What Happens Next?

First of all I would just like to let you know that I finished my course with a triple distinction! AND top of the class. This has definately started my week off on a good note.
Now I have 3 months to decide what I want to do next...

Welcome to Nanna's.

I finished my final piece. On time! I'm not going to lie, I was doubtful myself as to whether it was going to get done in time, but i did manage to pull it out of the bag. There are a few details that i didn't quite have time to manage to do, for example, I really wanted to record myself singing the lyrics I wrote to the song 'These Are a Few of My Favourite Things'. Also, my mind was in such a pickle that I completely forgot to pick up the cup of tea and ham sandwich I wanted to put on my side table, but lucky enough for me I was able to buy one out of a machine in the canteen and put it in my nanna's cup.
I'm really pleased with how my piece turned out in the end, however I do think that the song would have really been the icing on the cake. The nostalgic atmosphere I wanted to create was still there though, infact, my mum had to hold back the tears when she saw it, which is very flattering.

And I do believe that champagne is in order...

The End of an Era.

The end of an era. What does that really mean? The web definition is: An Age. A Specific gap of time which ends due to a dramatic or extraordinary change.
I've just finished a two year course and it's quite emotional really. It's not just about the work, but there are people that I've become close to and along these two years we've drifted apart. I dont know how or why it happened, but if I could fix it I would.
I know that this had nothing to do with my work but I cant help feeling that there's too much ending at once and I'm not ready for this era to end.

These Are A Few Of Her Favourite Things.

I recently had a family meal and used this to ask around about my nanna's favourite things as I can only remember the stuff she liked later on in her life. I got quite alot out of a slightly intoxicated grandma and decided to change the lyrics of the original song from The Sound of Music 'My Favourite Things'. Here it is...

Crosswords in papers, gold necklace and earrings,
Cherry madera and knitting in evenings,
Vodka and orange, and long pleated skirts,
These are a few of her favourite things.

Extra strong tea, no sugar and bingo,
Cadbury Roses and pies with potato,
Max Factor lipstick, and drinking in the club,
These are a few of her favourite things.

Casual Auburn, hair up in rollers,
Holidaying in a caravan in Great Yarmouth,
Frecias and cornations planted in pots,
These are the things that my nan likes alot.

Velvet blazer,
Frank Sinatra,
Playing Bandits too,
These are my nanna's favourite things and I'm sharing them all with you.

Ada Blackledge, My Nanna.

I remember my nanna sat on a rocking chair with a bag of knitting at the side of her. Nanna's house was like the hub, or meeting place for the family and when she went, God bless her soul, the closeness in the family went with her.
For my final piece I want to recreate this meeting place that is my nanna's house. I'm going to use this picture for inspiration.
(NEED TO SCAN IMAGE!!)
The main feature for my installation is going to be a rocking chair like nanna Ada's that I'm going to re-upolster. I might be being a little bit optimistic given the timescale and my budget, but I'd also like to recreate the lamp, only the lampshade will be filled with photographs and memoribilia from nanna's life. I also want a bag of knitting and a family album to be on the chair. I want my installation the be an interactive piece of art work, I want my audience to be able to sit in the chair and flick through the family album, maybe start some knitting and get a real feel for my nanna's life.

Take Me Back To My Roots.

I moved away from Darwen (a small town in Lancashire) nearly two years ago, but what I didn't know until doing research for this project is that my family have lived in Darwen since 1891 and they have lived in Lancashire probably further back than 1787, but I couldn't get further back than that. Darwen isn't that big or well known, however it's most recognised feature is Darwen Tower, also known as Jubilee Tower.

The tower was opened on 24th September 1898 and was built at a cost of £80 000. It stands eighty five feet high and 1250 feet above sea level. During the second world war, it was thought by some that the tower was being used by the Germans and there was calls to dismantle it.

Darwen was also famous for it's cotton during the industrial revolution due to the links to other towns it had to thanks to the Liverpool - Leeds canal. It was also one of the first towns to have the steam train. Darwens motto is  Absque Labore Nihil  which is latin for 'Nothing Without Labour' and is featured at the bottom of Darwen's coat of arms.

Spiderwoman.

I was struggling for artist research in my sketchbook when some one told me to have a look at Louise Bourjeois as a lot of her work is influenced by her mother, like my project is based around and influenced by my family. A lot of her work is structural and I'm more textile based, however she does have quite a few textile pieces, I can appriciate the skills involved, but it's just not to my taste. However, there is one piece that I have fallen in love with. PEAUX DE LAPINS, CHIFFONS FERRAILLES A VENDRE, 2006, which I think is French for SKINS OF RABBITS, RAGS SCRAP TO SELL.

"I always had the fear of being seperated and abandoned. The sewing is my attempt to keep things together and make things whole."