Around the World Blog Hop - Fire Horse Textiles

Hello from me, Julia of Fire Horse Textiles on the Around The World Blog Hop!

Thank you to Teresa of Crafty Bags for her invitation to join The Hop. Take a look at Teresa's blog to see her wonderful creations, from bags and purses to quilts and knitwear, many of her unique and wonderful creations feature recycled fabrics and yarns. Teresa's fascinating Hop post is here.

So, on to the Hop post questions:- 1. What am I working on? I am currently working on some 'lavender pebbles' for my Folksy and Etsy shops. They are a set of three differently sized, organically-shaped scented sachets, made from funky, repurposed fabric, accented with colourful buttons! I am also spending a lot of time thinking about the packaging and presentation of the items, to make them suitable as 'ready to go' gifts.

A long-term project that I am working on is a 'tumbling blocks' quilt for me and my husband, Rob. I started it many years ago, but took it up again recently to finish the hand quilting. So far every stitch of it has been hand sewn, but I will probably add the binding by machine.

Another thing I have been experimenting with is embroidered faces for dolls/figures. This is an area I would love to move into. I find that there is something very endearing about handmade dolls. There is so much of the maker's personality in each one. Here is the first prototype - as you can see, I need to work on the transition between body and head!:-

2. How does my work differ from others in its genre?

I try to incorporate recycled content into a lot of my work (but of course many others do that, too). I'm often inspired by nature, but what I make sometimes ends up looking quite abstract. I tend to work with bright colours and strong contrasts, such as this rag rug wall hanging, "Fire and Water":-

Although I enjoy using traditional techniques like patchwork, embroidery, rag rug making etc, I try to put a modern twist on my designs, either through colour use; in the fabrics used; or in the combination of materials used. These patchwork wall hangings were inspired by the Gees Bend Quilters in the USA, but I made my own templates for the first design, then experimented with a different construction method for the second.

3. Why do I write/create what I do?

I have always made things, since I was a child. It is just a part of my personality. Whether it was making little woven mats, arranging vases of wild flowers, making collages from found objects, or making giant 'installations' in our home (one that comes to mind was my idea to make a giant spider's web over the whole of our lounge and dining room using the contents of my Mum's knitting wool stash. Needless to say, it did not go down too well with my Mum, but I was quite pleased with the effect!).

4. How does my writing/creating process work?

An idea usually pops into my head and I think about it for weeks or months, wondering which medium I will make it in (as a quilt, rag rug, painting or collage, for example). Eventually, I start to experiment and draw out a few ideas, make and throw away quite a lot of things that don't work, and sometimes come up with something that I'm happy with. I treat every new project as a piece of art (although to a lot of people, what I do is probably equated more with craft). I like to sit on the border, where art meets craft!

Sometimes the idea comes from the material itself, like the beautiful floaty and colourful dress that I used to make the lavender pebbles shown above.

For my last quilt, I wanted to use up a lot of the small pieces of fabric that I had accumulated over the years, so I set myself the task of only using these pieces from my 'scrap' jars. Sometimes setting boundaries is helpful when coming up with an idea.

I have done commission work in the past, but I try to avoid that, as I prefer to work on my next new idea rather than re-visiting what I have already done. I like to make just one, or a very small number of each item to keep the freshness and excitement in a project.

Thank you for dropping by, and don't forget to look out for the next stop on the Around The World Blog Hop, which will be with ...

Heather and Gary of Little Ram Studio

Their beautiful lino prints depict a joyful mixture of cats, dogs and farm animals, wildlife, architecture and landscapes. Keep up to date with their work in progress and inspirations on the Studio Tails Blog, where you will also find the next Hop article next week.

Have a creative week everyone!

Artist's Biography and Artist's Statement

Artist’s Biography

I was born in rural Oxfordshire, England in 1966, but have lived in Scotland for the last fourteen years.

My love of arts and crafts began at an early age, when I would spend many happy hours painting, drawing, flower arranging, making collages from ‘found’ items, making figures out of fabric, weaving on cardboard ‘looms’, embroidery, and painting pebbles. I once made an ‘installation’ of a giant spider’s web that took up several rooms in our house made from the contents of my Mother’s knitting bag. On another occasion I mixed every jigsaw puzzle in the house together, hoping to come up with a new picture at the end of it. Since Mum was none too pleased at having to tidy up after me, I stuck to less ambitious artworks after that!

At Clifton Hampden Primary School, as well as the usual academic subjects, knitting, sewing, gardening and cookery clubs meant that we all enjoyed some ‘hands on’ practical work every week.

Berinsfield Comprehensive School allowed me to follow my interest in art and crafts with lessons in drawing, painting, pottery, woodwork, metalwork and even batik. I got an ‘O’ level in art and went on to study Art with Art History ‘A’ level at Wallingford Upper School.

I turned down a place at Maidenhead School of Art and instead chose to study Psychology. (We all make mistakes!) My interest in art continued with visits to Art Galleries and Museums, and eventually, as an adult, I again returned to my first love and began to make sewn goods such as bags, household items, small quilts and cushions to sell at local craft fairs.

Alongside this, I worked in a variety of jobs, including retail, administration, marketing, gallery assistant, book seller, and currently, a button seller.

In 2007, I discovered an online venue for selling my art and craft work, called Etsy.com. I am not a prolific artist, and this way of selling a small number of artworks suited my way of working perfectly. You have direct contact with your customers on Etsy, and I occasionally take on commission work.

Although I have been contacted by shops and galleries wanting to sell my work, I have not yet taken that route, as I don’t have enough pieces available!

Artist’s Statement

I am passionate about making textile artwork, using new and recycled fabrics. I make rag rugs, patchwork, appliqués, collages, and also acrylic paintings.

I try to design with colour, beauty, humour and functionality in mind - or at least one of those things!

My ideas are usually drawn from nature, in particular, beautiful colour combinations. I often start with a life drawing or photograph, which is redrawn and simplified until it becomes icon-like, while retaining the essence of the original. (For example, ‘Euphie Guinea Pig’ was adapted from two paintings I made of a childhood pet).

Other sources of inspiration include:-

·         sitting down with a blank sheet of paper and just doodling whatever comes to mind. The doodle can be enlarged to form an abstract theme (for example, ‘Fire and Water’); or may turn into a picture (eg, ‘Secret Landscape’);

·         cutting out pictures or shapes from a magazine and arranging them to form a new image or pattern (‘Three Hills’ card);

·         altering a photograph through colour changes and with special effects, such as using a ‘mosaic’ filter in a programme such as Paint Shop Pro until the original subject becomes almost abstract and unrecognisable (‘Sunset on Snow’);

·         gathering fabrics together and picking out the colour combinations and textures that go well together (‘Raw Edge’ sample);

·         decide on the subject matter and work out how you can best express what you want to say. For example, (‘Austerity Britain’ and ‘Green Britain’ came about this way).

My favourite part of creativity is the problem solving and design:-

·         How can I best express an idea or image? This may involve making trial pieces to see what works and what doesn’t

·         Which medium will suit my idea best?

·         Which colour palette will I choose? And so on.

I hope to continue exploring my ideas through a variety of media.