What I am looking at right now....

Just looking through some images I have collected over the last year. Just to see them as a whole and strands that connect them. Time at last to catch up on some thinking, planning and making...

Scene from the Wicker Man. V&A Jewellery 1820-1860 Lombardy. V&A Jewellery 1820-1860 Italy. Amelia Earhart pennant from Washington Museum. Cottingley Fairies. Folk Art – Tate - Wicker Man. George Smart – Folk Art - from Tonbridge Wells. Silver and Gold Threads. Rope detail from Lyme. Binding ropes from Lyme. Scene from Picnic at hanging Rock. Sweetheart pin cushion – Folk Art - Tate. Sweet heat pin cushion. Little Women dolls. Moth Dolls from Washington Museum. Pitt River Baskets. Pitt River jewels. Pit River shell Jewellery. Pitt Rivers Snow shoes. Séance at a shell grotto. Spring Fed by Andrew Wyeth. Seventh Tree artwork. Fish at Dungeness. Fish from Washington Museum.

Making More: Project Update

The Making More project I was working on for over a year, is now a self sustaining making group, with the cohort leading it's own workshops to teach it's new members how to make the brooches.

I thought I would share an update on their activities since we officially launched the "LV21 Making More Jewellery" at Christmas last year.

During May the group took part in the National Voluntary Arts Week 2015 and the LV21 Making More Cohort were aboard the historic Light Vessel 21, teaching visitors to make the brooches and they made some new variations developed from my original designs. There were also family-friendly "CraftBomb" activities with a focus on recycling, featuring a giant woven Making More inspired brooch, the size of a hula hoop!

The group also took part in an Arts Day at the RE Museum, again teaching the public how to make the brooches as well as recruiting potential new members to the Making More group.

And the next event for "Making More" will be held at The Swap Shop event at the Grand Healthy Living Centre on 12th September. With money being raised for The British Heart Foundation.

The City Lit - benchpeg awards 2015

Thursday 11th June was the City Lit - benchpeg awards 2015...it was a great evening once again,focussing on celebrating learner acheivement and the great team of dedicated teachers we have in the Jewellery Department at City Lit.

Here are some images from the night...

You can read more about the evening and the City Lit - benchpeg awards on the benchpeg website

Show set up: Intrinsic

Mandy Nash the exhibition curator for "Intrinsic" kindly took some images so we could see our work set up in the gallery. Below are works from all 7 makers.

Intrinsic - an exhibition of textile jewellery.

Textile artist and member of the Makers Guild in Wales Mandy Nash, has invited six other makers working in the field of texiles and jewellery design, to exhibit within our Guest Maker area of the gallery at Craft in the Bay. We are delighted to be showing recent work by:

Hannah-May Chapman: 'With hidden depth and meaning found in most work these days, I choose to hide nothing in my jewellery and aim to entertain.'

Joanne Haywood: utilising both metal and textiles and the techniques of crochet, stitch, felting, fusing, oxidising and forming.

Yu-Ping Lin: 'I did not set out to be a fashion or jewellery artist but as my portfolio developed I became interested in both elements and aesthetics.'

Kathryn Partington: her pieces are made using a range of diverse techniques born from training within the discipline of surface pattern, printed textiles, ceramic tableware design and jewellery.

Liz Willis: 'working with precious and non-precious materials combined with hand stitched silk threads, inspired by aspects of the landscape.'

Julia Usel: 'I am a materials led practitioner. By working with materials with which there is no prior knowledge established, experimentation and chance are invited into the artistic process.'

Mandy Nash: 'my work has a strong textile influence; I am passionate about colour, pattern and technique. I love the making process and exploring the possibilities of non precious materials.'