Gillian Lee Smith

mosaic monday 18 Jan 2010

 

mosaic monday 18 Jan 2010

(click link to go to individual artists)

 originally uploaded by gilfling.

Hello Monday!

So I finally feel as if I am getting back into the swing of things in this New Year - gradually getting back into and catching up with my reminiscence work, beginning new characters, writing about and thinking about a new collection of work, ideas buzzing around in my wee brain are enough to keep me awake at night.

I really enjoyed putting this wee mosaic of inspiration together - really I am constantly inspired by the wealth of incredible work that is out there and flickr provides such a useful way of putting it all together in a delightful way. So thank you to the artists and makers who show their work there.

This mosaic is part of a wake up call that I am giving myself - with a painterly/illustrative theme and hopfully the beginning of something new for me..... I hope to blog more about that in the next couple of days!

Mosaic Monday 11/01/10

Mosaic Monday 11/01/10

, originally uploaded by gilfling. (click on the link for links to the individual artists and maker)

So the last week has been lovely - with Mark still off work I have been enjoying being at home doing a wee bit of tidying, alot of bread-making, a wee bit of baking and lots of film watching and crafting.

Which is not really what I had planned to do atall! After all - last week was the first full week of the new year and I had great intentions of starting out as I meant to go on with cracking on with my work and making plans for the year ahead.

Still, I now feel rested and ready to begin and what better way than to look at the many images that inspire me daily in the form of all the talented makers and artists in flickr. A lovely ecclectic collection of images and without even trying - rather reminiscent of the the winter feeling that we have here in the UK.

We seem to have escaped the worst of the snow here in Nottingham as the rest of the country has been swept with the incredible weather - we had only a small taste of this but enough to enjoy looking out our patio windows and enjoy the snow and whiteness of the sky. Mark still hasn't been well enough for me to tempt him with a snow ball fight so we have instead been hermits for the week and enjoyed the comfort of our new couch delivered last week.

But now I am looking to get back into the swing of things. Back to my part time job in earnest, back into the studio with many deadlines to meet this month and many other exciting projects to begin.

After a long absence I am hoping I have recovered my enjoyment in blogging - long may it continue!

Dwellings

Hello there!

Now if my late non-blog posting was anything to go by, you might think that I have not really been up to very much work-wise and creativity-wise. My Etsy shops show no new work to speak of (even before their current short-term closure), and things may seem pretty quiet. However I am happy to say that behind the scenes, in my 2nd floor studio there are many cogs turning and the resulting mess is a constant reminder that in-fact at any one time there are several projects on the go (infact the mess that also tends to creep into every other room in the house beyond the door of the studio is certainly proof of this....)

The truth is that I do find it very difficult to balance my online shops with creating work for galleries and shops and in particular craft fairs at this busy time of year (if anyone has any hints on how they manage all this I would welcome any advice!). However I am hoping that in the early months of next year I can get back to creating new work specifically for my online spaces.

Lately I had been intrigued by the fact that many of the stories for my dolls tend to describe their homes and environment just as much as they do the individual named character. I initially had grand intentions of creating sculptural windmills and lighthouses and ruined houses to bring to life these homes ( I may yet progress to this in the future - we shall see!) . However on my twice weekly drive through Nottinghamshire on my way to and from my part time job I began to notice the very simple and intriguing proportions of the homes in this area. Cottages  that are stout with large deeply sloping roofs and old mill buildings and farm houses that are tall with relatively small roofs and many windows - all with wonderful aged textures and patterns.

So this has been the inspiration for my latest work - 'Dwellings' - all possible homes for my characters and with a similar use of colour and aged texture, some are even hand embroidered in a similar style to my dolls (umm house below took me roughly 5 hours to embroider a couple of weeks ago......) but I do love them. There is currently a collection in the Debbie Bryan Shop & Studio and I have only just today delivered a couple more to the Harding House Gallery on Steep Hill in Lincoln (along with a couple of paintings and 3 dolls) for their annual Christmas Exhibition.

I really am hoping to make more of these soon and am looking forward to experimenting with various proportions and styles and pattern. I am hopeless at remembering to take my camera with me for my journey to work and rarely have time to stop for too long due to my schedule. Perhaps soon I shall take some time to show you the wonderful buildings that have been my latest inspiration.

