dare to dream pillowcase banners 🙂

The weekend of the 5th & 6th of April served sunshine in a brilliant blue sky! We were so fortunate!

It was wonderful to share Dare to Dream, the mass participation element of Derbyshire Makes: an opportunity to stitch hopes and dreams for the future in Derbyshire using sustainable fabrics from the Play & Recycling Centre - Derby.

15 participants kindly left their work to be added to the pillowcase banners, shown below - stunning! Some wrote down the motivation and thoughts behind their stitches, and I added these to the work using a wooden typeface set - wise and generous words. There are more textile patches out in the world, taken home to be treasured and worked into - I like to think of these as 'siblings' of the textile patches below, becoming part of everyday life, mementoes of a shared expression of hope in Heanor.

Unity, Derbyshire Makes - Heanor

All Roads Lead to Derbyshire, Derbyshire makes - Heanor

make

Photo by Karen at Make/Shift

Dare to Dream

Derbyshire Makes Festival - Heanor

5th/6th April 2025

derbyshire makes festival - Heanor

What a brilliant weekend. Heanor market place was buzzing with fun, connection, creativity and positive energy. 

I had a blast running Dare to Dream, the mass participation element of Derbyshire Makes: a chance to stitch hopes and dreams for the future using sustainable fabrics from the Play & Recycling Centre - Derby.

We were blessed with gorgeous weather, and it was lovely to see Heanor create, play and stitch together. 

A MAKEFESTO!

Young maker

First stitches

All roads lead to Derbyshire

Dare to Dream - tolerant people

Generations

Stitcher from Portugal

Friendship

"Friendship is so important, a smile, a friendly nod can mean so much. Don't be afraid 

to talk to someone, you might be the only person they connect with all day."

derbyshire makes festival - heanor - dare to dream

YESSS! I'm all prepped for the Derbyshire Makes Festival - Heanor this weekend (5th/6th April), programmed by Make/Shift 🖐️🪡🧵

'Dare to Dream - Inspired by Heanor's rich textile and making heritage join artist Karen Logan and create a unique hand stitched textile patch to share your stories and hopes for the future. Pin your precious patch to the Dare to Dream repurposed pillowcases and take a selfie. At the end of the festival the patches will be stitched to the pillowcases to create stunning flags showcasing hope in Heanor. Let's fly the flag for Derbyshire!'

FREE. Drop-in, no booking required. All materials provided.

Scrap fabric from Derby Play & Recycling Centre

Cotton reels & threads from my stash & Derby Play & Recycling Centre

Dare to Dream map - research on the manufacturing history of Heanor & Langley Mill - will anyone recognise names & faces?

derbyshire makes - dare to dream 💭

Pillowcase from a Heanor charity shop

Thrilled to share that I'm one of six selected artists working on Dare to Dream, a project inspired by Derbyshire's history of innovation and textile heritage. Dare to Dream invites people from across the county (and beyond!) to create flags from fabric scraps and found materials to share powerful statements of possibility, hope, aspiration and radical thinking.

Dare to Dream is part of Derbyshire Makes, a new, three-year programme of cultural activity across the county - an inspiring celebration of making in all its forms. It launched in late March 2025 in Chesterfield with the free Derbyshire Makes Festival, an annual event taking place each spring across six distinct local Hubs. The Hub locations are Chesterfield, Heanor, Cromford, Glossop, Bolsover and Swadlincote. 

Creative Director Clare Tymon shares her inspiration for Dare to Dream

Dare to Dream Artists'Day

draw derby - 3 years

After a fabulous three years I've handed over the hosting of Draw Derby into the safe hands of DD regulars Jenny Stevenson and Tom Burley. They had a super January 2025 gathering last month and I look forward to updates @drawderby, please give them a follow on Instagram 🙂

For 2025 dates and to book a free place - see eventbrite.

A huge thank you to Jenny and Tom for stepping forward in their busy lives to keep DD going, I really appreciate that.

I'm spreading my wings and have become Draw Derbyshire. I'm not actually sure what this will look like or become - lets see... I have a new sketchbook, so there's a start. My intention is to share drawings and drawing related thoughts and ponderings and any creative activities I run with a drawn focus or element.

Final sketchbook throwdown hosting Draw Derby - December 2024

The King of Rome, Derby Museum & Art Gallery

horizons - self portrait/photography/collage

Taking a moment to reflect on my recent self-portrait/photography project inspired by Maria Rivens at St Martins Horizons 6th Form last term. 

It was an absolute pleasure to offer starting points and invitations to the young people, then stand back and be amazed by their ideas, sensitivity and creative confidence.

Below are works in progress: drawing, photography, collage, masks.

Students who have given permission for their work to be displayed will be showing at Young Format - Schools In Residence at FORMAT25 in Derby March 2025 - can't wait!

Thank you Derby QUAD for asking me to lead this project.