Juliette Orton

DANCING IN THE DARK It is quite commonplace for someone to say that they can’t draw. Whilst I agree that some individuals find it comes to them more easily than others, I take issue with those that are so quick to dismiss it as even a possibility. It saddens me to think that this avenue of creativity is closed to some, or at least, they think it is. Years of teaching design to teenagers has reaffirmed my belief that a large part of the problem is simply a lack of confidence. I don’t mean to make light of it but it really is quite amazing how quickly improvements are made once the initial barrier is broken through. I usually start students off in pairs sitting opposite each other with a sheet of paper and a pen (not pencil) in hand. The idea is to draw the person opposite in a continuous line without looking at the paper - this not only creates a room full of hysterical laughter but it also loosens everyone up and relaxes them into the task. I specify a pen as the default posit...

Since I've started a new sketchbook recently I thought I could do a diary of sorts to explain how I have put the various sections together. I chose the theme of 'Layering' as I was looking through some old A-Level Art & Design question papers and this topic appealed to me. If you want to create your own sketchbook obviously you could choose any theme you like, just make sure that it's something that interests you and you will find plenty of inspiration. I favour an A3 size sketchbook but there are no hard and fast rules on this, and it's best to go for a scale that you feel comfortable with. I started out with a title page and a 'mind map' of written ideas of anything that I felt could relate to the theme of 'layering', a brainstorm of sorts. This is a good way to get over the dreaded 'first page fear' when you just can't bring yourself to start your pristine book and any mark you make is overly scrutinis...

I had a lovely evening at Chiltern Embroidery and Textile Group in Tylers Green earlier in the week, it was good to be back there after giving my own talk back in March. I took my Mum and a friend to see a talk given by Wendy Dolan on 'Art, Architecture and Stitch' which was right up my street! Wendy is a textile artist who uses fabrics and threads to create textured designs with some wonderful results. I have met Wendy several times before as she is from Sussex (where I grew up) and we also have some mutual friends.   Wendy's talk covered how she develops her work from sketchbooks through to her final designs and she showed us photographs that had inspired her from a variety of places such as Barcelona and Venice. My work is also very sketchbook led so I could easily identify with her thought process. I am also drawn to textures but Wendy's work differs from mine in that she starts with plain coloured fabrics, stitch and thread - ...