From a young age it has been very important to me to always express creativity, whether it be arranging leaves in the garden, to drawing a picture, to taking photographs. Developing a set of skills to make objects is the thing that drives me in life and my main goals are to become a highly skilled craftsperson to create quality produce.
My time in the Glass and Ceramics department at Sunderland University did initially seem geared to producing artists with heavily conceptual outcomes to project briefs, whilst developing skills to make art. As I have progressed towards the final stages of my second year, there is a sense of acceptance for those of us who are learning these techniques to put to use for the love of the materials, to then sell on for a profit. The dream is to eventually own my own business, making and selling my creations through fairs and markets, online stores and hopefully one day my own shop.
After a couple of years away from education it became increasingly evident that working several non-creative jobs was not a life I had hoped for. Who says that we can’t make a career out of something we love and want to share with the world?
Passion for material is vital to the progression of my work. Combining glass and silver and precious stones drives me to keep learning everyday. It can be hard to see how this will all come together someday, but I definitely feel I am driven enough to make it happen. For now, I’m starting at the bottom and learning as many skills as I can until I can safely say that my produce is worthy of sale.
The people around me at university and my adult learning course have taught me it is always best to ask questions. Without speaking to people and finding things out for myself I don’t think I would be where I am today. I feel far from ready to sell my work, as a perfectionist it is important to me that it is of the highest standard it can be and yet friends and acquaintances are eager to encourage me into commissions already.
Hopefully one day I will be able to look back on this time in my life fondly and be proud that I made the steps to start my journey. My first ever combination of glass and silver is the result of a quick fusing lesson and a wire wrapping YouTube demo…
lottielilycraft 