CREATIVITY + INNOVATION Page 41 of 50

Do What You Love retreat: Delicate wax and wire sculptures with Priscilla Jones

Posted on 2011-05-23 at 1:00 pm.

In a sunny lodge on a hillside strung with vintage bunting, with floor-to-ceiling windows letting the light pour in, and a wooden deck perfect for tea breaks, a group of lovely ladies worked some kind of creative poetry. The delicate dreamy work that came out of Priscilla Jones’s class wouldn’t be out of place in Alice in Wonderland. It took a variety of fascinating techniques – painting with feathers on tissue paper, sculpting with florist’s wire, adding hot wax and a little bit of love… and beauty emerged. Here’s a sneak peek at a unique and inspiring class from a very gifted teacher…

[Image: NavyBlur]

[Image: Hannah Nunn]

For more blog posts from participants in Priscilla’s class see: Hannah Nunn / Rachael Taylor

For more of my posts about the retreat see: Gathering /Full of Love / Reflecting / Bloom True with Flora Bowley / Paper heaven with Rachel Hazell / No (wo)man is an island

***

Missed the retreat? Why not join the Do What You Love e-course?

This online adventure starts on June 6 and will take you step-by-step along the path towards doing what you love.

Find out what participants who took the course last time had to say HERE.

Find out more and register here.

This is your life we are talking about…

Life as a costume designer: Jane Grimshaw shares her story

Posted on 2011-05-23 at 8:00 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

Today’s shared story comes from costume-maker Jane Grimshaw who has made costumes for films which have gone on to win Oscars for Costume Design.

When I was first asked to write this piece about myself I thought, “How hard can that possibly be?” Well it turns out quite flippin’ hard actually. So I decided to tell you a story. Are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin.

Some time in the early 1980s a young girl was rummaging through the sewing cupboard. In a dark corner she found the cut off bottoms of a pair of enormous embroidered purple flairs her hippie mother had owned with pride some time in the not so distant past. Now this was the 1980s, every thing to do with the previous decade’s fashion was defiantly passé. Anyone with an ounce of self-respect would have stuffed these abominations back in to the dark corner from whence they came. But not this little girl, she took them, cut them up and made them in to a very interesting skirt.

Fast forward to the summer this now-not-so-little girl turned 18. This time she kept herself in beer and crisps for the long break after A-levels and before college by making patchwork shorts for everyone she knew (and a few she didn’t). She even made some with a padded bum for a bicycling boyfriend. And what did this little girl want to do for a living? Social work. Oh come on! Thankfully the aforementioned boyfriend with the padded bum had other ideas. His mother ran the costume department at our local drama school and he talked her in to giving me a job.

A year later I am at London College of Fashion, having a whale of a time, meeting lifelong friends and apparently training to be a costume maker.

This is a costume made in Nora’s workroom last year for the production of Adriana Lecouvreur at The Royal Opera House in Covent Garden

20 years later here I am, still making costumes. Big ones, small ones, thin ones, very very fat ones. Some of its glamorous, some of it isn’t. Glamour comes in the form of films (Elizabeth, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The End of the Affair, soon-to-be-realised John Carter on Mars, you get the drift). I have in fact made costumes for not one, not two but three films that have gone on to win the costume design Oscar: Shakespeare in Love, Gladiator and Elizabeth the Golden Age. The non-glamourous bit comes in the form of constantly having to remake the same set of costumes for West End shows. (Phantom of the Opera, We Will Rock You, Lion King, Chicago – again you get the picture).

I am currently working on Tim Burton’s new film ‘Dark Shadows’, Lion King and Phantom of the Opera. Somehow even after all of this time I do still enjoy it. Well most of the time. Constant deadlines can get to even the best of us from time-to-time. But then that is why I write my blog. It helps to have something else to focus on that isn’t costume related! It helps to keep things in perspective, and join the disparate parts of my life, -costume making, family and constant side projects.

I do feel very lucky to think that what was once my hobby has become my way of making a living.

[All images courtesy of Jane Grimshaw.]

Find out more about Jane by visiting her blog Flaming Nora.

***

Missed the retreat? Why not join the Do What You Love e-course?

This online adventure starts on June 6 and will take you step-by-step along the path towards doing what you love.

Find out more and register here.

This is your life we are talking about…

Do What You Love retreat: Paper heaven with Rachel Hazell

Posted on 2011-05-22 at 5:26 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

[Image: NavyBlur]

For someone who loves both paper and journeys as much as I do, Rachel Hazell’s class ‘Maps, Charts & Other Discoveries: An Extraordinary Expandable Sketchbook Journal’ sounded like heaven to me. And wandering around her class during the Do What You Love retreat, that’s exactly what it appeared to be.

[Image: NavyBlur]

There was folding, cutting, tearing, sticking, sewing, writing and all sorts of other things going on.

[Image: NavyBlur]

And I have never seen so many supplies – paper, ribbon, fabric scraps, pens, lace, bits of old maps, stamps, stickers – ohhh so lovely!

[Image: NavyBlur]

At times loud laughter would shake the walls, at others there would be complete silence as everyone got in the zone making their beautiful tiny books.

