New Year Things, In No Particular Order

The Cambridge map in progress.

Cambridge buildings inky drawings, Kings Collage

Cambridge map in progress with textile art bulb.

Handmade textile art bulb slow stitched from vintage fabrics.

Textile art spring bulb with hyacinth bulb.

Glass tile, pomegranate design (pre-fired).

It feels like journaling died a death a long time ago now, replaced by quick videos clips chosen for us by algorithms. I miss journaling though. Shall we try again? I had rather hoped it (this website) might be like an organic living record of my work by now, alive and evolving all the time. I have not written here in a while. I have returned to reading blogs though, and perusing individual websites. Finding the online spaces of creatives has helped to charge my own inspiration. I’m still on the hunt for other blogs to follow, and I like to do this when I have a good amount of time to read at leisure. I am writing this now while drinking tea as it is raining heavy outside. The murder mile podcast on in the background and I am feeling very much out of the habit of writing.

I have been collecting vintage fabrics over the past year and have acquired many pieces of beautiful delicate cloth that are now waiting to be sewn together. I haven’t until recently got round to cleaning and stitching them. This year’s intentions are to create new textile art pieces inspired by the pages of last year’s sketch nature journal and travels. I have started with spring bulbs, and think I may paint them. They look a little too clean as they are currently.   

The last couple of months I have also been trying linocut printing for the first time. I bought a beginner’s kit a few months ago. I popped into Hobbycraft just to “have a look” and as usual came out of there with a bag full of craft goodies to play with. A word about the Linocut printing for anyone wanting to try this, when making my prints, cutting the pattern in the rubber sheet was far more difficult, fiddley and time consuming than I imagined! I have watched tutorials of people creating huge lino prints and they make it look so easy. Trust me, it is not that easy. Although once the pattern has been finally cut into the lino the prints are quite easy to make. Create lots of them and you can make some beautiful patterns and textile print. I have also attended a glass art workshop, lots of fun, however the work is yet to be fired. I will share the pomegranate tile here one it is finished.

There is also a map of Cambridge currently being created, a request from a friend. The buildings have been drawn and I have started painting them. I will share updates as it comes together.