Art is a luxury. Framed art whether it is a painting, drawing or etching, art is very personal and in this day and age (and current financial climate) is very hard to sell. I myself am a fan of marketing on the internet. Any artist will tell you that to make a living it is vital that you have a niche market and promote yourself. The old adage of “10% creating and 90% marketing” rings very true for any successful artist.
Virtual tour here of some of the works
But art should be beautiful and functional. William Morris understood this. Art should be something that enhances your life in someway just not necessarily an object d’art (or what I call “dust-collectors!”).
So I began my foray into textiles. I started painting onto furniture fabric with an odd assortment of cushions. It was fun! Then I had a design for a book I was writing and illustrating (“As the Crow Flies Oracle” lulu.com and Blurb.com). The Crow card really interested me with it’s myriad of leaves. How hard could it be to turn into a quilt? Yes I can hear any master quilter having a snigger as to how labour intensive textiles are – particularly when hand sewing and quilting.
It was the end of my parents’ marriage, I was back living with my mother. It was a hard time. But what got us both through it was sewing. Mum was sewing Candle-wicking quilts and I took up hoop, needle and thread, with my first textile ambition, (Crow quilt). Mum and I literally had sewn our lives back together. So when I look at the Crow quilt, I remember looking for material, cotton, thread and an end of a crisis we endured.
But as my journey continued with each quilt I really found that textile art is so rewarding. Sure the needle stick injuries and copious amounts of naughty words when sewing in summer, the dramas of finding discontinued thread or the flooded out local supply shop really add to the memories of each quilt. Even some of the TV shows while sewing with a project (Masterchef during the Red and Green quilt, A John Wayne Yippee Western, when ironing a great deal of bonding agent and a chopping board on the carpet underneath the Blue Lotus quilt) brings back memories.
So I hope you enjoy my foray into hand-sewn textiles – and maybe find them a new home on your bed or settee.
Aakheperure
Very true words, art is a process that can be very healing, it brings people together and records our experiences through the process of making them. It’s beautiful things, comfort and spiritual glue. :)
Donnahuntriss:
Thanks AaKherperure!