I do have plans which will hopefully enable me to plan my time more effectively for next year and help me to spend more time creating and less time standing freezing cold at craft fairs for very little return! I will hopefully be able to blog about this further in the future but would also love to hear your own experiences of managing the varying aspects of your creative life and doing more of the things that do work and less of things that don't!

A wee holiday!

Fishermans arms 1630, originally uploaded by gilfling.

Hello there! Well with all the excitement about my radio interview (thank you so much for your lovely comments) - I almost forgot to tell you that we had a wee (much needed) trip away last week. Our plans to travel up to Scotland had to change at the last minute due to Mark's first hand experience of the much reported 'swine flu' (he is fine now and unbelievably I managed to stay completely clear of it despite the media reports).

Anyhow, he managed to recover just in time for us to take a couple of days away for some fresh air and relaxation. Now I should perhaps mention here, that my dear sweetheart in all the time that I have known him, has never really been that excited about the thought of 'sleeping on the ground with little more than a piece of fabric protecting him from the elements' (as he would say). I, however love, love, love camping (can I really express how much I love camping?) but had not had the joy of going away since I met my future hubby.

I love the whole experience of it - the packing the car, the driving to who knows where, the 'will it won't it rain/blow a gale/flood the tent uncertainty, the fresh air and well, really just the whole shebang. So really you could have blown me over with a feather when the still slightly grey and shivering man agreed to camp out in unpredictable conditions with nothing more than a 'borrowed' sheet of fabric between him and the looming dark clouds.

So off we trotted to Robin Hood's Bay near Whitby in Yorkshire - a new place for me and an absolute treasure. The front door to our temporary home opened out to the view you see below and a ten minute walk found us visiting the most quaint, delightful village with eccentric little houses piled up on top of each other on the hill. Doorways that have stood there since the year 1630 as the sign about the door said in the photo above. Infact I found myself slightly obsessed with photographing all thd quirky little doorways and lanterns and steps to 'who knows where' and the sky and the sea and the space and distance inbetween.

 

You can see a few more photos here although I have not managed to upload all of them yet - so much inspiration and lovely memories of our couple of days away. I have a feeling some of these images may be appearing in new work very soon.

Oh, and yes it did rain, oh boy did it rain. Torrential rain and lashing winds the first night, relentless downpour the day we were in Whitby walking about like the proverbial 'drowned rats' in our waterproofs and sandals (ever hopeful that some sun would appear to warrant the clothing which expects all weathers). My lovely man could not resist a few half-hearted complaints, but deep down I knew that he was just as grateful to be away, somewhere different, somewhere new with nothing else to think about other than finding a tea shop in which to sit in sodden clothes and chat about this and that and gaze out at the coast and the dark clouds. The second day (of course the day we were leaving) was brighter and sunnier and more pleasant for wandering and discovering strange little quirky characteristics that make up this lovely little village.

Bliss.

Oh and would you like to know what our first priority was on our return? Before we had even finished unpacking and dried out the tent...............yep we bought one of our very own. Slightly bigger, slightly sturdier (we hope) and with standing room, so that the next time we go away to a rainy spot, to make a temporary home from home, we can set up chairs and a table, gaze out at the pouring rain, play cards, chat about this and that and make our very own cups of tea.

Again...................Bliss.

Hear my voice!!!

if you so wish....... I had wanted to let you know before but was so stupidly nervous about the whole thing that I didn't really want to tell many people - but I made an appearance on BBC Nottingham radio this morning! Although I was feeling so sick before it, the actual interview wasn't half as bad as I thought it might be and listening back I almost sound coherant....

short and sweet (and gosh I sound so much different than I thought I did!!!) you can find the interview here and it is about 2hrs and 10 minutes into the show - it didn't take long for me to load and you can skip to the actual bit with me in it - it is only about 10 minutes long with a song half way through). I had so many things noted down to talk about and they didn't ask me about any of it!

It will only be at this link for the next 7 days (till next tuesday) so I need to figure out how to save it to disc before then when it will hopefully be on my website so I will let you know the link to that when I have it.

PS. please excuse my rather annoying habit (which I have only just noticed) where I go Hmmmm quite alot and then make a sort of a tutting sound................. I sound so disapproving! But I am pleased to note that even after 4 years in Nottingham I have retained my wee semi-scottish accent!

Far too easily distracted......

