Feb
02
For those of you who read my previous post you will know that I moved into a new art studio in November. No sooner as walls and shelves had been painted, materials stowed away and work had begun Christmas arrived, and along with Christmas came the snow. Now for me here in Yorkshire that meant a break from the workshop not only for Christmas frolic but to wait out the cold. It was to my sadness and horror that when I returned to my art studio to find damp and humidity, I opened the door only to find a mist in the air and pools of condensation an my boxes, sketchbooks with damp pages and some very unhappy sewing machines!
As much that could be saved had to be which necessitated a quick move into warmer and certainly drier climes. Fortunately the damage to machinery was minimal, and although some consumables were lost much was saved by the plastic storage boxes and spaces bags that I had so wisely purchased some time ago.
It it with great sadness and annoyance that the move was so fleeting and we I assure you Fonzie is being re-housed and cared for.
Posted in Uncategorized
Jan
12
I often find that January offers a bit of a false start to the year, a long break for festivities and merriment proves difficult to break free from. I have managed to change my mindset and begin another year of work and creativity. This year I will be attending the British Craft Trade Fair, there is much to prepare and I have decided to launch my textile design company as a new separate entity at this event. Up to now I have been working on both my fine art and the textile design company concurrently, this will in effect continue. I will remain designing contemporary textiles accessories for you and your home but the Fonzie brand will soon stand alone as a company leaving Nicolette Lafonseca-Taylor, me, to concentrate more fully on future exhibitions leaving the day to day running of Fonzie in the hands of my capable staff.
During my Christmas hiatus I managed to source some beautiful vintage florals that will be lovingly stitched together to create a quilt, hopefully this will be the first of many in a new line of Fonzie quilts.
Posted in inspiration, new work
Dec
26
Just a couple of events I need to tell you about. I have been asked to put some artwork up at a corporate event taking place at The Loft, Leeds on the 2nd December. My work has also been requested to be displayed for six months at LS1. LS1 offers a very high profile viewing opportunity to their many clients from National/International business. The club hosts high level business events – from training, meetings to celebration. The owners of LS1 are very proactive supporters of the arts and are very open in their desire for my work to be seen by an optimum audience who will hopefully buy or commission. They are also the couple who bought my artists books and prints from the Trinity exhibition
I received a letter only this morning informing me that I have been accepted to the British Craft Trade Fair in Harrogate this coming April. The fair has run successfully for a number of years and represents the very best of British makers. Buyers who attend the fair come from a wide variety of outlets such as galleries, heritage outlets, interior design companies and independent retailers. The BCTF also host an online catalogue called Design Edge. I have so much to prepare for the event but I am very excited that I have something so nice to do in spring, and being busy will not allow time for any post christmas winter blues to set in!
The Frozen Canal Outside My Studio
And now for the really fun part of the post how cool is the snow! I am loving it, the dogs are loving it, I have already made three snow angels and confused the dog by throwing snow balls for him. And everything looks so pretty and bright, it is such a welcome change to grey days with no light.
Above is a picture of my town square on Christmas Eve at midnight for our annual carols in the square! So this is my last post until the new year. I will leave you with this; “Merry Christmas To All And To All A Good Blog!”
Posted in Uncategorized, events, exhibitions
Nov
28
Well the art fairs are well and truly in full swing. The time was that I used to be upset that I was galavanting all over the country so close to Christmas, but in truth I have grown to love it. Not a religious person but I am a Christmas person, I always have been, often to the annoyance of those around me. Traveling around to art and craft fairs during the lead up to Christmas suits me down to the ground, I get to listen to cheesy Christmas songs, get excited by helping people find special gift for loved ones and gift wrap – yes I am one of those people who loves to wrap presents, without any complaint! I also love that I get to meet and talk to so many people and get caught in the hustle and bustle of their day. The first of my art fairs this year is rather late but well worth a visit. I will be selling at The Arthouse as part of the Wakefield Art Walk on Wednesday 25th November 2009. Art Walk Official Website Follow the Wakefield Artwalk on Twitter
We have a great community art team in Hebden Bridge called HEADS and they organised a fantastic lantern parade with the children for the Christmas lights switch on, we then had a brass band and carols! Its at time like these that I do feel smug about my town and its strong community feel.
Posted in Uncategorized, events, exhibitions
Nov
05
I am moving to a new studio this month at Hebble End Works on the canal in Hebden Bridge where I currently live. I will be having a small studio warming so why not pop in and say hello, there will be port and I’m going to bake my brownies-trust me they are fantastic!
Posted in events
Sep
30
Life as an artist has been hectic I have almost forgotten to keep you informed about the other side of my life, my textile design company Fonzie. Let me tell you a little about how Fonzie works. I started the company because I wanted to create something ethical without loosing any of it’s contemporary style. I am not a fan of globalisation and want my company to offer well designed, well made alternative to the carbon copy products that are available on the mass market.
By carefully selecting small quantities of quality fabric and combining that with vintage materials we can produce truly unique items that are always different from one another.
I have recently purchased a new range of fabrics and am very excited about designing a new range of products.
Here is a sneak preview!
Posted in inspiration, new work
Sep
19
My ’Drawings from India’ sold really well at the exhibition that opened back in May. In addition to making sales I have been contacted by a lady who saw my at The Bowery has commissioned me to create three pieces of work fro her up-coming wedding anniversary. She wants the work to explore and reflect her married and subsequent family life.
Posted in Uncategorized, exhibitions, new work
Sep
10
I am the new member of the board at the Arthouse based in Wakefield acting as an artist representative for the next two years.
The Arthouse is a unique national membership organisation for the visual arts. It was created in 1994, by a group of visual artists to campaign for equality of access to opportunities for work, training and exhibiting for both disabled and non-disabled artists equally. Membership includes professional practitioners in all visual and tactile art forms and approaches to art; artists are welcomed whether or not they have taken a traditional route to development of their practice.
It also designs and manages ambitious projects including residencies, exhibitions, commissions and research, nationally and internationally, all in accessible settings. The Art House speaks on behalf of all artists and represents their interests to funding and commissioning bodies, to training institutions, to galleries and venues, and to others. It campaigns for inclusive practice across the visual art sector.
I feel that sitting on the board will be a valuable and fulfilling experience for me.
An image from the recent Identity Cards Project
Participating artists:
Louise Atkinson Zeev Parush
Karen Babayan Roee Derstain
Peta Bickerstaff Dimona Arel
Abu Jafar Amili Gelbman
Linda King Ella Lustig
Sophie Littlewood Oren Vaxler
Bob Milner Inbal Druval
Jan Millington Dubi Roman
Charlie Morris Varda Breger
Val Rolls Aviva Meromi
Carrie Scott-Huby Ora Brill
Richard Wheater Orit Alloush
Posted in Uncategorized, new work
Aug
05
Just a quick post throughout the Month of August I will be part of a of a group exhibition at the Design Centre in Leeds. Taking part are; Julie Bell, Giles Edsall, Nicolette Lafonesca-Taylor, Jess Laljee, Miriam Laville, Jon Lawrence, Oliver Neilson.
In addition to that the deli at development Tiger 11 in Hillside, the aptly named Dehli-catessen requested my work for exhibition running from September 2009 – January 2010.
Posted in events, exhibitions
Aug
02
Good news you can now purchase ‘Fonzie’ products online. Fonzie is the textile design company that I run and we offer unique textile crafts for you and your home, and we now offer them online.
Not On The High Street was started in 2006 by Holly Tucker and Sophie Cornish in order to bring creative small businesses to the wider public. A small brands big audience affair! Not On The High Street turn down I high number of businesses so I am proud to be amongst their cornucopia of creative talent.
FInd me at www.notonthehighstreet.com/fonzie
A selection of textile products available online now!
Posted in Uncategorized, events, new work
