Studio Notes no.92

news and more

Hello again, thank you for reading here and I hope you are keeping well.

photo: My recent embroidery brooch collection

I took a break from writing last week but want to catch up with you. There’s some personal news to share, but if you are simply interested in knowing about upcoming shop updates I don’t mind at all if you scroll by and read the ‘shop news’ below. We all have busy lives and only so much time, I do understand.

So do just hop down to the shop news, if you wish.

For those of you curious to know a bit more… Three or so weeks ago now I had some news. It came via a phone call, one of those calls that begins: ‘is this a good time for you to talk?’ I knew, in that moment, what was going to be said to me. It was like a flash of reality, unwanted but it had arrived…. After many years of renting the same little house on the hill, my now grown up children and I, must move out. The owner of the property has sadly passed away and the house is to be sold. Now of course I knew this would happen, or something like this might happen sooner or later. But I had always hoped it would be our choice to move, once we had prepared ourselves, found a place to go. This sudden need to find a new home has shaken us badly. Life is overwhelming and my personal sense of responsibility is almost too much to bear.

Suddenly plunged into uncertainty, I feel a constant seasickness and yet also a giddy hope that things will somehow work out for the best. Already exhausted from the beginnings of an emotional upheaval, we must find an affordable roof, de-clutter our possessions, and organise the things I dread the most such as paperwork. The housing market in the UK is a gamblers world and there is very little on offer. There is so little in the way of affordable housing anywhere. My daughter has a job, so we need to stay local. I am just grateful indeed that through my work as an artist I have an income, thank you, thank you to everyone who has helped this happen.

Finding that next home for us is not an easy task. I hope it can happen soon. My autistic son especially wants to know where we are going to be and I wish I could tell him now.

I am not going into all the details, but just enough - I wanted to let you know what is going on. My creative work is sustaining me through the most difficult time. You may wonder that I can work at all at the moment. Some people might take a few weeks off to sort life out, but I simply cannot.

Apart from all the upheaval, my creative world is a place that I need more that ever. Working on my latest brooch collection was an absolute joy, for those times and hours I sat down to stitch were my own, spent in a world of my own creation. Thank you to everyone for your interest and purchases.

There have been moments when I have felt so overwhelmed I have not known what to do next. I am grateful to my sister, especially, for listening to me and being there. I am grateful to friends who have offered their help and kindness.

Where ever we end up is going to be different from here. It may be more urban, hopefully with some green space not too far away. We will be in a smaller place and most likely with no garden. To make the transition work for me, creatively, I have already started to work in a smaller space, in a re-figured way. This feels just fine and I am happy with it. My work has always been small in scale and requiring only the most basic of materials and tools ( + my beloved sewing machine, Marjorie, who will never be just a tool to me). I am happy to focus on what matters the most.

Sorting out all the clutter and stuff of life takes time. You might think you’ve only just recently had a sort-out, but then moving is a whole different level of sorting. I’ve made some interesting discoveries. And I am selling some things from my archives to help toward our move. I am starting with a few this Sunday and then more next, and so on - depending on how things go.

I am going to offer these items - in different ways -

This doll - I have no clear memory of making her at all! And yet, here she is, in red wool and with a label that clearly indicates who did indeed make her. Her name, my daughter tells me is: Melanie Rouge. I have decided to auction her. She will go to a new home with a winning bid over £30. I will put all acceptable offers in a hat and pick one out. You have only until FRIDAY 7th midday! The auction IS open to overseas bidders, thank you. The winner will be sent the doll asap, along with a few extras - shipping cost included in your bid.

The doll is made from papier mache over fabric and has a painted body with painted shoes. She has knitted hair and old washers for eyes! She wears a lovely vintage button in her hair. Her clothing is hand knitted with a cotton vest beneath.

Please email: ccullis@gmail.com - with subject: DOLL AUCTION - MELANIE

To keep things easy for me, as time is limited - please only include: your name and your bid offer. I appreciate you might want to write more or have questions on other topics but please don’t include these.

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Many, many heads. These I made years and years ago (2011) as a daily project. A head a day. Made in air drying clay and painted with acrylics. They are very much examples of Cathy Cullis Early Work! They are fun, characterful, imperfect and made to make you smile. I wonder what they might look like if I did this project again?? You can see my original Flickr photos here

This lively rabble have lived under my bed, quietly or otherwise, in shoe boxes. I would love to find most of them new homes. I shall be offering heads in random sets of three for just £20 including post (UK only). I will do my best to pick out the best characters for you. There are all sorts of interesting personalities!

You can of course order more than one set and will come up with some offer if you want to buy more than three. Unfortunately this offer is UK only as sending them overseas would require more work/packaging etc.. They will be available to order from this afternoon - about 5pm - so please check my shop later. Thank you!

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Shop News

I am continuing with my daily drawings - many, many thanks to everyone who has purchased a drawing. There are a few still available from June. Please check my shop at midday each day to see the newest drawing. I am also posting on Instagram a little afterwards.

Thank you to everyone who purchased a brooch from my recent brooch collection. I’ve had a few people send messages asking for a special order/commission. I don’t make these and cannot consider them right now. Please do look at my daily drawings because I do hope to have a stitched piece available - just now and then!

I’ve no special extra collections planned for this week ahead.

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A few small stories

I find myself getting hopelessly nostalgic for a simpler age. I talk with my sister about our shared childhoods and playing in neighbour’s back gardens. Being fed by friends. How some mums made jam sandwiches differently from other mums. I go outside and there’s a smell of bonfire, just a tinge of smoke in the air. But it’s the middle of the day. I am angry because years ago no one would have lit a bonfire before evening. I think the local law was not before 4pm. But I like the smell. I am angry and confused, and craving a jam sandwich.

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My son drags an old bicycle out of the ivy and brambles. The bike is propped against the skip. With flat tyres and tendrils, rust and more rust, I can only joke that someone might want to ride off on it… The next day, I am busy working on a new pencil drawing when there’s a hard knock on the front door. A man wants to know if he can take the bike. Years ago he would have come by horse and wagon - the rag and bone man. Now it’s a white van. I point out the metal bedstead also available - all yours, I say. He puts his hands together with thanks and I nod, grateful.

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Thanks always for reading here - I hope in future weeks to be able to offer you happier news, lots of creative photos and more. It will be a pleasure to share with you. I still hope to write these studio notes each week, but there may be few breaks ahead. Please bear with me and thanks for reading! If you would like to support my writing you may like to buy me a coffee.

Shop News