CREATIVE PEOPLE - Hanah Redden, Little Burrow Designs and White Bird Paperwork

Today I am sharing a 'Creative People' post as I would like to highlight the work of three talented people I have the pleasure of having come across.  

I recently had the good fortune to win a lavender sachet in a facebook giveaway on the page of English textile artist HANNAH REDDEN.

I Won!!!!!

It was such a nice surprise to win something, and when the little package arrived in my post so beautifully wrapped and presented I was thrilled. It smells divine, is very high quality craftsmanship with lovely little details and I recommend her work!

Lavender sachet by Hannah Redden

This is what Hannah says about herself. "Since my early years I've been surrounded by fabric, threads, paper, and paint of my creative family.

Being so passionate about about textile related creativity pushed me to complete my BA Hons in Textile Design in 2005, specialising in Printed Textiles from the Glasgow School of Art. This course provided strong design training as well as the skills in print necessary to design and create interior furnishings.

I gather inspiration from my surroundings, at the moment I am particularly drawn to all things British and vintage. Combining this interest with a fascination for repeating patterns and manipulation of scale and colour I produce bespoke and unique prints and products suitable for interior use."


Find her here:

Hannah Redden on Etsy

Hannah Redden on facebook

You should also visit the wonderful blog of her mother Ruthie.

5 Precious Things

Little Burrows Designs on facebook
 

I've long been a fan of LITTLE BURROW DESIGNS. Based in a gorgeous part of the Devon countryside the owner Claire weaves magical designs from forgotten and lost items. Just before Christmas she shared on facebook a teacup and saucer creation she had made for a customer called , 'The Night Fox. ' I loved everything about it, the art deco Crown Ducal china is so enchanting with it's hand painted raised design.

The Night Fox
by Little Burrow Designs

Claire is a gifted artist whose vision and love for found items makes her work exceptional. On her facebook page she often shares the tiny treasures which she searches for and it is wonderful to see them unfold in new settings where they thrive and have a future. I love the way that she rescues items which many would view as useless.

Because I loved the Night Fox so much I asked if she could create a similar item for me based upon a personal favourite of mine, the folklore of Red Riding Hood and The Wolf. I've never seen it as a tale of Wolf eats Grandma, but rather as confronting the Wolf in all of us. I like to think that Red and The Wolf made friends in the end. Although this is by no means 'nature sanitised for our pleasure' - Beware The Wolf, for he is very wild indeed. This isn't Disney anymore.

She rose to the challenge of sourcing Red, and a Wolf for me. This is what she made.

Who is afraid of The Big Bad Wolf?
by Little Burrow Designs

This is what Claire says about my piece. "This is "Who's afraid of the big bad wolf" aka, Red Riding Hood Picture Teacup. This is another of those divine 1920's orange tree teacups, which are just staggeringly beautiful, and so eye-catching. It has been made to hang like a picture on the wall. Inside, it is filled with vintage objects, that make up the story of red riding hood. She is walking in a forest... of tall trees, at night. The trees are appliquéd patterned 1940's fabric, and the tiny moon is a vintage mother of pearl button. The grass is all hand-stitched in vintage silk. Red riding hood herself is an exceptionally unusual, and eye-catching enamelled brooch. I think it is possibly art nouveau, and if not, art deco, so is anywhere from 1910-1930's. I can't find out anything about it, but it is exceptionally beautiful. The wolf is a pre-war lead figure, approx 1940's. He has rather large dark foreboding eyes, and is sitting in wait for Red Riding Hood".

I love it and will cherish it forever!

You can find her in these places, but she does most of her business from facebook where you can see many of her fabulous creations.  Claire has some wonderful pieces for sale, but she will also create an item to order.

Little Burrow Designs on facebook

Little Burrow Designs on Folksy

Little Burrow Designs on Etsy

Little Burrow Designs BlogSpot

Romy from Hippy at Heart and White Bird Paperwork.

The last Creative Person I want to tell you about is Romy Steiger from WHITE BIRD PAPERWORK and HIPPY AT HEART.

ROMY has a wonderful blog which I have long followed called HIPPY AT HEART, where she showcases her fashion visions in clothes and home furnishings - and her fantastically photogenic cat HENDRIX!

Romy's wonderfully named cat Hendrix

She recently launched her business designing business cards. Her work is top class quality, she has many designs on offer or can create a customer order for you.

