Writting a blog is kinda like...

having an online artist sketchbook to some extent... it is a great way to keep a record of what is going on and share that with others whom are interested. I've been writing this blog for a year now and while I like to write it and keep it updated with what is going on... I wonder should I continue. The fact that I am posting here I guess makes that question defunct. I have enjoyed adding a facebook page and interaction that happens there and on twitter, http://twitter.com/@creativedynamix

So just as the Easter holidays were kicking into gear some strands of personal work were zooming together: photographs, abstractions, text & maps, printing on to fabric, progressing work. I'm excited to share those with you and record them here.
But before that happened I frustrated the hell out of myself and it triggered decision making, clarity and action. Last week I was trying to finish off writing a bursary application. As with any application or proposal for funding you learn something about your work. Getting the application together focuses the mind on what you want to achieve and what you have achieved. But in the last two weeks what it did was made me feel like my work was n't up to scratch that it had not progressed anywhere. I'm taking about my personal art work not the facilitation, teaching, training work I do with community groups or businesses (that stuff I blog about on in CreativeDynamix space).
I'm taking about the stuff that is a personal expression of me making sense of my world. The paint that flows, the fibre that felts or sews that artistic self expression. I had a project in mind that the proposal was already written and designed for the bursary what stopped me writing the application was the feeling my work just was not up to scratch. I battled for two days at the computer not getting anywhere not getting a word written.

So I got up and just started painting, a week earlier I had done some charcoal & chalk drawings, layered drawings very gestalt based work. This work is more process orientated. That is to say that this work is rough work the type that comes before real work. Sometimes I refer to it as dross. Let me see if I have some photos taken of it. Yes I have some quality is not great as they were taken at night with my mobile.

This drawing is one that I will continue to work with and it may have a finished outcome. I continued to paint on it with a palette knife and heavy liquidex acrylic paints. It's my favourite brand. The palette knife is not typical of my painting style but it allowed me to keep the quality of the charcoal below. The is a rough first paint that I am seeing where it will go. What I particularly like about this painting so far is the strong curve from top left to mid point and the flashpoint in the centre.

Monday last week I sat in front of the computer and questioned myself "are you going to do this and go after funding? share this idea get some leverage into making ...in beta happen or are you going to decide not to do this application and stop." The pee or get off the pot analogy.

So I finished writing the application along and put the final touches to it last Wednesday evening and the application went in Thursday. During the process I made a commitment to myself to up skill my personal work. I have been thinking about different techniques and how they might influence my work without scheduling time or making a commitment to test these ideas out. So what was happening was stagnancy. Although my teaching, consultancy and other work was developing great was it at the expense of my personal work? So enough with that!
The frustration was that I had promised myself a computer break from last Friday till today and I so wanted to blog - but needed the break. That’s why this is such a long post!
I think I actually kicked off the up-skilling when I went over to Nicola Brown at Clasheen on the 18th of March to see how she makes 3D felted Vessels.

I had gone to see her the week before to share some rare breed fleece with her - I have a passion for anything that is unusual and while merino is great as an introduction to felt I like to felt with coarser and short hair fleece, actually I like to experiment! Nicola and I are both members of Felt Makers Ireland, I meet her there a few years ago and we both attended the Podcasting course run by Artlinks recently. It was great to go and discover her work we are both interested in sculptural felt also.

Nicola writes an great blog on felt making do check it out, http://clasheen.wordpress.com/ you can purchase her creations and she sells icelandic wool via her Esty site.I really enjoyed making felt along side with someone the creative company was great. Lots of ideas, exchange of information, etc. I left Clasheen with the vessel just about 3D it took me a few days to go back to it and while it is definitely felted I'm not happy with it's hairy appearance. But it is my first vessel. So yehay for that and I look forward to making more.

So last Thursday I had two hours and I decided I'd like to have something to stitch over the weekend. You may have heard me mention that I design my own grounds for embroidery and beading and print them out on to fabric. This is a previous example called 'a sense of place'. This style of work is well received and it sells well usually before I have them finished.

I had worked on a few designs for stitch in the last year and dismissed them so had never printed them out. I had a few on the Mac that I thought might work so I started printing on to cotton and linen. They turned out really well. I decided to not work at all over the weekend giving myself important downtime.

Now I have exciting plans on how to develop the abstracted line, stitch the inspirational text and nuno felt them onto 3D vessels. I'm thinking experimental textiles x nuno felt x text plus visual wow!

I've organised to go visit Teresa Keogh of SmartSewing in Tullow tomorrow to talk to her about an embellisher machine and the practical 'how to' of turning my ideas into actual visual treats.

A book on 'Altered books and collaborative journals' has also resurfaced to beside my desk...