Creativity Course and Navel Gazing! - part 1

Back in January I started on a day a month course called 'Explore you Creative Potential' at the Bramble Patch in Northants. This is run by Brenda Boardman and covers lots and lots of different techniques and ideas with the aim of you developing your own work and style. Brenda is a great mentor and tutor and I have been really enjoying these classes. I come back really fired with enthusiasm and often spend the next day working on what we did in class. Sometimes this is all the time I spend on my textiles in a month and it keeps me going until the next month.

I am a perfectionist and a control freak (lucky me!) and am one of those people that are always beating themself up about something! So I feel bad that I spend more time buying the materials and reading about textiles than actually doing! Brenda said something to me that was really helpful - she said that I need to learn (and accept) my own way of working. So for some people doing a bit each day works for them - I would like to do this and have tried it before but realistically with a puppy coming home with us in 2 months (more on that later!) this won't work. It seems that I work best just after the monthly class when I am 'on a roll' and then I work somewhat sporadically throughout the month. THe ideas are never far from my thoughts but putting them into practice doesn't always happen. Work also affects this - the busier and more stressed I am at work, the less sewig / creating I do. This is why I am trying to nip my work stress in the bud as I have only been there 5 months and it is starting to escelate! I blames this on mean but when I think logically it seems that if you work hard and are conscientious people think you can cope with anything and jsut do more and more and more!!

Anyway, enough philosophising - get to the pictures!! I have been working on medieval for a while now. I went to my creativity course with a sketchbook full of ideas, doodles etc but no real samples or progression in fabric. Brenda made some suggestions and I have started to move forwards. One week we did thermofax screens (GREAT FUN) and I created a design based on the arches of Notre Dame in Paris.