chocolatefrog

Winter Wonderland

2012-02-07T16:46:00.001Z

Time out today, for a trip up Wharfedale while there’s still a bit of snow on the hills but the roads are passable. Glorious.

Sample Project 2012 - January

2012-02-02T11:28:00.001Z

You wouldn’t believe the number of subjects, sources and formats I’ve dithered over for this year’s weekly sample project. I couldn’t find anything that really grabbed me, and yet wouldn’t be too time consuming. In fact I was close to not bothering at all… but as January went on I realised I missed the little weekly shot of variety and challenge too much. But, it also became clear that I didn’t want to spend too long choosing (or even taking) each week’s source picture.

The bought diaries I used for the first four years were great, but I can’t find another that I like – Earth From the Air is repeating photos I’ve already used, and the remaining Taschen great artists series don’t appeal.

In the end I’ve decided to use a book I already have: Underwater Eden – 365 Days. Each week I’ll have seven photos to choose from. I’ll mount the sample on a postcard size card with a scan of the photo plus notes on the back.

Here we go then…

Week 1: Giant Sea Fan

Free machining.

Week 2: Garibaldi fish scales

Layers of sheer synthetic fabric, machine stitched with scallop pattern, soldered out.

Week 3: Crinoid

Free zigzag stitch, layering colours, on patterned cotton fabric.

Week 4: Blue spotted ribbontail stingray

Wool tops felted on embellisher.

Under the Sea

2012-01-25T20:16:00.001Z

Today sees the opening of this exhibition at Sheffield Millennium Gallery, which includes my two pieces as shown above – Sea Forms 1 (plankton) and Coral Bleaching.

“Under the Sea explores the beauty and importance of the oceans, their significance for our planet and what we as individuals can do to help protect them for the future.”

I’ve only seen photos so far but it looks great – a wide variety of contemporary art, craft and design alongside specimens and art from the museum collections. And I’m delighted to be able to take part in something with such a strong environmental education element.

BUT, the opening has been overshadowed by the announcement today of a devastating loss of funding for Museums Sheffield. According to their website, “Large scale staff redundancies, major reductions in exhibition programmes and scaled down learning provision for schools/adults are all now inevitable.”

Please take a look here and see if there’s anything you can do to help make the case for culture in Sheffield.

And of course, if at all possible do go and see the exhibition! It’s on until June, open every day, and entry’s free. There’s also a shop with related items including plankton brooches by yours truly. And a cafe. What more do you want?!

How to be inspired

2012-01-04T12:24:00.001Z

I do love my Guardian newspaper. My day isn’t complete without it; I always feel it’s such a shame my birthday is one of only two days a year (apart from Sundays) it’s never published!

Anyway it came up trumps again yesterday with a long feature on how a variety of creative people find creative inspiration – artists, musicians, dancers, playwrights etc. You can read it here.

If you haven’t got time for the whole article, these are my favourite bits from artist Polly Morgan:

• Don't wait for a good idea to come to you. Start by realising an average idea – no one has to see it. If I hadn't made the works I'm ashamed of, the ones I'm proud of wouldn't exist.

• Don't try to second-guess what people will want to buy. Successful artists have been so because they have shown people something they hadn't imagined. If buyers all knew what they wanted before it had been made, they could have made it themselves, or at least commissioned it.

• Don't be afraid to scrap all your hard work and planning and do it differently at the last minute. It's easier to hold on to an idea because you're afraid to admit you were wrong than to let it go.

OK, these might not be totally original ideas, but they’re certainly ones I need reminding of now and then!

Sample Diary–December

2012-01-02T15:16:00.001Z

This is it! The 2011 sample diary project is complete. Not quite sure whether that’s entirely a good thing… maybe getting a little OCD? But while some weeks are a real struggle, I do really enjoy looking back on the completed diaries – they’re a great resource for ideas and techniques.

Week 48 – Ice on the Vistula river. Sheer fabric and felt, embellished from the back.

Week 49 – Christmas market, Berlin. Free machine embroidery, hand embroidery, Flower Stitcher.

Week 50 – Large Hadron Collider glimpses the Higgs boson. Bonded chiffon, embellished scrim and threads.

Week 51 – Hot Snowman by Gary Hume. Thread scraps bonded with MistyFuse.

Week 52 – Stalked Barnacles, new creatures discovered at hydrothermal vents. Tubular yarn stuffed with thick wool and stranded cotton, knotted and linked.

So, time to decide about this year’s sample project – the first week is already underway! My own photos or a bought diary? Or a break, to prove I’m not hopelessly addicted? Hmm.

Happy 2012!

Here comes the sun

2011-12-22T11:33:00.001Z

Living where we do, with Ilkley Moor rising behind us to the south, there are a few weeks in winter when we don’t see the sun at all. So the solstice is definitely something to celebrate! And this is the song for it - no, not that Beatles one, but nearly as ancient (please don’t remind me exactly how old) -Jethro Tull, “Ring Out Solstice Bells”.

Wishing everyone a very happy solstice.

In Print

2011-12-14T20:16:00.001Z

For many years now, Caroline Mornement’s “Craft Galleries Guide” (BCF Books) has helped me find new galleries to visit all over the UK. A new edition has just been published – but unfortunately it’s the last. Another casualty of the Internet I suppose.

But, there was a lovely surprise when my copy arrived - I got a mention! This piece of mine, Botanica 1, is featured in the Platform Gallery’s entry.

If you order before the end of March it’s only £12.50 inc. p&p from BCF Books.

Sample Diary–November

2011-12-03T16:16:00.001Z

Not much further to go now! I was determined to post this today but the light is awful so apologies for even worse than usual photos.

Week 44 - Autumn foliage at Newstead Abbey, Notts. Dyed scrims embellished onto felt from the back.

Week 45 – Launch of the new Greenpeace Rainbow Warrior. Digitised machine embroidery. Not perfect, but you get the idea.

Week 46 – Rolled up garments, illustrating article about increased prices. Thick wool yarns applied to felt using the embellisher.

Week 47 – “Field of Light” art installation in Bath. Free machined, trailing threads fixed down with Misty Fuse.

Only one more month to do, though it’s a five week one at a busy time… thoughts turn to next year’s project? I enjoyed using bought diaries for my first four years (!) of this, it’s a good challenge to do something you wouldn’t necessarily choose plus I liked being able to look ahead and make notes for future weeks. Using newspaper pictures this year was tougher, but I doubt I can go back to a diary as there’s not much choice of suitable/appealing ones (A5-ish with an illustration for each week) that are different to the ones I’ve done already. Maybe I could take my own photo to use each week? Hmm…

Knitting and Stitching Show @ Harrogate

2011-11-25T16:19:00.001Z

It didn’t snow! No fog or rain! Unusually lucky for the annual pilgrimage to the Knitting and Stitching Show in Harrogate. I’ll never understand why the most northerly of the shows is the latest in the year, but we got away with it this time.

