Saying Yes

 Today I will start to show you the commissioned snugs that I have made. I have talked before about my commission process in relation to the Threadbare Bug Collection. The Snugs really lend themselves well to commissions. They are a practical item plus they can be made in any colour (well, any colour that is available in wool) and they can be personalised in many different ways.

Within a week of making Greg, my sister asked me to make a snug for her friend’s birthday. Then her friend asked me to make a Snug for a friend of her family’s.

This is Kitty. She was commissioned for a couple in honour of their family pet. At the time it was an odd request for me because I had been making all the fantastical creatures with hats, bustles and flowered petticoats. This was much more straightforward and with minimal embellishment. I have to admit that I was a little afraid of it. But generally in life I have found that if you are afraid of doing something, then if you can at all, you should try giving it a go.

Kitty is nothing at all like the other Snugs but I am pleased with how she turned out. At this time in my life it kind of became a policy to try to say yes to all different kinds of commissions. When I said yes, even when I wasn’t sure how things would turn out, it challenged me to come up with something new. Saying yes led to more experimentation and led to me improving my skills. Sometimes it led me to patterns or imagery that I would never be naturally drawn to myself. Saying yes made me think outside the box, it forced me to really think hard about a design and sometimes to get over myself about what I think makes ‘good’ art.

What you will see in the next series of posts is some commissioned pieces that were in line with what I was already making and then some commissions that were very different and specifically tailored with a person in mind. In the end, they are all tea cosies, they were all made by me and every one of them holds not a literal but a stylistic signature of my work.

An Important Message: Could You Change A Snugs Life Today?

Last week I wrote about the late selling Dotty Dandelion and also about taking risks in my art making. I wrote in my last post that most of the risks I have taken had paid off.

Most, but not all. That is the focus of today’s post. This is Billy Jet; he is a snug I made that never sold. He is the weird dog in the pound that nobody wants to adopt, he is an oddity and he is homeless. Of course he is here with me but he is always packed away waiting to go to another market. We have Gregarious as our tea cosy and if I had a bigger kitchen or more counter space I would probably take him out and let him settle in here with us. But somehow, that never seemed right to me.

He is a bit crazy looking, I know that. He was one of the last made and I was obviously experimenting with colours. I think his body turned out like a bad 1970’s jumper that people wear without a collar. Although I have seen that they have slightly come back into fashion of late. When I was finished knitting him I remember thinking, ‘You are weird’. The whole 1970’s thing got me thinking of Elton John in his tripped-out star-shaped glasses phase.

I decided I would go with it. I gave him a bright tux, the star glasses, feathered top hat and even some side-burns over his ears that made him look like he has a bald patch. I named him Billy Jet in honour of the song but I always call him Elton when I am referring to him to people in the know.

When I started writing this section of the blog I got to thinking about Billy Jet. I believe in giving and receiving. I try to clear out things in my house once or twice a year to release the old and make room for the new. I have decided that I will release Billy from his storage prison and try to send him out into the world.

So I am here today to send out a plea for a new home for Billy Jet. He is completely free of charge with no strings attached. All I ask is that you use him; he has spent too much time hidden away.

I would much prefer that he be out in the open, living up to his life purpose of tea warming than stuck at home here in a box.

If anybody is interested in taking him in you can just leave me your name in the comment box below or on facebook. If more than one person is interested in having him I will do a draw and pick a name out of a hat.

I really would love if someone would take him in and make him part of their home. He has a flamboyant personality that would brighten any space.

I include below his label information so you can get to know him a little better.

The Gang’s All Here!

To finish the week, I thought I would show you these group shots I had taken of the whole gang together before they went out into the world to find there own way.

We were living in our tiny basement flat in Dublin at the time these photos were taken. I think I was standing on our stairs to get a broad view. It is great for me to see a whole body of work that I have made together like this. On a bad day, I sometimes feel like I have made very little or that I am totally uncreative. A picture like this doesn’t tell a lie though. It is a good reminder of the hours I have spent experimenting, learning and risk-taking. Thankfully most of the risks taken here have paid off and other people saw the value in the efforts I had made.

These photographs not only document the work but are also a reminder of the places I have lived, how I was feeling at the time and where I was in a creative sense. They can hold the life of the work but also the life I was living along side it. One of my on-going goals is to have my art incorporated into life daily and to live life artfully.

I am Sensing that Sometimes I Lose my Sensibilities

I started making this Snug, the last of my own invention, but never finished her due to demands in other areas. A few years and a couple of house moves later, I rediscovered her unassembled form in one of the numerous boxes I was unpacking in my work room.

For some reason, the task of completion which had eluded me before came to me in a flurry of activity. I knitted some extra pieces, I sewed, I beaded and I added buttons. In a snap she was finished and ready for market.

When it came to writing her back story I think I was right in the middle of a (slightly obsessive) Sense and Sensibility phase. Whenever I am a little run down or comfort seeking I generally turn to Ang Lee’s excellent film adaption of Sense and Sensibility. It is written by Emma Thompson, whom I adore and it has all the right components to get me in a better mood.

I think this time, with all the moving, unpacking and upheaval, I was looking for some extra comfort so I had listened to the unabridged audio book read by Juliet Stevenson and also had looked at the BBC mini series.

That is A LOT of Sense and Sensibility.

There can be an obsessive part to my personality, I can freely admit it. I cling to the fact that I obsessively read and observe classic literature rather than obsessively take drugs or count the tiles in my bathroom. Each to their own, I guess! 

Anyway…….

  

I decided that this snug bore a resemblance in temperament to Mrs. Jennings, the Dashwoods neighbours interfering mother-in-law. I gave her all of her qualities and also her surname- This is Juniper Jennings. She is one of my favourite characters in the book and I hoped to honour her with this tea cosy. I can be quite cheesy and this is some top quality stinky cheese. Obsessive and cheesy, man, what a catch I turned out to be!

Ode to All the Late Bloomers

I am coming to the end of the cosies I made from my imagination. This is Dotty Dandelion and she is a faerie inspired Snug. I gave her round soft pink cheeks which I think make her look like she is always blushing. The colouring I choose while knitting her is very strong and a little unconventional so I decided to make her a bit magical to go along with the weirdness.

I made her small felt wings and decorated them with flower shaped sequins and beads. I also made her a felt garland for her head which was decorated in a similar fashion. I was going for a woodland nymph feel.

I made Dotty at the same time as the rest of the cosies I have already shown you but for some reason she didn’t sell for ages. Being a self-employed artist can be hard that way sometimes. I have made pieces that I feel are attractive or well put together but they just don’t seem to capture the imagination of the customer. They sit out on the table at a craft market and things sell all around them but they don’t ever seem to get chosen. It can be a little sad packing them away at the end of the evening knowing that for another week they have not gone to a new home.

Then one day, generally when you have given up any hope of selling something, the right person will come to the table and admire it. Then you hear the magic words “I’ll take this one”. I was so happy the day I sold Dotty, her time had arrived. Sometimes it is just about having some patience and waiting for the right person for the right piece.

I have found there are some difficulties living in a small country like Ireland. Craft markets can be few and far between when you do not drive a car and you are living on a budget. Attendance can be poor and tables expensive. Selling one of a kind hand-made item is always a risk. You can make a large investment with your time and resources without any guarantee of a return. You will never be every body’s cup of tea and some days the mood of the crowd is not in your favour. I have had days when I have sold nearly everything on my table and days when I have struggled to make a five euro sale.

I’m still figuring out the best way to go to market (whether that is the local craft fair or a market place in cyber space). It’s one of those “live and learn” situations I think. I feel its one of those things you never really stop learning because the work never stops changing. I have gathered plenty of experience though, some I would keep and some I might give back. I have definitely learned from all of it.

Let’s Wrap This Thing Up!

This is Ms. Blossom Sparks. She is a sister to Sateen Damask. They were made at the same time and using similar techniques. Blossom has a Venetian style mask, she looks like she is about to head off to a masquerade ball at any moment.

This tea cosy was given as a gift to someone for a very important birthday. I take a lot of time with the presentation of my work and how it is parcelled and packaged. I want the receiving of a piece of my art work to be an experience and I want that experience to begin the minute it is placed in the hands of the recipient.

As I have already said, I love the classics like Jane Austen’s novels and also old children’s movies like Pollyanna. I love when Pollyanna’s aunt takes her clothes shopping when she first arrives to town. She is followed from the shop to their carriage by many shop assistants carrying many packages and boxes. They are of all shapes and sizes and I imagine the contents are all wrapped in tissue paper. I always want my work to feel like it is a “real” present. “Real” present meaning presents that look like they are sitting under a candle lit Christmas tree in a Victorian children’s book illustration. I want them to be covered in red satin ribbon or wrapped in stiff brown paper and tied up with string.

Altogether now…..

“…Brown paper packaged tied up with string,

These are a few of my favourite things…”

You really can’t beat singing nuns to get the sentiment across, can you?!

All of that which I have just described, combined with a life-long lesson in delayed gratification from my dear old dad, has led me to wrap everything in tissue paper with handmade labels in beautiful boxes tied up with ribbon and topped off with bouquets of dried flowers that I dried at home myself.

Too much??

NEVER!!!

Every time I hand over a piece and the wrapping feels like a present in and of itself I feel like I have done my job well. The amount of times I have heard “I don’t want to open it, it will ruin the wrapping” is now verging on the comical. I really do believe that everyone, at least once in their lives, deserves a present that looks like it came out of a picture book.   

The Show Has Come To Town

Happy New Year!

In contrast to yesterdays post I wanted to share with you a Snug that is all about exuberance, glamour and pizzazz. I’ll start as I mean to go on and this Snug demonstrates excitement, drama and flare. 2013 here I come!

This is Sateen Damask. She is directly inspired by Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge. I adored this movie when I saw it. It is visually stunning and the director’s attention to detail is out of this world. I am a massive geeky fan of all Mr. Luhrmann’s films but there is something very special about this one. (I’ll just ignore the Greek tragedy ending for now and focus on its lighter qualities.)

My Sateen is engulfed in hand-knitted flowers. Each one was individually knitted and sewn into place. I had found a great six petal flower pattern in a book and experimented endlessly with needle size, wool thickness and texture, and the number of petals to come up with several different looks. I knit flower after flower and sometimes I thought I would never finish. But I have to say I think the effort was really worth it in the end. I sewed beads and jewels into the centre of each one, like hidden treasure to be found in the clusters of soft petals.

I had found the eyes I used in a haberdashery. I loved that they had long eye-lashes. The jewelled head-piece that sits on her forehead had been donated to me (I’ll fill you in on these donations at a later date.). If you have seen the film you will know that there are amazing Indian inspired costumes and this is where I got her look from. She has a single large orange-red feather to add glamour and drama.

There is a lot of work gone into this Snug. She is another flight of fancy of mine (probably gone a little too far!). But I do like to believe there is room for some over-the-top, thoroughly decorative bits of whimsy in the world. I prefer to live on a planet where the tea cosies are decked out in jewels, feathers and flowers.

I hope your 2013 is getting off to an exciting start. I hope you are surrounded by things that are useful but also visually interesting, stimulating and also just a little bit silly.