These two pieces, inspired by a workshop led by Nerissa Cargill Thompson, depict ocean life (my abstract imaginary take on it) and there's lot of texture in them.
I used paint to make marks on the base fabric, and a lot of recycled fabrics as appliqué and Suffolk puffs, as well as some old lace, ironed plastic netting, couched wool thread, some beads and a fair amount of stitching.
Both pieces will be mounted onto 1 canvas, next to one another. Perhaps part of a future exhibition?
I had a lot of fun with this piece I made for a workshop by Mirjam Gielen. Blanket stitch is used to create organic structures. By manipulating the stitches and carefully choosing the colours, it can almost feel like these creatures are as natural as actual microscopic sea life. I added some beads and a piece of sea glass and used satin stitch and stem stitch to complete the piece.
"Hey, I've got nothing to do today but smile", Paul Simon sings on "The only living boy in New York" : there's no idea more calming, I think.
I imagined this happy feeling in mixed media, using textile, paper, paint, yarn, thread, beads, crayons, lots of hand stitching, machine stitching and even real flower petals. The bold warm colours evoke a real zest for life.
Spring, bring it on!!
In a workshop led by Claire De Waard, I learned to use natural materials as embellishments . At first, I wasn’t so sure about the possibilities but doing the work made me realise just how you can manipulate and integrate these materials. They bring such a special glow and texture to a piece, just magical!
This is a sample I made, I’m sure I will use these techniques in future pieces!
The four-leaf clover I made into a small piece by itself:
An autumn walk, what's not to like? I Love all the seasons (though slightly less enthousiastic about winter in February, March I must admit), with a preference for autumn. All these beautiful colours, bright and muted, gave me the inspriation for this stitched piece with appliqué. I used some tweed fabric and some pieces of paper packaging.
OK, enough stitching and talking now, let's go for that walk!
I made some small wall hangings, using plastic lids I covered with fabric. I then sewed trapunto pieces on them, adding beads, buttons, little roses and lace.
I find this an original way to try out new things.
For this small piece I used a spider's web as an inspiration. The idea I got from Sabine Kaner, who often uses patterns and shapes found in nature.
I painted the base calico fabric with watercolour paint. The 'web' is created with different embroidery stitches and appliqué.
Trapunto, the "stuffed technique", is a method of quilting, originating in Italy in the fourteenth century. By this method you can create puffy, decorative features.
Via TextileArtist.org I attended a workshop with Julie B. Booth to learn this technique.
The small sample I made I incorporated in a larger piece I am (still) working on and I feel it's a great addition.
This small piece is my take on the workshop led by Jessica Grady, via Textileartist.org.
The moon is cut from a page out of an old book. I folded written paper into stars and added some yellow beads.
The big blot is blue ink. I love that effect, suggesting a dark but not gloomy night.
I’m not sure yet if I’ll cut the edges and leave it in the hoop as a piece of its own or whether I’ll make it into something else.
I wanted to do a real upcycling/recycling project, using the sweaters we don’t wear anymore. Mainly to improve my sewing machine skills. I used the free pattern "Simple felted wool mittens" from Purl Soho.
I learned a lot from this and had fun looking for good colour and fabric combinations. But the most fun was decorating them with beads, embroidery, appliqué and all kinds of flowers.
I ended up with 10 pairs of mittens, all rather quirky and fun, definitely unique!
This collage piece is a stitched story about the kitchen in my childhood home. It took rather longer to plan than usual, because I first made a mind map to set free my thoughts and associations.
The technique of mind mapping is something I learned from Ali Ferguson. I found it to be very useful and insightful.
Starting from this mind map, I selected meaningful materials, words and motifs.
For the materials, I chose a piece of an actual cushion cover from that time, some jeans fabric (we wore jeans all the time back then), fabric scraps from a pair of slippers I had, some pieces of kitchen textiles and random fabrics that remind me of the atmosphere of this eighties kitchen.
As the motif I picked a whisk, which my mum often used, among many other things for making mayonnaise. This was a job that required a lot of attention and we often chatted as I watched her.
By stitching together the words and this image I’ve tried to capture a cherished memory of peaceful, secure and happy times.
This is a piece about my father-in-law and his favourite things. He has been somewhat under the weather lately so I thought to try and cheer him up a bit.
It's all hand-stitched with some appliqué. I also used some paint.
I wanted to give it a bit of an old-fashioned sampler-like feel.
By using the same stitches and recurring patterns I tried to increase the unity of the piece.
This piece came about through a workshop led by Stewart Kelly.
First I made a still life drawing. Then I used a view finder to look for two interesting parts I could use. It was like looking at the still life from different perspectives!
These two views I tried to capture in textile, for one of them using only embroidery and for the other adding appliqué as well.
They look quite interesting together, so I sewed them onto one background.
I very much enjoyed the thinking and exploring that came with this work!