White Bird Paperwork

This is what Romy says about herself.  "Hello, I'm Romy, a hedonistic hippy chick from Germany's middle of nowhere in love with life, the late 60s, cheesecake and my small family (and my kitten Hendrix, the housecat ;)). I love doing small things with great love. Just sitting on my desk in solitude - and keeping my imagination running wild. My Etsy shop White Bird Paperwork is my creative outlet for all of this: Designing little pieces of paper in a quirky, fun way, with lots of fun, joy and happiness!"

You can see her work, and read more about her at these places: 

Hippy at Heart blogspot

Hippy at Heart on facebook

White Bird paperwork on facebook

Her shop is at: White Bird Paperwork on Etsy

OBJECTS OF DESIRE - DoGoo Contemporary Clay Idols

Dior 1950s. Sparkly, yes. Gorgeous, yes.
And yet I would not buy this.  

I like to share the work of artists I admire. Like most ladies my eye is attracted by a bit of sparkle but I've never been a great beauty and do no justice to ostentatious adornment - and real jewels just do not fit into my lifestyle.  These days to hold my attention and make me part with hard earned monies items need todo more than sparkle. Much more.

What I really love are things which sparkle AND tell a story. This skill is known to a few wordsmiths, painters, and the magic hands that can bring life to a lump of clay. What these artists create are my Objects Of Desire.

I have always been interested in folklore, the telling of it and how it came to be. My dream home would be in a wood. We live close but not quite in among the trees. I need a pale hound to walk beside me while I ramble. I have caught sight of many beasts therein, some real, some imagined. Some timid as this Roe Deer, some clever like a Fox, some fierce like the Wolf.

A Roe Deer in the woods by our cottage

I think that wild things beckon to us because we see something in them which we have lost or hidden deep inside ourselves. I have Native American ancestors whose beliefs enthralled me while growing up. I was alternatively fascinated and frightened by Totem Poles and the ancient carvings of beasts you see all over Europe remind me of them. I like the stories that lie within the images of Totems and Idols.

So it is no surprise that I am attracted to the work of certain fairy tale artists of old, my favourite being Arthur Rackham. Today there are also very gifted artists and illustrators who can spin anew characters of old, or give life to untold tales and characters we may have only dreamed. I admire the work of many,  Ruthie Redden, Jackie Morris, Jessie Lilac, Rima Staines, Joanne May, and Karen Davies, to name just a few.

There is something very romantic and magical about working with your hands whether it be with wood, paints, jewels or clay. Today I am featuring a sculptor,  Midori Takaki of DoGoo Contemporary Clay Idols. She creates items which tell a story and has the discipline required to produce a perfectly shaped traditional bowl or jug and yet she can also give her imagination free flight to create items of fairy tale and mythic origin. On her blog Midori shares wonderful photographs of all the animals who inhabit her life including the dogs Pearl and Topaz and the Hen named Pumpkin.

I especially love this most perfect little milk jug adorned by the rabbit on the handle and a paw mark at the lower end of the handle.



I am enchanted by her interpretation of the story of Red Riding Hood and The Wolf which she has shared with us on her blog. I hope that she will not mind me posting this here.

Red Riding Hood plaque by DoGoo Contemporary Clay Idols
http://dogoo-midori.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/test-pieces-before-firing-and-pearls-joy.html

I think what she has written on the profile of her Etsy shop perfectly captures the spirit of her work and explains her strong tie to nature and the world around her which she has great love and respect for.

"I make ceramic figures inspired by nature, fairy tales and myth. I was fascinated by metamorphoses in Greek myth, and love the world of Narnia.

My figures usually have stories behind them. When I make faces, they often start talking to me and they build their own characters from there. Although I make shapes for them, I don't feel I create them. I just help them appear. The deep almost unconscious dialogue that I have with the subjects is the source of my joy of making them.

My work will bring smile to those who see them. That makes me happy.

I also make tableware too. They are inspired by plants, especially flower buds and leaf buds.

I am taking an MA course in Applied and Fine Arts in Canterbury Christ Church University as a part-time student. I used to work as interior designer in Tokyo. I had my first exhibition at Artists' Open Houses in October 2011.

I have studied sociology and anthropology for BA and MA, and interior design at a professional level. My most favourite place to visit is V&A, and the place I have liked to visit most is Hermitage at St. Petersburg.

