Over the Bank Holiday weekend I have been making strenuous efforts to clear up my work room – photographic evidence to follow. But, in my experience, there is only so much clearing up you can do before you become bored with the whole thing and give up. So at various intervals I did some sewing. These six little notebooks, which are pocket-sized A6, I think, were made during one such break. I have made them to say thanks to the people who helped me to prepare a bid for funding. They are made from fabric which would otherwise go into landfill, plus a bit of organza in my stash. They were very quick to make, and were one of those projects where everything just fell into place.
Over the years I have developed my own set of symbols, some of which are obvious such as oak leaves for strength, some not so straightforward: peacock feathers for authority. Pears symbolise the imagination for me, with a bit of danger or difficulty thrown in. In fairy stories sitting under a pear tree was asking for trouble, and in the weird Grimm fairy story ‘The Handless Maiden’ the pears are magical. Plus, they are my absolute favourite fruit, and easy to draw! So, they seemed appropriate to say thanks for help towards preparing a bid to do exploratory and innovative work.
They will be going to their new owners next week. News about the outcome of the bid to follow.
