Keeping Busy!!!

I've had two weeks off on my maternity leave so far and there is no sign of the baby coming yet (due in 10 days).

I've managed to keep myself busy with a few making projects though, here are some pics of things I have made whilst being off.

The quilt was initially cut out months ago, by no means do I call myself a quilter (as you can probably tell) but it is something nice that goes with the babies nursery (also seen here).

I now have a cross stitch to tackle that I have had for about 4 years and still only completed about 10% of. It will be beautiful and very rewarding once completed though.

I have been thinking about getting in to writing, so will probably use this as a platform to share some ideas, all comments welcome. I have my first piece of published writing out this week in 'Textile: journal of cloth and culture' so that is quite exciting. It is only an exhibition review but it is hopefully the first step to some freelance writing on textiles in the future.

My MA Work

So, I am on my maternity leave with three weeks to go until my first child (a boy) is here. I have just completed a Masters in Textiles at MMU (Manchester Metropolitan University) whilst teaching full time at a local college.

The focus of my Masters was my own pregnancy but also theory associated to the guilt and pleasure of being a mother and an artist. Here are some images of my work and the statement below that went along side my work during the exhibition:

"My work encapsulates the journey from child to woman and now mother-to-be. The pieces utilise stitch to communicate this through repetitive work and grids that signify the womb and the separation of mother and child.

The use of quilt- like sample pieces express the idealistic qualities of a mother and the smaller scale allows for intimacy with the viewer. The pieces incorporate traces of my experiences and the creation of them allowed greater clarity of thoughts and emotions, literally working through my own personal issues.

The collection and representation of personal objects communicates a further sense of who I am and who I want to be. They are signifiers of past desires and needs, souvenirs of a time when the desire to mother consumed me.

The objects, imagery, and text signify the mother/artist/unknown. They also refer to the work of Bracha Ettinger and Lacan; looking at the Real, Imagined and Symbolic… different stages of a child’s recognition of becoming separate.

The textile pieces are very personal and an almost self absorbed way of working through past and present fears to be ‘good-enough’ as a mother. Placed in a gallery setting they are used to represent motherhood and all the real, imagined and symbolic fears that the title bestows."

Now that this is all completed and I have a small amount of free time before the little one arrives, I am trying to find like minded people and blogs to share discussions with.

The fears being communicated in this work have now been added to; I am fearful of my brain turning to mush whilst on my 7 months maternity leave... hopefully this blog will keep me occupied?