January seems an excellent time for metaphorically taking stock and so I've been reassessing the items I'm making and my future plans. I've been feeling a bit dissatisfied recently and now I've identified why. I've realised there's a disconnect between the name/logo/feel of Lost in the Wood Designs and the items I've actually been making. The makers/artists I get excited about and the things I'm most interested in are not been necessarily reflected in the love hearts and cute cakes I'm currently making. While I am really pleased with these, on their own they don't feel distinctive enough to differentiate my work from lots of other makers out there and don't fully represent me as I see myself. The world isn't all cupcakes and flowers and it's no wonder that people are often drawn to the darker/ sinister /more salacious things out there (& in us). Perhaps it's not good or professional to admit these doubts but questioning your direction surely can't be all bad?
The things I love are often delicious dark rather than just sweet or pretty. I get excited by Victoriana; European fairy & folk tales; the curiousness of taxidermy and Walter Potter tableau; old lab & apothecary equipment; dilapidated grandeur; illustrations by Arthur Rackham (sinister fairy tales), Aubrey Beardsley (often grotesque), Hogarth (corrupted people), Rossetti (poetically sensual); the seamy underbelly of history-think famous courtesans, Newgate stories & the Victorian underworld etc. These are the things which excite & inspire me and judging myself honestly, I've not been thinking enough about how to put this into my makes. The artists I like & follow all have created distinctive styles, such as the amazing Kate Jenkins (wondrous crochet foods, anatomy and objects) http://www.cardigan.ltd.uk/kate-jenkins.php , the dilapidated beauty of Clare Baker's sumptious ceramics http://bakerart.org.uk/3d/index.html and the carnival style drawings of Twinkle & Gloom http://www.twinkleandgloom.com/ . I've spent this morning marshaling my thoughts into a mind map (top pic) which I can use to keep me focued on my key passions.
This weekend I've been making some satisfyingly good looking apples & pears. I really have enjoyed crocheting these and hope other people will too, so much so that they'll want to have them in their homes (soon available to buy!). I want to continue to create accessible items like these that will be liked by the general public but also need to be more ambitious and personal. The one thing I feel I've made which is more in tune with this is Jack the needle felted Love Rat (see pic). I loved making him, he's unique, an original idea and my first proper foray into what I'm terming 'woolidermy'. Using needle felting and crochet (often a combination of both as in the honeycomb & bees frame which I made last year and which I'm currently working on expanding), I'll be creating small creatures- insects, bees, little mammals to use in various ways. I now have two collections planned out & being excitedly embarked on. For 'woolidermy' think using fleece (needle felting) and wool/fibre (crochet) to make animals in poses reminiscent of taxidermy. There are great contemporary artists working with forms owing much to traditional & anthropomorphic taxidermy, my favourites so far include fantastical Zoe Williams http://zoewilliams.net/portfolio.html , Mister Finch http://www.mister-finch.com/ , Girl Savage & her 'Feltidermy' http://www.flickr.com/photos/girlsavage/sets/72157608309734677/ , Amanda's Autopsies (this actually is taxidermy, with twists) http://www.amandasautopsies.com/?page_id=438
Think that's more than enough for now, thanks for reading!
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