I live with the husband, three parrots, two dogs, one finch and one chicken in a beautiful old city in Kent.

I love life, feel optimistic and lucky. I am sometimes too imaginative for my social reputation!"

DoGoo Contemporary Clay Idols blog

Midori's Etsy Shop



Red Riding Hood meets a wolf, by Arthur Rackham
My favourite Red illustration which graces a wall in our cottage.

I keep meaning to write a post about Little Red Riding Hood but my love of this tale is so great that I am frightened of not doing it justice. Where to begin? Where to end? While I continue to collect, dissect and mull it over in my mind and eye, Kristin over at Tales Of Faerie has posted this recently about Red Riding Hood and werewolves in Europe, and it offers another bit of information in the unraveling of the story.

http://talesoffaerie.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/werewolves-and-little-red-riding-hood.html

FAIRY ARTISTS ~ Thomas Bromley Blacklock

 "Red Riding Hood" 1899, by Thomas Bromley Blacklock (1863-1903).
Oil on canvas, 66 x 91.5cm. London Art Market, Sotheby's, 26th August 1997, Lot 1445

 

Although we are continuously drawn towards the familar and much loved images and artists we know, we also like to pay tribute to lesser known talents from the past - and the present. No matter how old we are it remains a great delight to discover something new which becomes a treasured favourite. No one has said it better than John Keats, "A thing of beauty is a joy forever".

Today the internet and the plethora of magazines make thousands of images available to us without having to go to a gallery or a library. We are able to enjoy so much more, but often the paintings are posted or printed without the artist's name or story attached. When we use images we always try (sometimes in vain) to find out who created them and add a link to further information. 

We have a few images saved which have charmed and beguiled us, and never cease the search for their story. The name of Thomas Bromley Blacklock was unknown to us until recently when we were researching some of these images and found them on A Polar Bear's Tale enchanting and informative journal.    Here   We owe her a great debt for two reasons, the beauty which she shares with her readers, and the archive of information she has accumulated on art and artists. Without her we would never have known who painted these images of The Fairies Wood, or The Snow Queen and been able to then identify Little Red Riding Hood as being by the same artist.

The story of Thomas Bromley Blacklock ends tragically, but his spirit must have burned brightly to have been able to paint so vibrantly.

Thomas Bromley Blacklock

Thomas Bromley Blacklock was born in 1863 in Kirkcudbright, Scotland, and tragically died in 1903 at the young age of 40 when this handsome and extremely gifted man drowned himself in The Clyde.

The son of the English teacher at Kirkcudbright Academy, Thomas was trained in painting in Edinburgh, working mainly in pen and ink and later in oils in East Lothian before returning to Kirkcudbright. He was inspired by the local landscapes which feature in much of his work and he captures their haunting beauty perfectly.  At some point he began to include children and fairies in the scenes and some of his later works allude to Galloway folklore. This does not detract from the landscapes but only adds to the enchanting quality. It is easy to imagine that he felt happy in such places and was cheered by the presence of the children and fairies while working alone in solitude. 

His last residence was at Church Place, Kirkcudbright which became well known as something of an artist's community with William Stewart MacGeorge and  E A Hornel also working there.

There is little recorded about Thomas and we know almost nothing of what torment drove him to end his life when he was at the height of his artistic development. Apparently he suffered a severe spinal ailment which is believed to have made his life intolerable. He lies buried in Kirkcudbright Cemetery.

His work was exhibited Royal Academy; Royal Scottish Academy; Aberdeen Artists' Society; Royal Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts; Liverpool.

"In the Fairies Wood", 1903. Oil on canvas, 60 x 72.5cm. London, Sotheby's. Lot 856, 8/83

Probably the picture shown as 'Fisher Girls' at the RSA, 1903, and RGI 1904.
sold at Bonhams Edinburgh 'Scottish Sale' in 2009 for $75,471

Bo Peep

A delightful little oil very much in the style of Hornel and full of dappled light and shade.
A real collector's piece for anyone enthusiastic about Scottish paintings. Acquired from an estate in the United States and sold by James Alder Fine Art.

On the BBC website you can see a slideshow of 17 works by Thomas. Do have a look, they are stunning. His remarkable spirit lives on in his paintings.

Thomas Bromlety Blacklock on the BBC website


Thank you to James Alder Fine Art for some of the information used in this post.

James Alder Fine Art