Blog
Hello and welcome to my Blog especially for textile artists, combining inspiration, personal growth, creativity and design. All the good things!
Inspiring Research
Research offers numerous threads, leads, and studies I can investigate and use for inspiration and new interpretation.
Snowflakes
But the real fun is having an idea and running with it – just to see where it goes.
Kia Orana
Kia Orana – a beautiful greeting used in the Cook Islands to say hello – literally translated means ‘may you live a long and fulfilling life’.
The Giving Gift
Beading is very like hand embroidery – there’s that almost instant hit of gratification along with a wonderful sense of indulgence and opulence from using fairly simple materials.
Your Story
Let your story lead. It may be the best story ever told!
Become the Pathfinder
Choice is not easy. But we're in the game of choice - every day we have to choose creative options. We're the project managers of our own work, so we have to lead from the front. We can't be hesitant about commitment - we need to make decisions based on facts,...
Same Input, Different Outcomes
There has to be time for a connection between the work we do, the techniques we explore, and the themes we research.
Smart People
This is the basic, no-nonsense, generic kind of smart.
The Confidence to Just Do
So by committing to the fear, of the unknown and unseen, I’m producing work I’m really proud of – plus I’m exercising that very difficult part of the artist’s anatomy – my confidence.
Ideas and Connection
Ideas and Connection, are two often-used concepts used in the world of textile art - but how do you apply them? You have to go back to the basics. What I've discovered is that by pushing the boundaries of not working with a preconceived pattern or design, the whole...
Aesthetic Appreciation
'Aesthetic Appreciation', words used by Constance Howard, in her book 'Inspiration for Embroidery', published in 1966 by BT Batsford - and in my opinion, the crux and core of understanding design. 'Technical skill is only part of any craft, with which progress is...
Craft & Quilt Fair 2022
Attending a Craft and Quilt Fair recently was, I have to say, a glorious re-emergence of fraternization with friends, traders, and people simply interested in creating. (Plus getting a photo of yourself in front of a huge image of your work!) And while it's a...
Measurement
Value can be found in all the things that are difficult, if not impossible to measure – things like pleasure, passion, progress, habits, commitment, determination, problem-solving, responding to failure – you get the idea.
The Artist’s Equation: Questions & Answers
We need to make discoveries for ourselves, we need to innovate to suit our own unique tastes, and most importantly, to show our individual and distinctive influences too.
Let’s Talk About It
Now, it’s our turn to shape our own world of making – of creativity, design, and technique using textiles and a needle and thread and that means interacting as frequently as we can with people who do, and people who want to do.