So, into the labyrinth… five big halls to explore, and the ways between them don’t seem to get any less confusing with practise. Eventually realised I’d managed to miss one corner, a supplier I knew was in there somewhere, but too exhausted to fight my way back through the crowds by then.

The highlights, as ever, were the Textile Gallery and the Graduate Showcase. The Textile Study Group had a polished exhibition, “Individual and Collective”, each member showing a picture of an artwork that inspired them beside their own work. But the catalogue didn’t mention these, or even include many of the works on show – I think it must’ve had to be produced too far in advance? (Know the problem, gg)

I really liked minimally stitched pieces by Pat Clayton (coast/shoreline) and Joan Lamb (dusky East Africa sky and grasses) in the Textile Expressions exhibition. Beautifully done, very evocative; sadly I can’t find any websites for them or their group.

Ten Plus Textiles also had an impressive show for their 20^th anniversary year, and I surprised myself by picking woven, not stitched, pieces as my favourites - Jane White’s painted warp. Guess what… no pics.

In the Graduate Showcase, I was delighted to see some of Diana Barrett’s degree work – I know her as a machine embroidery star, making stunning vessels and unique intensely stitched wall pieces, but she’s really branched out for her BA. Here she also had long hangings with limited areas of stitch or even none. Beautiful laser cut patterns in off-white fabric, well of course I’d love those, I always go for pieces that cast lovely shadows. Congratulations on your First, Diana, well deserved.

The other new graduate who excited me was Melanie Kay, with her stitched beer cans. She had lampshades and reconstructed embroidered cans but what really worked for me were the lacy pieces, heavily perforated with lots of punched holes. She has pics out on the web so I don’t think she’ll mind if I show one here. (I don’t take photos at these shows, it seems wrong to put pictures of other people’s work on the web if they haven’t done so themselves.)

What did I bring home? Not a lot really… it’s one of those rules, I’m always between projects when the show rolls round and then the following week I’ll be desperate for supplies I could have got so easily if I’d known. Some Razzle threads to try on the machine bobbin, dyed scrims to use on the embellisher, some green rubbery stuff to make print blocks (those starlings maybe?), the new Jan Beaney and Jean Littlejohn book (Stitch Rhythms & Patterns), lots of cards. But mostly – inspiration, a renewed determination to try harder with my own work!

Murmuration

2011-11-20T17:37:00.001Z

Isn’t that a wonderful word for a wonderful phenomenon?

This week we took a quick trip to Leighton Moss RSPB reserve to catch the spectacular sight of up to 100,000 starlings swirling over the reed beds before finally settling down to roost. It’s one of the great sights of autumn/winter in the UK, catch it if you can! This site lists some of the best places.

The constantly changing patterns painted in 3D across the sky are just stunning, different every time.

So now I’m wondering, is it possible to capture the spirit of this in stitch? I’ve had quite a few attempts at flocks of birds, using shadows to add another layer, but for these massive flocks it’d need to be on a completely different scale. Hmm… thousands of tiny black dots… not ideal for machine embroidery!

(one of my Flock pieces)

Textilia III exhibition

2011-11-15T21:57:00.001Z

Our latest show is now on at the Signature Gallery, Kendal, until the end of the year.

There’s an amazing variety of textile art, from framed pieces to jewellery and accessories. You can see machine and hand embroidery, felting, rag rugging, handmade books and mixed media. Something for everyone and lots of great Christmas gifts.

This is one of my pieces that’s included – Botanica 3. Unfortunately the gallery lighting doesn’t show it at its best, it’s meant to cast shadows as in this photo. The little motifs are made using a Flower Stitcher attachment and suspended on fine wire.

More photos on the group website here. The hanging team did a great job in tricky circumstances – the walls of this old building are far from straight, so you’ll have to excuse the slightly drunken appearance of some pieces; they’d look MUCH better on YOUR walls!

Sample Diary–October

2011-11-04T21:24:00.001Z

You won’t be surprised to hear that I got a bit behind with this month! But I’ve caught up now.

Week 40 – Graphene. New “wonder material”, a lattice of carbon atoms one atom thick.

Free machine embroidery on dissolvable fabric, with hand sewn beads.

Week 41 – T-Pylon. New design for electricity pylons.

Hand stitch on painted canvas.

Week 42 – Balloon seller in Kabul.

Bonded and machine stitched sheers.

Week 43 – Advert. for Audi winter tyres.

Strips of felt decorated with auto machine embroidery pattern; eight-strand braiding.

Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair

2011-10-24T21:14:00.001+01:00

This year (unusually) we didn’t get to Origin, so it was compulsory to go to this – the north’s nearest equivalent – yesterday. It’s going from strength to strength, lots of exciting new designer-makers and not too many of the same people each time. In fact many of the makers who were new to Origin this year were ones we’d already seen at GNCCF in 2010 so we didn’t miss too much.

As last year, one of my favourites was Catherine Fuga-Carr, who crochets glass dishes. Yes really – a very clever, unique process Delighted to hear how successful she’s been since her debut last year as a new graduate. A little example came home with me this time, gorgeous.

An exciting new discovery – Yu-Ping Lin, who makes ingenious textile jewellery. Her complex origami-like forms, made of layered, bonded and cut fabrics, can be transformed by manipulating the folds and turning them inside out.

I always enjoy Clare Lane’s striking canvases, even though urban scenes don’t usually appeal to me. Love the way her digitally simplified photos are enhanced by densely stitched areas.

Another textile artist, Caroline Kirton, takes her inspiration from teenage life.

As always, it seemed as though there were more jewellers than all other crafts put together. I’m not complaining… wonderful stuff, I can’t get enough of it. When the lottery numbers come up, it’s kinetic jewellery from Victoria Walker and Alan Ardiff for me. My favourites were a poppy seedhead ‘locket’ by Walker, which opened into a flower. Beautiful magic, and so skilled. Of Ardiff’s pendants I liked ‘new leaf’ – turn the tiny handle and the suspended leaf flips over to reveal a different coloured side.

Altogether a fabulous show, very inspiring. So much more I could write about… but why not browse the GNCCF website and see for yourself?

Oh I do like to be…

2011-10-22T16:57:00.001+01:00

…RIGHT beside the sea! This was the view from the house we stayed in for a few days this week, in Northumberland.

