Paper

Working with collage means that I have developed a magpie-like eye for colours and textures. I once bought a table on the basis that I liked the peeling paper that was stuck to the top, so taken was I by the fragile texture and shade of the paint that cracked and crept across its surface.

Working on the Art Journal all Year project has meant sorting through the boxes of collage papers and magazine cuttings that I have been storing for a long time. It is wonderful to be using them for a good and constructive purpose.

Old, amaretti papers (although I prefer to call them amoretti which means little loves. Apt), a receipt that once fell out of a charity shop book, pattern papers and linen cloths. And Dolly. I can't wait to use this image for something!

The journal asks that I layer images from magazines, papers, fabrics and embellishments, before adding a 'journal challenge' thought. I downloaded a laptop wallpaper the other day which had the phrase 'give yourself a break' printed across it. It is a useful reminder at the moment. Luckily, half term is on its way...

Create Me Challenge

Being part of the CreativeFolk Collective has been a joy over the last year. Not only has it been refreshing and encouraging to spend time with friends who have the same intentions and dreams of running their own creative businesses, but it has also felt like I've made a commitment in the right direction towards my own plans. Along side personal projects like the Art Journal all Year, which is well on its way, we have a collective project, the Create Me challenge.

The premise of the Create Me challenge is simple; we send postcards like to one above to friends and family asking to be challenged to make or design a product. They must send the postcard back to us with a suggestion of something to make or do that is realistic and affordable. Even as cards are still being sent out, replies are coming back in and we are beginning to tackle each idea, big and small, from designing a set of pin badges to learning how to build a website...
Take a look at the Creative Folk Blog to be updated on our progress, or follow me on Twitter.

Friday Night on the Waterfront

As soon as the bell went at the end of school on Friday, I shot off to Bristol for an evening by the waterfront. In the summer, I quite often drive into town after school, to have a drink in the late-afternoon sun and to feel connected to the buzz of the city after a day in the classroom; in winter, I don't make it nearly as often. Last night, I wrapped up warm and headed for the harbourside, stopping for exhibitions at the M Shed and Arnolfini before relaxing with a hot drink and a chat with a good friend.

Community Spirited

The Whitfield Village Pantry is a gem. Nestled at the bottom of a hill in the Northumberland village of Whitfield, The Pantry provides a warm community hub in this otherwise quiet idyll. With shelves of essentials; marmite, mustard, an array of Heinz and every Sunday paper, local and national, that a girl could want, The Whitfield Village Pantry was opened by David and Ed back last April, in an effort to provide a stylish and welcoming place to eat, drink and socialise for the local community. Locals have indeed taken warmly to the arrival, and as word has spread, business has grown, and even on a damp and misty Sunday morning in January, the tables are full of families enjoying a coffee or a fry-up.

The atmosphere is warm and welcoming, and for my two-year-old niece, the puppy, Pippa, adds an extra air of excitement to a Sunday morning hot chocolate.

It was lovely to discover the shop and cafe this weekend, down the road from my sister's new home. What was even more exciting, was to discover that David and Ed have been joined in their venture by Katie, owner of the creative workshop company,  MAKE Recycled. Having been based in nearby Allendale for a while, Katie has begun 2012 by moving premises, to the spacious room above the cafe.

Climbing up the stairs to the workshop was like stepping into a grotto: I didn't know where to look, so full was the beautiful upstairs room with pots and baskets of buttons, ribbons, fabric and papers. The walls were lined with shelves and cabinets, stacked high with projects from workshops and Katie's own work (a rather intriguing collection of paper horses caught my eye) - it is a dreamy and inspiring place, home to workshops and creative gatherings throughout the week. Katie runs all sorts of courses herself, and invites her talented friends to teach their skills as well. Catering for children and adults, at birthday parties, hen dos and weekend courses, the space offers the local and not-so-local community a place to indulge their passion for all things crafty. As I explored the workshop space, camera in hand, I couldn't decide where to look, so beautiful were the treasures in every corner. If ever you find yourself Northumberland way, I highly recommend you stop by, for a coffee or some crafting, it won't disappoint. 



Reclamation

I like furniture. I think about it more than most; about its shape, its feel, its place in a room and about its history. I feel a sense of solidity in good furniture that I just can't replicate with a flat-packed Swedish delight (although they too, certainly have their place in my life). I catch myself boasting a little too often about how little it cost me to furnish my current home; 'Oh, that old thing? That was 3 quid from a car boot,' or 'No, it wasn't expensive, a neighbour gave that to me - just when I needed it, amazing!'

Before I moved here, I had been collecting things for the day when I was able to have a place all of my own. I would shoot my hand up at offers of some old table or dining room chair, and I never shied away from the opportunity to pick up a treasure at a car boot, junk shop or jumble sale. When I was at university, the National Trust office in the village I grew up in put a leaflet through our door. 'House Clearance!' it read. 'Brilliant!' I thought. As it turned out, this was no ordinary house clearance. For the past THIRTY YEARS the National Trust had been storing old bits of furniture, from tables to beds to armchairs to cupboards, in a barn at the bottom of the village. They had decided that it was about time to capitalise on the property, and so were selling every single item off at £5 a piece. I had a field day. Much of the furniture in my current home was gathered eagerly on that day. I have painted, upholstered, fixed and amended much of it, so that it feels very much like part of my life, and I hope that it will remain so for years to come.

