Right, no messing, it’s time to get this blog back on the road. Just one of the things I’m trying to get back into at the moment. The other is drawing regularly – I’ve started drawing everyday items around the house in a small sketchbook, just to get back into practicing. I’m enjoying it but quickly running out of things to draw! (Have to keep telling myself, it’s not what you draw, it’s just the act of drawing…)
So what am I up to these days?
I’m still working part time but have just reduced my hours so I now have more time to get back to being creative which is great, I know I’m incredibly lucky. And I know I have to seize this opportunity because of that. So I am going to.
I’m still making lampshades, although I don’t shout about it much (I should though!) I make them for a couple of local interior designers and for a curtain company too. I still love them and I still get a thrill when I’m given a beautiful piece of fabric to make into a lampshade. The bit when you roll the rings along and make it into a cylinder is the best! Only fellow lampshade makers will get this.
I still teach lampshade workshops occasionally, the last one to my hairdresser and her mum which was great fun. Still with homemade cake and a cup of tea, of course.
Plus there’s the drawing – I’m not the kind of person who has to draw all the time, but when I do draw, I escape from all thoughts, it’s a kind of meditation for me. And I love it when I can sit back and look at a drawing I’m pleased with and say “I did that”. I’m still drawn to old houses in a big way. I walk every Friday morning with a walking group and I never know where I’m going or where I’ve been, I’m always far too busy looking at the houses and countryside.
I still take orders for drawing commissions and recently drew a house and a land rover for someone – I’ll show you pictures soon but they’re presents so I like to leave it for a bit first.
Because I have suddenly found myself with more time on my hands I have signed up to do Art on the Street in Maidenhead on Saturday, 17th June. Not long to get some art work together but I like a deadline.
I also plan to get into London a lot more. It’s so close to where I live and it’s great for inspiration.
Last week I visited the Fashion and Textile Museum on Bermondsey Street, SE1. Followed by a walk through Borough Market (yum!) and a quick visit to Tate Modern before hopping on the train back home. The museum was amazing, we just managed to catch an exhibition on the designer and artist Josef Frank – have a look at their website but unfortunately it’s only on for a couple more days. I wasn’t really prepared for writing a blog post on it but I will be next time! This is what the museum says:
Explore the work of designer and artist Josef Frank (1885-1967) in the first-ever UK exhibition of his textiles. The Austrian-born architect moved to Sweden in 1933, where he developed his colourful brand of modernism, working with Estrid Ericson on furniture, glassware, lighting and interior design ideas. Together they redefined what is regarded as Swedish Modern. This exhibition in association with Millesgården, Stockholm highlights Frank’s vibrant fabric designs for Svenskt Tenn alongside a number of his previously unknown watercolours.
It was so great to see his watercolour paintings of the textile design repeats next to the fabrics themselves, I loved it. I only took a few photos so have just searched for some images on the web (NB these aren’t all in the exhibition but give you a good idea of his style). There were others I didn’t like as much but the jolly colours of these ones appealed to me the most.
So, that’s my first blog post in a LONG time! Sorry about that. But I’m back and will try and find something to write about weekly. See you next Friday! 🙂
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