my first blog!

Hi, my name is Liz and I work as a textile craftsperson.

From the artistic point of view, I always find this time of year difficult - all these dull, dark days, poor light and lack of colour outside. Nevermind, in just a few weeks, plants will be emerging, colour and bird song, the great regenerative period. As soon as I see the first bulbs coming through, I will feel happier and more energised.

Yesterday, I was brave enough to pick up my paints and do some work on silks - the first since before christmas. It's a bit like making pancakes - the first one is crap but after that, they get easier. I had great fun doing some tie-dyeing, some basic immersing and then some shibori (the best fun as it can be fairly unpredictable). Shibori is an ancient japanese method of immersing silk in paint after folding/pleating/tyeing/placing between blocks of wood and clamping together. The results can be stunning as parts of the material may remain pale, others may be extremely dark with amazing patterns. It's always exciting unclamping and unfolding the finished article to be seen for the first time.

I'd like my blog to be mostly about my work - what inspires me, how it all happens, discovering new things and being creative.