self portrait with Robe of Precious Objects
I am a freelance designer-maker, applied artist, crafts-woman, whatever you want to call me – I stitch stuff by hand. Fabric, metal, porcelain and paper porcelain. My work is various, it depends whether I am working for myself, in a group with other artists or to commission. But whatever I do is slow to make; detailed hand stitching in any material whether in silk, linen, wool or wire takes time, consequently my work is slow to evolve, so I have decided to make this weekly blog, to show what I am doing, who I am working with, how I work and also how I think.
I want to show the work behind ‘Her Work” not just the finished thing. The journey from the first idea, searching, researching, drawing, sampling and eventually, the finished piece; my own reactions to it, and hopefully yours, is what I want to describe here. I show past work that is still inspirational, sketchbooks, studio workshops and samples of current projects. I will also show other things that have influenced or visually stimulate me, exhibitions, books, whatever….
You will be able to watch my work progress, or not; maybe by seeing all this more people will come to value making that is manufactured by the hand, the eye and the heart.
Since starting this blog in May 2010, I have developed my new venture – Heart Space Studios ( from my yoga practice ” put your Hands in your Heart Space”) and it is a space for all things textile. Based in Bristol, England, we run workshops, exhibit and sell stuff, hire out studios to people who need space to make, and even conduct making textile parties for children and adults. This has made the blog more varied as I am continually fascinated by the textiles that other people make in the studios, and I still endeavor to make and comment on my own work.
Contacts :- jacobsonhaigh@talktalk.net. Jan@heartspacestudios.co.uk
I retain copyright on all images and writing used on this site. If you wish to use any images on your own personal blog or website, please inform me and in any event give my blog address as attribution.
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June 6, 2010 at 10:59 am
Hannah
Hi Janet,
Irene Bohan (who I work with) emailed me the link to your blog and I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy reading it and how inspiring your work is.
I too have “a thing” for hand made crafts and hearts so it is lovely to find another crafter with the same interests.
I love the look of your Make Do and Mend stitched porcelain and will watch/read with interest the progression of this work – especially the plate with the scissors – I’m excited by this piece just from the sketch you’ve shown!
Thank you for sharing your fantastic skills and I look forward to future developments.
Hannah
June 7, 2010 at 12:50 pm
janethaigh
HI Hannah, Thanks so much for this comment I really appreciate it as I am trying to get myself out there in between making exhibitions of work. I seem to be going through a very intensive thinking and development period and not sure where I will end up so the blog is a mechanism to let it be seen and I’m rather hoping it will somehow manifest a way for me go forward with all the work….when it is finally backed up with some of my enamelled work it will be a good reume of what i am getting up to at home alone…….
The mending stuff has been a good talking point as well and now whenever I meet people who have read it, they tell me great stories but never send a comment……. Anyway please keep watching the space am about to update the hearts section. Yours etc. Janet
July 30, 2010 at 4:37 pm
Hayley
Dear Janet
I am doing an a-level in art textiles and as part of the project we have to include artists work that has inspired us and write a bit about the artist themselves. I would appreciate if you could answer some questions:
What inspired you to become an artist?
What inspires your work?
Thank you
Hayley
July 31, 2010 at 10:35 am
janethaigh
Hi Hayley,
Thanks for your interest in my work and the questions.
For what inspires me I suggest you look and read the Make it Through the Night project in the Ongoing Work pages. Also within the blog itself there are many instances of how I have been inspired by pictures, stones, colleagues, exhibitions, symbols – I am particularly drawn to symbols – but I am always fascinated by fabrics…the most intimate material we use in our lives, we dress in it, lived surrounded by it, carry our children in it, wrap our dead in it; it carries colour, pattern, messages and history. We wear it out – so it is fragile but pliable and enduring.
As to being an artist – this is more difficult. What follows is a sort of theory of mine ……. I always called myself a designer- maker or simply an embroiderer. I feel that a designer makes work from an external stimulus even though the inspiration may be personal; to be successful the end result must contain the designer’s inspiration or idea embedded in something that is usually specified by someone or something else – this could be the materials or the customer. You can keep the personal YOU out of the final outcome, the design succeeds if it is “fit for purpose”. Some of the work I show is made like this- e.g. the current post “embroidered ceramics”
An artist is inspired internally, whatever is made or manifested- the maker is all – they decide what works and what doesn’t. I have worked with and for many artists. I have been asked to resolve problems with materials and making ideas (see Primate on the Commissions pages) sometimes I provide workshops for artists to develop their ideas through playing with new materials and working together – all these things have led me to review my own work. Make it Through the Night is very personal and I feel not so successful – yet, I am fairly uncomfortable with it….a thing that artists have to get used to I suspect. Designers do not want to make you uncomfortable
More and more my work is a reflection on the world I see around me, and the thoughts while making it I now share in the blog.
