Creating Something Sacred

I love my work to tell unspoken tales. I’m always looking for ways to make something that could be a real treasure, have tones of meaning, and tell stories that are silently threaded through the fabric with every stitch that is taken, or inherited from the materials I choose.
I have been obsessed with the idea of creating something sacred to me. A treasure to be kept close. Something special. I have not achieved this. I think it is an unachievable goal. It doesn’t matter what it is, at the end of the day it is an object. A special object maybe. But no object is worth more than life itself. So i have settled into creating objects that silently tell the tales of life and adventure, heartache and happiness, love, hope and dreams. And one thing i have learnt is that, for me, the process of making is what is most sacred to me. It is the process that I hold close to my heart, it is the process that i get the most satisfaction from.

February Already!

Can’t believe January 2015 is completely gone! I have been making progress with a few different projects. Here’s what I’ve been up to.

Finished:

A scrappy strip quilt. I had pieced the top together in 2014, from scraps mum had delivered to me one visit. I think she had a friend giving her all their leftovers!

Working on:

My  Hawaiian style butterflies. I designed, hand appliqued and basted this one in two weeks, right before I left home to go to uni. That was about 10 years ago now! This year will be the year I finish it! But I haven’t made that task easy for myself! Originally I was just going to do one row of quilting around everything. But when I pulled it out just before Christmas, I decided to completely echo quilt it. It was quilting up faster than expected at the start of the year, but I have been doing other bits and pieces so the progress has slowed a lot. I still have complete faith in myself to have it finished by the end of the year!

And a bit of a closer look at my lovely stitching! Ha!

This one I have dubbed as my “Snail shell windmills”. It’s another quilt made from scraps. Why snail shell windmills you may ask. The colored batik fabrics are all the little bits of left overs I had from making a prop/costume last year for a play. There wasn’t much left, so I cut it down into triangles and pieced it together with what felt like an endless supply of triangles. Again, someone had given their scraps to my mum and they had been passed onto me. (I have two other projects using those same triangles!) I’m in a self imposed vow of poverty, so if I can help it, I don’t spend much money on fabric. It means I get to build my own house, and design my own studio area this year! Yay! So i do like it when other people give me their leftovers. I also enjoy the task of thinking up something to do with hundreds of triangles, or a bag of 3×1.5 inch strips. This one needs a border or two. It is quite subtle, I think I like it. I had thought it might need some applique to spruce it up a bit, but I think as it is, plus a border, it would be a cute little girls quilt. It’s going back in the unfinished pile for the moment, until I find something suitable for borders and backing.

Now I’m off to think up a plan of attack for the rest of the week! Schools back today as well, so it’s back to a normal routine at work for me.

A New Year

With a new year comes new goals. And as we have been in 2015 for a few weeks now, its about time I thought about what my goals for the year should be.

In the past I have made all these new year resolutions like “get fit”, “blog more”, “do this… do that…” and honestly not all that many stick, as you may have noticed with my sparse blogging over the years.

One goal that I have had for the past few years though has been gaining momentum over time. “Finish it” has been a very rewarding goal for me. I have a number (that shall remain unspoken) worth of things sitting around that need to be finished in one way or another. In 2013 I didn’t do a lot towards this goal, but the seed was planted and heavily watered and I started getting an idea of what I was in for. I went into 2014 full steam with a list of things that I wanted to accomplish. I didn’t finish all of it, and to be honest, I probably never even came close. But I am very proud of what I did achieve.

In 2014 I “Finished it”

• My brothers wedding quilt (only 4 years late)
• My hexagon quilt (12 years in the making!!)
• My Diploma of Graphic Design

My hexagon quilt… 12 years in the making!

There was of course other things that I started AND completed! Yay go me!!

I think the reason why some of my goals don’t stick all that well is because they are not specific enough. “Get fit” what does that even mean? “Blog more” one post a year is more than some years… So this year I’m going to keep my list simple and basic.

For my fitness goals I am aiming to be able to run a full 7km without any walking. My partner likes to go to obstacle races and such and it would be sooo nice to not be the one holding him back and making the day slower.

I had full intentions for 2015 to be my creative year, where I rediscover my creative self and start making more, blogging more, and promoting myself as an artist. But just a few weeks in and I doubt this is an achievable goal, as I put my creative life on hold once more for “real” life. Cos as much as money doesn’t buy happiness, it does put a roof over your head and food on the table. And with a little more time earning money I can have a damn nice roof over my head and the most awesome creative space anyone could imagine. So my creative goals for this year is just to be able to create enough to keep me sain. To work through my “finish it” stash and to start putting pen to paper on how I would like my creative life to proceed, so next year, when my new studio space is ready, the seeds are already planted and starting to sprout, and I can hit the ground running with direction and a bit of a plan.