We had a great time exploring the coast, brilliant blue skies and “fresh” winds made for spectacular sea views. Very relaxing, just what we needed.

Came across this seat in the dunes, an unexpected textiley creation:

Driftwood, woven rope, festooned net – love it!

All over bar the tidying

2011-10-17T21:44:00.001+01:00

The inaugural Ilkley Art Trail has been a great success! Visitor numbers peaked on Sunday as the weather cooperated and word got around. Or to be fair, was put around by wonderful volunteers accosting passers-by in town. Many thanks due to Lorna and Lucia and their helpers.

The garage is once more bare, and quite a few items have gone to new homes - from brooches and cards to little thread bowls and framed pictures. But there’s a lot still to be put away. Never mind, it can wait… I’m having a well-earned break now!

Last chance to see!

2011-10-14T20:01:00.001+01:00

Once again the garage is bedecked with bunting and transformed into my own little gallery for the final weekend of the Ilkley Art Trail.

I’m showing over twenty wall pieces, a selection of my ‘soluble lace’ bowls, textile jewellery, plus cards, bookmarks, unframed pieces and more. Take a look at my website and Etsy shop to see examples of my work.

The weather looks promising, so where better for a day out than beautiful Wharfedale?

Full programme (with map) available on the Ilkley Art Trail website, or pick up a paper copy when you visit me (email if you need directions).

Hope to see you soon!

Sample Diary - September

2011-10-11T16:09:00.001+01:00

I’m a bit late with this! But even the Ilkley Art Trail can’t stop me now, when I’ve got so far through the year. Each week a little textile doodle in response to a picture from the newspaper.

Week 35 – Space junk orbiting Earth

Paint spatters and cross stitch.

Week 36 – David Hockney’s Yorkshire tree paintings

Background of embellished felt/wool fibres, free machine embroidery.

Week 37 – New Dyson “Hot” fan heater

Paperclips, hand stitch.

Week 38 – Protest against corruption in Brazilian politics

They planted hundreds of brooms on Copacabana beach! Great idea, would I have heard about it if they just had boring placards?

Free machine embroidery on soluble fabric for broom heads, zigzag covered wire for handles.

Week 39 – Proposal to raise speed limit to 80 mph

Head- and tail-lights.

Free machine embroidery.

Ilkley Art Trail: Now Open!

2011-10-08T16:54:00.000+01:00

Here’s a glimpse of my ~~garage~~ gallery!

Open 10-5 this weekend and next weekend. There are around 30 venues, all different media – take a look at the IAT website. The Literature Festival is on too, and Ilkley’s a great place for a day out anyway – glorious Wharfedale scenery and the famous Betty’s tearoom, what more could you ask?

Ilkley Art Trail–five days to go!

2011-10-02T21:59:00.001+01:00

Wow, it’s come round fast – the Ilkley Art Trail/Open Studios begins next Saturday. A first for Ilkley, and a first for me too!

When I first heard about it in the spring I thought it’d be businesses in town giving over some of their window space to artists – that’s what Art Trails often seem to mean. And there is a bit of that… but what I’ve ended up doing is turning our garage into a little temporary gallery!

Now the spiders have been evacuated (sorry guys), new lights installed, it’s all painted white inside and just about ready. The hooks are in place to hang the wall art, but being a garage, in October, I’m not leaving it all in there until next weekend.

This week ALL I’ve got to do is signs and labels, plus cards and other small bits and bobs. And work out how to display all those things, along with some of my little thread bowls and some mini framed pieces.

If you’re not too far away, how about coming along? The Trail has over 30 artists, showing paintings, prints, glass, jewellery, ceramics, wood… and several other textile and mixed media people including my friend Linda Dewart. And it’s all timed to coincide with the Ilkley Literature Festival too. What more could you want?

Recharged

2011-09-19T21:49:00.000+01:00

What a wet and windy week to pick for a break! But we dodged around the stormy weather and got out and about in the Dales and the Lakes.

It’s years since I stopped at Aysgarth (Wensleydale) for a close look at the falls… I don’t remember proper paths, and certainly not the carvings dotted around. Love this fence:
Not a good pic, sorry, but it reads “Thunderous water conquers rock – a waterfall is born”.

A spectacular visit to the Lakes too, managed to choose the best day of the week and stayed a night at the lovely Yewfield veggie B&B near Hawkshead. We had a room in the tower with wonderful views:

So now I’m all set up for the final push to the Christmas exhibitions and the first ever Ilkley Art Trail. The next few weeks are going to be frantic. It feels like however much I make, it won’t be enough, or won’t be the right thing to focus on.
I made a new batch of bowls the other week, but suddenly it’s bookmarks that are flying off the virtual shelves.

Four of these (three different designs) set off for new homes today, so I need to stitch some more fast – but which, and how many? Aaargh!

Sample Diary–August

2011-09-03T21:27:00.000+01:00

It’s that time again! Working towards several exhibitions, I wonder if I should make time for this – but I’m hooked, over half way through the year I really can’t let it slide now.

Week 31 – Restored Wrest Park garden opening to the public (the Italian Garden)

French knots. Enough French Knots to last this machine stitcher a long time.

Week 32 – Bristol International Balloon Fiesta.

Different textured yarns couched onto felt using the embellisher.

Week 33 – Heather in bloom on the North York Moors.

Yes, that’s the North York, not North Yorkshire, Moors all you southern hacks!

Dyed scrim embellished onto felt from the back.

Week 34 – “Life comes in 8.7m varieties”, 2.2m of them in the sea

Free machining on felt over Romeo.

Turned out interestingly stiff, hmmm, potential…

Dragonfly Dance

2011-08-21T20:16:00.001+01:00

This new piece is a celebration of the dragonflies that brighten our pond and garden every summer. Well, every summer until this one, it seems! Maybe it was the recent bad winters… I hope they’ll be back next year.

These dragonflies are machine embroidered, with delicate wings of Lutradur touched with silver. They float above the surface on fine wires, casting shadows that add to the dance.

Sample Diary–July

2011-08-04T21:45:00.000+01:00

Month seven, and I’m still going (just). Can’t say I’ve felt spoilt for choice of inspiring images in the newspaper – each week there seems to be just one that might work, and sometimes that’s only found by rummaging in the recycling bin!

Week 27 – Obituary of Cy Twombly.

Needle felting.

Week 28 – Thailand stock exchange.

Cross stitch. Yes really, counted cross stitch on Aida!

Week 29 – Umbrellas.

Ribbed Spider’s Web.

Week 30 – Eden Project biome.

Hand stitch with metallic thread on card.

