secrets of people

to be beautiful...

sean

your words made me inspired today, even though you won't know it...being somehere in Italy shaking newly grown olives from the trees...eating freshly baked ciabatta for brunch and being kissed by the sunrise...

i have started some new compositions from scraps, offcuts and watery paint (o yes - watercolour); without a theme, concept or purpose (bliss) ...

they need more work but they feel almost beautiful anyhow...

a busy sunday...

but no rest for the wicked!
p.s. these fish are amazing.

almost there!

i think i will actually stop now... i can't make all things for all people unfortunately and i must wash my hair... here is the (not quite) final version of my dreaded egg cosies, we will see what the masses think tomorrow and then decide if they are to be a 'product' so let me know what you think of the prototype... and don't worry i shall consider all criticism constructive!

really busy making...

...stock for the designersmarketplace next sunday. no making to order here - all available to buy and take home immediately! creations i will have for sale include;

• acrylic or porcelain & wood jewellery - contemporary yet still with a vintage or handcrafted feel
• new textile accessories for fashion & the home- not yet seen by the public! this is the pre launch of my new label 'line dry'
  
• the few remaining limited edition bags featured in 'living north' magazine and recently shown at The Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art
• printed cards for the christmas season featuring old favourite 'Mavis'
• gifts to suit every pocket

i am really looking forward to seeing everyone there!

Living North: Page 77

December 2009 issue.You tired of the old bag yet???

.

christopher was also impressed...

on the wall @ Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art

photo of bags credit: Design-Event

wOO

unveiled

all done...delicious

sleepless in stockton...

it must be the excitement of having a piece of my work published on page 12 of this month's issue of 'The Crack' magazine...
and i just found myself...here

an announcement...

my product for 50/50 ( 50 designer products for less than £50 each) at the DESIGN EVENT at the Baltic in October is complete...

it has actually exceeded my expectations, i was rather worried about it at times but now i am happy...its a great feeling when that happens, i just hope the great audience will feel the same, at first glance it is a large purse (or small bag), quite nice, but upon closer inspection, which may not happen until you get it home, you will see and palpably feel the love that has gone into it...i am sure...(let me know if you don't)...if you do purchase one it will be the most you have ever gotten in one product (but don't quote me on that, a swiss army knife could beat it)
i would like to post a photograph of it here but i shall desist, at least until after the unveiling...

put it in your diary... 16th - 18th October

a good day

i have had 2 pieces of work accepted to be shown in this exhibition/competition at the Anciens Abattoirs in Mons, Belgium. it has been organised by the World Crafts Council...and i am over the moon ...
the work in question is my 'in memoriam bag' (see it here No. 21) and 'secret messages purse' (see it here No. 10), it's a huge honour and i am really excited. :-)
can't wait for the catalogue.
also...
my birthday girls are 16 today...
x

my new glasses (and me)

new designers = new rings

i succumbed to temptation and decided to treat myself (again), i did so the whole time i was in london, i like to make the most of it... so this is one of my purchases, a ring (the one on the right) from the (jewellery) collection i liked best in the whole show , by jenni sleigh, whose work was delicious... o almost forgot... i actually bought 2, the second ring (not pictured) is called 'shopper' and is equally as fabulous!

tears and tiara's

here's my most recent work, my entry for the hand and lock competition...up to date news is...i didn't get through. never mind i shall put it on the cover of Italian Vogue (JOKE!!!!)
thanks to Vicky for taking the photo's, Tim for setting up the studio, Laura my daughter for modelling, Lucy her twin for artistic commentary during the photoshoot, Catherine for making me pose like an idiot and not least Stephen and Carol for all the drama and help with the dress and everyone else who kept me going !
(more here)

designed and made

today i will be invigilating at the designed and made gallery (above live theatre, broad chare, quayside, newcastle), if you're passing... please come visit.
(work pictured by Ali Rhind).
am intending to update this blog a little more after the demise of my other so keep checking back for news... am incredibly busy at the moment , desperately trying to pull something together for the hand and lock competition; deadline is the end of the week... in my defence i only started a couple of weeks ago (2) and lets say i have perhaps been a little over ambitious. or...is there such a thing?

the SHOW

if you can't make it, this is what it looks like...if you did make it...thank you for the fabulous comments in my book, if you are going to make it...please leave fabulous comments in my book! x

on show...

