Studio Jealousy

One of my Mothers' friends, Sally, works in a lovely purpose built studio, situated in her back garden. I visited her not so long ago, and was amazed at how organised all of her craft bits and pieces were. Not only was everything ordered and in it's place, even the WAY she organised was creative. I was inspired to start storing my various materials in a slightly more artsy way, and I've started with my buttons. The glass jars that various sauces come in are handy for such things, because they're usually available in varying sizes and shapes. I chose to decorate all of the lids in the same way so that there was some continuity, but the buttons themselves are colour coded. The whole idea was so simple, but I've found the result really effective. 

I love the labels that Wilkin & Sons use for their jars, they're so 'Farmers Market'!

I took the daisies from a headband that I bought from Primark - It cost £1.50 and started to fall apart after a day! (I should have known better, but they've come in handy.) 

I haven't managed to collect enough jars for all of my colours yet, but hopefully it won't take too long!

Jubilee Celebrations!

This weekend has been a long but lovely one. My Jubilee celebrations began on Thursday, when I travelled home from University to see the family. Friday was spent visiting galleries, studios and the Worcester Arts Workshop, due to the fact that the Arts Trail happened to fall on the same weekend as the Jubilee. Saw some lovely work, which left me feeling inspired (I may actually do a post on some of my favourite 'recent finds'). However, I've been a busy bee and haven't have much time for 'work' stuff. Food seemed to play a rather large part in my time at home (as it always does when there are parties to attend!) and I definitely over-did it with the sugar. Here are some of my favourite Jubilee-themed photos, from boyfriend time, to family time and the village fete, too!... (Diana pictures still to come.) 

They were going to be Red, White and Blue.. 2 out of 3 isn't bad!

Morning snakes and ladders fun.

3 types of cake in one bowl? Only at a village fete...

Love the retro print on this chair.

I love the way that even condiments have been adapted to suit the party mood! (Although I hate hate HATE Marmite.) 

It's been too long!..

So, already I have disappointed myself with my lack of effort with this blog. But, I'm not going to beat myself up about it, I've been working on my new project, and that can only be a good thing, right? 

'Woodland' is my chosen theme this time around, and ceramics and textiles (more specifically print and stitch) are my chosen materials and processes. 'Natural forms' seemed a bit too vague, and everyone knows that it's been done to death now. Some may argue that Woodland isn't exactly the most original idea, but I have my reasons for choosing it.

Reason 1: I want to utilise the (completely in-tact and untouched) WASPS NEST that is currently sat in a Quality Streets tin in my living room! It's absolutely beautiful and I find it so inspiring that an object built out of necessity can be so beautiful without even meaning to be.

Reason 2: I live in Worcestershire. Yes we have historic buildings. Yes we have the infamous Worcester Sauce. But we ALSO have some of the most beautiful woodland and countryside I've seen. Although I'll be in Leicester for the beginning and end of the project, being at home will give me a chance to re-visit all of those beautiful places that take me back to my childhood; the bluebell walks, the nature trails and the pine cone and conker filled woods.

Reason 3: My Diana Mini! As you can see on my 'Diana' page, even an amateur can achieve stunning results with this beautiful little camera. And, what better time to take photographs of lush countryside than in the summer? Of course all of these visuals will help me along with my work, but even without a brief to follow, just taking her out on a sunny day makes me so happy. 

There's something magical about film photography. Something that you just don't get with a digital camera. It's the thought that the moments you capture aren't so orchestrated - you really do get one chance, and one chance only. No zoom, no contrast settings, just you, and the camera... PERFECT.

I wasn't planning on writing even half this much tonight, but I guess that's what happens when you write nothing for a whole week! I feel that there needs to be a word/image balance here, so here are some of my initial, unedited, primary research photographs from this week. Enjoy!