The Sketchbook project

I signed up for this sketchbook project, have a look here.
So the real creative mess has started in the studio, stuff everywhere, and although I dyed the fabrics ready to finish my hanging of the previous post, my concentrations have been diverted to the sketchbook.

It was supposed to be a filler activity whilst the fabrics dried...... but you know how it is...... I became absorbed and am so enjoying myself. The freedom of being able to doodle without constraint is really wonderful.


As many other members have stated the sketchbook paper quality is very poor, as you can see when you apply a wash the paper buckles badly and if not totally dry, tears into shreds. Reminds me of the cheap recycled paper the suppliers tried to offload onto the schools a few years ago, when to be "green" became fashionable.

The colour from one page bleeds onto the reverse of the paper..... however I am not letting that stop me, I am carrying on regardless and letting serendipity play its role.
Leonardo must be rolling over in his grave !;0)

Such wanton abandon. I am loving it!

If I post this off to its destination.... .. you can all go and see the- wanton abandon- for yourselves.... except of course you will have to fly to the States to the Brooklyn Art Gallery to see it.

Shame really that once I send it I shall never be able to see it again. So I will have to take lots of photos as a reminder. Somehow though, the photos are not the same as having the book in your hand and seeing the marks made by your hand. What do you think?

Hanging in there!

Whilst these leaves are damp/wet they stay put on the front garden, as soon as they dry out they all migrate to my front porch. I appear to collect all the leaves from the neighbourhood on my front garden. All a bit like my children and their problems..... ;0) There seem to have been lots this year. ( of problems that is!)

However like this geranium which is still flowering , I am hanging in there, and am greatly spurred on by the studio space I now have. I found myself just sitting in there this morning and enjoying the peace and quiet.

I then took the opportunity to peruse my next set of commitments for exhibitions. 2011 at the moment will be a year of creating .. just one exhibition, and that's a small one..... but 2012 .... maybe 4 exhibitions.

That's a biggie, so must start to get designs and ideas together, that is of course if the galleries are still in business by 2012. All the arts grants are being culled in this economic climate and any spare money going to sports in preparation for the 2012 London Olympics.. short sighted IMHO.

However in the spirit of optimism.. I dyed some fabric yesterday, to finish my first piece of artwork made in the studio.

My glass is half full and long may it continue as such....... to all readers whose glass is half empty, I shall say ----" cheer up, it may never happen". ---- those were my dear Dads favourite words.

The Chaos and Contemporary work

This piece of work is the first to be put under the sewing machine in the new studio. It may not be my best piece of work, but it summarises a lot of my recent feelings. I am going to call it " the chaos" some of you will know what I mean.

It is not quite finished, I have run out of blue fabric, so tomorrow am going to dye some more. Originally I was going to bind the edges with yellow, but have changed my mind and want to use blue, and of course I do not have enough fabric.....;0)

I have loved stitching it, and though notone of my best, but it has been stitched with a lot of feeling. It is a very contemporary piece and I can imagine others will interpret in their own way.





Talking of contemporary work..........
You may be interested in a new website that has just been launched. It features contemporary quilters and I feel sure that it will develop and grow in the future. The contemporary quilters are certainly a forward thinking group, and it is easy to join them in their adventure. Go and have a look here

From the mouth of Babes and Meadow Larks

Went along to the Meadow Larks exhibition in Cirencester this afternoon, and just loved seeing all the work together. I knew it would be wonderful, but did not quite realise how wonderful. The Great Western Embroiderers have certainly produced some fantastic work again. One of the advantages of visiting on a sunday afternoon, is the Car parking is free.

These 2 images are close ups of a piece of my work on show, called ( not very originally) North meadow. The work is inspired by the natural 12 monthly cycle of the meadow, the colours reflect the harvest, the flooding and the frost. The imagery includes cattle, fritillaries and roman numerals. The materials are primarily, hand made and hand dyed felt, machine embroidery and hand stitch

Here is the view of the gallery from the street.

