Maker In Residence

 The lock down in NSW has been terrific for me to upskill ...not sure I like that word for creative work, but it does describe what is happening. Can you think of a better term? Anyway, I've been learning a lot. Yesterday I followed a video on how to make Bruges lace and I've started a piece. This is a very basic piece really, and this is the level I'm aiming for ... (Sorry i don't know who the maker is, of this lovely lace. It's a picture from Pinterest) As you can see, I've got a bit of practicing to do. But I'm very lucky in that I pick creative skills up really fast. I wouldn't be producing lace like this for a table, more for wearing, like this...    Though I wouldn't crochet the entire outfit as is done here. I'm also learning a lot about running a creative business. I went to a webinar last night on Creative Marketing Strategies for Creatives. I learned a lot, though I never really intend to creative work to be my sole income. It will need...

 WARNING! This will be a long one. As part of the Maker in Residence program, I've been encouraged to find my voice, my style, my artistic identity. In the first few weeks, this caused a serious doubt to well up inside me. I work across so many mediums that, at first I couldn't see it. My mentor encouraged me to journal and to experiment to find it. Then this morning, while in the shower it hit me (I often get epiphanies in the shower). I've already done all that!!!!! Ever since my teen years I've scrapbooked, journalled, flipped from one medium to another, followed and sought many influences. For one little moment there, I just forgot. So here is an affirmation. (for those who don't know me quite as well as others, these images are all my own work done over the past 30 or so years. And I apologise to those who have seen these images before, though I think this is the first time I have collected them in a statement like this.) My voice is evident in the sparkly mate...

 Here's a little video showing me working with a size 40 thread. It's not the smallest thread I've worked with and I'm still pretty new to this, which is why I'm looking all fingers and thumbs still. but I know I'll get quicker and more confident as I go. This little flower ended up encased in resin... The experiment wasn't a success unfortunately, but these little flowers only take about half an hour to crochet. In the same experiment, I was trying to encase half this piece of lace I made. I like the way it turned out actually and I'll definitely do something like this again... Even though the experiment didn't go as I wanted. I love how the lace hardened and conformed to the shape. I get excited thinking about all the shapes I can mould the lace into.  Here's what they looked like before they were encased. I've always wanted to make fabric pieces that I knew would stand the test of time, not fading or breaking down as is their natural proce...

 My mentor, Liz, at The Hawkesbury Remakery has encouraged me to find materials that speak to me when I'm making my pieces for exhibition. Thinking about it lead to a bit of a materials study. Below, you can see three different materials (3 sizes of crochet yarn with their 3 different size hooks). Not only do you get seriously different results on the size front, I chose three different types of yarn to test.  The one on the left is a 60 weight lace thread (crocheted over a 4 strand cord) with a 0.6mm hook. It's super fine, (though I might add, not the finest you can do - stay tuned for the 100 weight and the 0.35mm hook (I'm waiting for that to arrive from Japan). This is a thread designed for making fine laces and is not for the faint hearted. This was only my second time using it and I still felt like I was all fingers and thumbs, but I managed a nice little sample. I can't wait to do dome more gorgeous fine laces with this. The one in the middle is a perle from DMC ...

 So ...my Maker in Residence is all about showing my process of creativity right? Well, here's something you don't always get to see ... This is my work space after a few weeks of working on several projects at once, and not tidying anything up. Yikes!!! My poor husband lives with this. And somehow I manage to keep working in this. But this morning I decided it was time for a bit of a reset and to put some things away and give myself a nicer work space. Much better! I'm still working on about 4 things at once, but I put away things I don't need at the moment. Ahhhhh. I'm off to enjoy my space with some Russian crochet.

 There is nothing like a delivery of new materials to spur you on. So when the package arrived with these ...  I was instantly reinspired. And already today I've done this much... I know it doesn't look like a major amount, but it's several hours of work. I'm sure she will be ready by September for the ReTwined, ReImagined Fibres, Experimental Textiles exhibition at The Hawkesbury Remakery.

 As I'm planning my newest dolls, I am considering what happens when a Spirit Doll is created. This is the doll I'm working on at the moment.  She has a hand sculpted and painted face. Spirit Dolls in Wiccan faith, and many other mystical based faiths, are used as a channel for or barrier against spiritual forces. They are often placed on an altar, but if small enough can be carried frequently or tucked under a pillow. A doll made for healing would channel well being, health, physical strength etc. And a doll made as protection might shield against hate, fear or greed, for instance. There are dolls made specifically for malice (think of voo-doo), but I don't go anywhere near those. When a doll is made for healing or protection the creator of the doll not only aims to envision the doll's purpose as they work, they would choose materials which amplify the sentiment. For example, my doll 'inspiration' I chose amethyst, partly because it is my birth stone and I ador...

 The making of dolls is an ancient practice, and dolls as healing is just as old. I can't really remember the first doll I ever made. I'm pretty sure it was in my teens though. But my first spirit doll came along only a few years ago. Spirit dolls are used in the Wiccan faith, usually placed on the altar and imbued with positive intentions. I had a desire to make one that I would infuse with the promise of inspiration. Once 'inspiration' was finished I posted her on facebook to show my family and friends. One of my friends who saw her and read the story of how she was connected to a Wiccan tradition contacted me almost immediately. A dear friend of hers, who was a practicing Wiccan had just passed. My friend asked me to make her a spirit doll as a passing gift for the lady who being buried according to Wiccan traditions in only a shroud. This doll I called 'Flora' This doll was even more special as I was given the large collection of beads that the Wiccan lady h...