I guess beginning a blog is something like the first mark on the blank paper, such a small thing but the rest will flow from it. I want to write about the textile courses I’m taking and any other bits of art related stuff that seem important to me. A lot of my life is spent supporting other people’s art through the web, so this is a bit of pure indulgence for me. I also want to tie my work to some external accountability – even if no one reads this, putting it out here regularly seems like a good commitment that will hold me to actually getting into the work regularly too.
In the next few months I am finishing one course and starting another. I’m on the 8th module of Linda Kemshall’s online patchwork and quilting City and Guilds course – it’s supposed to be a short course (one year) but it’s taken me several years to get this far already. I just sent off my initial ideas for the first of two final assessment pieces – a wall quilt. I plan to finish this in the next month and the next one the month after.
At the same time, I’ve enrolled for the OCA Textiles 1 course. It’s a more general course that looks at fabric construction techniques as well as surface design and stitch – the materials haven’t arrived yet but I’m really looking forward to it. The OCA course is time limited – two years maximum – I think that may help to keep me focused.