My daughter accompanied me, and we had a wonderful time chatting mainly about the exhibition.

It was whilst we were going round, that my daughter, revealed to me that 3 year old grandaughter took a session at her nursery school at story time last Friday, quite an occasion for someone who is quite shy. So I asked what did she talk about?

Imagine my surprise when I found out!.

She very bravely stood up and told all her classmates about the "special" pencil cases we made the other day and how good she is at using the sewing machine. It never ceases to amaze me how young children take everything in, and then reveal their thoughts to others. According to the teachers she remembered every detail of how we made them.

I am very proud of my grandaughter. Check her on the sewing machine here...

Remember these and the local radio.

Remember these?

They were part of an Interesting feature on grandparents on the local radio today.... click on Radio to hear the transmission and move the slider along to approx 1.22 to hear about creativity and the genrations. Thanks to Mark O'Donnell of BBC wiltshire Radio.

We're working again!

Well, the new studio celebrations are over, and its back to the reality of working. The piece under the sewing machine has been lurking in the old work room for quite a while. So am happy to report it is now all stitched up.
We are starting to make a mess as well, you will all be relieved to know, you wise readers of blogs knew the tidiness could not last long.

Meadow Larks Exhibition -Cirencester

Have just handed in a few pieces for our next exhibiton, hope you can go and view, its taking place at Cirencester Museum and features the work we have been doing with Natural England and the North Meadow at Cricklade.... click here

Open studio

I invited a few friends and neighbours to come along and see the studio now the builder has finished. Interestingly some of the lovely people I invited asked me what will I actually do in the space. I found finding the right words to explain quite difficult.

So in response I put some of my work and sketchbooks out for them to see what I do and how I will use the space. Certainly proved to be good talking points.

I have decided that I have some wonderful neighbours and friends... the response was very encouraging and the questions very searching and interesting. We also imbibed some wine in celebration. One of the advantages of inviting the neighbours, they can walk home and no worries about the drink and drive laws!

This morning I tidied everything away and then spent the afternoon finishing off and packing and labelling the exhibits for the Meadow Larks exhibition in Cirencester. More details soon.

Filling the blank canvas

Well Ros, I am slowly filling the blank canvas, and yes Dorothy having lots of fun doing so. The whole house is in chaos! I am really trying hard to just put the necessities into the studio Helen Suzanne, but it is hard to decide. I suspect it will evolve over time as I use it. It is lovely to have the extra storage area in the old workroom, I must admit.

So Helen is it filling up OK? Did you find that you changed things in your new studio once you started working in it?

I cannot wait to get working in there and as Rachel wisely said, get started my first project , but I also feel I must tidy the old work room at the same time. Think it may be time to "lose" some of my treasures to eBay and freecycle too. When will I ever use some of the stuff I have?

So Gill, it did not stay empty for long.... and the creativity will start soon, well fingers crossed, as I have another exhibition looming shortly - like the deadline is- next week!

Studio opening is now!

Great excitements today, the vertical blinds came and are fitted, the flooring came ..........along with some great flooring fellas who did a great job of laying it.... my studio is now ready for creativity.
Still lacking some basic facilities like furniture in these photos.... but I can soon change that.

Photos at last

At last have managed to borrow some of the pencil cases back to take photos... unfortunately not all of them, as the others have been taken to school!
The one above belongs to the 3 year old. I think it is fantastic, she wanted to have a rainbow on hers and so that is what she did. Such a decisive young lady, she will go far.



All the building work in the studio is finished now, tomorrow morning is the final coat of paint on the walls and the vinyl flooring is being fitted in the afternoon. I can then start putting furniture in there.

I am having a grand opening this Sunday between 3 and 6 pm. Its bring a glass for the refreshments.. I decided I did not want to do loads of washing up. Look forward to seeing you if you can make it.

