January – so far…

Well, its been a hectic couple of weeks of blocked drains, builders and feeling grotty: gloomy, grey and glum, not conducive to creativity…

Nevertheless, I’ve been a busy bee fashioning jewellery stands to display my wares at Storiel in Bangor (on sale from Tuesday 23rd Jan!) and weaving frames for my Free-form Weaving and Needle Felting Workshop at Pensychnant Conservation Centre (Saturday 24th Feb) with off-cuts of wood from the shed. Great fun making big noise courtesy of my beloved jigsaw, and lots of lovely mess!

Also found a brilliant use for empty ribbon reels which I’ve been hoarding (can’t throw potentially useful things away): with the simple addition of a Phia eco sticker they become perfect up-cycled bracelet displays!

And whilst trying to reinstate some sense of organisation in my studio, I was excited and surprised to find some free-form weavings I’d made when I was just 15 years old!

According to my mother I was being horribly teenaged, bored and annoying one holiday so she sat me at her loom and these were the results 🙂  I have absolutely no recollection of making them…  but very much enjoying weaving again and creating some exciting new textile art.

My sketchbook is brimming with ideas, and at the rare times I’m not crazy busy I’m slowly starting to realise my sketches using mixed mediums such as crochet and needle felting, dying my own yarns, wool and silk and generally indulging my creativity.

One of my favourite past-times, which I also too seldom get to enjoy, is hunting for materials, either foraging in the beautiful Snowdonia countryside or rummaging through charity shops and car boot sales.

It’s incredible what treasures can be found for free! Porth Penrhyn in Bangor has the most beautiful sea smoothed slates I use in my jewellery and artwork; the rugged local coastline offers the most amazing array of shells, driftwood and perforated pebbles; the many slate quarries scattered throughout the mountains have endless quantities of coloured slates flecked with quartz and fools gold; whilst the wild welsh forests and hills hold limitless leaves, bark, twigs, lichen, pebbles, crystals, and infinite inspiration!

I’ve rescued a lot of damaged clothing and broken necklaces from charity shops saving them from landfill, whiling away the winter evenings sorting beads and unpicking clothes! Latest absolute bargains include a suede coat and a sheepskin jacket for just £1 each which are in the process of being transformed into snuggly slippers, hats and bags for the new Trigonos shop opening soon!!!

Also picked up some great garments at the Bethesda Pay as You Feel Cafe’s Clothes Swap yesterday – great fun, great people, great clothes!

And lastly: Monthly Craft Club will be commencing on Wednesday 7th February 6-8pm at the PAYF Cafe with a Valentines theme, but feel free to bring along your own project and get crafty! As usual, hot food and drinks will be available on a PAYF basis – join the Facebook group “Craft Club” for regular updates and ideas.

Will bring you more from the world of Phia as it unfolds, but for now keep warm and keep creating!