One Step at a Time:13th March 23
Water of Leith Walkway / Jonathan Gibbs:Beneath the Moon / Carina's Pattern Lab / Shop News
Despite winter’s last stand, it’s been a surprisingly good week. Overall I've struck a better balance between work and play. Getting outdoors has been key to my better mood. On Monday I had a great walk with Robb along the Water of Leith walkway. It’s one of Edinburgh's best semi-secret places, that cuts right across the city from Leith to Balerno. Walking along the path on what once was an old railway line you would hardly know you were in a city at all. From the lower vantage point and away from familiar streets it's sometimes hard to pinpoint exactly where you are. Instead, there are landmarks such as Anthony Gormley's lifesize male figure sculptures which emerge from the water at several points, and plenty of unfamiliar views of buildings you know that you know. I enjoyed peering into back gardens and at the ramshackle architecture of allotments. Last time I saw a Heron by a waterfall. This time it was nowhere to be seen but there was an exceptionally tame Robin happy to pose for photos from fellow walkers. Although I've lived in or near Edinburgh for more than 30 years, I've only done this walk three times before, which is ridiculous really...it's such a great walk!
On Saturday there was another big day of walking and visiting galleries. I enjoyed visiting the 100 Day Project Scotland exhibition. Seeing all the artists’ work for each 100 days project hanging together had great visual impact. I admire these artists who have the comittment and stamina to make it to the end of 100 days. It's something I've never managed, although I’ve had a few attempts. One year I only manages 2 days before I gave up and another time I made it as far as day 80. It’s starting again in June and I’m very tempted to give it another go.
Workwise, I've been busy making more improvements to the website and as a personal project I’ve started some creative recycling with old IKEA Ribba frames (no pictures of that yet, it'll take at least another day to finish.).
On Friday I had good news that I’ve sold some prints at My Cherry Pie in Kirkcaldy, so I'm going to get more in other designs to replenish stock, and for selling on my own site.
The best thing happening now though has to be the days are getting longer again….sigh of relief! Less than two weeks until the clocks change. Cannot wait!
Open Eye Gallery, Jonathan Gibbs: Beneath the Moon
One of my favourite galleries, in Edinburgh’s New Town, is showing a wonderful exhibition of paintings and prints by Jonathan Gibbs. I went with my sister on Saturday, and unexpectedly, we were greeted by the artist himself, who spent time explaining about his working methods. I was curious whether there was a big difference in his approach to creating the paintings with their fluid brushstrokes and the wood engravings, which look much crisper. He explained that he enjoyed taking an intuitive approach, even with the prints. He would start with a basic idea but then enjoy the tactile process of holding the block and carving into the wood to build up the design. His paintings are done in a similar fashion, but working on several at a time that he has sitting on a shelf in his studio. He works in bursts, between other work commitments, building the pictures up slowly by adding paint, and at other times subtracting it. Something he said which I found incredibly helpful was that under all the paintings there were layers of mistakes – in fact, they were all built on mistakes. He pointed out one painting, called Nature Morte (above), that he thought was never going to work until at the eleventh hour, when he covered most of it with a wash of white and then scored the final marks into the surface, and suddenly it was finished - success! I found this very inspiring indeed, something I’ll try to bare in mind when I paint again.
The exhibition runs until the 1st April.
Carina's Pattern Lab
Carina Envoldsen-Harris is an embroidery pattern designer, originally from Denmark. She has lived in England for more than 15 years now, with her husband, a dog called Blake and a plentiful supply of colourful embroidery thread. She's written several books and tutors embroidery classes in London, and also occasionally in Edinburgh. I've enjoyed seeing her work blossom over many years and particularly love her recent modern folk-art-inspired florals.
Last week she wrote a revealing article about everything that goes on behind the scenes to create her embroidery patterns, from sketching out ideas to picking colours for thread and everything in between. She was also frank about her latest business venture the Pattern Lab, which gives subscribers a brand new embroidery motif every single week. In terms of take-up numbers, the lab could be deemed a business 'fail’ She admits. However, this can only be due to not enough people knowing about it since it’s such a fantastic resource and very reasonably priced. It's very hard to reach a lot of people without a HUGE marketing budget so let’s help Carina by spreading the word!
Read Carina’s weekly Substack here.
No new work this week but I have been beavering away on lots of little updates behind the scenes to improve the shopping experience on my website. It's now easier than ever to find exactly what you’re looking for because there are more ways to search - you can filter by colour, price, availability, or any tag. If you want a refund, it's now very straightforward to request one from your account, not that I've ever had any refund requests in all the years I've been selling online, but it's there if you want it! It's also easier to log into your account – no need to remember any more passwords, instead, you'll be sent a one-time passcode via your email.
I've also been putting a lot of thought into the shipping policy. Up until now I've religiously stuck with Royal Mail and always sent parcels First Class, however, prices have been increasing and I'm not sure this is the best option anymore. So, with that in mind, I've decided that from now on parcels will be sent second class. I will also use alternative delivery companies when appropriate. Express Shipping will be coming soon but until then please contact me if you need your order in a hurry - I'll send first class or special delivery at an extra cost.
Until next time, take care of yourselves, dear readers!
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