Machine Perspectives

I do love sewing machines, whether they are very old or very new.... I think they are wonderful. I know many of my friends collect shoes, some handbags, but for me its the sewing machine.

They do tend to be a bit pricey, so that does tend to curtail my collection of them.

At any show, such as the knitting and Stitching or the Festival of Quilts, you will find me hovering around the sewing machine stands. I think I inherited this obsession from my father, who always took great pleasure in visiting the motor show at Earls Court to see the latest inventions to be found on the motor cars.

At the K & S show in London this year, I was very impressed by the stand and the work on show by the Manchester School, showing machined examples of their students and teachers. You might recall, I wanted to buy the accompanying book, but unfortunately it was so heavy I was not able to carry it home. So I have just received it from Amazon... and am absolutely thrilled with it. Its the sort of book I like, I can dip in and out a chapter at a time. Lots of interesting information. Of course it is also lovely to see one of my ex students featured in the book... wonderful.

The studio is progressing, lots of painting going on and the electrician is here this morning to wire up and give me the necessary certificate. I ordered the flooring yesterday, but they cannot fit it until Wednesday......Arghhhh.... never mind ... will give me a chance to sort out the present workroom.

BBC Wiltshire Radio and my studio

My studio is progressing very fast now, water is plumbed in and the storage units are going in. Do not think it will be long before I move in...... however today I took a day off and went to my daughters. As you know often in the holidays I work with the grandchildren on arty crafty stuff. Today it was pouring with rain, so a good day to stay in and enjoy ourselves.

Yesterday was grandsons 7th birthday ( where has the time gone?) and we had to finish off the cake as well!!

However we had a very entertaining guest come and visit us at lunchtime, Mark O'Donnell, one of the presenters on Radio Wiltshire.
He talked to us about the fact we create things together, in fact 3 generations of us and have some real family fun as well.
He happily posed with 2 of the grandchildren and a friend who came round for the day for this photo. He is also clutching a pencil case we made for him. This was today's activity. Mark is clutching one of the pencil cases we made as a present for him. He was thrilled as he has somewhere to keep the spare batteries for his radio microphone now.


First of all the drawing on plain paper, using transfer crayons and paints. We filled a whole A4 sheet of paper with art work. Every ones was different and so were very individual.

Then the designs were ironed onto synthetic velvet, and the colours shone beautiful and backed with plain calico for strength.

Then to keep the layers together, we stitched using the Willcox and Gibbs chains stitch sewing machine, and even 3 year old took a turn at stitching. Look at the speed the handle was turning.... the photo is blurred!

Then 7 year old birthday boy had a go, supervised by older sister, total concentration. I forgot to take a photo of the finished pencil cases..... sorry!

Have to say I stitched the zips in for them.

I will let you know when the interviews are broadcast... then you can listen in to hear what the children had to say.

Promises

As promised I am showing you some of the hand stitching I have been occupying my time with. It is for the Meadow Larks exhibition in Cirencester Museum next month. I am, trying to depict some of the textures found in the mud in the field and on the riverbanks and the footsteps of visiting wildlife.

This piece is to show the flowers and seeds sinking themselves into the ground ready for the next cycle of growth. This is handmade silk paper with flower heads embedded and free hand quilting by machine. I really must get this piece to the framers. I rarely frame my work, but think this one needs it. No glass though.

My large piece I have already framed, and have had it put behind glass.... I am not happy with it... and cannot photograph it now without reflections. Sometimes I do not think things through properly.

Studio action today

When I got up this morning... this is how my new studio looked.. it was very cold, but at least it is not raining outside.

Then the action started.. pretty impressive huh?

By afternoon tea break ... progress is pretty fantastic!

Studio is happening !

When I got home this afternoon from my GWE stitching group.... the electric points were in, the raised floor was finished and.............

the wall opening is ready for the bricks arrival tomorrow........the window is already stored in the other garage waiting for the wall to be built. Muscular men are on call for tomorrow to help take out the heavy metal garage door.......I'm elated!