Hope that some of this is useful Janet
December 7, 2010 at 2:50 pm
Slow Progress « Janet Haigh : Her Work
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January 24, 2011 at 9:33 am
Chris de Beer
Dear Janet
What an inspiring blog you have! I appreciate the well written posts… they really explain what happened along the way, without being self-indulgent.
I lecture jewellery design at 4th year level and am trying to use blogs as instruments for generating research reports. I feel that designers do research as part of the process of making and if we could capture the steps we would have the bare bones of a research report … just add references!
Anyway your posts seem to strike that balance. What I do wonder about though is how you go about writing those long posts. Do you keep a journal of sorts and then compile the post from there or do you blog elsewhere..? Your posts seem to capture the steps that you take very well…
January 24, 2011 at 2:41 pm
janethaigh
Dear Chris,
thanks – it is a great way to start a Monday receiving a comment like this.
I write the long posts mainly because I have a lot to say about my work and I have a problem getting it shown in public and therefor sold- I mostly work to commission so need to keep it under wraps until either exhibited or published. Also my new work is hard to categorise as it is neither totally enamel nor textile and I can’t let my self think it just is not good enough to sell (but it is expensive).
However I have found that writing the blog has really made a difference to how I see my work. I have found all sorts of connections within it – in fact WordPress is set up to make any connections easily apparent – I realise now that my work revolves around a few ideas that overlap and integrate – I had thought what I made was in separate compartments depending on the techniques/ outcomes involved.
Obviously this will only be apparent in a mature maker; but your students should be able to integrate their studies with their own lives, their likes, dislikes and comments are vital- it this is what makes creative design work connect beyond function – when the maker shines through the discipline.
I photograph my own studies/pieces then go searching for ways to connect them to the original sources – see Ongoing Work for this – the first post Burkha eyes. I also work into the sketch book as an ongoing discipline – in fact maybe I will start a sketchbook page on the blog – I have kept them since I was a student in the late 1960′s!!!!!!
So I have always kept good records of my work, I work in a slow medium which requires endless samples, when I taught drawing and design at BA level, I found that students never sample enough, but it is this sampling process that results in my workbooks being so useful. After all if you are a successful maker you sell your work – all you have left is a picture of it and the samples – you can see very little process in the finished work
I keep every little thing I do when I work – in a large bag or basket – and at the end of the project I select the scraps to tell the story. I now use the work books as my own reference library and I use them when I am pitching for work – everyone is interested in process – it is a way of explaining how something comes together and makes it apparent how much does go into making anything – so basically I am showing them what they are buying into.
Since the blog started last May, I now photograph as I work after realising that people have actually NO idea of how things are made. Also I look on the blog as a part of my working life and at present my only means of exhibiting and so devote the best part of one day a week to it – your students will be quicker!
I am fascinated by making my work, not so much the finished thing – the thought processes and having to learn new techniques – and learning journeys are always so compelling – look at all the singing/ dancing shows on TV lately – all we are doing is joining in someone’s journey.
One last thing I have found a small but really fascinating set of people who write to me – off the blog mostly – they share my humour mostly and like what I like even though their work is different – and they are very supportive so blogs will attract support for your students – and we all need that.
December 31, 2011 at 4:31 am
yvonne peacock
dear jane
i keep looking at your work and looking again i like your drawing
classes best at this stage.thank you so much for being able to
see all the samples.greeings
February 9, 2012 at 10:00 pm
Hazel Jarvis
Dear Janet,
I came across your blog while looking for Teresa Searle images and I loved it. The stuffed hearts with the visible scars were so wonderful – and that it’s just a small part of what I loved. I plan to be in Bristol for most of August and would love to take a class or two if you are offering some. How does learn more about your studio?
April 10, 2012 at 7:55 am
winloseordraw
Thanks for following! Watching your process is fascinating, I can’t wait for more