Just realised – no machine embroidery at all! Well that’s what this exercise is all about, a bit of variety.

Blue Fingers

2011-08-01T16:47:00.000+01:00

Yes, I’ve been dyeing… how did you guess?!

With a warm day to myself this weekend I took the opportunity to play in the garden with indigo. It’s a few years since I last tried it – for me, it’s one of those things where it takes a while to forget the pain and only remember the tempting colours and patterns.

So, there’s the alchemy of the bright green turning that glorious deep deep blue, and the magic of resist patterns… and then there’s the endless rinsing, washing, cleaning up the gear, ironing. Oh yes, and unpicking the stitched resists that were so carefully secured and are now too well camouflaged (yes I should’ve used something that wouldn’t take the dye – didn’t have anything strong enough). A few minutes fun and hours of what seems way too much like housework!

But my new T is pretty spectacular, no? And I just love the arashi (pole wrapped) linen with its wavy patterns – I think that’s my fave technique, so effective but really quick and easy to do.

Of course I did dye some plain fabric, flax fibres and yarns as well – there’s always a point where I hate to waste the dye and nothing’s safe .

Now, what can I do with it all? A shame to spoil the shibori patterns with stitching…

The Evolution of the Peppered Moth

2011-07-24T20:01:00.000+01:00

Not the most dramatic of pieces, is it?!

Maybe I’m being too literal here, but I felt it had to be subtle. You see the Peppered Moth is a lovely example of natural selection. Before the Industrial Revolution, the pale variety survived best as it hid from predators on light coloured trees. When the trees were darkened by soot and pollution, the darker moths flourished as the pale ones were now more easily picked off by birds. And today, with cleaner air again, it’s the pale ones who are becoming dominant again.

So – most of my embroidered moths don’t show up much. On purpose. Perhaps not the greatest idea for a piece of art! But hey, Darwin is my hero, this idea has been driving me crazy for ages; I’ve got it out of my system now.

It’s machine embroidery on Lutradur and soluble fabrics.

Sample Diary - June

2011-07-03T14:18:00.006+01:00

A bit of a struggle to keep up this month, with five samples to do and a week away, but I’ve just finished – and that means I’ve completed half the year!

Week 22 – flooded rice fields and greenhouses. FME on black sheer over white background, zapped before adding turquoise satin stitch.Week 23 – sea slug spines. Bundles of Tencel fibres, partly zigzagged over, joined at base by embellishing.

Week 24 – St Paul’s Cathedral, renovation unveiled. Flower stitcher, several patterns and colours in one (tiny!) motif.

Week 25 – Obituary of weaver Tadek Beutlich. FME on Romeo to imitate weaving, plus grass stalk.Week 26 – Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone. Wool fibres embellished onto Lutradur 30.

Back to work

2011-06-28T21:36:00.012+01:00

Plunged straight back into textile art world this week.

Remember these?

Waiting on the doormat was their invitation to the Platform Gallery’s Lancs and Yorks Craft Open. Yay!

And today I did my stint stewarding at the Grassington Festival exhibition. Pleased to see two of my little bowls will be going to new homes. Met quite a few visitors, but also had plenty of time for a good close look at the art. It’s a mixed exhibition, but there’s a lot of textile art – two other members of Textilia III, Catherine Slater (felt) and Linda Dewart (paint and stitch), plus Gill Kirk’s free machine stitch on recycled fabrics (sorry, can’t find any links) and Agnis Smallwood’s woven and needle felted panels. This huge piece of Agnis’s is really striking:
Now I “just” have to get back into actually creating something...

(PS is this bigger text an improvement? Can't seem to alter it now anyway!)

The Isle of Skye

2011-06-27T17:11:00.012+01:00

Just back from a lovely week in Skye. Such an amazing island, wild and beautiful, we’ve been many times but it just gets harder and harder to leave… sigh.

At high tide the sea came in to a few feet from our cottage window, so the view changed all the time and we didn’t even need the binoculars to watch the herons and grebes fishing.

Glorious wildflowers everywhere, including masses of my favourite foxgloves and flag irises. Inspiring colour palettes for stitching.

Standing on top of the Quiraing (see photo) we spotted whales in the bay way below and tore off to see them a bit closer. Probably Minke – as we last saw in Antarctica! We seem to like the same places ;-)

A Blooming Marvellous Festival of Delights

2011-06-14T21:46:00.007+01:00

That’s the summery theme of this year’s Grassington Festival, and I’m delighted to be taking part in a small way.

“Artists, printers, illustrators and makers of contemporary craft from all over the country exhibit high quality work relating to botanicals and blooms.”

Yesterday I delivered these two framed pieces, plus four of my little thread bowls. They’ll be on display in the town hall from 18th June to 2nd July.

This is an amazing festival, bringing world class music, theatre, comedy, film and visual arts to the gorgeous Yorkshire Dales. Plus workshops, walks, and the bunting challenge – the longest stretch of bunting in the world (yes, an actual Guinness Record) was created last year, for the Festival’s 30th birthday!

I’m so lucky, it’s just a few miles up Wharfedale for me – but it’s well worth travelling a lot further for if you can.

Sample Diary – May

2011-06-04T14:52:00.010+01:00

Hmm… didn’t realise until now that this bunch were so dull! And the cloudy day doesn’t help when it comes to taking their photos. Never mind, it’s only a game I play with myself.

1. Wave power. Free machining. Couldn’t get the true colours to come out on this, shades of viridian, but scanner made a slightly better job than camera.2. Lightning. Free machining. Astro metallic thread failing to show its pretty variegation.3. Hepworth gallery. Bonded applique and free machining. Most fun was the gold threads across the middle – I was going to use soluble (as I do so often) but remembered just in time that I could just stitch in space! 4. Pylons. Auto and free machine stitch. A lesson in (lack of) control.

Flower Power

2011-05-25T16:07:00.011+01:00

At last all can be revealed - this is where all those bright flowery bits ended up. Two new framed pieces made with the Flower Stitcher attachment on my long-suffering Bernina.

I love little motifs like these when they’re suspended above the background and spot lit so that they cast interesting shadows, adding depth and life. So tricky to photograph though – I can never get the shadows I want without others I don’t!

Sample Diary – April

2011-05-07T17:14:00.005+01:00

Another month gone! Maybe I’ll keep this up after all… I’ve let myself off the hook a bit by deciding to work a week behind.

So here they are, April’s textile doodles, one quickie sample per week inspired by a picture in the newspaper.

1, Pennine sunset, red with Saharan dust. Felt, wool tops, embellisher.

2, Joan Miro exhibition. Free machining.
3, Wisteria. Free machining, cable stitch with pearl cotton.

