Well, its been a while since I've written a blog but things are none stop in the Crafts By Sian world. The biggest thing I can currently talk about it Manchester Craft Mafia's collaboration with The Manchester Museum where we have been asked to produce work based on collections within the museum. Legend has it that if you fold 1000 origami cranes, you will find inner peace and your wish will come true. Within the museum is a whole section filled with these cranes hanging down and alongside a crane and some rock from Japan. Story goes, a young girl who became ill after an atomic bomb in Japan, wanted to fold 1000 cranes to send out to the world, each one with the word "peace" written on the wing. She did this in attempt to spread peace when the world was in termoil.
More exciting news in the my little art world is that I've been accepted to join the Manchester Craft Mafia as Events Co-Ordinator Assistant! Apart from the part about to officially say i'm part of the mafia, I'm also looking for all the cake we get to eat at the meet ups (which, from what I can tell are calorie free. I'm not sure on the magic of this, but I'm just going with it).
Hi guys, I have a few people asking questions about my work and how I make my art so I thought I'd do a little blog to answer (the best I can!)... Q: "What blade do you use?" A: Well, I've been through a few to try what fits best for me and my biggest tip is to do the same if you're cutting. I currently use my old faithful handle which I bought in a local art shop. I cant remember the brand (sorry, not very helpful!) because i find the triangular shape helps me hold it like a pencil. I tried thicker round ones, thin Swann Morton ones, thin round ones and I found them clumsy to use. I even tried the wrapping bandage tape around it under the blade but I still ended up with sore fingers. Blade wise, I started with craft knife ones which (mainly due to my bad practice of pressing down too hard) snapped at the tip, so I tried Swann 10a and bingo! They fit with my practice and dont snap off. They dont fit perfectly in my handle but it works for me. I recently tried 11s as I've heard really good things about them but I felt they bent and I couldnt control them quite as well. I tried again using them today and it was better but still not my favourite if I'm honest. Q: "What paper do you use?" A: Anything that I fancy. For my bigger pieces, I like to use the hammered off white that I buy from PaperCutz. I like the texture of it and its not too thick so doesnt blunt my blade too quickly. Its also nice to draw on. Not as a rule but I like to cut on white or off white paper as I like the clean cut. I keep meaning to experiment with other colours but habits are hard to kick! All my paper is weighted between 120gsm and 160gsm as I find thinner incredibly hard to handle and thicker ruins my blades so quickly. Q: "Am I using too many blades?" A: Personally, I ditch a blade as soon as it starts dragging on the page. I hate the feeling and it starts making the piece look untidy. I can use anything up to 10 in a A5 piece (dependent on paper thickness and detail) but if I'm honest, I dont really keep track. I just bin them in to my little used blade box and then empty that in to a larger secure tub when full. I havent filled the big tub yet so no idea what to do when i have to! I hear you can buy proper sharp boxes from chemists. Please do dispose of them safely though if you're using a lot. Q: "Where do you get your templates from?" A: I dont use templates, I've got nothing against them and there are some really truely beautiful ones out there (Totally Templates Website is mentioned as a good place to source, or etsy). I like to draw my pieces by hand then cut them. This sometimes results in duds but I try not to get too caught up on the wrong ones and work on it again. I like drawing. Its one of my quiet time pleasures. I have in the past used fonts from the computer but after hearing others talk about font copyrights, I've been put right off and so write my own (backwards). I would love to sell my work as templates in the near future, I just havent had time as yet to sort it out properly. Q: "Can you cut me a Disney cut?" A: No. Sorry, I would love to be able to cut whatever is asked of me but ther e are some serious copyright police out there who will fine and shout at anyone copying their work and making money from it. Disney in particular are very keen to stop people doing repos of their characters. And, to be fair, I agree. I would be sad if I'd spent time and effort in to making a piece just to have someone take it and make money from it. There are out of copyright things you can work with though, like my book inspired pieces. The books I have featured are all out of copyright and your own interpretation of them is cool to do. Any quotes and such need to be credited to the original artist/author though. Q: "how do you have the patience?!" A: My art is the only time in my busy and noisey life where I'm alone and peaceful. Some people read, watch films, excercise, etc. My time out is drawing and cutting. I'm not sure if patience comes in to it (I dont have much patience in most areas of my life!) but I guess it can seem like it. I love to see the piece come to life and constantly turn the cut to the "right" side to see the image emerging. Like a story unfolding, the picture comes together to form the final tale. Q: "Do you ever make mistakes?" A: YES! All the time. Sometimes theyre massive and the piece has to be thrown. Most times theyre so small that they can either be worked around or fixed with a little tape on the wrong side to keep them together. Leaves and trees are easy, you cut a