Olivia Key Ring

Here is a little key ring that I made today of my drawing of Olivia using a Shrinkies kit that my friend got me for my birthday :)

Christmassy Cards

I have been working very hard the last couple of days making some lovely hand printed christmas cards which I will be selling at the Chelsea Christmas Farye on Wednesday 3rd December.  Here is a sample of some of the designs I will have on offer...

Why Do We Collect?

Collecting seems to be intrinsic to our existence, whether it be for aesthetic purposes, to form our identity or simply to remember, the fact is; we all collect something. I am very interested in the sentimental attachments we have we our objects and why we feel the need to keep inanimate and functionless objects.

What I am currently attempting to discover within my thesis is the root of a person's collecting, where it begins and why we show such strong emotional attachments to our possessions. My research began by reading an almost auto-biographical book by William D King, a self confessed 'collector of nothing'. They are collectors, King states, 'who do not desire collectible items, not a thing anyone else would wish to collect'. This is one important rule to my thesis, the collectors I am interested in are not those who collect objects of value or a defined set or series. I want to learn more about people who collect without realising, and obsessive collectors (e.g shells, letters, crisp packets, scraps of metal) and hoarders.

In short, what I have come to find from my readings so far is that collecting begins with childhood, usually these items are given to us, not bought, therefore making us feel impolite if we do not accept the gift and carry on the collection. Collecting initially stems from lack, in particular lack of attachment to people. I am not saying that objects are a replacement for people, but rather a substitution for social interaction. This may develop from incidents such as physical harm or severe emotional trauma or neglect, to less tangible states or distress and anxiety where no form of help or comfort was apparent. Just as one person may find much satisfaction in eating to find comfort, another individual may come to favour objects instead of people, a tendency often observed in obsessional collectors. The acquisition of an object can temporarily fill the void, giving the collector a feeling of reassurance and allowing them to feel attachment.

Hello Olivia!

Olivia isn't really and owl, she's just pretending.

Two New Drawings

Gauguin and other things at the Tate

I went to the Tate Modern yesterday to see the Gauguin exhibition. I don't know why but whenever I go to  an exhibition like this I always find the artist's sketchbook work and drawings a lot more exciting than the paintings. I've never seen any of Gauguin's woodcuts before and the totally blew me away, they were so much more interesting. I have always loved the process of print making and love the detail you can achieve with  a woodcut, the mark making is much more subtle that linocuts. I would love to give it a go someday...

Also at the Tate were Jake and Dinos Chapman's 'Exquisite Corpse' etchings. I love the detail in their drawings and their playful sense of humor. The Chapman Brothers studio is right opposite my flat so I see them popping in from time to time, one day I hope to pluck up the courage to actually sneak in their studio. They have completely inspired me to do some some drawing today so hopefully I'll be putting them up on here soon :)

Some work

On Collecting

'For a collector, ownership is the most intimate relationship that one can have to objects..Not that they come alive in him; it is he who comes alive in them.'

- W. Benjamin, Unpacking my Library. p67

Hello!

Here is a little bit about my practice...

Themes that repeatedly tend to crop up in my work are the miniature and the sentimental. I am very interested in the emotional attachment we have with objects and collecting and try to show this through the work I make. With my matchboxes series it was very important for me to be able to make work that I could just put in my pocket and carry around with me, the idea was to be able to physically have a memory with me at all times. I also liked the idea that you could just close the box and keep the image 'safe'. I tend to work on small scale and am currently exploring my imagination using pencil, fineliners and mono-printing.