valentine this year

Optional extras for more chance of winning:

2. 'like' my facebook group then come back and leave a comment to say you have done so

3. follow me on twitter, then come back and comment

4. visit my etsy shop and come back to tell me which item is your favorite

5. follow this blog, and leave a comment

These are a lot of options, you don't have to do them all...

I will pick a random winner this time next week, and your card will be on it's way to you in time for Valentines.

Love, me x

Long time no Blog...

It seems like ages since I last shared any of the world with you, and even though I am utterly exhausted as I write this I wanted to bring you an update. Firstly, I am in love, well it is a Re:Love of someone I discovered a couple of years ago: Jess Chorley.
I came across her work again whilst reading the fantabulous and completely luscious Oh Comely magazine that I spotted whilst out shopping with my new creative friend Rosie.

I can only dream of making work like this, actually scrap that because I have in the past...perhaps I should dream of a day when I can make work like this again! Sometimes I miss the creative buzz of Art College...I should say ALL the time.
But guess what? I have created a little Art School community of friends who keep my ideas flowing. I love long conversations about print techniques, or new materials and processes...I am well nerdy for Art and Design.

In other news: Renegade was amazing and I got to meet the super talented Kim Smith (EEp!), and get a picture with her (as well as deliver her a little pressie from me). I went with my friend Anna and we decided that Kim's was the most creative and inspiring space on the day, lots of other things were a bit manufactured: plastics and wood. But hey, this is the first London Renegade so lots of room to grow and attract new makers. I will do a properly long post on that day and also the Knitting and Stitching show which was so inspirational...wow, I did 3 London trips in 3 days, and came home to sunny Poole each day.
Which is probably why I am so tired now.

Brick Lane was so beautiful, in an urban-messed-up kinda way. I took a bajillion photographs while poor Anna waited patiently...here are a few. I could have taken three million squillion. I was literally taking baby steps and snap snap snapping:

I adore the textures, the random placement. In fact the banner for this blog is taken rom my sketchbook, in which I worked with similar photographs in collage form. I am fascinated at how things look through the viewfinder, how I can select an area with perfect composition, out of randomness. This has always been my passion in art. All this will translate into later work.

What are you working on?

Love me x

Boscombe Arts and Crafts Bazaar

I had such a great time at the Boscombe Arts and Crafts Bazaar on Saturday. I swear I spent the whole day talking to lovely local people and customers, lots of craft admirers...it was soooo fun!
I had some good sales, and lots of positive feedback which is so nice, as I have been squirreled away all Summer making my products. I came home happy happy happy and full of beans.
The Bazaar is really small at the moment, but its going to be amazing with the backing of Bournemouth Borough Council and Boscombe Regeneration. Special thanks to Bisi Bordley who not only co-organised it but was a fantastic support on the day; setting up the marquee and helping set up the stalls, as well as watching my stall while I went for a quick break. Legend.
I took some pictures of my work, as I am really pleased with the way I set it up.



I used lots of old boxes and a suitcase as props as well as some of my collection of Antique embroidered table linens.

I used a hand mirror for folks to look at themselves, especially useful for earrings I found.

All my packaging is made from recycled card (circulars, leaflets, magazine cover etc), then I add labels with my logo to the front and hey presto, they are ready.
We had some official pictures taken by the Echo...eek! So look out for those if you are local (sorry South Korea).

Tomorrow I am taking a collection of my products to a fabulous little boutique gallery in Southbourne called Coastal Creatives who are interested in stocking a range of mine...how exciting!

My Summer Sketchbook

This summer I have been working really hard to open up my creativity, make bolder decisions and be more experimental with a wide range of media. This all came about because I attended an amazing workshop for Art Teachers at the Russell Cotes Art Gallery and Museum (just one of my favorite places to be in the world, and where I learnt to draw with my Art School as a teenager).
The workshop was run by Dave Hulson, and on the day I noticed he had the most beautiful little book with him that he used to record drawings, words, feedback we gave him...anything. I really liked this idea of having a book for EVERYTHING. I have sooo many sketchbooks and I always try and keep one for proper pencil drawing, one for printmaking, one for collages and one for notes and ideas.

