Sharing My Knowledge

 

I've always been happy to share my knowledge with others.

Last year I joined my local Arts & Craft Society and as I started to get to know people I realised that a lot of members have or want websites, but aren't sure how to make the most of them.

In my day job I work as a user experience researcher, talking to customers and watching as they use websites, so I've got a fair idea of what people are looking for when they visit a site. 

So when the first request came through for members to write content for the newsletter I wrote a piece about things to remember when adding content to your site.  Namely - tell a story so people can understand the artist behind the work and can see it's value.   (" but I can get it half that price on Temu!")

Then just before Christmas I got asked if I would come to one of their demonstration nights, and while the others who got asked were asked to give short demonstrations of how they create their art, I got asked to be there to answer peoples questions about their websites.

I said yes, which is how I was sitting in a community hall one evening this week hoping that someone would come and talk to me.  

 

I wasn't as busy as some of the other tables - how could I compete with lino printing, fusing glass or weaving, however I did have people come and talk to me, and I think we had some useful conversations.

Examples... One chap asked if he needed a website, but when we talked about what he needed it sounded like his LinkedIn profile would work fine, if he updated it.

 One ladies website had some amazing art on it, but none of the stories of her art were on the same page as the art.  I reminded her that you never know how someone got to the page so you can't assume they have read everything on your home page.

And one ladies showed me her site and after looking round we agreed that her navigation needed amending to help people find what they were looking for.

I loved these conversations and I hope it helps these artists to get their work out there and make the sales they need.  Got a question, feel free to ask, just don't ask me to build a site for you!

Don't Mess With The Copyright Laws!

I haven't blogged in a while, but don't you worry, I've been super busy in the background!  

In the meantime I wanted to share the letter I have just sent my local MP about the govenments plans to mess about with the copyright laws.  While progress is important, I think this is unacceptable.  If you agree, please also reach out to your local MP.  Feel free to use this letter as inspiration.

 

Dear Mr Hinds
 
I hope you are well.
I know you are busy with the farmers etc, but I just had to write about the government’s proposal to change the copyright law allowing AI companies to train their models without a licence.
 
There are so many issues with this.
Firstly, just because to create is innately human, and humans will create whether we’re paid to or not, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be paid fairly for our work.
If AI companies are going to make a profit from using other peoples work (and they will) then they should pay to use that work (be it images, text or music) in the first place.
And seeing as big tech companies have a habit of not paying the taxes they owe, I would rather they paid the person for their work first, then at least the money will come into our economy to be spent by people who live and work here.
 
There is also the issue that we have a massive mental health crisis on our hands, especially with our young people.  It is a well known fact that using your hands to make things can reduce anxiety and other issues related to mental health.  If we reduce the number of people who can actually make a living doing creative things because AI is doing it instead, we stop our young people seeing what they could do (you can’t be what you can’t see) and so numbers of people making will drop further, increasing the mental health crisis.  (never mind the loss of heritage crafts along the way)  Asking AI to create a thing for you will not help your mental health!
 
Next is the issue that AI isn’t really sustainable.  It uses a lot of water and power and it seems odd that the government would be encouraging the use of all these resources for the creation of stuff that humans are quite capable of creating themselves.  Especially when we find ourselves in a climate emergency.
Surly it would be better to focus on AI’s which can do things that humans find hard, like spotting the early signs of cancer in scans, allowing our doctors to focus on saving lives ASAP.
I don’t understand how using the creative back catalogue will allow an AI to do this – it just needs to be fed as many scans as possible and told which are the bad ones (probably not quite that simple, but I’m not sure how the entire Elton John back catalogue would help it in this role).
 
I am fully behind the use of AI when it has a useful purpose which will help humanity to survive; we know there are so many wicked problems out there that could use the help.
Human creativity really isn’t something that needs to be fixed right now.  It’s a shame we can’t create an AI to fix human greed.
 
While I am a maker I don’t make for my income, but human creativity is so close to my heart.  When I read a book or listen to music, look at some art or watch stuff on TV, I want to know that is a human story I am engaging in, even if it’s fiction.  I don’t want something hashed together by a computer from all the things it was fed in training but which it has no understanding of.

So lets not mess about with the copyright laws and instead have a think about what we really need AI to do and create a set of regulations for the AI industry which will help it progress while keeping the general public and businesses safe.
 
Thank you for reading.
 

Enamelling for Beginners

 This weekend I was back at West Dean for their Enamelling for Beginners course with Sheila McDonald.

