Hardingham Christmas Challenge and other stuff

I still haven't finished my bag from the last post but its all cut out. I seem to have a mental block when it comes to bags but will get it done over the Christmas holidays. Next June our textile group has been asked to display our work in an exhibition at Wymondham Arts Centre called Textiles with Attitude and other textile artists will be there. I'm really looking forward to this and may base my work around a theme yet to be decided. I may go along the nature route as I love plants and really enjoyed making my plant pot shown below. Another idea is Tudor costume as one of our projects next year is inspired by Tudor so I'm getting some books from the library and will do some experiments over Christmas so should have decided by the new year.

I have been busy though with various other projects including our yearly Christmas challenge which this year is called 'The Year Turns' and had to include circles. I decided to base mine on the 4 seasons and include lots of Dorset Buttons with a large button done on a hoop for a base.

 

Our last project was inspired by gardens and I wanted to do something 3D rather than a wall hanging so decided to make a plant in a pot. I had more or less decided what to do before going to the Knitting and Stitching Show but then after seeing Lyndsay Taylor's work it make up my mind and I made a pansy in a pot. Her work is pure fantasy which I love. I think it came out well even though it took ages as all the flowers were made on silk and water dissolvable fabric then wired. The leaves were silk dupion and also wired.

 

 

I finially finished my original coral reef practice piece and will get it framed at some point.

 

 

Other small pieces are a winter box, bookmarks and mobile phone cases. In October we had a workshop with Jane Clark on Indian inspiration and as I love a bit of 'bling' I got inspired. I have also started on a large wallhanging based on this which will be a long term project.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hardingham Group next project.

I am going to try and post more often now that the exhibition is over and thought I would share the design ideas for my next project. We are doing interpretation of an artist and my first thoughts were a framed piece on Monet but that really has been done to death so had a rethink.

Next I considered making a bag as I haven't made one for a while and was initially drawn to Klimt as I do like a bit of bling and this is still a consideration but have been drawn to a painting by Dante Gabriel Rossetti who was a member of the Pre-Raphelites.

There was a drama about the Pre-Raphelites on TV a while ago with Aidan Turner playing Rossetti and he is so gorgeous this may have influenced me slightly. He is probably better known for his role in Being Human in which he plays a vampire and recently as a dwarf in the Hobbit.

However we digress. The painting I intend to base my bag on is The Day Dream 1880 which shows William Morris's wife who he was in love with.

 

Not sure how I am going to to do it yet but thought I would use green silk dupion with some trailing rouleaux and leaves. I highly recommend Embroidered Originals by Sue Rangeley which features some beautiful bags with flowers. More to follow on this project.

Hardingham Textile Exhibition 2013 part 2

Above photos of our endless seascape

Dyed and free machined scarves

Pieces donated by members and sold for group funds

Christmas challenge

Metal work

Manipulated fabric and other work

Hardingham Textile Exhibition 2013

It is the last day of the Hardingham Textile Group's exhibition today and has been rather an exhausting week with setting up and stewarding and I'll be glad to get back to normal next week. Some of the exhibits are shown below.

A selection of my work apart from the poppy box which is Steph's

Lynn's lovely metal piece which wasn't for sale which is a pity.

The preview evening

Setting up the goldwork

Etui boxes

Stitching on felt

More stitching on felt

City and Guilds final piece mounted

Finally finished my City and Guilds Level 2 and was fortunate enough to get a distinction with my final project being my large coral reef picture. It turned out to be more purple than I imagined with more of the mount showing than I wanted but I like purple so no harm done. There are many techniques used including heating lots of chiffon, Tyvek, Lutradur and 3D medium with a heat gun as well as hand stitching and beading.

I have extended this work into different colours mounted on a canvas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Textile Exhibition

Come along and see our textile exhibition which is held every year alongside the local art group. Lots to see and buy at great prices.

I'll be posting photos from the exhibition just in case you miss it.

Inspired by the sea

Since starting my coral project I have really got inspired by the sea, well more under the sea than the sea itself. I have always loved coral reefs because of their colour and diversity of life and they lend themselves to textiles because of their amazing colours and textures.

I have also been finishing off a seascape as following on from our endless landscape at last years Hardingham Textile Exhibition this year we are doing an endless seascape and I've just finished mine which will be displayed alongside all the others at this years exhibition. We were given the measurements and colours where they have to meet at the edge but can do anything in the middle.

 

I also went a little Dali-esque and did a sea vessel and I'm sure it shows what a warped mind I have.

 

 

I enjoy manipulating fabric to add texture and decided to make a shell shaped manipulated fabric picture using fabrics, leather, beads and stitch.

 

 

I enjoyed making my purple coral reef so much I wanted to see if it would be workable in other colours and shapes. As my original piece is costing over £100 to frame using museum glass I wanted to try putting one on a canvas to make it more affordable and the result is below. Think I might make a box with a reef on the top next.

 

 

 

 

City and Guilds work

The course is going well and keeping me really busy but such good fun. I love a bit of bling so got quite hooked on making a book with metal experiments in which I intend to fill when I get time but just a small selection shown below.

 

 

 

 

 

For my second project I decided to make a coral reef as they are so beautiful because of the colours and textures. I did some experiments in a sketchbook on trying to make different sorts of corals and instead of making the work a multitude of colours decided to use my favourtites of purple, turquoise and jade. I made a trial piece which I quite liked which is below.

 

 

As our finished piece has to be A3 I made a wet felted background as before and started working on it by putting on layers of organza, machine sewing and adding coral pieces I had made.

 

 

 

However I wasn't really happy with it but wasn't sure why so I asked my Jane to take a look and she thought it looked out of proportion and rather flat and suggested I cut off a corner and build up layers of texture. After waking up at 2.30 am that night thinking about ways to improve it I spent the next 5 days on and off working on it. The result is below.

 

 

 

 

 

First post of the year

Wow, doesn't time fly and hadn't realised how neglected my blog has been but I have a good excuse.

Last year I put my name down for a level 2 City and Guilds in Creative Textiles taking place in Dereham at the Gallery but as I was a little late all the places were taken. However after it had been going a month someone dropped out and I was offered the place but being a month behind I had loads of work to catch up on.

The course is run by Jane Clark who is enthusiastic and an inspiration but a hard taskmaster and consequently I have already turned out 2 ring binders of samples, an A3 design file, and a 3D piece with sketchbook and backing work so you can see I have been busy.

I'm also heavily involved in a textile group as well as Trypstitch which is a group of 3 of us as an offshoot from this so haven't actually produced much finished work.

The only completed work done this year is shown below.

 

This is my 3D object inspired by a tree with the small practice model next to it. It is a little weird but that's Ok with me and I am pleased with the overall result.

 

 

This is a piece of manipulated fabric that I completed with my textile group

 

 

We had a workshop where I showed some of the ladies how to wet felt and make the backgroud for this piece which I have since stitched on.

 

 

Just one of my samples of stuffed quilting made from silk appliqued leaves and hand dyes silk velvet grapes.

 

My next piece is a wallhanging which I am going to base on a coral reef so am busy experimenting with techniques so watch this space.