Crafting History

Here are some photos of the process of making my piece for the Crafting History exhibition that opens at the Craft Centre on 14th July. The tenants were asked to respond to the Collecting History exhibition that is currently on at the Craft Centre as part of our 30 year anniversary celebrations. I chose to create an intricate papercut depicting 18 fish representing our 18 studios and celebrating the past life of the building as a fishmarket. All the fish are native to British waters and many would have been served up here at some point (except the Pike!). As part of the exhibition the public sent in words that they feel represent the Craft and Design Centre. Each fish contains one of these words. I enjoyed the challenge of making something away from my usual practice and it has proved really satisfying. Come down on Saturday 2-4 to see all the work made plus ceramics by Carys Davies and help us celebrate!

Papercutting workshop

Last Wednesday I ran a papercutting workshop at The Whitworth Art Gallery as part of the Crafternoon Tea series. It was a slight departure for me as I'd been asked to do something 'non-messy', suitable for the gallery setting. It was great to do something new and I really enjoyed researching the history of papercuts and all the different styles from around the world. Here is my little fox design:





This was my favourite of the day! So intricate! It was adapted from a template I got from the Scherenschnitte blog, which has loads of lovely designs to try out.

Inspired by Fair Isle

Here's a little look at some new ideas I've been working on. I've been thinking about this sort of thing for a while: geometric shapes, symmetry, folk prints and grid structures have been lurking in sketchbooks for some time. I thought I'd put some photos of my design process up too.



Pattern drawn out on graph paper and traced off.




Transfered onto stencil paper and cut out with scalpel.




Red print on white felt. I've printed this design onto aprons and tea towels so far, I'm hoping to make some felt cushions too. Come on down to the studio and take a peek! We're having our Christmas launch at the Craft Centre on Saturday 27th November, why not pop in them for a free drink and a wander about? Any feedback would be much appreciated!