[Image: NavyBlur]

At other times there would be singing, oftentimes there would be tea drinking, and I believe much chocolate was also consumed.

[Image: NavyBlur]

And if that is what it takes to create book magic, then let that be the recipe!

[Image: NavyBlur]

Rachel herself is such a treasure…

[Image: NavyBlur]

And the story-filled books that emerged from her class took my breath away

[Image: Hannah Nunn]

[Image: NavyBlur]

For more blog posts from participants in Rachel’s class see: Catherine Redfern and Louise Gale

For more of my posts about the retreat see: Gathering /Full of Love / Reflecting / Bloom True with Flora Bowley / Delicate wax and wire sculptures with Priscilla Jones / No (wo)man is an island

***

Missed the retreat? Why not join the Do What You Love e-course?

This online adventure starts on June 6 and will take you step-by-step along the path towards doing what you love.

Find out what participants who took the course last time had to say HERE.

Find out more and register here.

This is your life we are talking about…

Do What You Love retreat: ‘Bloom True’ with Flora Bowley

Posted on 2011-05-21 at 4:19 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

(Image: NavyBlur)

American painter Flora Bowley has woven her magic once again – and this time it was here in England, for the first time ever.

(Image: NavyBlur)

Having taken a fantastic class with her last year I just knew that Flora would be perfect for the kind of retreat I wanted to create – where the painting class would be about so much more than painting, and where people would feel uplifted, excited, challenged, supported and oh so happy!

(Image: NavyBlur)

Just look at the gorgeousness that emerged from her class at the Do What You Love retreat last week…

(Image: NavyBlur)

(image: NavyBlur)

(Image: NavyBlur)

You can read about the class in posts from class participants here: Lisa Wright / Moyra Scott / Rhiannon Connelly / Tara Leaver / Beth Nadler /Helen Agarwal / Kat Sloma / Juliette Crane

And more posts from me about the Do What You Love retreat here: Gathering / Full of Love / Reflecting / Paper heaven with Rachel Hazell / Delicate wax and wire sculptures with Priscilla Jones / No (wo)man is an island

***

Missed the retreat? Why not join the Do What You Love e-course?

This online adventure starts on June 6 and will take you step-by-step along the path towards doing what you love.

Find out what participants who took the course last time had to say HERE.

Find out more and register here.

This is your life we are talking about…

Do What You Love retreat: Reflecting

Posted on 2011-05-20 at 6:27 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

(Image: NavyBlur)

Wow. The inaugural Do What You Love retreat was everything I hoped it would be and more.

People connected, created, laughed, cried, shared, opened up, grew, made friends – and more than a handful said it changed their life.

It was a beautiful thing to be part of, and I thank everyone involved from the bottom of my heart.

(Image: NavyBlur)

Over the next few days I want to share a few posts on each class, on the creative enterprise sessions, on my amazing team, on the magical place we called home for a few days, and on the other things that made it special.

For now I just want to share a few of my favourite photos from the wonderful Christine and Xander of NavyBlur, our official photographers.

For me these capture the essence of the retreat, and as I reflect on the journey of the past few months, and the days of the retreat itself, it is these images which are so close to my original vision.

(Image: NavyBlur)

(image: NavyBlur)

(Image: NavyBlur)

(image: NavyBlur)

(Image: NavyBlur)

***

For more posts about the retreat see: Gathering / Full of Love / Bloom True with Flora Bowley /Paper heaven with Rachel Hazell / Delicate wax and wire sculptures with Priscilla Jones / No (wo)man is an island

***

Missed the retreat? Why not join the Do What You Love e-course?

This online adventure starts on June 6 and will take you step-by-step along the path towards doing what you love.

Find out what participants who took the course last time had to say HERE.

Find out more and register here.

This is your life we are talking about…

Do What You love retreat: Full of love

Posted on 2011-05-16 at 11:21 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

(Image by NavyBlur)

There is nothing quite like a dream coming true, and that’s what happened at the Do What You Love retreat, held in a beautiful part of the English countryside last week.

There are so many things to tell you and show you, so many people to thank and memories to share.

But right now I just want to breathe and reflect, and sleep!

All I will say is that for five days this special part of the world was FULL of creative love!

***

Updated: for more posts on the retreat see: Gathering / Reflecting / Bloom True with Flora Bowley /Paper heaven with Rachel Hazell / Delicate wax and wire sculptures with Priscilla Jones / No (wo)man is an island

Putting the sparkle back into my life: Gina Morrison shares her story

Posted on 2011-05-09 at 9:00 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

Today’s shared story comes from California-based designer Gina Morrison who took the leap and set up her own business selling hair jewellery and bridal accessories.

I always thought a paycheck would be enough. Then I realised I wanted a bigger paycheck. That is what I thought I needed. The big paycheck would make any boring job worth it because I would have a lot of money, right?

Wrong. No matter how big the paycheck, I found that if I still had to drag myself to the hated job, then the money wasn’t enough.

