Tuesday, January 24, 2012

One man gathers....

So I have been soo busy a stitchen away on another new collection.  I am super excited about this one.... which always worries me a bit!  It seems the collections I love usually don't sell as fast, and the ones I am more nervous about go like hotcakes.... go figure?  This collection is titled **Snow Sparkles**  It is very pixie ethereal feeling, lots of pastels, ruffles, flowy fabrics....  and of course some NEW nuno felting!!!

I have been obsessed with nuno felted clothing for quite some time now..  Frequently gazing with awe on etsy at miss FeuerUndWasser and miss Frixiegirl (CHECK THEM OUT!)  I have been studying for months watching many youtube tutorials and figuring out how I could incorporate this amazing technique into my artwork.  With my love of colors, texture, and design it seems a perfect fit!

I went on the hunt for some small little farms to buy my fibers from and found several that assured me their Alpacas and sheep were pets, loved, named and treated so kindly!  I just love how this new medium plays apart in my creations and I hope you will too. 

I feel like my design has been growing and changing so much in the last years.  I worry that some might think I am lost or scrambling as a designer, but in truth I feel like I am growing, exploring and taking risks to bring new energy to my pieces.  I am evolving and changing and so rings true to my designs.  I don't want to become stagnant in my designs or in my life!  I of course still feel the pull of many of my original designs and will continue to do them, but I enjoy adventuring out on a creative limb now and again! 

I am so often inspired by other artists on etsy... I swear I am in awe of all that people can create with their minds, hearts, and hands..  This inspiration naturally flows into my work at times, it is natural and for me part of my design process...  I always change things up to fit my design and never copy.... but I can't deny that i get inspiration from other creative minds and I am not ashamed of it or try to hide it.  Some people get defensive of this and claim things as their own.  I respect that, but I do believe ,especially in fashion, that we can only claim ownership to a design aspect for a short time before it is a natural process for others to follow suit.... and that's how we get trends.  I do not believe in copying peoples designs in their entirety but when I see someone do something similar to my design with their own twist, I am flattered &  honored!! I hope other artists start to see that too and understand that sometimes we all pull from the same creative energy and like the same ascetic.  So much of what we all design is just twists on designs from the past anyway... I am almost sure that every design has roots going way way back.   Not sure why I am going off on this tangent here, but I sometimes see on discussion boards people complain about having things "ripped off" of thier design ~ It frustrates me.  I do of course Agree completely if someone takes EVERY aspect of a piece and replicates it exactly and claims as their own... that's no good at all...  I just think working together, having compassion for each other as artists and bouncing off of each others creativity is beautiful!


The last thing I wanted to write about was my idea to branch out a division of Namaste' Creations for my upcycled items. I have so been enjoying turning worn out things into fresh new items that I plan to create a new esty shop for my upcycled and vintage finds, separate from my handmade pieces of art.  I hope to do this shortly after my next collection is posted and have some fun new upcycled items to post there.... that brings me full circle to the title of this post.  My new store will be called One Man Gathers... a division of Namaste' Creations....