working towards our exhibition

I have been very busy working towards our exhibition 'Art & Soul' which will be held at Samlesbury Hall 2nd July to 1st September this year-more details to follow.

I am also attempting to make some items for The Skirmish Weekend held at at the end of August at Samlesbury Hall & spent all yesterday making brooches to attach to knitted capes for me & Caroline to wear, as we have to dress in Medieval clothing whilst manning the stall.

The brooches seem to be working, made with encaustic waxed grunge paper- but the hat pins which fix them together are causing me headaches, as the beads at the end keep sliding off, obviously the glue is not doing its job!!!

looking good -pinned to cape

Top one still be clamped!!!

Hopefully I will sort this out & maybe try a different glue- I will not be defeated!!!

Either way I am pleased with the end results & will continue to make some more encaustic jewellery for the exhibition as well.

I should really clean the bedrooms & bathroom, however there is always another day???

Full Diary

Just gone through my diary for 2015-I still use a paper diary!!! Most of April & May are booked up & June's looking like heading that way too.

I know I hate being bored, but I think I may have to calm down- getting a little old now!

I have three craft fairs booked, with a possibility of a fourth, loads to do but I do love them. I am looking forward to the Skirmish weekend at end of August at Samlesbury Hall. We have to don medieval  outfits & dress the stall accordingly- I have already knitted two capes, one for me & one for Caroline, which I will fasten with an encaustic brooch thingy (yet to be developed) & may do a third one for sale.

Pictures will follow when I have completed the task-

I have dyed a dust sheet olive green ready to make a dress- so good to go.

I have a workshop planned at Avant (see previous posting) & a small one planned for The Art House, Southport on 23rd May - this has been arranged as an off shoot to an Embroiderers Guild event which is now not going ahead- we will be making encaustic jewellery. (details will follow)

The workshop planned for Alston Hall 6th May does not seem to be coming off, due to lack of interest so far- I think the cost is putting people off- however you never know???

I have a holiday planned for end of May, numerous Natural Progression & Embroiderers Guild workshops & bits & pieces during the year.

Who says retirement is relaxing????

New workshop 19th May 2015(new date)

I am running a workshop 'Design to Stitch' at Avant Garden Centre, Wigan Road, Leyland PR25 5XW T 01772 433777 -  on Tuesday 19th May(AMENDED DATE) 10.00am to 4.00pm- The cost is £35.00 which includes a light lunch & refreshments during the day.

The aim of this workshop is to take away the fear of design & the cries of "But I don't know where to Start!" We will work through the processes involved in creating a piece of work based solely on your own initial idea. We will use different mediums to interpret those ideas eg sketching etc, we will then think about what textile techniques would work best & how to start and proceed.

Please contact Avant for the requirement list and to book your place.

Pages taken from my input into travelling books at parbold Embroiderers Guild.

workshop experimenting with New Techniques- 4th March

The workshop was very hectic, with possibly too much content- however the students coped well & produced some great samples as below;

 distressing painted kunin felt

all working very hard

Marcia transfer painting

At the ironing stage already????

Jolly little band-missing Val who had to leave early

Kathy at work

painted bondaweb onto kunin felt- very sone/brick like

light molding paste applied to weed suppressor - ready to be painted & zapped

Brusho'd pieces

painted bondaweb on felt

now distressed lutradur added

painted tyvek, stitched & distressed

transfer printed poly fabric

light molding paste applied through stencil & painted with Koh-i-noor -nearly ready for zapping

As you can see some lovely pieces, which the ladies can work on or develop.
Just finished putting all the stuff away- I think it will be some time before I do another full on mixed media workshop- maybe something using less materials is in order???

Turkey

Just back from Turkey. A great week looking at the highlights of the Aegean Coast- we visited Pergamon, Troy, Didyma, Milet and Priene. With Ephesus being the main feature- fantastic sights & plenty of photo opportunites.

Unfortunately Turkey was experiencing their coldest & wettest Winter ever, with temperatures not over 5 deg C most days- freezing & windy, so no suntan!!!

I was asked whether I was a rock expert, as I spent most of the time taking close ups of the patterns, colours & texture of stones. I think being told that I was a textile artist came as a bit of a shock to the poor man!!!

Anyway, atleast I have plenty of inspiration for the future.

giant cotton reels!

plants will grow anywhere

fantastic carvings

Stone carving from an Islamic Mosque-Isabey Mosque at Selcuk

                                Beautiful patterns on marble slabs at Temple of Artemis-Ephesus

I managed to escape the jewellery & leather outlets, but surcomed to the carpet factory- a very interesting weaving corporation- so John bought me a lovely wool on cotton  rug for the living room.

wool on wool carpet being finished

Examples of some of the carpets displayed on the walls.

winding the raw silk

The most expensive carpets are silk on silk, with wool on cotton & wool on wool as being cheaper.
Some of the silk carpets take 18 months to weave, hence the heavy price!

Hopefully my rug will last years & my Daughter will benefit from it when its passed on- not yet though!!!

'Stitched Collage' Workshop with Anne Brooke

We had a great workshop at Parbold Embroiderers Guild on Saturday. 14 students who all thoroughly enjoyed the day.

Anne is a very good tutor who structures the day well, with no pressure or fuss. The result is a brilliant eclectic mix of work, using her basic techniques, but with individual twists.

I tried to utilise work by Robert Rauschenberg an artist who concentrates on collage. He incorporates 3 dimensional objects which are often dripping in paint. This piece will hopefully be used in our exhibition Art & Soul at Samlesbury Hall in July.

I think I need to do quite a bit more work on the piece before I am satisfied. However its a good start!!

Here are some photos from the day.

my work-not sure of title yet???? I have now added more stitch
 & some buttons

Sandra Kedzlie's work

The Rabbit ones is Caroline's

Sue Abbotts work

Nicky Robertson's work against her sketches

Experimenting with New Techniques

I am running a new workshop on Wednesday 4th March10.00am to 4.00pm at Avant Garden Centre 'Experimenting with New Techniques'

We will be using Kunin felt, Lutrador, Bondaweb, Transfer Dyeing onto fabric, Brusho painting etc etc. The aim is to use mixed media to produce textile surfaces, which can be used to make bags, book covers, jewellery & so on.

The joy of mixed media is the unexpected, by making happy (or not) mistakes you can produce exciting and unique fabrics.

Booking is essential & you will need to contact Avant Garden Centre, Wigan Road, Leyland, Lancashire PR25 5XW Tel 01772 433777 for a requirement list.

The cost will be £35.00, which includes a light lunch, refreshments & the use of some basic materials. However there may be a small additional charge for any additional items used on the day.

Book now for a day of fun & play.

Pelmet Vilene with mixed media(encrusted look)

Vessel in heavy weight Lutrador (distressed & rusted look)

close up of vessel

close up of encrusted surface

Brusho surface on fabric which has been hand stitched to distort-later made into a bag which has been sold.