Preparation and planning

 

I have spent this morning planning the colour schemes for the work that I will be taking to Country Living Spring Fair and British Craft Trade Fair.  I don't normally plan in this way but I often find that I have lots of work in certain colours and would like to ensure this time that I have a range of colourways and an even mix.  I am only selecting the colourways that are right for my work and that I normally use anyway but I am always looking at interior and fashion magazines and this just seems like a good way to collate all of the images that I have torn out because I like the texture/colour/pattern.  You can't get away from the fact that certain colours sell well when they are in fashion and whilst I would hope that my work will stand the test of time I don't think it can harm to keep an eye on trends and fashions as these are usually the colours that galleries/shops/magazines are looking for and requesting because they are current.

I have put this sheet up on my wall as a constant reminder as to what I am aiming for as I find it all too easy to digress and whilst I usually enjoy letting my work flow and evolve I am working to a pretty tight deadline and want to get this just right.

So I have planned my colourways and have so many images and ideas in my head of how I want each piece to look I just need a quiet few hours to get some of these onto paper.  If I am feeling brave I might put some sketch book pages on here too.....

Transfer Printing Part 1

Finally back in the studio today after an extended Christmas break!  I decided to ease myself back into things with a fun morning transfer printing as I have a few bags to finish for an exhibition at the end of January and I have decided to decorate them with some transfer printed satin.  I am always excited by the possibilities of transfer printing but never seem to have enough time to fully explore it's different methods of application so I have decided that this is one of the areas I am going to explore further this year.  For those of you unfamiliar with transfer printing it is when disperse dye is applied to paper (endless possibilities for doing this!) and once dry is ironed onto fabric (manmade).  I am planning to try different resists and today decided to use a dried piece of plant from my garden....here are the results..

 ...can't wait to try some more of the things that I have collected and to take these pieces further.

Country Living Spring Fair

I have had an enforced day at home today as my son is off school poorly so I have been catching up on a bit of planning and as usual ended up surfing the net.  I visited the Country Living Spring Fair website and had a moment of nervous excitement as I discovered my details had been added; it was only my name and address but it really doesn't take much!  It made me realise how near the event actually is and whilst I am looking forward to it I still have a huge amount of work to do.  It's so difficult to judge how much work to take as well; probably dependant on what will fit in the car; as I would hate to not take enough but must try and select the right things.  I am also going to order a new set of stationery and packaging with my fab new(ish) logo, designed by the very talented Michael Barrett aka emelbi, so everything works together on the stand.

I am looking forward to finishing some new pieces off when I get back in the studio....pears!  I started studying these before the Christmas rush kicked in and discovered some interesting new ways of printing off my screens coated in thickened dye using simple paper resists and printing and overprinting.  I just need to apply the devore paste and a little more dye and I will share them with you.


Before I go here are a few interesting blogs that I discovered today:

http://moobaacluck.blogspot.com/

http://ukhandmade.co.uk/


Happy surfing!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone! I am looking forward to a busy 2011 and can't wait to set to work on all of the new ideas I have for Country Living Spring Fair and British Craft Trade Fair. I have started by writing a list as usual......it just makes me feel like I have made a start! I am making only 2 new years resolutions this year:

The first is to not take on too much....easier said than done! I am prone to loosing track of how much I have achieved and concentrating a bit too much on what I haven't and this can cause me to try and cram in too many things. The Christmas break has been a good opportunity to look back on the past few years and see how far I have come; 2011 is a year for enjoying where I am now and really getting the most out of my creativity without putting myself under too much pressure.

The second is to try and blog more...this is a recurring theme! I am going to attempt a new post a week (at least) to try and form a visual diary of my year; what I have created, what has inspired me, who I have discovered and what exhibitions and events I have been a part of.

But for now I am calling it a day. It's been a really rewarding day working with teachers from Reinwood School prior to my creative partnership project there this term but a full on start to the year...bye for now.