A few days into the New Year, and I still do not have that déjà vu feeling of having made a New Year’s resolution that I am probably not going to achieve. I believe a New Year needs a new dream and of course a new dream needs action.
It is early days yet, but perhaps I feel so positive because I chose not to wait for New Year’s Day to roll around before I made my big resolution for 2019. No, I committed to my big resolution for 2019 in mid-2018 already. And this year’s dream is different and exciting because it involves my family.
We are a family of makers. And while we all share a passion for the handmade, we have each mastered a different range of skills. My dad, Mauritz, turns wood, mum Norma makes quilts, and I make bobbin lace.
We have always dreamt about showing our work together – to pass on the joy of making and to keep the old making skills alive. And this year we are making that dream come true as we are all showing our work at our city gallery during December 2019.
While we call our exhibition Family Making Things, we will each show in a separate gallery at ArtsPost Galleries in Hamilton. It will be the first solo exhibition for my dad and me, but it will be mum’s fourth solo quilt exhibition.
The show will also mark the significant 2019 birthdays in our family. Dad will be 75 and mum turns 70 two days before the opening of our exhibition. And I have a big one just after opening day. Needless to say, we did not spend our summer holiday on the beach. We worked. But it did not feel like work because our slow immersive processes are deeply relaxing and satisfying.
I have finished two small pieces since Christmas, and for the past two days I have been preparing the prickings for my next two projects. (One of the pickings took about 9 hours to make!) I have also finished winding about 90 pairs of bobbins for the two new projects. Don’t know what I would have done without my bobbin winder! It is such a useful tool.
In addition, I have finally convinced mum and dad that to show our work, it is important to create a bit of social media engagement. So, mum and I have created a website, Instagram, and Facebook presence for Family Making Things and mum has been put in charge of updating these. Another goal to tick off for the new year!
Speaking of social media. I have updated and refreshed my Letslace website. Earlier this week I took the website off-line for a few hours to simplify my homepage – to give it a cleaner, less cluttered look and to make it easier to navigate the website. But all my blogposts are still there. Just click on ‘Blog’ in the menu.
And I have also finally had some time to give my Letslace Instagram account a bit of attention. I plan to post pictures of my progress towards the exhibition on Instagram. There is also now a link on my website to my Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/yvetteslabbertletslace/
If you would like to read more about our Family Making Things exhibition here are the links:
Website: https://familymakingthings.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/familymakingthings/
Mum’s website: https://normaslabbert.com
I hope 2019 brings you an abundance of joy, and may all your dreams for 2019 come true.
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Letslace 