Quilts,Africa and Buy a Plank !

Liz has been taking a daily walk and using it to fuel her creative ideas.She has been collecting marks we would normally ignore,dismiss or just not see.

Using her Gelli plate she has translated those marks into repeats on a variety of fabrics.They make for some very distinct graphics,with the use of black and white.

There are some positive and negative versions, they create a lively and exciting surface.She has plans for a quilt which should be worth waiting to see.

Talking of quilts,do you remember this from last month's blog post ? It has gone to be auctioned ,you can see it at

www.buyaplank.com

You can read all about the reasons behind the project and view the other quilts .If you like what you see you can be in with a chance of owning this ,or any of the other quilts by placing a bid.

P.S...........if you don't know what a GELLI- PLATE is go here www.gelliarts.blogspot.co.uk and  be amazed !

Cut,cut,cut.

You may remember this piece of felt ,Kirsten brought it along a few months ago.She was inspired by a still life she had done while at college.The piece had been cut up and rearranged so she did the same with the felt.It has now been stitched and is ready for mounting,probably on a stretcher.Please excuse the angle ,it was me taking the photo,the pieces of felt are actually parallel to the edge.

Next she showed some pieces inspired by scissors.  A large  felt hanging ,above ,made with naturally coloured   wools.She had been along to 'Heartspace' to do a lino printing on fabric course.Liz and Carol did it too,look back a few posts to see their results.

Above you can see the original pen drawing and some of the resulting prints.Kirsten exploited the background by allowing the cut marks to print.

Couldn't resist showing some of her other drawings,the detail is extraordinary.She used a fine pen in sepia,good to see a change from black,sorry can't remember the exact make .

Then a few more of her prints.

March.

Our March meeting found us in a chilly ,overcast Portishead.However the pieces we were treated to were anything but! Above you can see Carol's tablet cover ,designed and made by herself.The decoration is delightful and her stitching,as usual,so very fine.

You may remember her Lino prints from January,she had decided to stitch into them to create some quirky little cards.She had lots to show this month including the butterfly below.Since we saw it last she has added the dandelion.This piece inspired by Opus Anglicanum,a very time consuming technique, but executed exceptionally well.

Carol had also been playing with stitching into metal,and printing from the resulting"block".She also used a markal stick to take a rubbing,on the right,but she was not as pleased with the definition.It looks subtle but the metallic gold catches the light beautifully.

Her piece for "Echoes" at Sidcot school in October is progressing well.She had been dyeing a variety of fabrics and the felt had taken the dye to produce these beautiful subtle pastels,just the right match for her thread.Her hand stitching is just so neat and regular,a real art.

If you have been following the blog you will recognize the next piece .Deryll has now finished it ,the way to frame it was the next decision.We favoured a wider area around the piece to draw the viewer's attention to the 

amount of work and detail to be found within.There is a new piece in the melting pot ,but the colours are being considered ,can't  wait Deryll.

Jane had finished the background stitching of her piece and had begun the time consuming and meticulous stitching of the image.The hoop has to be repositioned many ,many times and then there is the little matter of aligning everything!

You may know that Jane has been involved with Irish dancing ,supporting and encouraging her daughters and making the elaborate costumes.Her piece for "Echoes" will be related to this but in a very different way .

This small sample is a taster of what she intends.It is a thermofax image printed on "silk hankies" then a hand stitched Celtic motif .It has an ethereal and delicate quality quite unlike the dresses she has made.We look forward to seeing this develop.

Even though her daughters are no longer dancing Jane continues to be involved .She has just ventured into Etsy, her shop is Jane At Number 13.Do go and take a look.

Ira.

You may have been wondering why no mention or pics of Ira these last two months.Well she wasn't at our January meeting,but this month she was......why no work you cry? She was as dismayed as us when she arrived to find her large basket of new work was not in her boot.There had been a misunderstanding and her husband had not put it in.She gave us a lovely description of her work on rock formations but we had to imagine what it is like.......exquisite and beautifully stitched as usual we expect.However,we,like you readers have to wait and see.Some of you might like to look out for her on the Severn Vale art trail ,details above.

Website.   www.thornburyartsfestival.com

Some dates for your diary.

One is coming up soon.....

the other is advance notice.......

February meeting.

We were not all present for today's meeting,other commitments and visits away .However we had a lively and interesting time.Lots to see and talk about as you'll see if you pop back over the next few posts.

Wire and paint?

Viv brought two pieces for us to see.The first was one she wanted some advice about how to frame.We agreed with her about leaving the edges with loose threads and slips overlapping.We thought a lighter background but the peach looked wrong,perhaps a darker shade of rust?

The second was a flower piece that had been finished since we saw it last.Viv conjures up the most amazing pieces from loosely painted pieces of fabric which she then embellishes with machine and hand stitch.You may remember her pieces from the Guild exhibition last October.

Jenn brought more ammonite inspired pieces.This time in wire,some crocheted

others " hand drawn".These show the shadows cast by the motifs.