The persistent thread - pink and gold texture, originally uploaded by gilfling.

ok so yes, whilst I was supposed to be working/packing boxes/tidying and generally just doing something 'productive' ............I decided to have a wee look through some old photos. After finding this photo of a felted scarf I made last christmas and then flicking through to some photos I took whilst visiting family at 'home' last summer of some rocks on the harbour, I could not believe the similarity in colours and textures (scarf is main photo, rocks are top right)

This led me to thinking about the common threads and themes that run through my work - those that are immediately apparent and those that I may not even discover until a long time after they are created. Intrigued by other artist's experiences of this I have created this flickr group - my very first one and I have been overwhelmed by the response and the input already - check it out and join if you feel inspired or are curious about the workings of an artistic mind or if you need some new inspiration!! (oh and it only took me about 25 minutes to come up with a name for the group after alot of writing of random words and phrases - I dread to think how many boxes I could have packed in that time)

Right so back to that packing...................................

(ps - please excuse my terrible grammar and typo's at the moment - my last few posts have been embarassingly bad in that department - I don't know why!!)

A wash out, a result, and a discovery

Hello! I do hope you had a wonderful weekend. (aplogies for the picture-less posts, time and creativity are in short supply around here at the moment!)

So Sunday it rained and it poured - our plans of a day out in sunshine to the Southwell Folk Festival ended up a complete washout unfortunately.  Being Scottish I would not normally let the weather bother me that much (we have been known to take midnight walks in torrential rain in summer clothing just for the delight of feeling that freedom of not caring) but with the beginnings of a potential cold, sniffles and the fact that it was so bloomin freezing I whimped out and we ate our picnic in the house amongst the packing boxes and mess. It was a shame as Mark had made a trip to our favourtie deli for lots of nice cheeses and pate and other treats and my other early birthday gift was a picnic set! Still it was fun nonetheless and we played card games, chatted, laughed, talked about 'new house stuff' and listened to music against the background noise of the rain outside. Ho hum - I am sure we will get the full use out of that picnic set during the summer though.

So using the random number generator we have a recipient for the print in return for comments on my new website. Really I cannot thank you enough for all your feedback - not being very creative in terms of internet and graphics and layouts I was so unsure of how my website would be received but really I have had some lovely comments. In particular on the colour scheme, design and ease of use which is encouraging as I wanted the background to be simple in order to show off my work (hopefully) so, really, thank you ever so much.

So the name and number drawn to receive a print is Tricia Scott. Tricia's blog is actually a new discovery for me, but is a peaceful, serene place to stop by and her artwork is beautiful. Tricia I shall email you for your details!

And another discovery is this fabulous store. In my part time job I can end up driving through lots of little villages in Nottinghamshire and stopping for a sandwich I was delighted to find this absolute treasure trove. Packed floor to ceiling with offcuts and vintage furnishing and upholstery fabrics I cannot wait to begin planning the decor of our new home. I do plan to make most of the curtains and blinds (gulp!) and with a limited budget and no real idea of how to even begin this task, this is a find indeed. Once we are moved in I can begin to think about colours and textures and as we cannot paint for at least the first 12 months it will be wonderful to think of personalising the space through fabric - tell me I am not over-optimistic please!! After all, I have not made a curtain or even a cushion cover in my life before - I do figure though that if I can make a costume, I should be able to make a curtain don't you think?

See you soon. x

On the Move!!!

Taking over, originally uploaded by gilfling.

Hello! Well today I am beside myself with excitement as...................

we are moving house!! Ok so not for another month yet, and of course we have to go through the absolute trauma of packing and actually moving but at this point I don't care about all that, I am just excited!

It is a new build which as anyone who knows me.... knows.... I am more a lover of old buildings full of character and victorian fireplaces and lots of wood and bumpy, marked walls which show their age and the remnants of their past inhabitants....uhm yep just like the house we are in now infact. But....... this house new house will be a real step forward for us in eventually owning our own home so it is the perfect time. There are so many other bonuses too!! Three storeys which means I get the room at the top all to myself (this space is huge in comparison to my workroom right now) and it has stairs to it!!! Right now I am climbing ladders to my workspace and have had a few bad falls down them trying to carry too much so this is a real blessing.

Also I will be giving up my painting studio and combing both workspaces which I am over the moon about. Right now I don't have room in either space for everything but I have been far from clever about using my painting studio lately so really this is a dream for me.

We will have a small garden and a kitchen which is a decent size for actually cooking, also room to entertain and have friends over which has been difficult up till now. I love the house we are in at the moment, it's character and quirks and charm and painted walls and tiny overgrown garden and will miss it, but really this is a huge step for us. I just want to be there already!! I can't wait to get in and see how everything will fit and to really enjoy having lots of space to work in and feel newly inspired - I will make sure to take photos of it as we go.