4, Leaning tower of Pisa, applique and machine embroidery.

Work in progress

2011-05-02T11:51:00.003+01:00

Making dozens of these flowery bits for a new framed piece. Nothing subtle or meaningful here, I just felt like piling on the bright colours and pretty shapes, it must be this amazing spring weather. They should cast lovely shadows when I float them on wires.

He knows me so well...

2011-04-29T14:32:00.003+01:00

What if.... ?

2011-04-16T15:52:00.003+01:00

Walking through Strid Wood this morning, passed the bodger's shelter (which isn't usually deserted as in this vid - I was early). Couldn't resist pocketing a few of the beautiful wood shavings - thin and still flexible, some with bark still attached. I shouldn't be so cruel to my Bernina... but there must be something I can do with these?

Spring Sale!

2011-04-11T15:58:00.006+01:00

Time for a spring clean! I've knocked A THIRD OFF all my felted crochet jewellery, on both Etsy and Folksy (see the SALE section). Grab a bargain now, and help me find space for lots of new textiley delights.

Picture trouble (testing)

2011-04-04T21:28:00.004+01:00

Sorry, just ignore me - trying to see why Blogger didn't load my photo properly. Amongst other frustrations! Grrr. Well I did it exactly the same as last time but now it enlarges as it should. Why is Blogger such a pain? Or is it just me.

Sample Diary – March

2011-04-04T16:40:00.004+01:00

Wheat – basket stitch on machined background.

Tsunami – digitised text on base of layered scraps and FME, heat-distressed.

Cosmos – wool knops and fibres, embellisher.

Nuclear hazard – digitised embroidery.

Snowdonia – embellisher felting + FME.

I have to admit I’m struggling with this. Finding it hard to spot any pictures in the newspaper that inspire me, especially when there’s been so much bad news. The exercise isn’t about representing the main events of the year, but sometimes it seems wrong to ignore all the tragedy.

So I'm not really enjoying it and I'm not happy with the results - however much I tell myself they're only meant to be samples, not art. It's also harder than the bought diaries I've used before because I don't know what picture I'm working with until the end of the week (often after a rummage through the recycling bin, gg), and I can't look ahead and jot down ideas for pics I can see coming up.

Maybe I should let myself off the hook and stick to my favourite subject, only choosing nature/environment images? It’s only meant to be for a quick fix of fun and variety after all, not an ordeal. That's three whole months done though!

Spring at last

2011-03-22T14:40:00.004Z

It’s been a long time coming, but today really does seem like the first day of spring. Suddenly the frogs are back – overnight the pond is full of spawn, with a tangle of purring, leggy males looking for lurve!

Plus a long-awaited splash of colour from a clump of Tête-à-Tête.

And I’m stuck inside making a new website for Textilia III.

Sample Diary - February

2011-03-01T16:54:00.003Z

Latest batch of quick responses to pictures from the newspaper.

Wind-blown palm tree – hand stitch, blurred with embellisher.
Flu virus - Flower Stitcher.
Rose – reverse applique.
Coral reef – embellisher.

Shopkeeping

2011-02-25T11:58:00.003Z

Remind me, what is it I do? Weren't there supposed to be needles involved? Threads, even?
I've spent all week battling with cameras and computers. Trying to photograph work for sale or promo, without the help of any natural light whatsoever. Wrestling with the photos in PaintShopPro. And playing shopkeeper.

But, I'm now the proud owner of my very own shop! Well, the beginnings of... the shelves are still a bit bare. So that means I've got THREE shops open, with the Etsy and Folksy ones too.

Now *all* I need is some brilliant, irresistible new ideas to fill up the virtual shelves. Hmmm.

craft&design Selected

2011-02-24T20:07:00.005Z

Promotion is probably my least favourite part of what I do, but this week I’ve taken a giant step for Anne-kind – I’ve been accepted for the craft&design Selected online gallery.

Big thanks to Michael Ball of craft&design magazine who was very patient with me and my awkward pictures. Large box frames full of hundreds of tiny motifs, all casting shadows, really don’t work well when reduced to two inches – but I eventually thought of this piece that was a bit more suitable.
Click here to see my entry, or just go to New Entries where my little pic is (very briefly I expect) enjoying the limelight at the top of the page! It’s a wonderful place to find exciting work in all different crafts – I can happily browse for ages.

Machine Stitch Perspectives

2011-02-18T21:53:00.005Z

I got this book for Christmas (or birthday? Hard to tell the difference for me, gg), and I’ve just finished reading it. Yes, I actually read every word, unlike most of my textile books where the pictures are enough. And yes, since you ask - it was worth it! I’ve taken it slowly, trying to squeeze the maximum from it and resisting the temptation to skim for once.

It’s a fascinating study of the different sewing/embroidery machines, historical and modern, showing how they’ve been used both in industry and by artists. Not too much looking back though, and a bearable amount of art-speak. The main thing that comes over is the huge potential of machine embroidery as an expressive medium. Definitely not a “how-to” or project book – which makes a very refreshing change, for me.

Edited by Alice Kettle and Jane McKeating, each chapter is by a different machine stitch expert. There are really inspiring chapters exploring stitched text, mark making, textured surfaces, issues-based work etc. Michael Brennand Wood’s chapter on “random precision” expresses what I try to do in my work much better than I ever can.

It’s very much a Manchester Metropolitan University (formerly Manchester Poly) book, drawing heavily on their enviable collection of machines and archive of embroidery. So occasionally you do wonder if there are better examples elsewhere, but not too often - the book is crammed with photos of wonderful art, fashion, and samples that you’re unlikely to have seen before unless you were lucky enough to be let loose at MMU yourself!

Highly recommended. And you can see for yourself – Amazon has LOTS of the pages on its “Look Inside”.

Sample Diary – January

2011-02-06T21:13:00.003Z

So, as I mentioned earlier, each week this year I’m choosing a pic from the newspaper and making a little textile sample inspired by it. Keeping that up for a year is challenging enough, so no more rules – it’s just for fun, and variety, playing with a wider range of materials and techniques than I usually use these days.
It’s really just for me, but as I’ve nothing else to put on here just now I thought I’d show the January pieces.
These came from the partial eclipse, an endangered coral, a hot air balloon festival, and a pound shop!

My first Etsy treasury

2011-01-28T16:45:00.003Z

OK so I'm a bit slow, but I've only recently realised that anyone can create a Treasury on Etsy now -I did try before but they were strictly limited and I never got close.

So to mark the second anniversary of our amazing Antarctica adventure, I've made a Treasury called "Antarctic Dreaming".

