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?
This abstract piece is inspired by a picture of a common blue butterfly on a daisy, hence the name. I chose the materials and colours to match, giving it a cheerful, uplifting energy.
Working from photographs, a technique gleaned from a workshop by Hannah Lamb, is very freeing, pushing me to venture beyond the colours I habitually go for. more of this on the way, no doubt!
These are samplers of variations on drawn thread work and pulled work, a contemporary version of traditional embroidery techniques. They are part an ongoing project and were first made for a workshop by Tracy A Franklin (another textileartist.org workshop).
I love the result here, it all looks so lovely, though the work of making itself does rather strain your eyes!
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 is a portrait of my mum, always with her mug of coffee, created for a workshop led by Susie Vickery at Textileartist.org.
I'm more of a landscape or collage person, really, so this kind of work rather takes me out of my comfort zone, and certainly doens't come easy. I'm glad to have accepted the challenge, though, having learned so much about stitching for portraits; also not unhappy with the result.
This puffin is made from 2 pompoms. The yarn I used is Jamieson and Smith Shetland wool.
I made him during an online speedcrafting session with Helen Robertson, a designer from Shetland.
These sessions (I joined three series during lockdown) were so joyful, meeting new people, learning a new craft, having a chat. I hope Helen will host more online ones in the future 😊!
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:
Debbie Smyth is a textile artist who is famous for her "drawings" with pins and thread, and recently I attended a workshop with her and learned the very basic techniques.
I made a hanging piece inscribed with "Here comes the sun" from the fantastic Beatles song. It is a small piece so the pins had to be placed very close together which made it a bit of a fiddly job! I did not cut the threads which gives it a floaty look.
Since I didn't have a piece of wood as a base to jam the pins in, I fabricated my own from 2 plastic lids and some waste material from an iron board cover.
What I like about this piece is that the sentence gets completed as it spins. At first you only see the pins because they stand so close together and then the words are suddenly revealed 😊
I love the ampersand symbol. This one is made from scrap fabric, mostly from old clothes. The technique of fabric manipulation I learned from Jenny McIlhatton through her workshop via textilartist.org.
You can create so many textures and layers with this technique, I will definitely use this in future work!
This is my response to the second workshop I did with Hanny Newton : an abstract piece of 3 circles with thread and beads.
This is a tiny map of Cambridge, where my son lives. I stitched it partly from memory and partly with the help of Google Maps. Memorable spots and those important to me personally are marked on the map.
It's my response to the workshop I did with Vanessa Rolf. Stitching a map is a great way to remember and think about stuff. And you end up with a lovely souvenir!
Best wishes to you all for 2023!
My wishes are accompanied by this embroidered piece, which shows four seasons in one day on this planet, full of luscious greenery and delicious clear water.
The design is my own, inspired by a workshop led by Livia Papiernik. It’s a relatively small piece, 20 cm x 20 cm, but it required a lot of stitching!
I used silk thread, Jamieson & Smith wool yarn and all kinds of other thread, with various stitches and beads, mostly recycled, some of which I made myself.
Let’s hope for a lovely and inspiring new year!!
Last Christmas I joined two speedcrafting sessions with Helen Robertson.
On the one evening we knitted an owl:
The other we made a Christmas pudding, which started us chatting about Christmas traditions and food from around the world. We were a group of people from the US, Shetland, Iceland, Sweden, England, Scotland and Belgium, so it got very interesting, we all got hungry and we had some great laughs! This is the World Wide Web at its best!
I used Shetland’s Jamieson’s spindrift yarn.
I gave the Christmas pudding to my little bear, who was very pleased:
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.
Couching is an embroidery technique in which you lay yarn or other materials across the surface of a ground fabric, then fasten it in place with small stitches.
The possibilities are endless when you start thinking about incorporating this technique in your work and wat kind of thread, cord, objects you can attach to it in this way!
This is the sampler I made for a workshop led by Hanny Newton (she has the most wonderful contemporary approach to goldwork embroidery!) :
This is my take on a workshop led by Alice Fox (an artist who works with found, gathered and grown materials) :
Via a Textile Artist.org workshop I learned a great deal about photobroderie from the photographer Liz Jeary.
I stitched on my own photographs and used simple back stitch lines, matching the thread colours with the ones on the photo.
Lots of interesting ideas emerge from a workshop like this!
Inspired by the work of Sharon Peoples, I used the technique of random cross stitch to recreate the work "Ceci n'est pas un pipe" by the Belgian artist René Magritte.
the fabric is wrapped around a mount board and I also used some wadding to give the piece some depth.
It fits neatly in the tin in which it is presented.
I hope to have added to the joke the artist intended.
This is the work I made for the workshop by Jean Rill-Alberto.
The abstract design of geometric forms is first drawn, then stitched, onto paper. Some shapes I coloured in. It's fascinating to work with abstract shapes and to see what happens if you combine them, or highlight some of them. Also the stitching on paper is a real favourite of mine!
Something I have wanted to try for a long time is wet felting, a process of continually rubbing wool fibers together with soap and water to form a firmly felted object.
A workshop by Jeanette Appleton was the perfect opportunity : an exploration of contrasts in colour, texture and surface by using the felting technique on a sewed piece to which running stitch is added.
I loved this technique and the surprising results, for instance how different the silk fabric and synthetic fabric reacted to the felting process. It calls for more exploration! And using wool is always a big bonus!
I added some running stitch to silk and synthetic fabric, which then became the starting piece for the wet felting:
