CREATIVE PROJECTS
The message behind my art-form is that there are so many amazing things we can create; that we can re-craft and build by utilising throwaway materials on a much greater scale… from beads to buildings! With practice and experimentation, we can not only transform these handcrafted items into marketable products; we can also transform our lives!
All products made With...in…TENT are unique; no two products are exactly the same! I take pride in their authenticity. The essence of The Evolution of Natural Talent (TENT) is Transformative creatives! We live in a throwaway society, from people to things - TENT’s foundation is Reusing, Reducing, Recycling, Reclaiming, Restoring, Re-building…
My creative journey has been quite an interesting one to say the least! It was the year 1999. I was homeless and broke in America with 2 children under 8 years who were in desperate need of new clothes. Not wanting to dress them directly with the free clothing I'd gathered from a Goodwill clothing bank in Seattle, I took out my beautiful 1950's vintage Singer sewing machine and got busy! I cut up the clothing and repurposed them creating clothes to better suit my daughter’s needs.
Looking back at how I started to design in this way has proved fruitful as it has enabled me to live a very creative and unique life! During what turned out to be an eight year travelling experience I began to build confidence in my Natural Talents and abilities.
Stepping out of my comfort zone at that time and diving into unknown territory motivated and inspired me to discover skills I never knew existed. I began creating out of need/The Mother of Invention. And still do to this day; the difference now is that there is so much more joy and pleasure attached to each item I make and along the way I’ve had the pleasure of teaching other women and children.
My designs have won awards such as Unltd and British Female Innovators and Inventions Network (BFIIN). I project managed our communal garden space which was transformed into an Award Winning Eco-Garden with previous members of TENT. It started with a bare patch of land which was designed and built with reusable materials such as tyres, pallets and reclaimed wood; some items of which were donations from B&Q and other local companies as well as what we collected from the roadside! We’d find the perfect thing at the perfect time…unfolding quite magically. The end result was rewarded with an anonymous note from a neighbour and a front page feature in Sanctuary Housing magazine.
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