Lost in the Wood

Surrounding myself with appropriate deckchairs @ Edinburgh Book Festival Life as a self-employed artist is an often precarious existence which constantly feels a bit hand-to-mouth on the financial front. However, what it lacks in stability is more than compensated for on the flexibility & freedom fronts. Seduced by the lure of freewheeling round Edinburgh at the height of festival time, I happily decamped to the Capital, clutching a (very long) shortlist of shows I wanted to see, mentally prepared for spontaneous adventures and with a slightly ridiculous amount of wool & felting supplies (intended for efficient between show crafting). Twenty days of stimulating sights was the intention and despite inevitable days when I just couldn't face the weekend crowds, worried about the impact on my credit card or was too jaded to bother seeing anything, it basically delivered. Shows: Of the 18 shows I managed to see these were the highlights: Underbelly, Richard herring,...

Needle Felted Brain- Laura Cameron Who doesn't love an intriguing proposition or two? If the rumours are to be believed I certainly do (no need to go into that now). Recently I've been flattered to be invited to collaborate on a piece of art with an artist I admire and been offered a little feature in a Welsh language tv programme. Interesting & glamorous times indeed especially compared to my usual daily activities of stabbing myself repeatedly with a needle (felting) and chattering to the cats (who don't listen) or Evie the rabbit headed lady (who does) as I busily sew on fox ears or make noses for squirrels. 'Connected'- Rebecca F. Hardy & Laura Cameron I was delighted to be asked by Rebecca F. Hardy to collaborate on a piece of art for her upcoming solo show at the Bocs Gallery in Caernarfon ('Neuroanatomy': opened 29th May, runs until 29th June). Rebecca is possibly the busiest person I know, having returned from the lure of London, ...

Ironically my blog is probably looking like it's got a bit 'lost in the wood' as I realise I haven't updated it since mid-April! Thankfully this isn't due to a lack of subjects to write about, just time & discipline. Never mind, I'll lavish it with some attention after tomorrow's big trip to Artisans in the Palm House & when I need a cheerful distraction from overdue attempts to catch up with the dreaded accounts and admin stuff next week. For now, here's a treatsize guide to what I want to mention once I get around to it all: Part 2 of my Craft Fair review: Vintage in The Vale. Me at the lovely Vintage in the Vale Fair My first trip to the brilliant and extremely tempting world of Wonderwool Wales (buying, not selling). Wonderwool Wales delights   A little bit about the Machynlleth Comedy Festival : eating chips with Stewart Lee (well, he was in the same chip shop), great shows and pizza-cooked-by-local-actor-excitement. M...

Lost In The Wood, Palm House Over the last month, I've discovered two splendid craft fairs in the North West, Artisans in the Palm House (Liverpool) & Vintage in the Vale (Flintshire). It was both my first time attending and participating in these events. So, here's a brief, potted & very subjective guide to each. Artisans in the Palm House is set in the stunning venue of the delightful Palm House, Sefton Park, Liverpool. Despite almost being conscripted into a marathon on the way there by a smug sports official in high-vis tabard, it turned out to be a fabulous, extremely well- organised day spent with lovely makers & an enthusiastic public in this beautiful Victorian glass house. At this point I'm going to tentatively confess that I, until fairly recently, had a mild but longstanding prejudice against Liverpool/ Merseyside which was possibly based only on the accents, the overblown Beatles legacy and the fact it wasn't Manchester (my old studenty...

Palm House, Sefton Park, Liverpool Just a tiny post today as a reminder that I'll be at the Artisans in the Palm House event tomorrow, Sunday 23rd March at the Palm House, Sefton Park,  Liverpool. It's my first craft fair venture out Merseyside way and promises to be a lovely event packed full of interesting makers (craft/art/ food/drink) & activities. I'll be taking my new Spring / Easter-inspired creations including these new small woolidermy bunnies, 'Moomin' & 'Lotti', nests with crocheted eggs and needle felted bunny with carrot cake (cake handmade by the very talented Small Portions Miniature Food ). Also, my new needle felting kits (see pic). A full report to follow next week... New Needle Felted Flowers & Bee Brooch Kits Moomin & Lotti, Woolidermy Bunny Heads Nests with crocheted eggs Needle Felted Bunny with Carrot Cake

'Meet the Maker' 01/03/14 Aside from a lovely weekend at the beginning of the month celebrating our Wedding Anniversary & friends birthdays, February was essentially a grim fest of illness, misery and much weirdness. So, it was with relief that the 1st of March ushered in much improved health & mental outlook. Happily, I had recovered enough to participate in and enjoy being part of Lotti & Wren's 10th Birthday Celebrations! As one of my most favourite shops, the continued existence of this adorable boutique packed with well chosen contemporary homely & gift things, is truly worth celebrating. As a little 'Meet the Maker' event, a few lovely local makers had stalls in the cute garden shared with next door Palas Prints (a fine independent bookshop stocking a wide range of Welsh & English language books and who also helpfully cater for more niche tastes by ordering in Victorian taxidermy books for their odder customers like me). As usual wh...

Wolf Woolidermy Head A Walk In Wolf Wood book One of my very favourite childhood books was 'A Walk in Wolf Wood' by Mary Stewart. It's packed full of magical adventure, time travel to a medieval world, not too annoying brother & sister protagonists, werewolves, a perilous quest, dark witchy woods and evil sorcery. Enchantingly, it was read aloud by a lovely auntie who injected her voice with the appropriate drama (a splendid skill not everyone possesses I've since discovered). Why ramble on about this you may well wonder? Well, fond thoughts of this book were prompted by the recent request to make a woolidermy wolf head as my part in a happy art exchange (I got a fab graphite drawing). I have a long held fascination with the Grimm tales, in particular Red Riding Hood, which you'll see reflected in my business name & logo but it's this book that really drew me in first. Rather sadly I didn't need to dig out or dust off the book for this phot...