Sketchbooks part 2

These sketchbooks are a bit bigger than the last ones I made. I went a bit rogue here and used rather bold colours for the cover and all kinds of paper, like old calenders and other kinds of reused materials. I love bookbinding in this free way, and I think the outcome is fun and unusual.

the making of:

Sissinghurst Castle Tower memory

I find my memories to be a great inspiration for making textile art. In 2009 my family and I visited Sissinghurst Castle with its wonderful gardens and tower, once home to writer Vita Sackville-West. In the tower, you can visit her workspace, which is such an inspirational room. There, I spotted this quote, that has been dear to me ever since : "Today is the tomorrow we worried about yesterday, and all is well." 

I wanted to make a piece as a reminder of all the lovely outings we have had as a family, and this particular day stood out as an ideal focus point.

The base fabric is composed of a lot of small pieces, old crocheted pieces, with lots of fraying edges. I used machine embroidery and hand-stitching for the castle and wall. I added some appliqué and a lot of colour with ecoline paint.

The vibrant colours of the piece reflect how I remember this day : happily!

The pieces of fabric I created, to sew together into a backing fabric with lots of interesting texture (this is a technique I learned during the workshop I did with Ruth Norburry) :

Europe burns '22

The summer of '22 was extremely hot in Europe and I often find myself worrying about the state of our environment. That anxiety I felt and the workshop I did with Natalya Khorover were the inspiration for this piece. It's a textile collage with embroidery, for which I used some pieces of recycled sari, which give the work its vibrant colours. The stitched words are part of a lullaby ("Goodnight my angel, close your eyes. And save these questions for another day"). Whether to see the words as soothing or as cynical does depend on the mood I'm in, I guess.  

Exposition ahead!

Excited to announce some of my work will be on show at the annual exposition of Kunstcollectief Ysengrin, from 11 to 13 November in Belsele (see the flyer below)!

I’m really glad of the opportunity to exhibit in such a friendly and creative environment. Ysengrin is a wonderful team of local artists, which it’s been a delight to get to know!

Do come along if you’re in the area: apart from a small selection of my own textile pieces, there will be paintings, photography, sculpture, poetry and cartoons! Something for everyone, and you’ll be supporting your local artistic community!

Hope to see some of you there - keep making!