It hasn't always been a simple act of buying a cheap treasure and finding it a home. My dad has a shed. The Shed. It's not your average shed, rather it is a beautiful stone out-house in the garden of our family home. At any one time it has been a study, a workshop, a dining room, a teenage-brother's hang out, and even a bedroom for my older sister. For the the last ten years, it has also been a storage space. First for my sister, then for me, and until about two weeks ago, for my younger brother. As we have moved from place to place, found our feet and moved our lives, our boxes of books and bulkier treasures have been resting in The Shed. My dad's desk has been tucked at the far end, next to the wood burner which acts as both the main source of heat and a place to warm the coffee pot. He works there most days, and with a smile he has spent the last few years reminding us of our 'things' that have blocked his view through the window to the house.

Now, we have reclaimed our belongings and Dad has reclaimed his space.

I feel about furniture the way that some people feel about shoes, or a crazy dress that they have no occasion for. I hear myself thinking 'well, I may not have the space now but it is so amazing and I'm sure it'll come in useful one day - you know, when I have my own enormous house? Or when I run that furniture business I keep dreaming of..?' And I love to make my mark on a piece of furniture too. So long as I'm not destroying some remnant of regency splendour or an austere mahogany masterpiece, I am happy to sand, paint or plaster wallpaper to change the appearance and story of anything that comes my way.  

There is another sort of reclamation that comes from these projects though. Reclamation of my time, of my intentions, and of a sense of control and creativity. Being a teacher means that much of my week (all of my working week) is timetabled and structured to the finest degree, with each lesson mapped and planned and accounted for. My creative projects offer me more than just another place to position a photograph or pretty cushion; rather, they allow me to reclaim a sense of my time, to reclaim a sense of my own identity outside of the classroom and away from the demands of my work. I am developing a habit of getting up a little earlier, and of resting a little more. Of beginning my day with something of my own, and ending my evenings with creative projects; reclaiming a little more of myself every day.

Continue to Grow and Evolve

A while ago, I came across idea obscura, a tumblr blog belonging to a graphic design student called Francesca . A recent project of hers was this letter press print of a Ghandi's Top Ten Fundamentals, published on her blog and available to download and print.

Now attached to a cupboard above my kettle, the fundamentals are perfectly positioned for a little reflection whilst the tea is brewing; right now, the notion that strikes a chord with me is to 'continue to grow and evolve.' This sense of growth and evolution is ultimately best explored through creativity; finding ways of expressing intentions into the world as well as exploring skills and techniques. 

The Art Journal all Year project, which I am really beginning to enjoy, is helping me to think in new ways about textures, layers and creative intentions. As the sun shines through the living room to the table where I work, it is exciting to think of the possiblity of the course, and the challenges it is providing.

I have worked with paper and layering a lot over the last two years or so. I have always kept scrapbooks, and it felt like a natural progression to work more with collage and paper cutting - the transformation of photographs, prints and patterns into new creations helps me to physically piece together the elements of visual and literary art which I feel help me make sense of the world. The project this week was to consider both the technique of layering and mixture of textures and patterns, as well as considering the dreams associated with the year ahead, and beyond.

The process of collage, or layering papers and thoughts, often creates connections between the images and words which were unintended, at least consciously so, and those connections add depth to the initial intention. The images I was drawn to for this first page were from old copies of design magazines and an Anthropologie catalogue; one happened to include the words 'bare essentials' and the other 'barefoot luxuries' - polar notions, perhaps, but both integral to the dreams I have for the year ahead.

New Year, New Project

Photo from A Beautiful Mess 

I have been enjoying the world of creative blogs for almost five years now, and have spent many hours marvelling at the way in which creative types can dedicate so much time to wonderful pursuits; writing, making, growing, photographing. This blog is my second, and the direction that I want it to take is still a work in progress, but I hope to continue to establish my own creative pursuits in more definite and productive ways. 

As a step towards that today, I have signed up to my very first E-Course. Discovered via a favourite blog of mind, A Beautiful Mess, The Art Journal all Year course is designed to guide you through the process of creating an art journal by setting weekly projects and goals. I am so excited to have committed to this project and look forward to reporting back on my progress in this space! 

A Festive Round-Up

It's the last day of the holiday.

Time then, to reflect on two wonderful weeks and gear myself up for the coming term.

I tend to make the same 'mistake' every holiday. I say 'mistake' because in fact, the result is good in many ways, but does not always make for a balanced me. In the weeks preceeding a school holiday, I tend to feel a mixture of excitement and agitation as I look at the free time. I make plans. Lots of them. Partly because of the fact I live a while away from my oldest and dearest friends, not to mention my siblings and parents, and partly because I want to make the very most of every spare moment that I have, I make plans to travel, to see, to do. I have a mental list that gets ever longer during the weeks I am at school, and I tend to treat the holidays as a way of Ticking Things Off. There is also, I am beginning to realise, a slight nervousness at the prospect of slowing and pausing, when I get so used to being frantically busy during school.

This holiday, therefore, has been a mixture of travelling, seeing, doing - not to mention celebrating, eating, drinking, dancing and generally making merry. The result? Fun...lovely really...just quite exhausting, too.

:: Decorations were hung

:: Feasts were prepared

:: Feasts were eaten

:: More than once...

:: Gifts were given

:: And the Southbank fireworks were watched from a distance at a very jolly party

So what now? I have a few (hundred) intentions for the new year; I tend to love this feeling of freshness, of renewal, of possibility, and get rather excited; but these intentions can be summarised in just one - or is this two?!

Take time, be patient.

Take time to sit, to be still, to practise yoga, to enjoy my home, my work, my family and friends; Be patient that it is all going in the right direction.

Happy New Year.