Now, if only I knew how to show a preview of it here... you'll just have to take a look. Go on, it's pretty cool (sorry):
Treasury

Water’s Edge Bowl

2011-01-24T16:19:00.001Z

At last, I’ve added a new bowl design to my collection. This one is meant to evoke the margins of a lake or pond in summer, with impressions of bulrushes, flag irises, cotton grass and forget-me-nots amongst rushes and grasses.

Like my Meadow, Country Garden and Hedgerow bowls, it’s constructed entirely of thread – free machined on soluble fabric.

I’ve made three so far, and the first one is in my Etsy shop. But now I’m wondering (a little late, I know), do those plants have the same names in other countries? My description might make no sense at all to someone who’s not in the UK! Hmm, bit of research needed.

Loose Ends

2011-01-11T11:54:00.005Z

January. A time for tidying up the loose ends of the old year. Filing, accounting, yawn… And all the unsold work is returning from Xmas exhibitions – help, where can I put it all?!
But I’m really pleased with my sales at Platform, Signature and Craven. Online sales picked up nicely in December too, but I know I need to try harder with my virtual shops – that’s one thing to focus on in 2011.

Happy New Year!

2010-12-29T14:28:00.005Z

(Oil rig, Qatar; Iraqi tank graveyard; trees amongst karst pillars in Madagascar.)

As another year ends, so does another sample diary. This is something I’ve done for four years now – I get a large diary with a picture per week and then each week I make a little textile sample inspired by the picture and stick it in. They don’t all work, but it makes a lovely bulgy book to look back through.

(Indian marble quarry; boats in Nile clogged with water hyacinths.)

I started with a cheap leftover Rothko diary – quite a challenge. The following year it was Van Gogh – more variety. Painters worked well, plus I must surely have learned a bit about their art along the way? Then I did an Earth From the Air diary of aerial photos, which was much more difficult at first, but in the end I loved it so much I went on to do another one this year.

I don’t do this for anyone else to see, but I’ve scanned a few examples here just to show what I’m on about. And maybe spread the idea?

(Shadows of camel caravan, Niger desert; the Eye of the Maldives.)

I don’t want to copy the pictures – all I aim for is a little sample inspired or suggested by the picture (or sometimes the accompanying words), using whatever I’ve got to hand. For me it’s a valuable exercise in quickly responding, completing and moving on – not endlessly reworking in search of perfection. But it could work with any rules or none, depending on what you need or want to achieve.

It’s also a great chance to have fun with techniques and materials I don’t use much in my everyday work. So as well as machine embroidery, there’s hand stitching, embellisher, appliqué, etc.

(Autumn trees, Quebec; Sao Paulo apartment windows; dugout canoes in Mali.)

The big problem now is, I can’t find any diary that appeals for 2011. But I can't stop, this is addictive. Going to have to do something radical. I’ve decided to take a picture from the newspaper each week instead… hmm, could be a challenge too far?!

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-23T15:56:00.003Z

How's that for Christmassy - one of our photos from Antarctica in 2009.
Wishing everyone a lovely relaxing break, whatever you're doing.

Wharfedale Winter Wonderland

2010-11-27T10:07:00.003Z

Barely an inch of the white stuff, but our view up Wharfedale is magically transformed.

Knitting and Stitching Show

2010-11-26T21:34:00.007Z

Nothing stops me getting to this show in Harrogate - though the weather had a pretty good try yesterday. I did think about turning round as the world turned white, but reckoned it wouldn't last and luckily I was right. It's mad having the most northerly K&S show at the wintriest time, this is the handiest one for most of the UK yet they leave it til late November when it's either freezing or foggy if not snowing. I bet visitor numbers are down this year, I feel sorry for all the stitchers from Scotland and the NE who won't manage it.

Enjoyed it as usual... well maybe not quite as much as I used to, but after ooh, 18 years or so it's not surprising if it gets a bit samey? One day didn't used to be enough but this time I didn't need to linger long.

I always ask myself, which piece would I take home, if money and space were no object? This time I think one of Clyde Olliver's hand stitched slate "Strip" pieces. Like a curvy spine comprised of graduated slates with simple zigzag hand stitches up the centre. Two of my favourite things, embroidery and geology, combined - irresistible.

In the Graduate Showcase, it was Brenda Parsons' "paper lace" that stood out for me. Handmade paper, machine stitched then washed so it disintegrated into a delicate holey fabric. No colour, just the purity of the creamy paper, in small 3D corsage/sculptural forms as well as huge floaty hangings.
One thing that really struck me was how many of the artists used frames without glass, and often raised the work off the background with hidden blocks underneath. It always seems a shame to shut textiles behind glass, but in my experience most buyers seem to prefer them protected?

As for shopping, it's always the same - so much temptation, gorgeous materials and essentials I can't buy locally, but it's NEXT week I'll realise what I really should have bought. I did get some lovely space dyed perle threads (to use on the machine bobbin), wool roving and bamboo fibres (for the embellisher), things that are hard to choose by mail order. And the new "Stitchscapes" book by Beaney and Littlejohn - packed with gorgeous big colour photos, plus techniques and sizes (yay!) for each piece so you can really understand them.

Overall I'd say inspiring, but not awe-inspiring. Fired up to get on with my own work... until I get stuck for something absolutely vital I could've got so easily at the show!

Stocking up

2010-11-14T19:35:00.001Z

The online shops that is, not my Christmas stocking - not quite yet.

Spent some time photographing and uploading art and jewellery and bowls to Etsy and Folksy. And it did pay off, as I made two sales this weekend! But I really don't enjoy the photography bit, so hard to get true colours especially with it being so shady here on the north facing valley side. My problems may be over though, as I finally gave in and bought a photo lighting set from here. We've been trying it out this weekend and it's unbelievable value, really good quality. Only trouble is it's still me behind the camera and I'd still rather be stitching...

Exhibitions, exhibitions, exhibitions!

2010-11-07T19:11:00.005Z

Not as much to blog about as I hoped recently - I managed (only just) a stint stewarding at Contemporary Craven Christmas in Skipton, and then succumbed to a nasty bug and missed the opening of Textilia's third exhibition this year at the Signature Gallery in Kendal. I did make it to the opening of the Platform Gallery's Christmas show, "Kaleidoscope", in Clitheroe yesterday though - and that's well worth seeing. I've got five "shadow play" pieces in there, and some little ones in the shop area as well. Shoal (above) sold quickly, but I'm making another - might even try gold fish (!) this time for a change?
Temptations at Platform include James Lethbridge's gorgeous clear glass sculptural forms (below) and wooden automata by Susan R Evans (I think) - one incredibly detailed one in natural shades of wood was a woman scuba diving, hair floating out around her. When you turn the handle the diver, seaweed fronds and fishes all move around. Reminded me of Kate Humble! Extra little creatures, octopus, jelly fish etc amongst the workings. I don't usually go for automata, but this was great fun, sorry I can't find any photos.

