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:
One wonderful afternoon last year two of my lovely friends introduced me into the magical world of eco dyeing.
Eco dyeing is a form of natural dyeing where the colours of natural dyes from plant materials are transferred to fabric by using steam.
I thought the process fascinating and the result was really beautiful!
They kindly gave me the fabric we created that afternoon. I was determined to put it to good use and made into a poem art piece (it is rather big!).
I added a lot of subtle stitching, to give it more balance and to emphasize some parts. And onto it I embroidered a poem by Emily Brontë which I think fits really well with the atmosphere of the piece.
I'm very happy with the outcome : thanks again friends!
I stretched the piece over a canvas (80 x 80):
Strictly speaking this piece is a collaboration with my 5 year old son (now 27). My husband and I were clearing the attic and found this paper lantern our son made, all torn and discoloured. I still recognised the love he put into it and remembered how proud he was, coming home from school with his lantern.
I decided to use the thin paper part that was not torn in a piece on his leaving home.
I glued the paper on a piece of fabric and added stitching, drawing in pencil, a poem (unreadable, which is as intended), and muted or highlighted some parts of the coloured pieces. I also added the suitcase, falling as it were out of the picure.
It has become a meaningful and emotional work to me, in which his childhood and the present time, his art and mine, his energy and my feelings all come together. A bittersweet, but mostly sweet and actually very happy piece, hanging in our living room.
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.
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.
This piece is my take on the workshop led by Emily Jo Gibbs. It's a composition of layered translucent fabrics, a brilliant method to create depth with colour and overlapping material.
I added a quote by Percy Shelley to suggest the narrative of a cold winter, with some hope that spring will arrive soon. "O, wind, if winter comes can spring be far behind?"
This is a stitched portrait of my son and me.
I used a monochrome colour palette with a few colour pops.
It's framed by the embroidered lyrics of "Song for the asking" by Paul Simon, one of my favourite songs.
This piece looks a bit like an abstract, but it isn't to me. It depicts a difficult conversation, when you get the feeling there is nothing you can do in order to understand or be understood, it goes right through you and you shrink back.
I used different kinds of paint on a piece of cloth, pencil and stitching. The edges are ruffled and that is kind of fitting, I think.
This piece, which I made in response to a workshop with Shelley Rhodes is perhaps the one I love the most of all my projects.
Different pieces of fabric were sewn into one long strip that I painted with acrylic paint. I added pencil and stitching, and sewed pebbles and sea glass, gathered on a walk, to it.
The piece depicts a beach walk that means a lot to me and I think the combination of colours and materials turned out great.
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.
For this piece I stepped a bit out of my comfort zone by using bold colours.
I embroidered figures onto a piece of fabric cut off an old pair of trousers. It is inspired by the work of Saima Kaur, who herself is inspired by the expressive folk embroideries from India.
It's a bit of fun, what will the day bring: yay or nah? But in the end, every day is just one day!
We often visit Cambridge in the UK because our son lives there. It is such a friendly and beautiful city! We love to picnic and one of our favourite spots is Jesus Green.
This folded book depicts a memory of one of these precious moments where everything felt wonderful and everyone and everything seemed to be smiling.
It is a fabric and paper collaged piece, with hand stitching and embellishment. I also used some watercolour paint.
The technique used here, I learned from the textile artist Anne Kelly. A PVA glue solution gets used to attach paper onto fabric. At first I was a bit hesitant about it, but I found myself loving it: the technique makes a "fabric" that is really great to stitch through! And I get to use some of my lovely paper pieces I have been collecting for years!
The cover of the book is a piece of a kitchen towel and it has a button and beaded cord to close it.
I hope to have the time and energy to make many more of these memory-books!
I made a little video where you can see me opening the book, which you can watch it if you click here.
Lockdown and its many FaceTime hours and thoughts were the inspiration for this embroidery piece.
The stitch challenge came from the artist Emily Tull : create three mouths with different expressions using minimal hand stitch.
As a base fabric I used an old handkerchief, with holes and tears in it. I took pictures of the mouths of my family and started observing, and stitching. It was a difficult challenge, it took me quite a few hours! I learned a lot about observation, detail, light and colour.
In the end I also stitched a little poem that for me captures the essence of those hours on FaceTime. This piece will always be a memory of an exceptional time.
When making this concertina book, I was inspired by a moving Paul Simon song : "Who will love a little sparrow"
The book tells the tale of a little sparrow on its long journey. It is not loved, not by the Oak Tree, not by the Swan, not by the Golden Wheat. Only the Earth will love it, "for all I've created returns unto me, from dust were ye made and dust ye shall be".
I made this book with fabric scraps, mostly from discarded clothes from my family. I used appliqué and lots of stitching.
The cover of the book used to be part of a pocketed flanel work shirt. To the button, I attached an acorn embellished with some embroidery.
Inside the book, you can flip the fabric pages so as to read the story. You can also unfold the story into one long strip by undoing the little button at the back.
This was another challenge by TextileArtist.org, in a workhop given by Mandy Pattullo, which I loved very much. I hope to make more of these books!
I made two little videos, one of the unfolded book and one flipping through the pages, you can watch them here and here.
This pandemic effects us all. It effects my crafting too.
This was more of a stitch meditation. It gave me peace, stitching this word and sewing the flowery fabric scraps into a calming collage.
I think I'm going to leave it as it is, because the raggedness of the base cloth kind of adds to the essence of the message.
