Sewing!

Recently, I have seen a rise in shops selling fabrics and 'Vintage' styled products like cushions or phone cases. Having been pretty awful at using a sewing machine at school in the past, I had never thought about using one to make my own objects until recently when myself and my mum started buying little squares of fabric in an attempt to make something successfully.  We have two sewing machines at home, however they haven't been used in some years, so we took down both from the loft to see which would be better suited. The older sewing machine which was my grandad and grandmas actually worked better than the newer one. After some difficulty setting up and threading the sewing machine I finally managed to get the hang of it and as it turns out had more success with it than my mum.
I made a couple of small objects while still getting the hang of it, one of which was a scent bag that now hangs on a door in our living room but I also visited a fantastic fabric shop in chesterfield where I bought some scrap fabric for 50p in the hope of doing some more tests with the sewing machine. However, as the material was of a good quality and reasonable size, I thought about what else I could do with it. I had always liked the idea of making myself a case for my nexus tablet and so this is what I set out to do.
I already had the stuffing and the outer fabric but I wanted some for the lining- I found a white new bed sheet at a charity shop for about £2 which means I have plenty of fabric left over to use in later projects.
I layered my fabric, placing the flat stuffing between the two and began sewing from the inside out, once I had fully sewn it up, I snipped the inside corners down so that the outside corners could be pushed out fully and turned it around to the correct way. I was already really impressed with how it had turned out but I wanted to add something to it which would stop my tablet from falling out. I found some lovely ribbon I've had for a few years and a silver button which complimented it well. I hand sewed both of these on and It was done!
I am really impresses with how it has turned out, especially seeing as I haven't really made anything like it before, I will certainly be keeping up using the sewing machine!

Cards

A couple of years ago my media teacher introduced me to a gallery owner in Bakewell who was interested in a photographic calendar i had made for a project. He liked my photography, however he thought it could have a better potential on greetings cards and so i looked around and it took me awhile to make a decision on printing and choosing my photos. 

I contacted an artist who already exhibited in the gallery with his Photography work; Chris Gilbert at Ravenseye Gallery who I sent a few of my photos to. He gave me some advice on my photographs, helped me to choose the best ones and told me how much It would cost for him to print them. 

I firstly printed only a few to see how they sold at the gallery- I found that I only sold a few, however I managed to sell a lot at a festival I had helped to organise for a project I was currently doing. I then printed more cards but unfortunately this year the gallery I worked at and sold my cards at is no longer up and running. I think its such a shame that it can no longer run, but no one seems to be willing to spend their money on art anymore. 

Therefore, I now have my cards back all packaged up ready to be sold but no one to sell them too! I am currently looking around local galleries that may give my work a space, however it is difficult because there are a lot of different photographic cards around and very little room for more. 

If anyone could help me at all with this then I would be most greatful, especially if I would be able to print more cards and fresh designs. 

Mister Hope and The Green Man Gallery

I first met Mister Hope and saw his work at the Spring Gardens shopping centre in Buxton where he was holding a small exhibition. I was instantly drawn to his quirky illustrations which often use popular and well known characters from books and films. I have more recently seen his work in The Green Man Gallery based in Buxton, which is a large gallery space that allows local artists to exhibit their work, they currently have a few permanent artists but also take on guest artists. I love this gallery because it is so spacious and set out on different floors; not only are you free to wander around, you feel relaxed and able to appreciate the artwork. The Gallery is fairly new and was bought to life by a group of local artists who wanted to bring their artwork to the attention of the local people and subsequently were offered the current premises by Vision Buxton.

Mister Hope is one of the permanent artists at The Green Man Gallery and his work clearly stands out.
Taking inspiration from artists such as Quentin Blake and Tim Burton, Mister Hope has developed a unique style of his own- he often exaggerates a certain area of the character which makes the work so captivating and often humorous. He draws out the images and adds colour using watercolours if necessary, however he has recently started to do paintings using acrylics on canvas which has been as equally successful.

I really like this particular image because even though it looks basic and simplistic there is still an element of detail which he has focused on in the hair and you can without a doubt guess who the character is meant to be.

Mister Hope: http://misterhope.com/

The Green Man Gallery: http://thegreenmangallery.com/

Laura Vann Illustration

Laura Vann is an Illustrator and Graphic designer who after completing a masters degree in Visual Communication (Illustration) at the University of Derby, is a freelance designer specialising in children's picture book illustration. 

I really love Laura's illustrations; they are quirky and individual and i think her use of colour is really effective. 

Below are some of her illustrations found on her website here:

http://www.lauravannillustration.com/