Tile Fragments

Two more pieces for the Textilia 3 exhibition which opens at the Station Gallery, Richmond on 21st May 2016.

These are individual tile fragments that I've mounted on fine net and suspended over a print on calico.  The print is a dictionary definition of the word READ, which describes its etymology from the old English raeden meaning to counsel or advise. 

They are deceptively simple, but each piece took several hours to assemble - about half the time was spent removing bits from the glass covering the box frame! 

Small Wonders

I've just completed two miniature works of art.  They will be mounted in a compositors box - a storage device used by printers in the days when individual letters were assembled to create a book or newspaper.  They will be joined by 90 more little pieces which have been created by the members of Skipton Embroiderers' Guild for their XL exhibition later this year.

It seemed fitting to use some of the devore fabric that I printed a couple of weeks ago which was based on the decoration found in the tiled hall at Leeds Art Gallery.  I layered the fabric over printed text which describes the old English origin of the word to read.  I then stitched the words reading room over the 3 individual squares - each one measures 1"x2".

My other miniature masterpiece is a slightly larger version of the snowdrop brooch that I made in March. 

Charlotte Bronte

In tribute to the 200th anniversary of Charlotte Bronte's birth the Contemporary Stitch Group made a Victorian inspired sampler using a quote from Jane Eyre:

I am no bird; and no net ensares me: I am a free human being with an independent will. 

Kitchen chemistry

I've been indulging in a bit of kitchen chemistry over the last week or so.  Devore printing and dyeing to be precise.  

I'm working on a piece for an exhibition by Textilia III - a group of Northern based artists that I joined earlier this year. The theme for the show is TEXTiles and I've taken my inspiration from the Tiled Hall at Leeds Art Gallery which was originally built as the reading room for the city library.  The room is covered from floor to ceiling in the most beautiful tiles, in fact when it was first opened in 1884, the roof was considered so magnificent that it was feared that "people would be continually gazing up at it instead of quietly reading magazines and newspapers".

I have chosen to work in silk-viscose velvet, satin and georgette fabrics which I have printed with Devore paste using a hand cut stencil. I acid dyed the silk and then Procion dyed the viscose using muted colours of rust, grey, green and dark turquoise.

Each square has been hand pieced together. I chose to leave the raw edges facing out to soften the appearance and allow the silk to fray slightly.  

Here is the result! 

Indigo Blues

I love dying fabric! Contrary to my scientific training of precision and reproducibility, I love the serendipitous nature of hand-dying: the lucky chances that place colour on cloth.

Last week I learned how to use indigo - a very different beast from the Procion dyes I had worked with on previously.  Indigo doesn't react with fibres, it is insoluble. It has to be altered, chemically, to a soluble (yellow) form which allows it to adsorb onto the surface of the fibres. When it is removed from the dye-bath and exposed to oxygen in the air it converts back to its insoluble blue form. 

It's perfect for shibori techniques - once exposed to air, the intense blue dye will not migrate onto other parts of the cloth.

I spent a lot of time tying and stitching cloth to create these lovely patterns, but I think my favourite piece was one that was simply folded, concertina fashion. 

Spring chickens

I wanted to keep a simple drawing-like approach to this work so I used small back stitch in a single strand of cotton. The lines at a little wobbly - just like my original drawing and I've highlighted small areas with patches of fabric appliquéd with Bondaweb and running stitch.

Snowdrop brooch

Hurrah!  The Contemporary Stitch group has resumed and I'm very glad to be teaching again.

This week's project was inspired by a single snowdrop in a teeny-tiny vase which was given to me by my next-door neighbour.  The brooch is worked on silk with layers of hand-dyed cotton organdie, vintage lace and ecru silk organdie.  It's just a few simple stitches but the effect is stunning and almost as lovely as the pots of snowdrops outside my house.