Mrs A Originals FMP portfolio visit

I visited the studio of textile designer Mrs A today in Mossley, she kindly agreed to look at my portfolio and give me some feedback . Pauline's background is in youth work but since she retired from her full time career she has focused on her art work. She pays £100 a month for her studio space which she can access 7 days a week and creates one off bespoke chairs and hats as well as painted canvases. Her work was initially a hobby but it has become a business as people have seen her work and commissioned her .She shows her work at craft shows and trade fairs and also sells via two local boutique shops

I explained to her that i was working on human shaped dolls with animal heads that represented certain people or situations that had either held me back or set me free. I told Pauline that i felt my work was too personal and 'dark' and was struggling with ideas to make it more commercially appealing. I told her that i felt the characters could be digitally photographed and the images placed onto mugs , plates or greetings cards but I was beginning to see that i needed to move away from the ugly animal images i had drawn an create more positive up beat imagery .

Pauline felt that i should decided on 10 to 12 animals that have personality traits that people could relate to ie a dog is loyal, faithful and obedient, they needed to be positive attributes that would make people smile . She suggested that I write a small explanation as to the rational of the dolls, why , where the ideas came from etc and how the project has developed. She also thought that each doll should have its own little book or card with its personality traits written on it. She thought that the dolls would be more sophisticated if they were not dressed then the focus was solely on the head. She felt that maybe a high quality fabric would work better as the dolls were very tactile and maybe to try different coloured fabrics but stay with black for the the heads. She also thought they needed to be slightly smaller so they could fit in your hand.

Pauline was very positive and enthusiastic about what I was doing , she felt the dolls definitely had potential and i should aim for the high end of the market. She feel they were quirky and playful and the focus should be humour and the feel good factor that would raise a smile and remind people of some one they know! Pauline gave me lots of advice re packaging and branding , she felt it made more sense to purchase boxes rather try to make them my self, she felt the art work was where i needed to invest my time and energy rather than the packaging.

She said she would be happy to purchase one ! Mrs A you were like a breath of fresh air , thank you so much for your input I will take it on board !

Jennifer Collier

I find the work of Jennifer Collier very sweet and I am interested to see how she presents it . I am looking to produce framed work for my fmp so I am particularly interested in Jennifer's types of frames and how she packages work which is for sale . I am also interested to see how much the work is on sale for and the price differences for framed and un framed work. As an artist you can obviously frame work yourself, sell it unframed or employ someone else to frame it for you and these decisions will impact on the final cost of the finished piece.

www.jennifercollier.co.uk

FMP development

I am fascinated by the idea of dolls that represent my issues so I began looking at images of cloth dolls and voodoo dolls , I did not want my work to be too dark or sinister and felt it was appropriate to use the dolls in a positive way to represent escape from problems and set back , the idea of wings is also something that keeps coming to the fore front !

below are images of my experimental work.

This doll represents my youngest daughter .

This caged rabbit in a nurses uniform represents my health issues .

Each screen printed animal head is a representation of a person in my life , some have been positive influences and some not !

Dragon House Of Yuen - Etsy website

This textile artist uses recycled materials to create hare, rabbit and squirrel soft sculptures which are sold through Etsy. It caught my eye immediately because of the rabbit content ! I love the simplicity of the image which is then developed into amusing textile items , mt very favourite is the handbag made from a kilt wearing rabbit , genius !

Etsy is an website where people can sell hand made or vintage craft items , goods on sale range from jewellery, toys , framed art, photographs and clothing there is a listing fee of approx 10 pence per item which covers a 4 month period , then Etsy take 3.5% of every sale . The seller deals directly with the buyer and is responsible for shipping the goods to the customer. It is a great way to sell work with very little cost .

Old World Primitives

This primitive folk artist is from New Jersey, they produce hand made ornaments and sell their work via Etsy . These little works of art are amazing they are very sweet and naive and have a certain charm. The theme of animal/human is much like my own interpretations and again the rabbit makes a regular appearance! i think these little decorative pieces are very lovely indeed.

Julie Arkell display ideas!

Julie Arkell is one of my old favourites and for this project my focus is on her display ideas, she recycles found objects such as old shelves and jars in which she displays her little figures and characters and some times uses box frames . Some of her work is simply free standing with out any box or covering which raises the issue of how to care for it and keep it clean and free from damage! I feel for my fmp I will need to frame or box the fabric work in order to keep it clean and presentable.

Peter Clark collages

I came across the beautiful work of Peter Clark when I saw an article about his collages in issue 38 of Selvedge magazine Jan/Feb 2011. He has spent a life time collecting and salvaging packaging and paper which is uses to create the most amazing collages . I was particularly drawn to his work not only because of the stunning quality of it but also because of the subjects he has chosen . I am working on both animals and garments in my collage work for my final major project so it was wonderful to find these exquisite examples .Clark prefers to use papers that are stained and faded and his use of layering to create texture is one of the techniques he uses to give the' dog 'collages personality and charm. The paper choice is genius and the colour palettes for each piece work so beautifully , Clark has an eye for placement using the patterns and lines in the recycled papers , maps , stamps etc to stunning effect .

www.peterclarkcollage.com

FMP initial ideas

These are some images of my initial ideas generation, I was trying to create a feeling of being trapped so the idea of cages came up, I experimented using different materials to try and make cage like structures including, wire, paper, candle wax, tea bags, card board , string, fabric, pins and twigs some were more successful than others!