leaf off, no one notices. People and buildings are harder as they have to be a certain way to look right or the human eye will not like it. Q: "Do you enjoy what you do?" A: I dont have a steady income, I'm skinter than you'd believe sometimes, it can be stressfull and frustrating, I have had to learn new skills to keep my art and business working (accounting, networking, copyright laws, etc), I work everyday and most nights until midnight on top of getting up at 6am with the tyke to be mum... The list of hardships probably could go on forever but it doesnt matter. For the happiness I feel doing what I love, its totally all worth it. And i am incredibly lucky to have a great support group of family and friends around me to encourage and support me in my journey. Final advice: Do what you love, work hard but enjoy it. Try out different things, experiment and play. Ask for help if you need it. But most of all, follow your heart and the rest will fall in to place. S x Hello! I have dragged myself away from a new cut to write a little bit here (and let all the cheese i've just devoured settle in my stomach a bit!). I found out today a very lovely "liker" of my facebook page had read my blogs and I was filled with dread! So, as she most rightly put it, why do I write them if i worry people will read them?! Well, to be honest, I'm not sure! I was told by my business advisor that blogs are great for letting your customers get to know you. Now, this is all very well but those of you who know me (like, REALLY know me), will know I'm terrible in groups and meeting new people. I get incredibley anxious, sweaty palms and worry too much what people may think of me! So then, why is it so easy to let myself out when I'm hid behind a screen? Well (up until an hour ago!) as far as I'm concerned, my blogs are like my little diary that no one reads. Its just a little bit of a ramble on a page which no one visits about my thoughts that week. But if people read them, thats ok too. I actually dont mind. I find it hard to open up but whats the worse that can happen? And I'm not exactly devulging personal information on here! So, how about networking on social media sites? Well, as you may have guess on my previous post, i love that! But thats more about me hearing about others than them hearing about me. Yes, I get giddy when i get a comment from a stranger complimenting my work but I get far more out of the conversations I have with others on my page. I have also met some fantastic small businesses that I would probably never of heard of if it wasnt for facebook. I just want to quickly thank some. The lovely Sharon from Essar Aitch, who is always recommending my page to others (thanks by the way!) and I have bought some lovely pieces from, The fabulous Cathy and her amazing illustrations which inspire and motivate even the laziest of us and who, very early on, became my "comment buddy" and is so supportive, and lastely, the amazing Jess King from Crafts and Crumbs who recently encouraged me to post my work on a Papercutting forum (more on that in a min). Her work is gorgeous and her cuts are so clean and tidy. So, the networking encourged me to post in the Papercutting forum with my new The Secret Garden piece. It was so well recieved i couldnt believe it. Everyone was so lovely and said such lovely things. And there were a few people asking if I sell templates of my pieces for them to cut themselves. Well, this got me thinking! Why not? I would love to see others using and enjoying my art as much as I do! So, watch this space (or facebook/etsy actually as they are usually my go to sites to post on!) for the templates! exciting!
right, i really am just rambling now and i must get on as its monday (accounts/paperwork day) and I havent even gone near any reciepts... thanks for reading! bye x Today, at the Women in Business course, we were talking about planning and discussing how important it is in our lives. Planning is required everywhere, from meal plans to organising a holiday. And, due to years of doing it, it becomes second nature. But what if it hasn't, and what if this integual part of life isnt embedded in to your brain? Can we teach ourselves? What can we do to combat it?
I havent, and never have had a "business plan". I enjoy what I am doing, I do it, if it sells, GREAT! If not, I move on to another project. I can be the first to admit that this is a terrible way to run a business. My reciepts are all bundled in to a box, my materials are extensive (my addiction to buy card gets the better of me sometimes... what can i say?!) and sprawled across my studio, the closest I have to an idea of income is some figures floating in my head, my ideas of pushing my brand further are just that... Ideas! So what can I do to sort it out? Well, I'm hoping the course will provide me with tips and advice on what the best way to do it and I'm pretty excited if I'm honest. My biggest challange is time management. I dont turn things down, I say yes to everything, even when it ends up putting so much pressure on me that I spend weeks with headaches and not sleeping properly. I am good at setting myself and making a timetable of what needs doing and when... I love using excel and colours, codes, keys. But sticking to it? Nope. I set unreachable goals then kick myself when I fail or let someone down. So, anyone give me any tips of how to do it?? seriously, throw me an email! We were taught about SMART (specific, manageable, achievable, realistic and timely) objectives today which seemed to help but if anyone has a few extra hours a day, that'd be GREAT! Hi everyone,
|
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
February 2016
Categories |