Unfortunately we can't decorate for at least a year so it is 'magnolia city' but I am looking forward to the challenge of making it 'our own' on an extremely limited budget (when I say limited, what I really mean is non-existent). Also with the potential that someday in the near future it could actually be 'ours' rather than just 'somebody else's' I am inspired to put our stamp on it with furnishings and accessories - so any advice, hints and tips will be much appreciated! I do have plans to make as much as I can myself, such as curtains and cushion covers which will really be a first for me but it is time that I worked on some things for us and not just for 'work'. Unfortunately things like fridge/freezer and washing machine have to take priority in our list of purchases but we are off to the auctions this weekend, not to buy, but just to look to see what kind of things are available and then will hopefully go back once we are actually in our new home.

Can you tell I am having trouble sleeping by the amount of exclamation marks I am using at the moment!!!!!

Oh and the above picture is not our new 'home to be' (whew!) but one of a few photos I took whilst visiting my family last month - some of them were the inspiration for Gwenda's story.

Fingerprints included - This Light

Fingerprints included - This Light , originally uploaded by gilfling.

Hello! This is a busy week as ever with preparing new work, catching up on all that I am behind on and spending some time with Mark who is on holiday. Although I am working less hours at my Memories are made of this job this week I still have lots of the little jobs to be getting on with and one of these is showing these new pieces!

Fingerprints included - some new little works that originally began as sketches for larger pieces (still to come to life) but ones that I am actually quite pleased with. The title of the theme comes from the fact that they are a little 'rough'. They are worked oils and graphite and coloured pencils with torn edges to the paper and the distinct marks of my hands in the form of fingerprints. Normally I try to keep my work as 'clean' as I can (in that I am messy but then try to remove the evidence of this by rubbing away hand-marks), however with these I enjoyed the tactile quality of working with the oils and the smudginess of the pencils.

Although I have been working away in my journals and sketchbooks in order to develop new work and ideas that have been arriving at a fast pace, I have been slow to put these ideas into practice. I am feeling really inspired by my reminiscence work and the way in which we would like to see ourselves represented, the objects and ideas that are important to us and of course there are little details of costumes and the past in there too.

I am looking forward to creating more of these and eventually making larger pieces based on the ideas, but mostly I am just enjoying putting my ideas onto paper. So much so that these will be available in my etsy shop! This Light is available here
Thank you so much for your wonderful comments on my dolls. I love hearing peoples views on them. I am not interested so much in whether they are 'liked' or not, more the reactions, whether of connection, discomfort, or even feeling unsure about them. So I do very much appreciate you taking the time to leave your comments.

Right back to work for me!

mosaic monday 23 feb

mosaic monday 23 feb, originally uploaded by gilfling.

 

1. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/thenoise000/3301523781/">negate</a>, 2. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29488741@N06/3298019643/">casatorre1</a>, 3. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/30630895@N05/3290764695/">stoneknot</a>, 4. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/astulabee/3288789260/">woodsy ghost 2/17</a>, 5. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/danitaart/3300097051/">20090218 Me And My Panda Dolls And Box</a>, 6. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/25258999@N08/3261104865/">RedfordKatharine06</a>, 7. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gesah/3303415486/">Trees on Water, Monoprint 3</a>, 8. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/novembermoon/3300806391/">bluebell (doll in progress)</a>, 9. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14461380@N00/3300174677/">To keep pins and needles safe</a>

with thanks to the artists, artisans and creators for sharing their wonderful work as always.

I have a busy few days for the next few days 'employed-work' wise with various meetings and me leading my first staff training session in one of the care homes I work with - I am so nervous!! However the focus for this 'introduction' is activities to inspire each one of us in our own reminiscing so it will be very activity based and hopefully alot of fun. Although I love working with groups, I get very shaky and nervous when 'presenting' to people - but am hoping that I will gain confidence the more I do - I am not a natural at this atall but as it is part of my job it is something i need to get used to!

I am just off into town now to spend lots of money on props and tools for this and other sessions which I hope to be able to do a post on nearer the end of the week. I am hoping you will recognise some of the things and they may even spark some reminiscing for you too! Unfortunately my studio time will have to wait till the end of the week but I do have some images to show you from last week so will be posting them in the next few days.

Have a wonderful beginning to your week!