Light (years) Ahead

I think I've managed to come out the other side of my artist's fever. I can actually get space from my brain now, time to think about other things in life and to make some note of what's been going on.

I've been immersed in a strange world- a kind of 1970s/early 80s Science Fiction film set with emphasis on New Age colour schemes and philosophy, but balanced with a tribal sort of elegance and heavily influenced by 1920s futurism. It's hard to explain and so remotely distant from my usual Dickensian derelict- in fact trying to think about my usual style at this point literally gives me a headache, so I haven't been able to give myself a break in discovery work at all, I've just had to wade in up to the knees and forget about coming ashore.

As you saw by the images in the last post, I started to organise my new found frenzy by first going through every box and jar I have, pulling together a big pile of trinkets in the middle of the worktable, each piece having the elements in it that have been fuelling me this week- the top five of which are crystals, hexagons/pentagons, bone, rounded corners and high-gloss surfaces.

I gathered in such seemingly unconnected elements such as clear quartz points, rat bones, bubblewrap, plastic door bead strings, Czech beads, tribal drops, sea glass, vintage lingerie fittings and art deco jewellery. I also made a list of things I wanted to have on hand but as yet did not- white chain, obsolete computer components, square beads and a home enamelling kit - the kind used for bathtub repair. Even the things I'd bought from Etsy that arrived that day fit perfectly into the scheme, even though when I bought them it was with Faginpunk very clearly in mind.


Once I had all the objects amassed, things started to come together, and I built a few 'roughs' of the kind of work I see myself producing over the coming period of time, however long that is. Days? Weeks? Years? I don't know. I know I haven't finished with the Dickensian derelict, though I can't yet be certain it will come away untarnished (pardon the pun). Honestly- I can even envision a time where they will become one thing and I'll be surfing a sort of 'Dickens in Space' wave. Imagine if a young Oliver Twist joined Starfleet!

I went to the thrift (accompanied by my house mates to ensure I didn't get lost or run over while my brain sat on auto) and bought some experimental fabrics- bags made of silver PVC (which breaks down quite easily, lending itself to the Dickens side of the tracks already), mesh embedded in clear plastic and some heavy acrylic canvas blends with little rubber dots.


I don't know how far I'm going with all this but I've started with necklaces and brooches. Familiar territory must set a foothold- I think it would capsize my mind to explore both new construction methods and new aesthetics at the same time!


One thing has become clear though- with my usual style I often feel the path is rather muddy and hard to see; I need to constantly refer to my notes or inspirational images to keep 'aligned'. On this path however I feel a genuine and certain direction.

I also feel an odd kind of compulsion; it's as if I have to do this, as if some other sentient force is requesting it from me. I know that sounds very Close Encounters and all that; the whole pile up in my brain didn't really come on suddenly, it sort of phased in over a period of days, and even then you can see an element of these works in pieces produced less than a month ago. But the things that have sparked this- the colours and shapes and themes- have snowballed in my mind as they never have, the crescendo was a fever so bad that I couldn't even dream properly, I was just seeing visions of crystals and hexagons! This is more than just artistic thought process.

I've noted a few times in my bedside journal that this is something beyond the terrestrial realm, in fact my bedside journal itself is a testament to the journey so far- it's usual neat handwriting dissolving into disjointed lists scrawling over pages and pages. This is something that is coming from another source beyond me. Some say that's where the artistic process comes from anyway, but this feels more outward than anything else ever has.


There is definitely more at work here than simple aesthetics, though I've yet to find out what it is exactly that my higher mind is focused on, what it is interested in learning- or suddenly being offered.

The Future is Now

I've neglected you my readers. Apologies- I have been in other worlds.

New ideas have come to me, filling my head so that I cannot even sleep without their invasion. A new direction, a new system of thinking, a new way of seeing. Inspiration as I have not felt in a long time, yet overwhelming that I can't function on a terrestrial level. My house mates have to remind me to eat.

All sounds very dramatic, does it not?

Evolution of the mind.

Inspiration station- the past is now

Skin Graft- never cease to amaze

Patched and patched and patched old blue jeans- found this on a Tumblr, originally from a place called Sea of Shoes. I might just say that Tumblr is addictive and I now have one, even though it seems to be the visual equivalent of Twitter (and that includes the bad navigation).

Antique linen, stained with age and storage

An abandoned house- again found on a Tumblr, regrettably without any kind of credit.

