Meet the Maker - Kirsty Elson

I keep being drawn back to artists based in Cornwall for some reason, but I think a lot of it has to do with their skill for using natural objects to help create their unique pieces.  Kirsty Elson is another such artist.  And I agree with Sarah Pitt's description when she says "there's a special charm about Kirsty's driftwood houses.  With their tiny windows, weather driftwood doors and roofs of wood or slate held on with rusty nails, they evoke the naive art of St Ives 19th century fisherman-painter Alfred Wallis."

She has a background in illustration and printmaking, but now prefers to combine her love of beachcombing, textiles and all things nautical to create lovely handcrafted cards and home accessories.

I'll let Kirsty continue in her own words : 'I am a multi-media artist lucky enough to live in beautiful Cornwall with my partner and two young sons.  We all love the beach and I am inspired by my coastal surroundings.  My work is heavily influenced by the worn materials I discover washed up on local beaches and I love the idea of using found objects like driftwood and turning them into something beautiful and unique. I hope my work makes you smile!'

As well as featuring in the media her work crops up in less likely places too and eagle-eyed fans will have spotted her work in the home of one of the contestants in the BBC's recent Interior Design Challenge series.  But for her, one of her greatest accolades was being featured in a Russian magazine called Art, which is produced for teachers and pupils. The idea is they learn about a new artist, then there is a suggested project taking inspiration from that person. This little town is made from matchboxes. As she says herself, "How cool is that?!"

As well as selling her work online, she can be found in galleries and will soon feature in an exhibition at Unit Twelve from the 6th March in Staffordshire. The gallery hosts a regularly changing programme and this one showcases madebyhandonline, a curate website championing high quality contemporary craft from some of the UK's finest makers, including, of course, Kirsty.

And can I meet my challenge of finding something to link with our products?  I guess the pirate T-shirt would have to be the closest.  They did have pirates and smugglers off the coast of Cornwall after all.

You can buy your own T-shirt here.

www.cobwebknits.co.uk

Meet the Maker - Seasick Joe

I love the fact that my passion for knitting turned into a career and enjoy discovering others for whom the same has happened.

Seasick Joe (not her real name, which is Nicky) is one such artist.  I’ll let her explain in her own words.

'When I grow up I want to be an artist'.....seasick joe aged 8.5

These were my words, oooh <cough> 30 something years ago. I was always very creative as a child, but as I grew up somehow life got in the way and I never got to fulfil my childhood ambition, I took a totally different path and after a degree in Computer Technology behind me and a job in IT I was as far away from creative as you can get!

    

In 2010 I moved from a big city to a tiny village in South Lakes, Cumbria, one of the most beautiful places on earth, breathtaking mountains and stunning coastlines...I was inspired by its beauty, and the creative girl inside me woke up....

Whether at work (yes I still work in IT) or at home I am never more than 10 mins away from the beach, I started collecting driftwood and seeing shapes in the pieces I found, I set up a workshop in my kitchen and got crafty, making anything I could out of this beautiful strange, ocean whipped, sun bleached wood.  

This was my new hobby.....but I never thought it would be more than that, just a hobby, my way of unleashing the 8 year old artist inside of me..... but somehow my hobby turned into a small business, crazy as it seemed to me, people wanted to buy the things I made, they made people smile, which made me smile and thus...... Seasick Joe was born P-)

Her seven year old son is also a source of inspiration and his love of pirates is plain to see when you look at her fantastic boats.

You can find out more about Seasick Joe and find out how to buy her products by visiting her Facebook page ... www.facebook.com/SeasickJoe

Find out more about Su's products here ... www.cobwebknits.co.uk