Remember...

Rural Crafts Festival

Today I booked my tickets for The Rural Craft and Skill Festival in Hay on Wye which I am really excited about and looking forward to! 

The festival takes place on Saturday 15th - Sunday 16th of June and offers a huge range of arts and crafts workshops which aims to promote using rural skills and methods or working that are no longer so widely used and to keep these traditions alive.

The list is absolutely huge but here are the ones I am personally looking forward to and hope to take part in:

Wood Carving

Coracle Making

Currcah Making

Basket Weaving

Bee Keeping

Circus Skills (then maybe I can finally achieve my life long dream of running away with the circus!)

I think my interest in rural skills in particular comes from creating my final project on  my art foundation year - in which I used willow to weave a sort of boat/canoe. This was a complete amateur attempt and the boat was never meant to be used on water but I really enjoyed working with willow and spending a long time in this ritual of physically creating.

There is a lot of snobbery in the contemporary art world about the notion of 'craft' and its credibility in comparison to high end art. I actually based my dissertation for my University course on this topic and could talk endlessly about it but perhaps that is for another time! 

I suppose they reason I feel strongly about it is because I take so much pleasure in the physical act of making and creating - the routine and ritual of sewing and attention to detail. Mastering and skill or craft to a really high ability isn't something that should be dismissed or disregarded just because we now have the technology to produce products quickly and cheaply. 

The dedication that it takes to hand make something - the thought and effort that goes in to it should be appreciated. Art does not have to be political or controversial or complex for it to inspire.

For more details on the festival visit: http://www.thebigskill.com/ and book your own tickets  FOR FREE!

Music I love...

Last Friday I was lucky enough to see Laura Mvula perform at Cheltenham Jazz Festival, which was such a great gig. She sung all the tracks of her recently released album 'Green Garden', as well as doing a surprise duet with Jamie Cullum and as an encore a beautiful version of Michael Jackson's 'Human Nature'. Her band (who were equally brilliant) were made up of her brothers and sisters so I guess she comes from a pretty talented family!

To be honest I wouldn't class her music as Jazz - (it has such a unique sound that it's difficult to put it into any sort of genre) but I was very grateful that she was at the festival performing none the less. She seems to be getting lots of publicity so to have the chance to see her in such a small and intimate venue was really good. Thanks to my Mom for getting tickets!

Also on a separate note she looks so good with a shaved head! I wish I could get away with such a bold (no pun intended) hairstyle but I fear that I have a massive egg shaped head under my hair.

Another musician that I discovered this week is blues/soul artist Valerie June.

I saw her album recommended by a staff member in a record store and just by chance decided to give it a listen and I haven't stopped playing it since.

The song below (Workin' Woman's Blues) is probably my favourite but Somebody To Love is also a beautiful track. She is actually touring the UK at the moment and plays Birmingham on Monday... tempted to get a last minute ticket!

Listen and love :)

Illustration love...

Sunshine makes everyone happier! The bank holiday weekend was a lovely one and I felt lucky to be able to spend most of it outside with friends. Since I have nothing too creative of my own to show at the moment - here is an illustrator who I have followed and loved for a while. I first spotted Mandy Sutcliffe's work in Paperchase where they still sell Belle and Boo greetings cards, however there is also a great website which stocks a huge range of products - from stationery to clothing and homewares and wall decoration. Check it all out here: www.belleandboo.com 

Clifton Hill Antique Costume and Textiles launch show

Last Thursday I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to help out at a fantastic event to celebrate the launch of an antique clothes shop close to where I live in Bristol.

The event was hosted at Clifton Hill House, a lovely big building with plenty of space to accommodate all the different stalls and entertainment for the evening. Guests were invited to explore seven different themed rooms - each styled in a different era. Models dressed in clothes from each decade posed in each room with various props which really helped re create a  great sense of nostalgia!

Downstairs was filled with lots of inspiring stalls, selling vintage jewellery, clothes, crafts and records. Throughout the evening guests were entertained by a dj who played some great retro music as well as the wonderful Marionettes - a 1940's harmony trio who performed live and were absolutely fantastic!

Then at 8 o'clock the crowds gathered for a fashion show! During the day it had been my job to decorate the catwalk so that it would serve as a perfect backdrop for the clothes and models. Sue Fyfe-Williams - owner of Auntie's Vintage China and Jezebel Events had come up with the idea of creating a spring themed catwalk, using some beautiful silk antique shoes to plant spring flowers in and covering the catwalk with fake grass. I spent a very happy day in the sunshine planting all the flowers into the shoes and ensuring that the grass was firmly stuck down so that there were no trips and falls during the fashion show!

When finished I think it did look great and created the perfect setting to compliment the beautiful models and the vintage clothes they modelled.

Music from each era accompanied the models as they strutted their stuff - cheered on by an enthusiastic audience.

The evening really was a great success with a great turnout, and I felt really priveleged to be a part of it. Hopefully it will bring many customers to Clifton Hill Costume and Textiles shops - as well as all the other exhibitors and entertainers who were there.

Be sure to check out the following links for more information and some photographs of the event!

http://jezebelevents.blogspot.co.uk/ - events company ran by Ali Cook and Sue Fyfe-Williams who organised the evening

https://www.facebook.com/cliftonhillcostumeandtextiles?fref=ts - Vintage costume shop

http://www.themarionettesmusic.co.uk/ - The Marionettes singing trio

http://www.rosafayphotography.com/ - photographs of the evening

Things I want.....

Atrocious blogging by me lately - sorry about that folks, it has been a busy few weeks! I have lots of ideas for blog posts this week though so please keep reading!

With spring finally arriving I am lusting over lots of new clothes and really want to update my wardrobe. One thing I am desperately in need of is new shoes - I have been searching for a nice pair of  waterproof boots for about 2 years but have given up now for this year with summer approaching. I am quite picky when it comes to shoes, I don't like to invest unless I love them. So I finally found these shoes that I love but of course they are way out of my price range :( However I am not going to let that put me off and decided I will try and make exact replica's of them myself!

The shoes (shown below) are from the new summer collection by Penelope Chilvers and can be found via her website (for £109!) 

My plan is to buy some plain white plimsolls, get some multi coloured laces or alternatively some pretty ribbon and some fabric markers or paint. Stay tuned as I will definitely post some photos and a DIY when I am done!

 

Here are some other gorgeous clothes that I have my eye on at the moment:

Safari Print dungarees - Topshop

Floral shorts - Topshop

Black embroidered Kimono - Zara 
(I did give in and buy this today with birthday money!!)