Thanks for all your lovely comments, I am doing some hand stitching, and will show you when I have done some more.

Car shed to Studio- The transformation

This is the shed for the car.... well formerly.... its ages since we put the car in there as it was more of a storage garage. So I have cleared all the gear out of there, sold a lot of it on eBay.. like my Mum's 3 knitting machines and a spare exhaust for hubby's motorbike to name just a few items.

I am having the space transformed into a downstairs studio. Very exciting.............. but also very dusty. Builders dust seems to penetrate the whole house. Its looking wonderful and I am very excited about having my studio downstairs.

Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace

Julia Caprara 1939 to 2008, a Retrospective - was the highlight of the show at Alexandra Palace for me. It was fantastic to see her work and sketchbooks all together in one space. It was a very crowded space, but when I returned later in the day, it was calm and almost empty. I took a number of photos, and realised how much I miss her mentoring. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to catch up with Alex again.

I also enjoyed the work on display by the Wessex Textile Artists: Not Set in Stone. My artist friend Lynn Prosser is a member of this group, as is another stitchy friend Maggie Grey. Great to see so many visitors flocking to the stand to have a look at their work.

However I was very surprised and very pleased to see an ex student of mine exhibiting in the Alice Kettle and Jane McKeating: Machine Stitch Perspectives. Well done Louise Charles. Brilliantly colourful piece of work. I wanted to purchase the accompanying book, but unfortunately they did not have it in paperback, and the HB was quite heavy, and I had to consider travelling on public transport.

I had a good look around the The Global Paper Exhibition from Holland, it was in a lovely large space..... but paper really does not float my boat..... I found it hard to be very enthusiastic. It was a good display though.

I had never visited on the first day of the show before, and it was good to see lots of students visiting as well, notebooks at the ready. I only made a few purchases, which is so unlike me. Returned home very late .. 10pm... and very tired body and legs... but well worth it.

North Meadow, Cricklade

I have been working on my designs for the Meadow larks Exhibition at Cirencester in November 2010.

Here are some close up photos. It has been a long road of deliberations, and unusually I have not created much in my sketchbook yet..................!

I must get along to the meadow again soon and take some more photos before the animals leave.

If you want to know more about this ancient water meadow... click here

Stroud Today

This was my first Port of Call on my visit today, the window of the Kendrick Street Gallery. The group of whom I am a member, have their exhibition in the Gallery on the 3rd floor.... well worth climbing the stairs, as not only is the work wonderful, but the views over Stroud are pretty good too.

This is my piece of long work..... called Mekong Delta, When I was a child I flew over the Mekong Delta, and it is an image I have never forgotten, This is made of rust dyed silk and cotton, onion skin dyed fleece, and the fabric was created on the embellisher machine. Walking around Stroud, many of the shop displays have a reference to the Textile Exhibitions, and certainly there were lots of people admiring the textiles and of course shopping. Good to see.

Here are some of the lovely members of Brunel Broderers as well as a good stitching buddy Louise, who also lives locally. I promised to link to their new blog too.. so click here

(Louise)

After a lovely carrot, leek and potato soup for lunch, I visited the Subscription Rooms to see the Cork Textile Artist exhibition. Loved the quilts, thought they were wonderful.

Back to collect the car from the car park, and off to the museum in the Park, here is the view across the entrance.. just loved it.

Just loved the welcome to the Museum railings.

Gave my new camera a good work out.... so what do you think of the photos?

Stroud International Textile Festival 2010

Spent most of Thursday setting up the Losing the Thread exhibition at the Kendrick Street Gallery in Stroud, others did the finishing touches such as the labelling on Friday. So all was ready for Saturday May 1st -- official opening day of the Textile Festival. I shall go a long on different days to steward, would be lovely to see you there.

Do leave me a blog comment if you manage to get along to the Festival at Stroud.