Inspiration: Margherita Marchioni

I know I've seemed totally obsessed with printing fabric lately but I've actually been working away on my silversmithing too (not ready to do a show + tell yet, sorry!). I've been experimenting with mixed media in my silverwork and exploring different avenues of inspiration...

One fabulous example of inspiration... the sublime work of Margherita Marchioni. Are you in love? :)

While not strictly anything to do with silversmithing, her pieces embrace the dynamic of taking something out of it's habitat and making it something more... I like that :)

Her pieces are primarily focussed on recycled materials and, if you visit her website, you can see a fabulous showcase of pieces Marchioni has constructed from found items - plastic bags, nails, plastic bottles, drinking straws and, of course, pencils.

I'm still peeking into the wonderful Tumblr site on workspaces, so naturally when I saw the image below of Marchioni's studio I just had to share :) Don't you just love the story of detail and industry that this shot tells about her work?

Have a lovely weekend!

My Creative Space - colour block

I'm playing along with Kirsty's Creative Space meme today. Visit Kootoyoo to see more spaces or to play along yourself.

This week has been all about printing fabric... I seem to be stuck on working out this elusive skill. Still block printing and playing with fabric designs... this time trying out different colours.

Big thanks to all the lovelies who've left comments this week - I've really appreciated all of them :)

More design experiments

I'm still playing with fabric designs here... There's been a particular design in my mind for a while now. It first made it's appearance last year when I struggled with the question of how similar it was to a Lucienne Day piece and whether there is such a thing as unconscious plagiarism. I think I've resolved those difficulties now and feel that this is very much my own (strange) design :)

One of the things I like about it is the way it can be a simple pattern or evolve into a complicated mass. I've taken some 'in progress' shots below which show how I was able to keep building on the design.

1st layer

2nd layer

I've not quite finished playing with it yet but I think it has potential. What do you think? Fun or too messy?

3rd layer

My Creative Space - Fabric design

I've been experimenting with fabric design, printing up pieces of old cloth in a haphazard kind of collage way... It doesn't look like much and I know you've seen some of these design bits before but I've been trying to think of them in a fabric way if that makes any sense? ;) I'm very happy with my 3 tree motif and I've been playing with a telegraph pole screen and button hole cross stamp too. Not quite there yet but I'm enjoying the process :)

Pop over to Kirsty's at Kootoyoo to see more creative spaces or to play along yourself.

Inspiration: Lucienne Day

It's been quite an active week for me. I've been chasing designs in my mind with screenprinting and with silversmithing... I haven't been able to plan them on paper, they seem to just flitter away whenever I try. So I've been working these ideas like a collage, taking parts and playing with them until I see what I want. In this process I realised the strongest design aesthetic that seems to inform my choices is the ever-inspiring Lucienne Day. I've posted before about her appearance in my subconscious ;) Thankfully, this time, the pieces I've been working on don't stray into that questionable grey area of inspiration verses appropriation.... Anyway, an inspirational feast of Day... what I've been working on can wait until tomorrow :)

Click on the above images to see the stunning detail in her designs - they're 'hi res' and enlarge beautifully :) For more information on Lucienne Day, who passed away in January this year, there is an excellent biography on the website of the UK Design Museum. Also worth mentioning that digital reprints of her fabrics can be purchased these days.

Inspiration: Workspaces

I've become addicted to Tumblr lately... there are so many wonderful photo archives. Like this one, Workspaces. I find it so inspiring gazing at these amazing hubs of creativity. They make me feel like getting back to work & I'm off to do more screen printing right now... Have a lovely weekend :)

Found via Crust Station.

My Creative Space - Hit + Miss

My Creative Space this week was a real hit-and-miss affair with screenprinting a new stencil I'd spontaneously cut out on Monday. Making it all up as I went along, I thought I'd planned the design (with all the measuring etc) but I hadn't really thought about how it would work...

I decided to print up a few panels just to see how the stencil printed and these trials worked pretty well I think. My friend Sally gave me some bronze fabric paint for my birthday earlier in the year and I thought it high time I used it...

... making up a bit of a Three Colours Pink medley :) I did try to print them as a continuous pattern but it just wasn't going to work. The very talented Thea hinted at this and I knew the minute I tried to print them exactly what she meant! You were right, Thea :) So, it's back to the drawing board for reworking this pattern. Meanwhile... if anyone would like some pink and bronze panels for quilting or whatever, let me know and I'll send them to you! :)

To see more creative spaces or to play along yourself, visit Kirsty's at Kootoyoo.

Greener grass

I couldn't tell you why exactly, but whenever I have things I absolutely must get done I come up with ideas for other things that take me running away in another direction entirely... Is it a grass is greener syndrome? I should be doing my silversmithing course homework... I really want to do it actually... but then I found myself doing this...

... I suddenly became obsessed with designing a continuous pattern for screenprinting. I pencilled up the grid and used my protractor thingy for the circles. As you can tell, this is very scientific for me ;) While cutting the last two circles I decided it was going to be a bit too technical-looking so I started cutting some creative anarchy into it ;) Next screenprinting trials... Here's hoping it all works together fine in the end. Knowing me though, something else will draw me away in another direction... :)

My Creative Space - Mod crochet

My Little One indulges in many stylistic fads - one of these is as an avid Mod fan. So, when she asked me to crochet a blanket for her and specified exactly how she wanted it, I was not surprised but also totally excited about her innovative idea... Ever seen a Mod blanket crocheted in the round before? I thought it a pretty funky idea :) I'm too impatient to leave posting about this until I've finished. I'm also so excited about how it's turning out now I've started on the navy so here it is through it's growth stages...

I think the Little One got her idea for a Mod blanket from the lovely Renilde who first crocheted her 'target' flat cushions. Pop over to Kirsty's at Kootoyoo for more creative spaces or to play along yourself.

Photography: Franck Juery

I am so excited by this wonderful find - the work of Frank Juery has fired my imagination. There's something innocent and unaffected about his photography which connects straight to all of my hazy childhood memories. He uses a combination of Polaroid and toy cameras to achieve this effect of part retro narrative and part childhood nostalgia. It reminds me of the wonderful creations by this fabulous blogger. So fresh and full of adventure, don't you think? Have a peek at his website to see more of Juery's fantasmagorical worlds.

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Inspiration: Anila Rubiku

Anila Rubiku is one of those inspiring artists who thrive on community involvement... Her work encompasses a fascinating cross section of mediums - drawing, embroidery and sculptural installations - which she uses to develop local history community projects with a contemporary perspective. I am just in love with the top image... dreaming of embroidery school ;) I imagine each embroidery hoop contains a new part to a fascinating narrative... maybe about her cultural travels? To find out more, visit Anila Rubiku's website.

via all the mountains