GNCF

2010-10-25T14:03:00.006+01:00

A rare trip to Manchester yesterday, for the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair - an Origin for the north (in need of an equally snappy name?).
It's definitely getting more comparable with Origin, in size as well as quality, which is fantastic for those of use who live far from London and/or hate going there. Only complaint - the catering was unexpectedly dire, having been fine last year. No lunch for us veggies. Mind you Origin in Spitalfields wasn't good on that score either.

Too much lovely stuff to mention, but the pic above shows something new to me - Catherine Carr's crocheted glass bowl. Yes, she actually crochets glass fibre, then skillfully fuses and shapes it in a kiln.

Three out of Three

2010-10-22T11:58:00.003+01:00

Last batch of work for Christmas exhibitions delivered yesterday, for "Kaleidoscope" at the Platform Gallery (Clitheroe, Lancs.). This time it's all framed pieces, continuing my fascination for multiple small shape floating above the background to cast shadows. The pic below shows a close up of my favourite new design - a mass of tiny butterflies hand cut from an old plant catalogue. More pics on my website in the Shadow Play gallery.

This week also saw the opening of the Craven Contemporary Christmas exhibition in Skipton, with a packed private view on Wednesday evening. This is a different one for me as it includes paintings as well as so-called "crafts" such as textiles, jewellery and ceramics. Hmmm... they're all art and they're all craft to me, any distinction seems false. Looking forward to having plenty of time for a close look when I do my stints on the stewarding rota.

Two down, one to go

2010-10-15T21:51:00.003+01:00

Yesterday I delivered a box of goodies for the Contemporary Craven Christmas exhibition, which opens next week in Skipton. Is anyone really thinking about Christmas shopping in the middle of October?!
Lots of felted crochet corsages and necklaces (all new designs – must get some in my shops too), embossed velvet brooches, and a few mini soluble lace bowls. Struggling to get any photos though, the light here is awful – it’ll be a bit brighter when all the trees lose their leaves, but that’s not something I really want to hurry up.

Here we go again

2010-10-08T17:17:00.005+01:00

Another deadline met! To twist a neat line I heard somewhere, I really DON’T like the swooshing noise deadlines make as they fly past – I’ll do anything I can to avoid hearing that. Usually that means being realistic about what can be done in the time, and not leaving everything til the last minute – you never know what’ll crop up to get in the way. Easier said than done, of course…
It’s the third Textilia III exhibition of this year, not opening til the end of the month but hand in day is tomorrow.

Unfortunately we’ve lost a few members recently, some at rather short notice wrt this exhibition – can’t be helped, people’s priorities change, but it does make everything harder for the rest of us. On the plus side though - more wall space each!

The pics show some of the work I’m submitting – don’t know how much of it will get hung, that depends how much we end up with altogether. There’s lots of 3D/gifty stuff too, but I haven’t got photos of all that yet.

Origin

2010-09-28T16:36:00.010+01:00

If you haven't heard, Origin is the UK Crafts Council's annual London craft fair. Mainly UK makers but also some from other countries. We live 200 miles away and loathe going to London but we've been making the trip for, ooh, 20 years? Something like that. Another different venue this year, Old Spitalfields Market, and best of all - we only had to go once to see everything! It's always been split over two weeks before, which is a total pain when it takes so much longer to get there than to go round the show.

There's never all that much embroidery, but I enjoy all the other crafts - especially non-precious jewellery, felt, glass, ceramics and paper. I'd seen a lot of the makers before, but it's still great to see their latest work. Old favourites? Linda Miller's pictures always so bright and happy, Rachel Gornall's patterns of cut out circles and hand stitch on hand dyed, layered organzas, Jane Adam's dyed and etched aluminium jewellery, Sarah Morpeth's intricate cut paper booklets, Jeung-Hwa Park's felted scarves with amazing "bubbles" of woven fabric, Debbie Smyth's thread/pin paintings of pylons and shopping trollies, James Lethbridge sculptural glass like plankton, Sarah Morpeth's paper cuts .... the list goes on and on, it's just heaven.

JOANNE TINKER

New favourites this year included Clare Brewster's detailed birds cut from maps, especially pieces using whole maps; Joanne Tinker's frames full of hundreds of tiny goblets or domes made from chocolate foils (bet she's popular when she's making new work!), Wycliffe Stutchbury's wall pieces made of tiny shingles of reclaimed wood (very textiley). And too many more to mention - got my own deadlines to worry about!

WYCLIFFE STUTCHBURY

I was very good, didn't buy much at all - just a couple of Sarah Morpeth's booklets, a mini bowl by Timea Sideo, and a gorgeous purple bubbly felt scarf by Jeung-Hwa park that I'm not going to see again til christmas! No (affordable) jewellery quite hit the spot - Michael Berg's stunning kinetic rings will have to wait til the lottery numbers come up! But it's a real treat for the senses, and so inspiring to see and talk to all these talented, original makers. Definitely a highlight of my year.

Find links to all the exhibitors on the Origin site.

Looking, not doing

2010-09-28T09:21:00.004+01:00

Taken time out from my own productions this last week to enjoy other people's. First there was David Nash at Yorkshire Sculpture Park - monumental sculptures in wood.

The scale of this work is breathtaking, and I love the way he works with rather than against the wood, exploiting its natural character and allowing it to crack and change colour as it ages. A vast book form in charred beech and rusted steel was one of my favourites, also the many huge totem-like columns decorated with clever patterns of cuts, and domes comprising lots of little stumps like crowds of people. A wooden "boulder" had been pushed into a stream and filmed from time to time as it travelled to the sea over 25 years - looking so rocky when still, it was strange to then see it floating off!

Then a trip round the Yorkshire Dales included a peek at real Wensleydale cheese being made. Back breaking work . Of course samples had to be brought home, it'd be rude not to wouldn't it? Delicious.

All sorts of variations these days...not sure where mango and papaya grow in these parts though.

But Saturday was the highlight - the annual trip to London for Origin. This is going to get a bit long - I'll do a separate post.

Out and About

2010-08-15T15:42:00.003+01:00

Took a few more of these to the Platform Gallery this week. The current exhibition there is Precious, all work "produced from objects which have had a previous life" - in a word, recycling. I really loved Pamela Schilderman's 'Punctum' - vast drifts of punched paper circles (the tiny ones from an ordinary paper punch), strung on monofilament. Just my sort of thing, in fact I have tried (of course I have, gg) stitching those little circles myself, but even I haven't got the patience to take it as far as Pamela has. Wonderful.

