Damage Indicators

As I said in my last post, the Mary Greg project has sent me into areas of work which I had never considered before. Amongst her letters were hand printed cards. I took the opportunity at MMU to join the students in a letterpress induction as I really liked the aesthetic of the cards.

Creativity isn’t aways a simple step by step process, and the idea of the printed cards has combined with another idea I had about the chatelaines and how they are often mending kits. I thought how the rips and lost buttons needed to be pointed out to the mender and how this could be done. I have embroidered red arrows onto some of my own coats to show loose seams and lost buttons and have begun to make metal arrows. The problem being that indicators will cause more damage in themselves. I have only done my first proof copy of the Damage Indicator card so I can see what to change, David in the letterpress room has offered to help me add a border and arrows. It is a trickier process than I had first thought, David has a real skill in setting up the tiny pieces of type. I do also plan to reprint one of Mary’s cards if the Gallery give me permission. (do you think it would be a problem Liz and Alex?)

Hazel