Studio walk

Oranges and Lemons

New miniature collages- I love these, so much. Made with 19th century music sheet and book scrap and inspired by thoughts of late about the layers of history, with particular regard to nostalgia and the collective social conscience. (So weighty a theory for such tiny scraps of card!)

I tried to use styles reminiscent of the Victorians and the 1960s- both stereotypical views of London for people who don't live there. I'm deep in thoughts about the frozen world that people tend to sit England in- always wanting it to be high tea and bowler hats.

The outcry over modern buildings in Tudor-soaked villages, the lost of good grammar, the modernisation -called by some the 'Americanisation'- of that Sceptred Isle. I tried to use styles reminiscent of the Victorians and the 1960s- both stereotypical 'frozen times' of London. Anyway, I'll expand on the details later...feeling too mysterious tonight.

Aries return

And I'm back from holiday!

Filled with ideas and intentions for the studio table- clearing away old things to make ready for the new. Every time I take a holiday it sort of feelings like the beginning of a new phase. I had an excellent tarot reading done as well, full of advice and encouragement and fortuitous signs- so that might have something to do with it. Either way- new things ahead!

Off and Away

I'm on holidays for a week- thank goodness!


There's an offer in the shop right now- if you buy something in the week that I'm away (9th to the 15th of May) you will have free shipping!

See you in a week!

Brain like a Bugatti Veyron

My heartbeat was raised this morning when I saw the new post on forestbound:

I love this girl's world- her purity is so inspiring to me, a sea of calm in the most lovely derelict and muddy hues. It inspired me to go on a Google hunt for unfettered Georgian interiors.


I'm having a down day today. The last week has been a whirlwind of energy and activity, getting things done and tidied and sorted. While that is all well and good, the shadowside of manic periods is that you get these days like today- flat, lethargic and moody, while inside you're churning to do more things. Go places, see people, take photos make collages, think, write, think think think...all trapped inside the brain.


I've added the last of the jewellery related items to the old shop now- from here on in everything wearable will be in the new shop. The old shop will now become art and photography. I have some collages to upload that I finished last night- they're so fantastic I'm going to have a hard time getting rid of them! I'll show them next post.

Arg- I'm so behind on posts, I try to keep it to one a day (a headache prevented me from posting last night) but I have so much to show you and talk about. As you can see, the manic is still inside, even if the body has to rest.


All images but the first are from Princelet Street- a nearly all-original building in Spitalfields, one of my favourite areas in darling Londontown. Go to the 'information' section to find a link to hi-res versions of their images.

Tag Team of One

Among the more ordinary tasks in day-to-day business there exists the surprisingly elaborate task of sorting out packaging. There is literally no end to the way you can package your stuff- it's all down to two things. The Look and The Cost.


I try to keep both of mine as humble as possible- I like the brown paper and string simplicity of 19th century merchants, it suits the salvage nature of my worn out bits. The cost I like to keep low as well, being that I don't really believe my customers should have to pay an extra dollar amount just because I want to have fancy packaging. I don't factor in the cost of my time, materials or effort into my tags (which double as business cards) and wrapping. My shipping is the actual cost of the parcel transport and the envelope, that's it. Everything else is my generosity -and just wanting things to look nice. :)


Luckily the two philosophies go together quite well and incorporate my eco-policy. Today's tag experiment turned out well- 19th century sheet music, old book pages, 1970s wedding album tissue embossed with spider's webs, vintage system cards and regular old print outs on re-claimed paper from my museum days when the printer's shop was cleaned out.


Lovely! The back tags cost 15 cents each, the rest of the materials cost too little to count. I don't have infinite supplies of these papers (and as the back tags are made in Asia they're likely to be woodchip pulp from an old-growth source so I won't be buying more, even if they are nice and old-school) but the finiteness doesn't matter. I like to change things now and then, it keeps things alive and interesting, which is a nice touch for things so often made of the worn and dusty.

And the scraps can go back in the box to use in ATCs.

Etsy Favourites

Set of 3 mid-19th century tin boxes from oldohiofarmfinds - I love these SO much! The shipping is just too much between countries... *cries*
Vintage Webster's dictionary from AntiNu- this one's had quite the life!

Paris stamped tags by Creatif

Etsy Gift Guide

I found out, quite by accident that I am featured in Etsy's latest nostalgic whimsy Gift Guide!

My listing image also appears in the summary for the guide in the Hot List, and even pops up on the front page regularly!


Etsy ought to have sort of notification that you're in gift guide- you just don't know unless you accidentally see it or trawl through them. They need gold stars like the treasury.