This is where I was at a year ago. I had a great paycheck and a low stress, steady job. I knew a lot of people looking for work who would have jumped at the chance to have my job and this made me feel selfish.

I felt bad for complaining about the job and I felt bad for wanting something more. For the first time in my life, I realised that “something more” which I wanted wasn’t about money.

Sure, I would love a lot of money because money gives you options. And options are a nice thing to have. However, somewhere in between a college degree and a few mindless jobs I figured out that I needed a purpose.

A purpose won’t buy me a new laptop or allow me to fly first-class, but it does more. A purpose won’t allow me to sleep. It creates an excitement that makes every day a day I want to live.

About a year ago I decided that to leave behind the string of mind numbing jobs that promised no more than money. Due to my day job boredom, I dreamt up a little company – Acute Designs – and started it as a hobby.

After a week of my new hobby, I realised this needed to be my career.

I worked nights and weekends – creating, saving, and scheming for the right time to break free from my day job. Somewhere along the line I realised that there would never be a perfect time. I would never be making full time money working part time on my company.

I just had to take the plunge.

So, I set my last day of work for four days before my 30^th birthday. I felt like it was as close to perfect as any time would ever be. It was a new decade in my life and a new chapter in my career.

Every single day since I left my job has been fun or exciting or stressful. I will confess that I do miss the money and sometimes I find myself stressing over it, but I don’t miss the sinking feeling I would get as Sunday night closed in and Monday morning loomed. I know that the money will come and I have learned to live with less {which is an amazing lesson to learn at any age!}.

For once in my life I never have a day I dread. I am not working for the weekend and I don’t have a case of the “Mondays.” I used to live for the weekends and now I live for each day. No big paycheck could have ever given me that.

[All images: ae martin photography]

To find out more about Gina visit her website Acute Designs, her blog or her Etsy shop, or connect via Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

***

Would you like to share your story on Do What You Love? Please read this and contact me for details.

Are you doing what you love? Join us for the Summer session of the Do What You Love e-course, for tools and inspiration to do what you love, for life. Class begins June 6, and the course runs for six weeks. Registration is open now – find out more here.

Kindness

Posted on 2011-05-03 at 9:00 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

The kindness of people in this online world never ceases to amaze me. This week the postman arrived with a surprise parcel all the way from Spain – it was a beautiful handmade apron from Judit Laboria, embroidered with my name on (by her mum!), and decorated with a gorgeous flower made from a zip.

Judit chose the colours to match the palette of this website, and sent it as a thank you gift having participated in the first Do What You Love e-course. Wow. I have to say I had a little tear in my eye when I opened it. That someone so far away would take the time to make and send something so precious just for me, as a result of the e-course – amazing. I will treasure it.

I have been blown away by the feedback and energy of the class on the Spring session of the e-course, which recently finished. It was an incredible journey for all of us – one participant said “Everything is changing because of this“, another described it as “by far the best e-course I have ever taken“, and it seems to have had a real impact on many more, helping them become much clearer about the road to doing what they love.

I am excited to be running the Summer session from June 6 for six weeks – registration has opened here. I hope you will join us for an adventure of your own – using the tools, diving into the community and soaking up all the inspiration to help you do what you love, for life.

***

Here is what participants from the Spring session of the Do What You Love e-course have been saying about it…

“Wow, wow and wow again.”

“Can’t believe it was just a 6-week E-course. I feel like a different person.”

“By far the best e-course I have ever taken”

“I was and continue to be floored by this course–it was so valuable. It has a killer curriculum covering all the bases. I’m so absolutely pleased I chose this as a way to start turning my life around. I feel like the course will continue working it’s magic for ages.”

Book making heaven

Posted on 2011-04-28 at 9:00 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

View from the studio window

Recipe for a blissful weekend:

Take seven ladies, much chocolate, several boxes of supplies (paper, glue, ribbons, washi tape, paints and who knows what else) and put into a studio in the Chief Keeper’s Office of a lighthouse on a remote Scottish island. Add wine and homemade cake and leave for several days to rise gently. Delicious results every time.

Here’s what I made…

A5 hardbacked book

and this little one, which is just three inches high…

and this other little one with pearl and chain stitching on the spine…

I was lucky to share the workshop with wonderful teacher Rachel Hazell, and five very lovely talented ladies (Sarah, Jeanette, Kit, Ama and Emma). Here is what they made…

Easter books (Emma)

Paper cutting (Kit)

Magazine-collage book cover showing Shetland (Jeanette)

Adorable tiny tapestry made on a makeshift loom on an old canvas frame, using ‘shoddy’ from old machines in the lighthouse workshop as thread (Sarah).

Detail from a painting by local contemporary artist Ruth Brownlee, who used to use the lighthouse as a studio. Several of her gorgeous paintings were stored in the workshop and provided wonderful inspiration.

Ahhhh such a lovely few days…

***

Do What You Love interview – Juliette Collet

Posted on 2011-04-21 at 9:00 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

After falling for her adorable creations, I am excited to bring you this interview with French designer Juliette Collet, owner of Zü. Juliette lives in Marseille with her husband and daughter.

(more…)