Join us on Saturday 14th March to celebrate International Women’s Day 2020. We will be hosting our first annual Womenfolk meet up of the year for our community. We are excited for 2020 and have a few things lined up over the year.
Our aim this year is to continue to deepen the connections between women in design. Provide a support system and see and hear more creative journeys. We all find it comforting to hear someones story that we can relate to.
For this event we are creating a theme around ’empowerment’ and asking questions around how we can empower ourselves & others within the community.
We will be joined by guest speakers that are Belfast based women designers. Each will be giving a 5 minute presentation of their journey and seeing how they incorporate the theme ’empowerment’ into their work.
Following a coffee break we will be splitting into different focus groups where we will be answering different questions and getting to know each other more. The aim is that you leave with a new contact and get to know someone else better.
Come and join us and lets celebrate each other!
Date : 14th March
Time: 10:00am – 1:00pm
Location : Blick Shared Studios 46 Hill St, Belfast BT1 2LB
Free
SPEAKERS
1ST SPEAKER - LAUREN TAYLOR
We caught up with our first speaker and asked a few questions abut them so we can get to know who they are and what they do.
Lauren Taylor is an American artist and illustrator living in Northern Ireland. Lauren loves to mix both the whimsical and real in her artwork and uses her travels around Ireland and the world as inspiration. She has worked with many clients on exciting illustration projects including illustrating her first children’s book Tales of Wonder. She and her husband have recently launched a tour company, LTCreative Tours offering tours around Ireland for artists and creatives.
What inspires you?
I’m inspired by people, nature, fashion and travel.
Can you tell us a fun fact about yourself?
I went bungee jumping on my honeymoon.
How do you stay motivated/inspired?
I think it's more important to have discipline to work even when you don't feel motivated or inspired. Like W.B. Yeats said, “do not wait to strike until the iron is hot, but make it hot by striking.” And if that doesn’t work, take a break and go for a walk!
What accomplishment are you most proud of?
Live illustrating guests at an event in NYC in October. It was so intimidating drawing people in 10 minutes while they are standing in front of you, but I really enjoyed it. I loved getting to talk and laugh with each person and they were all blown away with their drawings. The event was a huge success!
What piece of advice would you tell your younger self?
Ask more questions and always follow up!
You can find all of her fab work at :
Website : Laurentaylorcreates.com
Instagram : @laurentaylorcreates
Lauren also has co founded LC Creative Tours with her husband, which is a luxury tour catered to artists & creatives wanting to explore Northern Ireland and create beautiful work. They have a few spaces available and the booking closes on Saturday!
For more information & to book your space visit https://www.laurentaylorcreates.com/ltcreative-tours
2ND SPEAKER - FIONA MCDONNEL
We caught up with our second speaker and asked a few questions abut them so we can get to know who they are and what they do.
Fiona McDonnell is a Belfast-based freelance illustrator with a distinct and colourful style of work. Often accompanied by commentary and self-reflection on social issues, music, film, or whatever else she may be interested in at the time. After studying illustration at Norwich University of the Arts Fiona returned to her hometown of Belfast, where alongside her practice she works as agency manager for UsFolk illustration agency
We did a quick fire round of questions to get to know our speakers!
What inspires you?
Seeing what other people are passionate about and how they share this.
How do you stay motivated/inspired?
Trust that if I keep going i'll figure it out eventually. Better to have learned from the process of finishing something, even if I don't necessarily like the outcome, than giving up half way through.
What accomplishment are you most proud of?
Becoming agency manager for UsFolk and just being a part of the agency in general.
What piece of advice would you tell your younger self?
Stop over thinking and trust that you're good enough.
You can find their work at :
@fionaamcd
www.fionamcdonnell.co.uk
THIRD SPEAKER - BETH WYLIE
My name is Beth Wylie and I am a jeweller silversmith from Northern Ireland. I create bespoke pieces out of old piece of silver and gold that may be sentimental but are no longer work and rework them into pieces that are wearable and still live to tell the story. My inspiration comes from pattern and repetition.
What inspires you?
I am daily inspired by the small details and patterns that people miss. From pieces of graffiti to crumbling buildings I find myself asking questions about how they got their and the process behind them.
Another inspiration of mind is typography and illustration. Ever since I was young the first thing I had in my hand was a pencil and a notebook to doodle in and to this day that hasn't changed!
How do you stay motivated/inspired?
This is certainly one of the things I find most difficult.
Motivating myself to design can be a struggle at times and I usually turn to reading about how things are created and produced as well as looking at artists who inspire me. Other times I just need to get in front of my bench and start making and experimenting and then from that something begins.
What accomplishment are you most proud of?
To date I am most proud of how I have progressed as an artist and developed a brand that I am more than proud of. What I love to see is how people react when they receive a piece specifically for them and designed to their personality.
What piece of advice would you tell your younger self?
My advice would be get as much information and knowledge out of your tutors and your peers as possible because experimentation and this time to develop will never come again. You are in a prime time to just be creative, learn and develop.
You can find their work at :
@bethwyliejewellery