In February 2023 I took a moment to take a look at my creative journey and set myself some goals for the year. I had a disappointing start to the year with the course I was on not living up to expectations, but withdrawing from that course not only vastly improved my physical and mental health, but also led me to make decisions about my work that means I’m ending 2023 in a very positive frame of mind.
The first goal was to sort out a proper space to work, turning the summerhouse/storage shed into a proper studio. I mainly worked on this during the summer as I had to empty the whole shed, sort through everything in there and do a lot of decluttering, donating, and discarding. Once I had done that I discovered that the floor had collapsed in one corner of the room. There was also a bit of a damp problem which isn’t so good for textile work! I had the floor ripped up and replaced, the walls painted inside and out, better guttering and downpipes put on, and the roof re-felted. The whole place has had a spruce up and it looks great now. I kept a section of the old work bench with the sink and cupboards in, but wrapped the worktop with a sticky-back vinyl wrap in a lighter colour to brighten up the room as well. Once I’d done all that I bought a big table to work at and some good old IKEA shelving to store all my supplies. I’m so happy with the space now, all my equipment and materials are neatly put away and I am always eager to get down there and work now. No more taking over the dining room table!
The second goal was a byproduct of clearing out the studio. Over the years I have been signed up to many craft subscriptions in order to learn new crafts, build up my craft knowledge and review them here to encourage others to craft too. However, I haven’t always had time to complete all the kits, especially when I was receiving four or five a month, so I ended up with a big pile that were waiting to be done. I dedicated a big part of the spring and summer months to completing as many as I could. I chose crafts that I was most excited about first and have put them all up on my blog over the course of the year. I have worked my way through the majority of the pile, but still have a few boxes left that I would like to complete at some point, so keep an eye out for their reviews some time in the new year!
The third goal was to develop my own art practice through courses and workshops and start creating my own work. I began by going to Craftcation in California where I met loads of amazing people and came back fired up about my textile work, followed by a fantastic five day artistic embellishment course at Hand and Lock in the summer where I learned loads of great techniques. I have now completed my first term on the Intermediate and Advanced Textiles course at Morley College and am signed up for the spring and summer terms. I can’t wait to get stuck back into that creative environment. I also made an effort to go to plenty of art exhibitions this year, it’s so great to go and be inspired by the creativity of other artists.
The second part of the goal, to create my own work, has been the most important to me. At the beginning of the year I made ‘Biscuits’, which I entered into the Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy. It didn’t get in to the exhibition, but it really sparked my passion for embroidering food. I find it such a fascinating subject and I am always thinking about the next project I can make and how I can recreate the textures and shapes of different foods through textiles. I really began this theme in earnest in the summer making a series of ice creams and have continued, making a bag of Cheese Puffs, a Battenberg, and an avocado so far. I am also in the process of making a fry up. I cannot wait to keep on sewing and see what else I can make. I also got some real validation for the work I was making by being included in the exhibition at the Morley Gallery for the celebration of 25 years of the Textiles Foundation. I originally submitted one piece but was asked to provide more to be displayed in the gallery for a whole month. It was the highlight of my year and I really hope that there will be more opportunities in the future for me to show my work.
I gave myself two weeks off over Christmas because I had lots of family and friends to see, but I’m excited to get back down my studio and get to work on some new creations. 2023 was the year that I found my passion and I cannot wait to see what 2024 brings. Wishing you all a Happy New Year!