My brothers wedding quilt. Only 4 years late!!

So here’s to 2015. Here’s to lots of running, cos after reading through all that writing, that about the only real goal I got out of this post! Oh and here’s to finshing things off my list…

Surface Pattern Design

For a unit in my Diploma of Graphic design, I was asked to research an area of specialization and determine some current trends. Following is the subsequent article I wrote about Surface Pattern Design. It goes mostly into the ways printing technologies have started to become mainstream and and DIY driven design.

specialisation_ass2_cr pdf can be found here.

Making Guy : The Process in Pictures

Guy : Team Captain

I was very excited when I stumbled across the Reginald Softie Portrait competition. Softie making was something I played around with a bit back in my teenage days. I loved it then, and this was the perfect opportunity to get creative with it again.

I knew who I wanted to do a portrait of right away, but I wasn’t sure if they would think it was a good idea or not. When I put it to him, he kinda liked the idea, but was a bit skeptical whether I could make it look like him or not.

And that is how I came to make a softie version of Guy.

The soft portrait is based mostly off this photo.

Why Guy? Guy has been in my life for over six years now. From the moment I met him, I knew there was something special about him. He stole my heart, and introduced me to his world, the paintball world. It has been a rocky road, but well worth it.

Guy goes out of his way to make the world a better place. He has enriched the lives of those around him, whether they care to admit it or not, providing opportunities to expand ourselves. He is always happy to provide advice, whether it be personal, paintball or financial related.

Paintball was one thing he was very passionate about, and he used that to reach out to others. After many years of playing for other teams, he formed his own, “Thundercats” along side one of his closest friends, Blacky. “Thundercats” took “Nototrious” under their wing and so CPC – Capital Paintball Club was born. CPC was about helping each other be the best they could be, comradeship and being a close knit family. Guy went as far as providing job opportunities for some of the younger guys playing on the team, to help them get a financial start in life, and to keep them in the game. Our spare bed was always welcoming to those who needed a place to crash, and our backyard a place of many happy nights around the little fire pit.

Because of Guy, many of us have traveled near and far. I, personally, have traveled with Guy for paintball, to Perth WA, Adelaide SA, Moama VIC,  many many times  to Sydney NSW, Wagga NSW, Langkawi Malaysia, and soon to Melbourne VIC as well. Not to mention, a bunch of us are detouring to explore Vietnam at the end of this year, before heading back to Langkawi for World Cup Asia.

There is a lot more Guy has done for the sport, and the people around him, and if you know him, I’m sure you have your own stories.

Lately, people have forgotten what it is to be a family of ballers, with all the work and effort Guy has put into paintball, I thought it was about time I showed him how much I appreciate his efforts.

The finished product

behind view

close up of the embroidered detailing

close up of his back

Stay tuned. I’ll put together some of my process shots to share the making of Guys portrait!

On the third day of Christmas…

I thought I would share with you this design I did to be printed through Spoonflower…

 

It was the very first design I have ever entered into a Spoonflower competition. I hope to be designing for fabric a lot more in the future! Voting closes this Friday 5th December! vote here

…and on the second day of Christmas…

I drew this little penguin. His wings and feet attach with split pins so they can move.

25 days of Christmas and on the first day…

On the first day of Christmas… I finished my advent calender… just in time for the countdown! It is a wonderful panel “penguins on ice” by Henry Glass & co. The penguins are the cutest!

Remember Me?

So I totally bypassed 2012 and pretty much 2013 on the blogging front.

A lot of things have happened and changed in the last couple of years, and at the moment I have been left with time, actual TIME, to work on my creative talents. What does this mean? It means you will be seeing a lot more of me and my craziness!

What will you see?

My main focus/passions in life are textiles, art and design. I have completed my bachelors of visual arts with a major in textiles, am currently working towards my diploma of graphic design and love to create and explore in different mediums. I also work with children outside school hours, so chances are there will be a mix of kids crafts, design projects and various textile methods.

I decided on the first of December to do a “25 days of Christmas countdown” which I started on Facebook, so I will take the time to catch it up on here as well. It won’t necessarily be me creating something new everyday. I will share pictures as I decorate the house, put up the Christmas tree, crafts I’ve organized for the children, inspiring Christmas things I see out and about. Its an exciting time of the year, and I want to share the joy with everyone 🙂

So hello! I look forward to sharing my journey with you!

❤ Cate