I wasn't really sure what to expect and to be honest I was starting to regret booking a course on the first weekend of January - right at the end of two weeks off work and just before I went back to work on Monday.  And with a yellow snow warning in place.

Enamel is made from crushed glass, which is how this course made it onto my list of things to try in the first place, but it is closer to fusing glass than the lampwork I'm more used to.

On our first session Sheila gave a demonstration and I was surprised how quick it was.  I'm used to putting things in the kiln and having to wait for hours before seeing the end result.  The small tiles we were working with were cooked in minutes and we only had to wait for them to cool down before adding our next layer!

We started by sieving the enamel powder (powdered glass) onto copper squares.  A couple of layers of white and we could make a design on top.  I tried a stencil, which took a few attempts to get a clean 'print' but I'm very happy with the end result.

We then tried wet packing which is where you add the enamel powder while wet.  You need to dry your design before putting it in the kiln otherwise the enamel pops off.

 

We then tried a technique called cloisonne, which involved adding very fine silver wire to your work and working the wet enamel powder round it.  This can look stunning but I over heated my first attempt and melted the wire.  Doh!

 

My second attempt was much better, but I found it fidderly.

 

I also tried ginding my own enamel from a chunk of glass which was very satisfying.  (And does involve a hammer to start with.)

On our second day we were given silver discs to decorate and turn into whatever we wanted.  I decided on earrings and a matching pendant.  I started by adding texture to the silver, before dilling a hole and doming it.  Finally I added my enamel and fired it.  I am so pleased with the results! 

With some time to kill I also had a play with some colour.  I love this brilliant pink!

 

Considering I didn't know much about enamel a couple of days ago, I'm now at a place where I'd be more than happy to mess about with some in my studio.  I'm wondering if the powders I use for making glass leaves would work?  Something for next weekend I think...

Pyramid Pouch

 

 I've had a few sewing projects going on in the background recently and as I was looking for some guidance on how to do a few things I came across this lovely free project - a cute pyramid pouch. (the whole site is full of lovely projects - try not to get distracted!)

I thought it might make a nice small gift and I had some fabric left over from the Lotus Tunic that I thought would work well too.

 

A visit to my local sewing shop supplied a zip and some interfacing (which I used to help it keep its shape) then all I had to do was cut it all out and sew it all back together.

The zip was a little tricky but the project instructions helped and I'm pleased with how it turned out.  The green zip matches the outer fabric well, and the cotton matches the lining but makes a nice contrast to the outer fabric.

 

It's fun to make projects like this, which help to use my stash up and was a good reminder of how to work with zips - I have more of these coming up on other projects!  And made a sweet little gift, while not taking too long.

Two Bags

 For the last 9 months, most Friday mornings I've gone to the Old Barn Workshop for jewellery classes.  The more times I go, the more stuff I seem to need to take with me.

My apron; A4 sketchbook and pencil; projects I'm currently working on; things I'd like to be working on; fire blanket (just a small piece to protect glass beads when heating the item they are threaded on); bottle of water; snack; car keys; wallet etc.

It was all getting a bit silly and only a few of those things fitted in my normal bag.  So I started designing a work bag in my head.  It would need to be big enough to hold everything, and it should be a purposeful bag so I don't have to empty everything out after each class.  It would have pockets for everything and be made from tough material.

 

So then I started looking for all the things I would need to make a bag.  (A lot of it came from Croft Mill.)  And as I did this I realised I would also like a smaller bag that would fit a book and my wallet for when I know I'll have some time to read while waiting, like when I give blood.

 

When classes finished for the year I knew what I'd be spending my Fridays on.

I started with the big work bag as I didn't mind too much if this wasn't perfect, and I could learn from my mistakes for the smaller bag.

 

With some very helpful blog posts from Debbie and Bethany I managed to create a lining from some material in my stash and match it up with an oiled cotton outer.  I just love the rainbox strap!  The inner middle pocket was probably the most complicated part and took a whole afternoon to make!

But it all came together into a useful sized bag that will hold all my kit.  I won't really know how good it is until I start using it when term starts again.

With one bag complete and lots of knowledge in my head, I jumped straight into the next one.

 

Much smaller than the last and meant to be used out and about, I wanted this one to be, if not perfect, at least pretty good.  This one was always meant to have yellow highlights, so I bought some brilliant yellow fabric for the lining.

