December 18th, 2011 - Sunday

Location: Fred Aldous
Designer: Michael Crispin, artist

Location Notes: Fred Aldous is one of the key shops in the Northern Quarter, supplying many strange and wonderful artist and craft materials, turning it into one of the creative engine rooms of the quarter. Their lovely staff are more than willing to help you find something or suggest what products will best help move your project forward. It’s also a bit of a Tardis, so don’t be surprised if you go in for 5 minutes and come out ages later, arms full of exciting goodies.

Shrine Notes: Take time to look around the shop at all the wonderful things people make to help you in turn make wonderful things. Everyone has some form of creativity in them. Whether it’s good quality or not is all subjective - what matters is you enjoy the creating. Be inspired to make something.

Designer Notes: As a full-time artist using a very wide range of materials and techniques I was excited to have the opportunity to create a shrine box that represented something I believe to be very important and fundamental to us all regardless of our personal circumstances. The figures inside the box facing towards the warm light represent any one of us seeking God and our inner selves for strength throughout our lives. With the outside of the  box I wanted to use the words "THE PRESENT" to emphasise the fact that the shrine is a gift and/ or opportunity to take some time out of the busy rat race that is so familiar to us all. I feel we rarely get the time and peace just to be still and listen to our heart, soul and therefore God within us.

Feel free to write about your thoughts and experiences with this shrine, or how you've seen people using it, as a comment (see below) or tweet @sanctus1mcr.