And yesterday it was Art in the Pen at Skipton, an art and craft fair in a cattle market (yes it does smell, a bit). Strangely there was a panel discussion about the merits of art fairs in the afternoon, featuring Michael Brennand Wood with a London art critic and a Manchester art fair organiser. Interesting stuff, but they were from a different world - Origin, Collect and Frieze haven't much in common with Art in the Pen. For me this fair doesn't quite work - there's no atmosphere (maybe because it's too small for the building?) and no selection, so standards are variable.

In my own studio the experiments continue - mini thread bowls, felted crochet corsages and new ideas for shadow play pieces. I ordered (and received) a batch of custom box frames too, so I've no excuses for not getting on with those pieces now!

Differing Viewpoints

2010-08-08T14:01:00.003+01:00

The new Textilia III exhibition opened yesterday in Halifax (details on the website). We had a lovely opening, thanks to Karen Lewis and Joan Tillotson of Calderdale MBC, as well as Rachel, Jane and Margaret of Textilia III who did all the hard work. All I had to do this time was hand over my work - four framed pieces and five little bowls, all on my Antarctic theme. I took a few pics for the group website but they're not great as there were a lot of reflections.

Apart from that I'm still putting together ideas for the christmas shows. Inspired by a custom request on Etsy (thanks Nia!) I made a batch of embossed velvet brooches. And remembered how much I love those - when they work that is, lots don't get past quality control! I think they'll be great for one of the shows.

Still on textile jewellery (something of an obsession), I'm also designing new felted crochet corsages and possibly necklaces too. A lot of trial and error here - I made some real horrors! But maybe some promising ones as well? We'll see.

Happy Yorkshire Day!

2010-08-01T22:03:00.002+01:00

I can never remember why it's 1st August, but I'm happy to celebrate Yorkshire any day. And where better than where we live - On Ilkla Moor (b'aht 'at)! Well almost - just below the actual moor.

Today my new website went live - it's now on both annehoneyman.co.uk and annehoneyman.com - I've got the annehoneyman addresses all "sewn up" (groan).

Stitch-wise, I've been experimenting with new shapes and new materials for my "shadow play" (see website!) series. Nothing quite ready to take forward yet - let's just say I'm narrowing down the possibilities :-(

I've also thrown out, yes THROWN OUT, lots of my old embroidered art from pre-City and Guilds days. Well it was never going to see the light of day again, no point having it stuck in a cupboard - and I really really need the space. To make it easier to let them go, I took photos of the pieces I quite liked, and even cut (!) pieces from some of them too. Then I stuck/stitched these onto postcards to add to my shoe-box collection of samples. Nice to have little reminders. Any spare samples that don't belong anywhere else get added to the box (box 3 now, in fact) and it makes a great resource to flick through for inspiration... or just to see how I got here!

Webbed Feat (sorry...)

2010-07-25T21:01:00.009+01:00

A whole week without anything stitchy at all! But my new website is almost complete. Just one set of images left to add.

I've gone for a simple, subtle grey theme - the pic above (from one of my 'Flock' pieces) is my banner. My links collection is bigger than ever, with lots more textile artists and suppliers added - only ones I personally find interesting or useful in some way, I don't swap links. Really useful for me, and hopefully for other textiley people too.

IF I'm feeling brave this coming week I'll redirect my main URL (www.annehoneyman.com) to the new site, but if you want a preview just click here: www.annehoneyman.co.uk

Christmas is coming!

2010-07-18T16:19:00.003+01:00

Not a lot of actual stitching this week I'm afraid. But I have been planning what I need to make next, and realising it's time to focus on christmas exhibitions. Less than three months before I have to deliver. Aargh, where has the time gone?

Also writing up the Antarctica pieces I finished last week. I know it sounds really boring (well, that's because it is) but I always keep notes of materials, techniques, measurements etc., plus reasons for my choices and ideas for the future. It'd be much more tedious to have to re-invent the wheel over and over again - saves a lot of time when I want to do something similar. Was it Lutradur 70 or 100, how did I finally manage to transfer the design? It's all there, along with photos and samples.

More exciting, I've been creating a new website to replace my tired old one. Not quite ready yet, but I'm really pleased with how quickly and easily it's coming together.

Deadline

2010-07-11T17:04:00.006+01:00

Yesss!!! BIG tick - handed in all my work for the Textilia III exhibition yesterday. The show's called "Differing Viewpoints", and it's at the Piece Hall in Halifax from 7th August (details on Textilia III website).

I made four framed pieces, Antarctica-inspired but not literal, in a limited palette of white and blue; I hope they look like a coherent body of work. They're all "extreme machine embroidery", using smashed china, plastic, wire and soluble fabric (yes my Bernina hates me). I'm not going to show them properly until the exhibition's up, but here's a taster:

I also made five little "Ice Melt" thread bowls:

Orkney v. Antarctica

2010-07-03T21:31:00.009+01:00

Skara Brae

The other week I was in Orkney, and I've been going through the photos again - so much inspiration for textile art! The stunning Neolithic monuments of Skara Brae, Maeshowe, Stenness and Brodgar - places I've always wanted to see that definitely didn't disappoint. And the fascinating geology exposed along the coast, such as Yesnaby's subtly patterned rocks laid down in Lake Orcadie some 400my ago.

But... no time for that just now, as I've still got work to finish for the next Textilia III exhibition and it's due in next week. This is continuing my Antarctica theme - something I'm finding really difficult. The expedition to Antarctica last year was absolutely wonderful, but it's left me feeling a bit frustrated and inadequate. I'm burning to highlight both the beauty and the environmental issues of that incredible continent, but finding it impossible to do it justice. I have made quite a few pieces, but I'm only scratching the surface - hopefully something more powerful will emerge eventually?

If you can't beat them...

2010-07-01T13:37:00.004+01:00

Hello Blogosphere! Here I am at last. Not a natural blogger, I've resisted as long as possible, preferring chat groups to solo spots. But the time has come... or quite possibly, it's passed and blogging will die out from the day I finally join in.

Why now? Well like anyone working at home alone, I'm constantly fighting distraction and procrastination. I've realised (a bit late, I know) an online diary might help by prodding me to achieve more, just to have something to write about and pictures to show. It's also a way of making my work more visible - for constructive feedback, and maybe more exhibiting and selling opportunities.

There, I've done it. The first baby step. Watch this space!