With a better idea of how it would all fit together, and because it was smaller and didn't have a middle pocket, it went together very quickly.  I took some time to add some decoration to the front flap, and again added a rainbow strap, ending up with a sweet little bag that I look forward to using.

I could of course have bought a bag, or bought a pattern to work from, but where's the fun in that?  I had a couple of great days making and I'm really please with the end results.

Printed Christmas Cards

 It wouldn't be Christmas without a handmade Christmas card.

I didn't think I was going to have time to make any this year, but then went to the local Arts and Crafts Society's last demonstration of the year which was Will Dyke, who is a local printer, and so was inspired.  (He's very good.)

I sketched out a quick design of a dove, then made it bigger to fit my card size.

Then I went to cut it and found my blades were all blunt.  So then I had to ask 'im outdoors if he could sharpen them, being the king of sharp things.  He did this and I tried again and has more success.

Then I tried printing with acrylic paint as I wanted some colour and I only have black or white ink, but that didn't work so well.  As I didn't have time to order any ink, I went with black and improvised.  In this case with a green Sharpie and some gold paint.  I quite like it.

 

Then I got my trusty Pritt-Stick out and stuck the prints to the cards I had.  Ta-da!

I always aim to do this in October but of course never do.  Maybe next year!  Still they got sent out in plenty of time and as far as I know arrived before the big day.

Glass Stars for Christmas

 In an attempt to feel more festive I was back at West Dean this week for a one day course on copper foiling.

When I booked it there were several different classes to choose from but in the end the stars won.  If you know me, that probably didn't surprise you!

 

We were a group with mixed experience, some had done this and stained glass work before, some were complete novices.  I've never really been interesting in stain glass, past admiring it in passing but I'd been thinking about ways to use and display my glass leaves and the copper foiling looked like a possibiliy.  Then I found out that you can make 3D things this way and I had to have a go! 

 

Copper foiling and stained glass are very similar, but stained glass is more robust and can be used outdoors if finished correctly.  Copper foiling is more delicate which is just what I was looking for.

First we were shown how to cut glass.  I have cut glass before, but not much, so it was good to get a refresher and by the end of the day I was much more confident.

 

Preperation was everything, so we needed to make sure we cut our glass precisely.  Any lumps or bumps needed to be ground off and the glass had to be washed to make sure it was really clean, otherwise the foil won't stick.

We had 3 different sized star templates on paper to work from, which worked very well.  We also had 5 different types of glass, one for each point of our stars.

 

With all our bits cut and cleaned we then learnt how to apply the copper foil.  It's very important that this is stuck to your glass very well, otherwise it can come off when you start to solder!  This means lots of rubbing to make sure it is stuck fast.

Once all our parts were ready we could then solder everything together.  First we tacked them together so they wouldn't move around, then we covered the edges before doing the joints.  It was quite a fast process.

 

The class was for 3 stars, but we could make more if we had time.  I made 2 more, a medium and a small.  I rushed the last small one so it didn't come out as well as I'd hoped, but I learnt lots from the mistakes I made. 

This was a fab little class.  It's very different from working with hot or even warm glass, but another string to my glass bow that I am very happy to have added.  I've got lots of ideas now that I want to try out!

Silver and Glass Necklace and Earrings

 

Back in October I went on a course with Sarah King at West Dean.  I enjoyed it very much, but I also really liked her necklace.

It's one she had designed herself and sells on her website.  And I wondered if I could make myself a version of it.

So in the final term of jewellery class this year, I bought lots of silver wire and made some tiny glass beads (more about them in a minute) and set out making myself a silver necklace.

 

First I had to make some giant jump rings (easier said than done).  Then I had to solder them all together which again was more tricky than you'd think it would be.

I made a clasp and then had to tidy all the solder joints, before shaping and hammering all my jump rings.  All the time having to make sure I didn't break the tiny glass bead sitting on one ring.

 

The glass bead was made from recyled wine bottle glass.  I love this colour sooooooo much!  Of course there is a bit of a process to follow to get to the final bead and it's not as quick as just buying some glass rods.  But I do love the fact that bottle isn't going into landfill or whatever they do with them right now.

 

So with a necklace looking good and a little time and materials left, I decided to make some matching earrings.  Soldering the posts on was painful, but I got there in the end.  Some shaping and hammering later and a matching pair of earrings were ready to wear.

I'm really pleased with this project.  I think I might make the rings a little smaller in furture to help them sit better when wearing it.  But it is definitely a contender for next years big event!