Thursday 18 December 2014

December inspiration round up - Take 2





Hello my lovelies, I just thought I'd drop in again to share a few more things I've been drawing  inspiration from recently. OK, so I know it's still more than a week since I shared my last list of inspiration here, but I've come across such a lot of things that I have found inspiring and am using in my work the moment or certainly will be in the future that I thought t was time for another post. At the very least it helps me keep track of it all and I love sharing it with you folks too.
image source https://www.flickr.com/photos/barryslemmings/8007080620/


First up are these beautiful windows created by Laurence Whistler, and was blown away by their beauty and intricacy. I've always loved stained glass windows but these windows, created for St Nicholas Church in Moreton, are somehow even more powerful just being etched into plain glass.


image source- stnicholasmoreton.org.uk

beautiful art deco patterned wall paper
image source -.achome.co.u
So I've been working on a beaded fascinator over the last week and my inspiration has come from these lovely art deco patterns. I think it has grown from my interest in geometric patterns that I mentioned in a previous inspiration post here.  I love the interlocking repeat of them and the curved forms but to be honest at the moment I'm finding it pretty tricky to  recreate this on my work, for some reason it hasn't quite come out right yet. 
image source- metmuseum.org

Next is this beautiful Hat created by Lilly Dache in 1937, I love finding examples of vintage millinery that could just as easily be worn today, and this piece would not look out of place in a 2015 collection. I'd never heard of Lilly Dache  before I came across this and a few other examples of her work on Pinterest and it made me realize how little I know about milliners from previous eras. Whilst studying millinery we were always discussing current milliners' work or that of our tutors (or occasionally our tutor's tutor) but never looked at historic milliners.  So maybe a new years resolution should be to get to know more about milliners of the past.

 
I came across this lovely image in this months Oh Comely (which by the way happens to be one of my favorite magazines ) it conjured memories of den making when I was little. Why are only children allowed to make dens? I think building a creative den to hide away from the world for a day  would be great. I don't know whether my boyfriend would be too pleased if  I made a tent out of sheets in my living room like I did when I was little- the cats would love it though, I'm sure.



Lastly and not least is this work I came across by Sarajo Freiden, I have recently got back into sketching and doodling and am trying to work more in my sketchbooks. I love looking at examples of other peoples sketchbooks and journals for inspiration and ideas on layouts etc. I love he textures she creates in her line drawings and  the way she pieces together work in her sketchbooks from various other pages and papers ( something I do quite a lot too as I'm always sketching on scraps of paper in work) 


And here is another wee  round up of other things this week:


Enjoying - visiting Chapter's festive food fair with friends

Working to the sounds of  – Anything by Carolina Chocolate Drops

Snacking on - Festive Mincemeat  Muffins


Wednesday 3 December 2014

Inspiration round up December 2014



So I know that it most certainly hasn't been a weekly feature since I post my last inspiration round up post here. However I really want to make this a regular feature, I'm not going to let the fact that time has once again slipped me by put me off. So here are the 5 things that have  inspired me over the last few weeks.



 1. Htozkaya- First off this lovely Etsy shop that I came across recently really did impress me, The lovely floral accessories that Nika creates are  so delicate and I was surprised to see that they were made using air dry clay. I love the fact that her pieces are so wearable yet original and creative. This is definitely two qualities I strive for in my own work and I always love seeing them in others. You can see more of her work on sale over at Etsy here.


    2. This amazing cycle path that opened in The Netherlands in November. I'm always impressed    when a designer combines beautiful visual designs with an environmental solution, you don't really come across them that often  but this is a really great example. The glowing solar powered path's designs have been inspired by Van Gogh's painting Starry Night and must be a joy to cycle on at night time. You can find more about it from this article.
image courtesy of style.com

3. I mentioned Manish Aurora's work on my last post, and I am still really inspired by his Autumn Winter 2014 collection. Some of the designs are a bit 'out there' for my own personal taste but I love the combination of modern and folk references and the use of print and colour. ( Plus there are so many hats which is always a winner for me) .


image courtesy of wikipedia.org

 4.Princess Kaiulani-  I came across this film whilst flicking through the channels one lazy afternoon this week and was instantly drawn. I love a good costume drama so this seemed like the perfect afternoon viewing. I was really impressed with the lovely costumes and beautiful story but also taken aback that I had never heard of the country's history. The film also has a lovely soundtrack so if you need a good afternoon film this is definitely a good choice.


image courtesy of amazon.co.uke4



5. Last but not least my lovely friend Kathryn gave me a copy of The Art and Craft of Gianni Versace. For some reason I have never really paid much attention to Gianni Versace's work until now. I suppose I have always been more focused on the big British Fashion designers such as Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood but this book really opened my eyes to the wonderful work that this designer created both for fashion and for Stage. I especially love the last chapter that details some of the techniques used and the close up images of  the garments.


And here is a tiny general round up of other things:

Sipping cups of - Pukka Teas Night time blend ( but only before bed)


Working to the sounds of  – Fleetwood Mac - Tango in the Night


Snacking on –  Cheese and Banana Toasties.
Hope you are all having a lovely week. Jessie xx