i am interloping (?) the textiles and surface design degree show...with a few select pieces if you wish to see them in real life... the art gallery, church square, hartlepool...oh and the students stuff is fabulous...
and make sure you pop into the college to see the applied arts show (amongst others...loads to see!)

final...ly

...the dress...

how gorgeous is this?

recieved in the post this morning...the catalogue for a new exhibition that i have a piece in...it's beautiful; heavyweight watercolour-ish card stock in a delicious shade of pink, (with complicated folded inside pages) also a clever rubber wristband fastening reflecting the title/meaning of the exhibition...book artists delight...go to the exhibition if you can. details here.

gross

i saw a seagull eating a dead pigeon on my way home today.

foundling out...

i have come to the conclusion that although i have 3 pieces either unresolved or not even started for my foundling collection, it has come to its natural end, i must move on now...having done 2 'talks' on the collection i feel i have met my own brief which called for an emotional response from the 'audience'...therefore i am putting it in writing that the dress shall be finished by midnight tonight...it shall be entitled, 'i know it needs more embroidery'...so an image will be posted at some point this week and we can all put it to bed... i will leave you today with another inspirational photograph of my wall...(chair poster with original, authentic graffiti, from a street in barcelona, circa 2003...)

christmas cake

i actually got round to making it today. it is really horrible.

an irish observation...

this is another foundling piece, finished...it is entitled
... 'a white butterfly is said to be the soul of a dead child'
more images on my website; gallery 4.

visual stimulation

things with wings mostly, it seems.

finished!

the installation is complete...the shop counter is in place...and i think i have finished my studio spring clean... i was tempted to go to laura ashley for a roll of delicious wallpaper to line the drawers but i managed to save myself £26 and an hour or so by utilising an upholstery sample book i have been keeping, and after all you can only get a glimpse of it anyway now it's full of 'stuff'!

five days

i have spent the last 5 days...yes, 5 days, vamping my studio, 3 days longer than expected...all that tidying, sorting, cleaning...but i feel good! well i will after i have unscrewed the VERY neat threads from the wall and shifted a whole area of stuff to the other side of the room in order to be able to install my vintage shop counter...a little advice one should always follow...MEASURE FIRST!

progress in progress

this is approximately 10 hours of embroidery and a tiny part of the intention...it does not help that i need pliers to pull the needle through the fabric each and every stitch...i still can't decide if it is worth it...

new blog

vintage finds: 'du jour'

• objet trouve: daily

charm...ing

during the course i went on i made a couple of pieces to adorn the garments produced for my foundling work which is rapidly coming to an end; ...real silver and a real good time.

vintage lifestyle

inspired by my previous post, a recent purchase (!) and all the lifestyle blogs i have become addicted to, i have decided to set up a new blog with daily (this may be a little ambitious) postings of visual vintage treats, name/title suggestions welcomed!
today's treasure i picked up on my way through Manchester on Monday for only £3; an addition to my collection of embossing presses...isn't it sweet

rescued...

a new aquisition...a seating arrangement for my hall, a place to throw school bags and shoes at the end of a busy day...it works too...i must collect some old ladies...

blog hopping

i get lost in inspirational blogs!
hi to my new followers! Polly - check out www.lillarogers.com...

am still waiting for a date for my AA2A/ foundling exhibition...i need a deadline! i need closure!... have already got loads of idea's for my next collection, well actually the one after the next! what i need to do next does not inspire me that much but it shall be a challenge, and hopefully worth doing...still continuing my purses throughout though.

i am going away on a little course next week, am so looking forward to it... 3 days and 2 whole nights away with all meals included and a little bit of craft on the side! hopefully i will come back with some little treasures! (...and i don't mean babies!)

x

today...

the designers market place yesterday was a great day out...for spending every penny i earned on other peoples stuff! saying that i now have a vintage antony & alison handbag and also came away with a little silk scarf, some nicola parkin cards (fabulous) and some great nude magazines! a few less jewellery pieces, french man badges and cards of my own...it was a very sociable day with lots of lovely comments...thanks!
today i intend to relax but that shall include preparing for tomorrow...my last day as an aa2a artist and so much left to do
x

tomorrow...

...i shall be at the Designers Marketplace at Northumbria University Students Union with a few select items for your perusal...
see you there!

another 6 hours...

