A steady hand needed for artistic wire craft
IN Craft Creations this week, we feature Louise Hall. Louise lives in Porthmadog with her husband, their two boys plus their little menagerie of fish, shrimp, gerbils and border collie pup, Bella.
Louise says: “I’ve always loved arts and crafts. As a small child, being taught basic knitting by my mum, to sew and decorate cakes by my nan, and grandad teaching me to draw, I was always in touch with my creative side.
“During high school, my best friend (who still is after 24 years!) taught me how to make jewellery, how to use the tools and the basic equipment.
“My crafts took a back seat during my college, university, and then my work days, and, in 2007, I had my first child.
“But, in 2010, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. It was a blow to me as I’d always been so busy, but I had to slow down, so I took jewellery making back up.
“I wanted to do something a little different, so I bought my first lot of copper wire and I’ve been obsessed ever since!
“I now concentrate more on my wirework art that I generally display in box frames.
“I’m always coming up with new ideas and designing new patterns.
“All of the shaped wirework are my own designs, mostly using one continuous piece of wire.
“I’m also a bit of a sci-fi and superhero geek at heart, and that is why I decided to do the Gallifreyan word art – fellow Whovians will understand!
“I started BluebellOwl (please see facebook.com/BluebellOwl/) as a way to share my work with others, and it also means that I can do what I love from home.
“The wire I use is either copper (better for jewellery making) or aluminium. There are books and video tutorials available, but I find that playing with the wire and making my own ideas is much more fun. You can make some amazing pieces just from a bit of wire!” ● On June 3, Louise will be at the Craft Fair, held in the Memorial Hall in Criccieth,11am to 3pm.