Saturday 7 March 2020

Body of Work

If you have been following along with my blog for any length of time you will know that I have been trying to find my voice.  During a recent mentoring session we discussed 'voice'and it was suggested to me that I should look at building a 'body of work' rather than looking for techniques or processes that might lead me to my 'voice.

As a consequence I thought I would look back at the work I've made over recent years and see what they had in common.
Fabric book 2013/14

Angie Hughes workshop 2014

Journal page 2015

Art Cloth course 2017

Pathways 2019

Venice Tiles 2017

Suzette Smart workshop 2018

My version at home

Zigzag Khadi paper book Karen Stamper online course 2018

Wholecloth workshop 2018


Hidden Support 2018

My Mother Said 2018

Karen Stamper workshop 2019

Seasons workshop 2018/19

Master Practitioner module 1 2019

Fabric books 2019

Inspired by Clare Bullock workshop

Master Practitioner module 2


Leah Higgins workshop 2019

Leah Higgins workshop 2019

Master Practitioner module 3

It has been a really interesting exercise.  I've realised that I tend to do a piece of work and move onto the next without reference to what I have learned from the original piece of work.  I keep them separately in their metaphorical boxes.  Some pieces have more of 'me' in them and some look like a technique exercise.

Please be aware that blogger makes all the photos the same size but the work ranges from quite small to large pieces.

I still have more reflecting to do on what I have learned from this audit.

Do tell me in the comments what you see here?

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice


3 comments:

  1. I think they are all beautiful - can't believe our tag workshop was 2014!

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  2. You already have a great body of work! Your colours and images/shapes all go together, there is a theme running through. Your voice is there, even when learning new techniques with a teachers guidance - you put the colour and design down. I love all your pieces. You have inspired me to start again on my creative path (after 25 years) and my first proper workshop was Poetry, Print, Stitch last weekend :)

    I think the hardest lesson for most people is, not to overthink and guess the outcome before you start. It is certainly what holds me back. Bernice, just keep going please, others are following your journey and are inspired by you x

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  3. I was excited for you, reading about your mentoring session and how you are looking to find your own voice. You have a great body of work already and I can often recognise your work when it is not directly influeneced by a course or workshop. It's good to try new techniques and discover new ways of doing things, I found I was drifting away from my authentic self so pulled back on doing this a couple of years ago. I have enjoyed some of the courses but they weren't me and I recognised that I was spending time trying new things rather than developing what felt right.
    You certainly have been prolific and as a fellow lover of learning I can quite understand why you have been on the path you have.
    Sometimes I find it helpful to answer simple questions. What do I want? What don't I want? Keep drilling down with these questions. What most excites you? What pieces of your work do you most lean towards - can you see any threads or connections?
    Venice is a strong contender for me. As soon as I see or think of Venice I think of you. I also recognise some of the colours you use. It's good to be pushed outside our comfort zone and to try new things. Life would be boring otherwise and we'd never discover what else we might enjoy. Enjoy the mentoring. This is something I'd enjoy one day. I'm still confused myself though I am beginning to recognise what doesn't excite me to the same degree and that's a good starting point. Our style will always develop and change and that's good because that's how it should be. It's good though to know what path we are on. I enjoyed seeing all your work here, what a collection! You should be proud of all you have achieved.

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