A Blank Canvas

We all at sometime in our lives need to step back and see what brings us joy, peace and happiness. Starting with a blank canvas, an empty page or an empty room free from clutter,  we can recreate, reinvent and remember what it is that makes us who we are. However starting over again can be too daunting a task so we stop and give up.

Truthfully, 2020 was a bit of a blur, acute sciatic pain consumed me for most of the year and  I was numbed by copious amount of harsh drugs all of which rendered me incapable of working. Two operations in August and I fully expected to return to the life I knew – except we were still in lockdown and I was unable to walk or stand long enough to resume creating. I felt something I hadn’t felt for a long time: despair, and I considered my future. I decided that I would stop  working and take up a new sedentary hobby. I toyed with having a year off, putting away my wool and threads and taking it easy.

My husband, Ian, had been working from home which gave him the time to decorate my spare room, creating  units to put away all of my Merino wool, silk fabrics and threads. Anyone who crafts with any medium will know that we never know how much material we have stashed away.  Its an unwritten code among us that we never tell our partners about our  addiction to filling every room full to capacity of wool, thread, paint, etc. etc.  but the time had come when  I had to come clean with him. I just hope that when I die he won’t sell it all for the price I told him I bought it for!

It was during this reorganisation that I discovered a box of wet felt fabric, created between 2017 and 2019, which I had put away for a rainy day. That, and the sight of a box of blank miniature canvasses was all it took to get my creativity back. The joy of making returned at last!  Once I began sorting through the felt pieces I was able to cut up enough to make 15 easel pictures: flowers, seascapes and pastures, and I was strong enough to sit and hand embroider each one. They are all unique and I can never duplicate them which makes each one special.  I have given some away as gifts, a lovely alternative to a bunch of flowers, and I have stocked my shelves in Jaspah Crewe, one of the wonderful shops where I sell my work, the rest are on this page.