Newsletter 13th June 2024

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I live in Shropshire which is a very beautiful part of the country, with pretty market towns and rolling countryside. It’s all too easy to take that for granted, but this weekend we acted like tourists and followed the Bridgnorth Open House Art Trail. Held in our nearest town, the Art Trail shows work by lots of local artists hosted in venues around the town. Some are shops and cafes, but many are private houses which the owners very generously open. It’s almost as fascinating to see inside the properties as it is to view the art! We very much enjoyed wandering around the streets and discovering some hidden gems. You’re provided with a map and have to spot the orange balloons outside each venue which made it just as much fun for Amelie as for me - it felt like a treasure hunt!

As you can see, the sky was a little threatening at times, but we managed to get around the trail without getting rained on. For a small town, Bridgnorth has a fascinating mix of architecture from properties that are really ancient, through to Georgian, Victorian and more modern, we even discovered a shell grotto built into one of the caves!

I had spotted some pots that I very much liked the look of on the Art Trail Instagram posts leading up to our visit so I made a beeline for that venue first. Fortunately there were still some left (even though Linda had beaten me to it and bought one of the big bowls) and so I added to my collection of serving bowls. Aren’t they great? They are made by Hazel Higham.

I am delighted with how well they mix in with some that I painted myself a few years ago. I would very much love to learn to throw a pot at some point.

You can see some more of the artist’s work on the Art Trail website here.

Photographing these pots together reminded me when we used the ones we painted as inspiration for a sewing project…

Inspired by Ceramics - Table Runner

Discover how Linda chooses a fabric colour palette for a summer table runner inspired by a collection of hand painted ceramics. Follow our lead and be inspired by your tableware to make a perfectly coordinating quilted table runner. This is a two-part workshop and costs just £4 with unlimited lifetime access.

Find out more here.

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Making Time

I’ve been posting every day on Notes to record a creative thing that I’ve done each day. It’s just a simple way to be motivated and stay accountable. You can catch up with our Notes here if you missed them this week. They’re a bit like Instagram posts, but live here on Substack. (I’ve not been posting so much on Instagram lately, but more on that in a minute).

Along with the Notes, I’ve written a couple of articles here about making time to make. If you missed them you’ll find my Schedule it In post from last week here, and for our paid subs there’s another one called Little by Little and Lots which is here. So lots of theory. But Laura, you might be shouting, we’re here for the practical advice too! OK, no problem. If you are feeling that you need a bit of help to get going, or stay motivated here is what I like to do…

1. Tidy up.

Yes I know, it might feel like procrastination but it’s not! Clearing a space to work, reorganising your room, rediscovering some things lost in the bottom of a drawer or back of a cupboard, I love all that. You will frequently find me rearranging my work room. Once I’ve done it I feel refreshed and ready to go. Besides, I think there’s a lot to be said for spending time in your creative space, even if you aren’t actively working.

2. Put together a small kit of materials.

When you’ve got a lot of stuff, and show me a quiltmaker who doesn’t have a lot of stuff, it can sometimes be a bit overwhelming. We love all our things and it can be exciting and inspiring to have it all around us. I like to put together the tools and materials that I need for a set project. I can then grab what I need and work, even if I only have a short spell of time. For instance, I always have some hand sewing going on, either some quilting or English paper piecing. I use a zipped pouch or a box bag to hold a needle case with needles and pins, small scissors, the right threads for the project, templates and if it’s the case of the EPP, then I stash in some of the papers, and the fabrics I’ve cut to size too. I then have this ‘grab and go’ project, it usually sits by my spot in the living room so I can sew in the evenings if I fancy it, but I can easily pop it into my bag if I’m going somewhere where there will be some waiting time to kill.

My current hand sewing project

So! With that in mind, today I’m putting together a mini art kit. I’m going to start a new sketchbook, yes another one. And I’m going to work in it with limited media, at least to start with. I want this to be handbag, even pocket sized, so it can be truly portable and easy to cart around.

I’ve got a lot of un-started sketchbooks. Call it a bit of a problem if you like, but I can never resist buying them. They wait patiently on the shelves in the studio for their time.

I tend to only buy books that are hardback, rarely spiral bound, although never say never, and I try to make sure they have decent paper because even though I might start out only using pencil or a drawing pen, at some point it’s likely I’ll want to ladle on some paint. From a selection of small books, I’ve got for the one with the green cover. I really hate the colour, so that will get painted over at some point, but I like how small and light it is.

To go with I’ve picked out two graphite pencils in different grades, a permanent drawing pen, and then a few coloured pencils.

It all easily fits, along with a pencil sharpener and an eraser into a pencil case and I’m good to go.

There’s a big temptation to just pop in a paint pen, or a thicker marker, or a glue stick, but then that escalates into a paintbrush, a small tube of paint, or two and all of a sudden it’s not a challenge to work with a limited art kit, but a challenge to carry the art kit! I’m going to keep this very slimmed down version for now and see how I find it.

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Cara vs. Instagram

Have you noticed a mini/major exodus of artists from Instagram this past couple of weeks? Lots of the artists I follow seem to have moved over to Cara because they are disenchanted by how the algorithm favours videos and content creators over makers, and over concerns about Meta's policy on using posts to train AI generators. You can lodge an objection to this and opt out (which I’ve done), but I think that may only be possible in the UK and EU because of our particular privacy laws. I’m not sure if it’s possible everywhere.

I certainly find that the reach of my posts is nowhere near what it used to be. I’m not in it for the likes, but it does sometimes feel that I’m calling into a black hole and no-one’s there.

Are any of you already on Cara? What do you think? Any thoughts based on personal experience would be very welcome. Social media, even just posting things in your own portfolio on your own website is always a double edged sword. As artists we need to promote ourselves, get our work out to our audience, but it’s quite a time consuming and at times mentally draining process too. I do sometime wonder if it’s worth it! Let me know your thoughts in the comments below, I’d love to hear what you think.

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Festival of Quilts Discount Code

Thank you to everyone who left a comment on our last newsletter for a chance to win tickets to the show. I made the draw and have contacted the winners. If you missed out this time, please be sure to use our discount code when you book your tickets. It’s just a small saving, but every little helps right!

Use code LAURAKEMSHALL to save £2* at checkout!  

T&Cs: Save £2.50 on standard adult/concession tickets on Thursday 1st August and £2 on standard adult/concession tickets on Friday 2nd, Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th August. Not valid on Two-Day or VIP tickets. To purchase tickets visit www.thefestivalofquilts.co.uk. £3.50 transaction fee applies per e-ticket order. T&Cs apply. Discount expires 11:59pm 28th July 2024. 

Linda and I will be there demonstrating on the Madeira stand on Saturday 3rd August so do pop by and see us if you’re there.

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Thank you as always for reading our newsletter and keeping up with what we’re doing. We do appreciate your company.

Back soon with more,

Laura x