Gin's journey: a new project
Hi everyone!
It always feels like an eternity has passed since the last blog post and sometimes I have no idea where I left off and where to start up again! As always, thanks so much to Jen, sweet and very patient Jen, who gently nudges me along with reminders that my blog post is due. I swear I have the best intentions of writing these posts (and I love it once I start) but to be honest... I get stage-fright! I sit there at the keyboard sometimes for hours typing, deleting, typing…you get the picture. I love writing but I also get scared silly doing it!
Gin's pattern designs
First fabric collection
Last time I wrote I was at the beginning of creating my first fabric collection. I had been making my way through Bonnie Christine’s Surface Pattern Design Immersion course and whilst working full time I was also trying to pay attention to my creativity. I went outside, took photos, did illustrations, played around with making patterns. I look back on those patterns now and whilst there are a couple I like, to me it looks like a first collection attempt. Harsh self-criticism, but it’s truly how I feel. I think I was so concerned with making an impression, that I came to a big dead-end and produced mediocre patterns. Those that I like, I plan on getting printed in the next couple of weeks to use as cushions and bags which are my latest fun project. More on that in a minute! But the point is I put so much pressure on myself that I almost hated sitting down to draw because I couldn’t think of what to draw. Much as I love flowers, so does half the world. I wanted to be different.
One of Gin's designs recreated
Life now...
Anyway, to the present. The last few months have been a whirlwind. I changed jobs, got fired from a job for asking to work one day less (true story!), and eventually found myself diving into a creative spell that has been relentless. I'm not kidding. I went from a huge creative block to a surge of creativity that I don't see ending any time soon. Such is life.
My flatmate was away for a couple of months which gave me a lot of time and space to myself and it really paid off. Not in a financial way, but in a creative way to the point where I have been pretty much either drawing, sewing or designing almost every day. I had stopped my creative practice after working on my first pattern collection because I felt defeated and uninspired. I started to again question whether this whole textile design path was where I should be and it wasn’t until I found myself completely alone at home that I realized I couldn’t not be creative even if I tried.
I took up a day job during that time, and I swear it was quite possibly the most tedious, mind-numbingly boring and stifling job I have ever worked at. I sewed non-stop in a factory workroom, 7.5 hours a day, sewing canvas products. The atmosphere there was horrible. Nobody liked each other. Another day another dollar. Despite coming home exhausted and almost blind from continual sewing, I made sure to set aside at least an hour of creative practice in the evenings.
Weekends I just pottered around my studio, drawing and sewing. I would read inspirational books about creative women and listen to podcasts (which I am now addicted to). I reworked a couple of older patterns I did last year and that made me realize that if something is broke, Fix It! Sometimes going over an old piece of artwork is a great boost to the creative morale because when you take a step back and come at it with fresh eyes and ideas, you can really turn things around. I came up with a fresh new pattern and mocked it up on a cushion. I now have plans to get a couple of the colourways printed on velvet...it will be so lush!
Gin's bags
A new project
I has been several weeks since I've created a new pattern because I've been focused on a new project. I've been using up some of the textiles I printed last year at college to make a series of one-off bags. I wanted to find a way to combine my love of textiles and patterns with the act of creating something tangible and useful. These bags I'm making perfectly achieve that and I'm hooked!
I have been making my bags for almost a month now and it makes me so happy. I feel inspired again to create new surface patterns. In fact, I've started drawing some of the antique textile pieces I have around my home and thinking of tweaks to make them a bit 'outside of the box'. I've realized that what I love is both designing patterns and using them in a creative application. And on top of that, the process of creating products using my fabrics has made me more thoughtful about my textile designs and how they will be used in the real world.
And some exciting news!
I'll end this post by sharing some exciting news with you. I will be participating in my first craft market the first week in December. I am super excited about it and plan on making and selling a variety of products in my booth. I look forward to showcasing my textile design skills and hopefully getting this little business of mine finally off the ground. It’s been a hard slog. I've had to work awful jobs just to pay the bills and have struggled to find time to create. But how lovely that I was suddenly given the opportunity to take time out to focus on myself. I have a few more weeks before I need to find a day job again, so for now I am enjoying this precious time I have to create and ‘work' from home.
If I've learned anything these past few months it is that we are always learning. That experimentation is key. And that a life spent being creative, however that creativity chooses to manifest itself, is a life well lived.
Take care beautiful souls, until next time!
About the author: Gin Das Neves
Hello! I am a textile designer from Sydney, Australia and have been working with textiles in one form or other for most of my life. I've worked as a designer and costume maker for opera, ballet, film and theatre and am currently a freelance textile designer and maker for my label, The Happy Artisan.
Gin is the author of Gin's Journey, a series that offers readers a glimpse of textile design through the lens of someone new to the field.
Want to know more about Gin? Read this post she wrote on vulnerability in social media.