Tortola!

Well, it's been a while, where has the time gone?!
I am now settled in Tortola (BVI's) gathering my thoughts from the past year, working on some new ideas and just enjoying being in one place for a while.
I am currently exhibiting a selection of lamps in 'Aragorns Studio' Trellis Bay, Tortola.
Things have been harder to achieve than I hoped here, 'Island time' is the common phrase and there seems to be a hurdle at every turn! But I'm learning to deal with it and I managed to get hold of some reclaimed fabrics and lamps etc from various 'dumpsters' and thrift shops to get the ball rolling.
The products so far have not been new ideas, but a selection of old concepts to just get going with something!! I am now beginning to work on some new ideas, taking inspiration from my exciting adventures of this year.
In the new year I am hoping to get involved in 'Green VI' where one aspect is working with recycled glass-which will be a new material for me. Also, I am beginning to learn some new techniques with wood carving and building. Watch this space! In the mean time I hope you enjoy having a mooch at the images below.
Have a great Christmas!

Technique pratice.

Throughout our travels I have been keeping a little patch work diary using some of the techniques I have learned. Great time killer for long bus rides!

Panama and Kuna villages.

We sailed down to Columbia through the San Blas Islands off the coast of Panama where the Kuna tribes live. The Kuna people self govern their islands and like to live very close to each other in straw/bamboo house settlements. They create a unique style of aplique on fabrics and use colourful body adornments such as string beads wrapped around their legs.







Walking the plank to the drop toilet-Kuna Village!



All the buses were like this in Panama, blasting out loud music.

Natural materials and more bamboo!

Ideas and inspiration for flooring and lighting with bamboo-Permaculture course July.




Learning how to make cob for building a natural house(house below). Sand, straw, manure and soil, made by stamping up and down on it!

Permaculture Design.

We are about to head to the north of Costa Rica to take part in a two week Permaculture design course. The course includes learning about sustainable living, organic farming and the area I am most interested in which is working with natural and sustainable materials for building and designing. Go to below website for more info.
http://www.ranchomastatal.com (go to events page)

BAMBOO DESIGN.

A week working on a farm on the Osa penisula jungle, Costa Rica.
I spent time working with bamboo to make furniture and prepare as a building material.
Bamboo is a fantastic wood to work with as it´s strong, versatile and sustainable.
My head is ticking with ideas of how I can use it for my own designs!

Solentiname islands. Nicaragua.

Stayed on the most wonderful remote island on lake Nicaragua- the islands tranquility and colourfulness attracts many artists to their shores. Painters and woodcarvers share the islands with farmers and fishermen.
Mancarrón is Solentiname's largest island, where we stayed, it is here that the priest and poet Ernesto Cardenal’s historical parish is to be found. Father Cardenal arrived in the islands in 1966 and is known for establishing a communal society for artists in the early 1970s which persists to this day. The community developed its own naïve art movement based on existing folk forms, and with some help from painter Róger Pérez de la Rocha.


Ernesto Cardenal’s parish, a beautiful little place with colourful paintings of wildlife.

Leaving the island at 5am-one of the most beautiful places in the world!

Elle Deco, France.

I´m really pleased to see that one of my lamps has made it into Elle Decoration, France this month, thanks to Serendipity, Paris- (www.serendipity.fr)They are currently selling a range of my designs.

Lessons in Rococo.

I´ve just spent a week of afternoons with a Mayan lady called Erika from the highlands of Guatemala teaching me some traditional embroidery techniques.
This is Rococo and Tapita, it is a technique used on all traditional dress.
It´s really inspired me to experiment with this technique and try different materials, perhaps on a bigger scale.
It´s unbelievable the time it takes! A lot of textiles in Guatemala is now done by machine but you can really tell the difference, hand made is far more beautiful.
I also spent time this week visiting other traditional artists in the highlands- a toy maker, who works with white pine and a potter.

Traditional designs.

Simple techniques.

Learning simple embroidery texniques.

Book update!

I´m pleased to say I´ve just recieved some sale figures from A&C Black for my book ´Mixed Media and Found Materials´ and around 1500 books have been sold since September, a lot to the US which is exciting! So very pleased about that! It´s still available to buy from www.acblack.com

Collaborative education project 2010 ongoing.

Since September I have been working on a collaborative educational project with artist Marcus Rowlands at Hillside primary school, Nottingham.
I was away to see the products complete, but Marcus has just sent me these photos.
We worked with early years children over several months exploring ideas through play. Our aim was to create a range of interactive products that would be used for outdoor learning, not just as a play ground.
We commissioned local makers to produce the designs.
Here are a few pictures of the products we developed with the children.
The project has been very sucessfull and there is a possibility that similar work will coninue with the school in future.
I really enjoyed working collaboratively with Marcus and it was fantastic to see the designs be professionally made. For more info see
www.marcusrowlands.com/

Experimentation of ideas with the children. They turned carpet tiles into a train.

Exploration boxes.

Yave weaving-Trinindad Cuba

I managed to approach a local Palm weaver with my best Spanish and asked for some classes in a type of basket weaving using small palm leaves called Yave, which are picked a dried for two hours and then used to make different artifacts. A great time and really hope to adapt and use this technique in some way for my work.

Working with painter and sculptor Martha Jimenez- Camaguey Cuba

I spent some time with established and renowned Cuban artist Martha Petrona Jimenez- www.pprincipe.cult.cu/artistas/webmartha/
A truly great time learning some skills in ceramics and a great opportunity to spend time with an artist from Cuba. I made the link with Martha before I left the UK, through a connection which Derby UK has with Camaguey Cuba, as they are both the midlands of their countries. Martha hopes to make it to England in the near future to establish links with Arts and education. As example of Martha's work >top>.

A day in Teotitlan de Valle

Went to a village near Oaxaca, Mexico, called Teotitlan de Valle, which is renowned for its natural dyeing and hand weaving. Spent time with a family seeing how they produce the yarns and use natural dyes to weave with and create all sorts of artifacts. I couldn´t resist buying a beautiful orangey yarn dyed with Cochineal to knit something with!
I leant about many kinds of natural dyes and how they fix the colour with lime juice.
There are lots of other villages around Oaxaca, each known for producing different crafts e.g basket weaving, wood carving, black pottery. I am doing a week of much needed Spanish school but I hope to visit some more villages throughout the week.

Arrived in Mexico City!

Arrived in Mexico City on Sunday. Had a busy few days exploring the city-love it! The people are so friendly and it´s not half as polluted and scary as the write ups say!
So much to see and do-espicially art galleries. Visited Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo museums. Frida Kahlo´s was right up my street set in a beautiful part of the city, with colourful houses and tree lined sunny roads. I´m starting a sketch book to document my findings and will post some pictures when I´ve been here for longer.

Last commissions before I go!

Picture outside of my studio before I pack everything away. These are some last private commissions I've been working on.

Last minute jobs!

I'm currently getting ready to go off on my adventure at the end of Feb-lots to do!
Getting last minute orders finished for 'Serendipity Paris' and 'Eco Age'. I've also just finished an exciting design consutancy project for 'Peel the Pamplemousse' designing sustainable wrapping paper-in shops from Winter 2010.