Lesson 2 – Inspiration

Lesson 2.1

Handwork

Hands ON
Activity

Handwork Sourcebook

 Click for details on how to create your own
Handwork Sourcebook.

 .

Share Your Work

During this course, I will be posting some of what I’ve been doing as well as any of your work which you’d like to share with the class on the Member’s Guildhall page.

Seeing other student’s work makes such a difference & something you do may well inspire someone else to have the confidence to try it themselves – why not send me some pictures of your Handwork Source Book?!?

As always, I’m happy to post your work anonymously, if you prefer.

Just let me know when you send it in (jpg or png, please!)

BONUS

.

Here’s a bonus video, an interview of Li Edelkort who is one of my design heroines. She owns an international trend forecasting company & has the most uncanny ability to foresee coming trends & patterns in the world of design.
.

.
When discussing the possibility of a future Europe that doesn’t produce textiles, she says:

within a short period of time, the house will dress up in all different expressions of textile: knitted, crocheted, printed, embroidered, as jacquards or as colourwovens. The consumer will start using a bit of fabric here and there; a knitted pouf, a felt plaid, a tactile carpet or traditional table linen. People will think about a bigger surface and will reinvent the curtain, consider wall-to-wall fabrics and upholster furniture with tweeds and patterns instead of leather.

In reaction to our virtual existence, we will need more real emotions and unknown surprising scenarios: tactility and dimension to compensate the flat screens in our lives, to give pleasure to our fingers. This seems why many designers have recently started to reinvent textiles with often handmade and traditional but also high-tech processes. This focus from designers and other creatives will arrive just in time to prevent the demise of the textile industries. We have only a few years left to save these endangered species.

Let’s talk about textiles for the years to come!

Perhaps textiles will be the new “must-learn” industry in the coming decades – just as computers & technology dominated the last 20+ years!?

Lesson 2.2

Inspiration

.

Creativity & inspiration go hand in hand – they may seem like the same thing but they are more like good friends.  You can be inspired by something, a colour, a scene or a texture but unless you do something with the inspiration it doesn’t exist outside of you.

Creativity happens the moment you take your inspiration & make it into something, you DO something with it.

It is very important to teach our children about both of these concepts.  They need to know that inspiration can come from any source AND that when you act on what you’ve received, you’re being creative.

It’s that simple!

Hands ON
Activity

LOVE Lists

.

We are now going to have some fun with a quick exercise.

I have created something I call the Love List.

You can download one by clicking the button below (along with a few simple instructions).

Make sure you print one out for you & one for your child(ren).

Try to put down the ideas that pop into your head right away – you may find that others spring into mind over the next few days.  Just keep adding them in!

Let your children fill in or draw their ideas – you might be surprised at what they put on their Love List!

Click & print your template below.

Hands ON
Activity

Collecting Ideas

& Annotating Books

.

Click for a resource book list & content forms.

.

Lesson 2.3

Handwork Ideas – Look Board

Click for full instructions to create your own.

.

BONUS # 2

Before we end this lesson, I’m going to leave you with this BONUS – (if you haven’t seen it – you’re in for a real treat !)

Watch this TED talk by Elizabeth Gilbert, I doubt you’ll ever forget it !

Call your muse, settle down with your favourite comfort drink & let your mind wander – even if you only have 15 minutes – it’ll be worth it…

Click on the image to start.