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?
We spent some time in the Austrian Alps this summer. I became a bit obsessed with the view seen through the window of our holiday home, kept drawing these mountains over and over.
Right now I'm thinking about ways to transfer these sketches to textile work.
I made some monoprints with paint and ink for a workshop led by Sue Hotchkis, which were the inspiration for this collaged piece about the First World War in Flanders.
When visiting the World War I sites around Ieper and Passendale, I'm still shocked every time by the scale of the horrors memorialised there. The personal stories of fear and suffering are so deeply moving. ‘The war to end all wars’, as we know, sadly didn't turn out to be that, which is exactly what makes it still very relevant.
Creativity gives us a mental boost. But sometimes I just don’t have the ideas, the confidence or even the energy. In those cases, I've found that just filling up my sketchbooks, just starting with some colour and a (small) blank page before me, without expectations, is so soothing and calming and re-energising. Besides, the practice, even if it doesn’t result in a nice sketch but rather an ugly experiment, is what stretches the creative muscles.
I also find that working with another medium, with a sketchbook and some colour, influences and inspires my textile work.
That’s why I’ll be sharing some of my sketches now and then with you, hope you don’t mind!
This collage got made while I was reading “The Secret Garden” by Frances Hodgson Burnett, what a wonderful book! I tried to capture the enchanting story, the magic of nature and of place, using fabric, paint, paper, transferred images and stitching. The atmosphere is calm due to the muted colours, but at the same time it’s buzzing with life, adventure, and possibilities.
The piece grew organically during the reading process, which I love. I think I will try this with other favourite books; it’s an intriguing way to make!
After Sketchbook Revival 2023, I stumbled upon a new challenge : Workshopweek 2023, another bundle of online lessons with an emphasis on drawing. I enjoyed this immensely again : the diversity of the lessons, the enthusiasm of the teachers and of course just doing the practice. So another huge thank you to the to the generous organisers and teachers!
Here are some of the sketches I made:
I really want to improve my drawing skills. That’s why I took part in “Sketchbook revival 2023”, an online event with a lot of free workshops led by almost 30 teachers. Being a novice at most of the techniques taught, I learned so much. I can’t thank the organisers and teachers enough for their generosity!
These are some of the drawings I made during quite an intense week of workshops:
This collage uses paper from an old pocket book and fabricscraps, stitched together by machine and hand, with sticks, waste material and a gold painted square.
I put it in a shadow box, which does fit this piece. It’s called “Breathing space in winter”, depicting the atmosphere of a winter walk.
"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!!
This collage is made from paper, textiles, paint and stitching. I also added a leaf I made using machine stitching.
I added a quote from the Dutch poet Lucebert, "Alles van waarde is weerloos" [All worthwile things are vulnerable], in stitching.
Using a more graffiti-like style, which contrasts with the quote, I wanted the piece to become more of an interrogation of the truth of Lucebert's phrase.
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.
A cardboard base, stains of ecoline paint, like an archipelago in their formation, punctured holes that form curved lines and shapes (connecting the 'isles'), some stitching through them. The word 'connect' is stitched in large letters with a thin white thread over the whole length of the piece. Finally, the work is finished (as in classic sewing practice, connecting the different media used here unto a whole) with a biais ribbon.
For my second workshop with Anne Kelly (information on the first one you can find here ) I made these two collages. I used a calender with images of Claude Monet paintings, scraps of cotton fabric, silk fabric, ribbon and different kinds of paper (pages from an old book, illustrations, a paper napkin). I added some drawing, some painting, a bit of ink printing and a few embellishments. The pieces are then completely machine stitched.
This one is about my love for walking and the natural world:
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.
I used different kinds of paper for these little sketchbooks : Japanese handmade paper, pages from an old book, wrappers, sketching paper, decorated paper.
The pages are handsewn together with bookbinders’ thread.
The covers are unique designs I hand-painted with water-colour paint, sometimes with added embroidery.
The backs are covered (handsewn) with matching fabrics.
In every book I have all ready sketched a flower.
This is a labour of love and I hope these little books will end up with people who love to sketch, write or collect stuff in them!
(I will show and sell them at this local event on Sunday July 3th : Kunst Montmartre Beveren-Waas in Belgium)
These collages are inspired by the work of Monique Day-Wilde and one of her workshops which I attended.
They are collages of paper and textiles with added stitching. Using paint I applied prints of plants to the paper. I used tissue paper and handmade Japanese paper, which is so lovely to work with!
I noticed again how joyful it is to stitch through paper!