So I challenged myself this summer to break out of the sketchbook rut, and get into some of what Dave was discovering. Here are some of the pages I have created this Summer. Sometimes they link together as the pages are cut through.

This is the first page I worked on this method of using it for EVERYTHING, so you can see me making notes about meetings and financial stuff. I remember this day so clearly. It was sooo hot and we were in my friend Anna's garden, testing out her new swing seat. We were trying to work out my pay for next year, and not doing very well with the Maths, but it was fun! We ended up staying for lunch, which her boyfriend cooked and was delicious.
Anna always grows the most beautiful sunflowers, and she is my gardening-guru. I always come away from her house with a new plant to love...

If you look at the left and right sides of this one you can see where it links in on the previous picture. On this day my Mum took us out to lunch at Banana Wharf on Poole Quay. Again, it was scorchingly hot and we felt like we were on holiday in our own town! Such a gorgeous view, and atmosphere there. We are saving it for special treats. In this page as well, you can see my notes on this crazy game I was playing at the start of the Summer. I have been a long time fan of the Myst series of games. I love to get lost in them sometimes. I played the Revelation game at the start of the Summer and it involved lots of codes and sequences, lots of them were visual so I used my book to record them. I really miss the Myst world now.

I will post more pages soon.
Me x
p.s if you check out Dave's blog and have a root around you will find some amazing examples of the books her makes with classes.

Boscombe Art and Craft Bazaar and Vintage Market

Quit a mouthful!

This week I am busy getting ready for the Art and Craft Bazaar in Boscombe this Saturday. I hope you can come and support the independent makers and vintage collectors there.
It is combining with Victorian Day in Boscombe so there will be activities and events planned by the Council too.
Details below...sees you there!

Now to find something to wear...

Working on new stuff...

I haven't posted anything in ages init!
I have been reading a whole lotta blogs tho'. Other than that I have been putting a lot of effort into all things creative. And as it happens I will have more time next academic year as I am going back to part time hours. I am really excited about this as I really want to make a go of my Textiles and Art stuffs.
I have had lots of interest in my work this summer, and am just taking time to find the right outlets/ initiatives to get involved in that best suit me and my lovely makings.

Here are some pictures of me working on some head scarves in my 'studio'...a corner of my dining room.





And some pictures of my busy busy workspace! Which looks kinda calm and tidy here...



My poor old Janome, it takes more abuse off me than anyone or anything.



Here is a picture of the finished Headscarves - made with the help of a tutorial via
SayyestoHaboken's blog...maybe one day when I know how to link stuff in, I can give her props! (Update...I did it!)




What are you wearing?
I thought I would post some pictures of my outfits occasionally. I have always found people comment on the clothes I wear, they want to tell me I look nice or ask me where I got something, so here I is:
Dress - Primark £6.00
Short sleeved cardi - Charity shop £1.99
Shoes - Asda £4.00
Head band - made it myself!


I am the bargain hunt Queen! More sooner x

Mmmmm...men doing Art Textiles

I have been discovering a wonderful new wave of exciting Textile Artists through the new course I am teaching: OCR Textiles Design GCSE. I am really thrilled with the amount of Textile Artists around, and really encouraged that men are becoming more well known for their work in this field too. I am in love with James Hunting's work, which follows a lot of the same processes as my own. I have included a few other artists that I am currently obsessing about too.

http://www.jameshunting.com/

Cas Holmes - amazing work, and so much of it to see and fall in love with. www.casholmes.textilearts.net/

Lastly for now - Sandra Meech, gorgeous layers and lyrical stitch. www.sandrameech.com/
I flippin' love Textiles!

One day I'll grow up and be..

I have just managed to get my scanner up and running again, and for that matter my printer is back in action! I am fully technologically complete...I am very excited about this as I can now print off the Scribble Project sheet and get to work on it!

This image is one of my abstract prints...I have loads of them, in fact I have loads of artwork, all lovingly stored for that momentous day when I become a famous artist and the world demands my retrospective exhibition with 'previously unseen' work! I can't wait!