A few months ago I set up a table at the inaugural True Knit Art Show and sold some chapbooks that me and my brother made for the occasion. The event was lots of fun and the part I enjoyed the most was talking to all the different people that passed the table. I was blown away by the sheer variety of visitors and the opportunity to talk to real people about poetry. People of different ages and backgrounds. People outside of academia. People with different hobbies. It was refreshing.
The ladies at True Knit are holding another event in early July that I'm excited to take part in again. At first I felt a bit uncertain about selling the same ol' poems. If it's the same group of people coming to this second event then I wasn't sure I'd have anything new to offer. But then I had an idea-- My brother's amazing colourful artwork is a big part of what attracted people to my table and I love little notebooks and journals. So I decided to make some little notebooks using his illustrations as a cover image and featuring a chunk of blank paper. This way people who aren't so interested in reading my poems can have the opportunity to perhaps make some of their own!!
I'm excited for this project and brainstorming other potential creations and collaborations... I used to do a lot of sewing and personalizing of my clothing back in highschool. I'd spend hours working on projects like sewing cool patches onto all my hoodies and skirts. Unfortunately these past few years of University have been kind of hectic and I haven't done too much sewing. But I have some ideas for some easy projects and I'm thinking of perhaps making a trip to fabricland in the next few weeks... Doing things like sewing, painting, and drawing help me get out of the headspace that tends to drives me crazy (especially in the winter months).
I just remembered that last summer I was attempting to make my own shoes from scratch. I think I gave up before I made plaster casts of my feet. Maybe if I get bored I'll make some headway on that project!
Haha! My daughter, Kate, is a knitter. She's talking about knitting herself a pair of flats. Apparently, The Golden Willow has the soles...
ReplyDeleteI like having fabrics and paints around, too. And now I have some frames to play with.
I think we need some more word art at the Cathedral Arts Festival next year. I'd love to hear your ideas about that...
Wow, that's amazing! From what I gathered, the soles can be difficult to make or acquire. I wish I could knit...
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure about word art ideas. I'll have to think about it. But I love any time image and poetry are integrated, or play off one another, or inspire each other.. You could find someone to host a bookbinding workshop (maybe Paper Umbrella!)