... i have spent on this dress... a grand total so far of approximately 24...and more than that to go, i have not even finished the machine embroidery then it's the hand embroidery, i am liking it more but not yet enough...wish me luck!

blues

i am working on the 'dress'...seem to be getting nowhere fast...i am sure it shall not be ready, it requires many many hours of embroidery... i am tempted to leave it until last, get all my other pieces finished off and framed/mounted so i can spend whatever time is remaining on this 'large' project...the chanel haute couture team can do it, i should be able to!

large project

the baby christening gown... well, it's large for me! i have very few days left on the AA2A scheme (2) and with the possibility of an exhibition looming i decided i'd better get going with something a little bigger than A4... i had prepared the dress weeks ago by dip dyeing and printing large soft turquoisey spots through a blank screen with manutex. it was ok but the actual amount of fabric in there put me off slightly and i wasn't sure where it was going. 3 weeks ago i digitally printed some images from my sketchbook and specifically for my dress, so yesterday i appliqued and i have started to embroider into it which you will see only upon close inspection...
reasons for dress: -

• focal point for exhibition
• had it for ages and wanted to use it
• fit with whole collection
• experimenting with stronger colour and 'busyness'
• had title of piece, ' each of these, my three babies' from a song by sinead o'connor (will be referenced!)

stages of design/production: -

• soaked dress in tea in stages to produce watermarks
• dip dyed in antique gold procien
• manutex screen printed spots using 2/3 colours
• steamed to fix
• washed to remove stiffness (and some of the tea stain!)
• embroidered words on bodice
• appliqued digital prints around hem
• machine embroidery, then to continue...
  
• hand embroidery
• iron
• add butterflies to symbolise letting go and setting free (in this case your children from poverty and certain starvation)
  
• hang
• voila

2 out of 5

it was really difficult to photograph my white cards...

list

today...

• parcel up and post my book for exhibition
• photograph card collection and jewellery for my website
• organise all printed fabrics and put pink post-its with instructions to develop
• complete at least one 'foundling' piece - 'white butterfly soul'
• stitch purses (3)
• relax
  

journey

i am enjoying my journey to work lately...
...through the chemical works, past the bird sanctuary and the landfills, a sideways glance at the seals sloppily basking at the river mouth, past the ghost ships, nuclear power station and the amusement arcades...along the sea front...ships on the horizon...

to myself...

am wondering if anyone actually reads any of my blogs, i can't imagine it so it seems a little pointless ...so i shall consider this my 'work' diary from now on... today i have finished another piece, after 3 weeks of working on it a little every day...it is part of my foundling collection, i was pleased with the design when it was a flat rectangle of fabric, now it is a bag and i am not so sure ...maybe it is only because i have looked at it so long in its previous form, i am sure i shall get used to it eventually and it needed to be a bag...conceptually...
i would like to put my new work on my website as it is completed piece by piece but shall do the proper thing and present it as a whole collection after exhibition (or maybe shortly before!)

printing...

today i have actually enjoyed screen printing, there must be something wrong with me...i even did 2 colours...on one sample!...however my acid red did bleed... have got quite a few great samples to embroider into... little birds...

new prints

am planning to incorporate some of these into my dress...

preview

showing... the 'pink' collection, am now back to teal...

purses (lips)

am onto my second purse, I am getting quicker... (and smaller)...although there are still not enough hours in the day. they shall all be different which makes each one exciting to create but unfortunately not so commercially viable ...i do it for love...
tomorrow I will finish the designs for stephen's wedding invitations...then the journey to see which (if any!) he likes...I am honoured to do it...

so many projects, so little time...

inspiration struck again this morning with a beautiful piece of poetry sent to me...here is a snippet..
'pearly membranes
impossible softness
beneath the speckled shell.'
but i need to draw... i need to stitch... i need to apply for a new exhibition; my new years resolution was to concentrate on one thing at a time, one collection then the next, it sounds logical but it is proving quite impossible...

today's inspiration

studio

(part of) where i work...

a & e

i have been to hospital; i cut my hand, i made a hole between my thumb and index finger...the web part. it hardly bled, was just a gaping hole, i could see right inside...3 stitches needed...too awkward a place so i only got 2, is this too much detail?
i can't drive or more importantly wash up...shall try stitching immediately...

hello...

welcome to my blogspot...

use this space to comment on my work, ask me questions...
if you prefer your insights to be public... or of course you can still use the contact option on my website... www.claireabaker.co.uk

claire