Donna Sarah's Newsletter #4
What's been happening in my world!
I can feel a shift coming in what I’m doing and how I’m working. Which is exciting, but really freaky in many ways!
I’ll be honest, what I’ve been doing isn’t working as well as it did any more. I’m not getting the commissions regularly, I’m not making sales consistently online, and the markets aren’t going as well as they used to, and I am wondering if this is partly down to me needing to change direction and re-assess. So for once in my life I am paying attention to this!
I’m finding that I am really drawn to textiles and interiors. A passion of mine is rebelling against fast fashion, thinking about how we can create a shift in this and move towards natural fibres only (pipe dream?), up-cycling and repair. Basically working with stuff that’s already in circulation - wether thats clothing or fabrics. I also really love the process of sitting down and sewing. It’s what I love actually! I actually get a lot more from sewing than I do drawing. And I feel like an absolute boss being able to translate imagery into a stitched line and think this could be harnessed as a new superpower for me!
Here’s my dandelion embroidery which I am working on, I did a lot of this one while I was at a market, it was actually great for me to keep busy and pass the time and not be on my phone and not creepily stare at anyone coming close to my stall hoping for them to buy something. Okay, I am exaggerating a bit, but it was great to be working on something which helped me feel productive and not stare at the clock until it was time to pack up!
Here’s a tote bag I had lying around which I updated with some stitching of my greyhound. I really don’t need another tote bag, I should have probably donated it, but this is what made me think about giving things a new lease of life with stitch. Another thing I’ve enjoyed recently is painting and up-cycling the one-off pieces like the wooden bowls and chairs - which are now living in an Artist Residence hotel somewhere! And so this summer I’ll be taking some time to process and navigate this and think of what to do to make it a reality, and to basically make my working life a bit more pleasurable!
5 things I’ve liked this month.
Trip to Glebe House.
Oh my goooossh Glebe house is everything I want out home to be like once renovated! Would also be nice to have this food every day at home too!! This was a treat for my Mum’s birthday as she has wanted to go for a while and it was the perfect opportunity!
Blue Sisters Book
I went to a talk from Coco and got her book, and loved it. I don’t think I liked it as much as Cleopatra and Frankenstein but it was still a great read. I really loved hearing Coco talk about her writing process at the talk too, she has such a wonderful energy. It was also interesting to hear about her relationship to addiction and sobriety, as this is the main theme I took away from this book.
Another glaze test for Ground Collab
To begin with I was really unsure of this glaze as it makes the designs quite muted, however thinking more about this it has become the favourite now and is the one which makes it more into a joint venture rather than just me painting on Fi’s pots. I have some plates which I will test now which is exciting!
Everyone needs pockets talk
I went to this really great talk by local group “Everyone Needs Pockets” - they run repair workshops for free and host talks and meetings in Frome - which made me think and re-evaluate a bit. The talks were interesting, and sparked some conversations around how we tackle “sustainability” some of the stuff spoken about annoyed me a bit, which I won’t go into right now, but it was great to see a room full of people interested in sustainability and eliminating waste and swapping fabrics and ideas. I came away really inspired and thinking about how I can fit what I do within this.
Favourite by Fontaines DC
JUST A TUNE! I love Fontaines DC, they are proper punks with amazing songs and incredible stage presence.
Thanks for reading! If you have any suggestions, pointers, ideas, collaboration opportunities in relation to things I’ve spoken about above please get in touch!
I’d love to hear from you!
Much love,
Donna x