Our grand day out.

Liz organised a day at The American Museum at Claverton, near Bath to visit the Kaffe Fassett exhibition.Even before we entered the exhibition we were greeted by the eye-popping decorations in the trees,on banners and posts.

Exuberant flowers in mosaic jardinieres .

Inside was a riot of colour,on walls and floor.

Several specially printed Lino coverings of Kaffe's work.

This met us as we emerged from the mirrored corridor.

A taster of what it's like to inhabit Kaffe's colorful world.

Lots of fabric bales,samples ,design boards

 a basket of coloured wools and printed ribbons.

Then we were treated to a feast of delights,a glimpse into his creative imagination.

This tiny asparagus ceramic set

Exquisite embroidery 

and fabric designs.

There were colour rooms with needlepoint cushions

Quilts from Kaffe's Indian stripes,

Apt quotes 

More stripes.

Knitted beanie hats covered with buttons and beads of all kinds.

More needlepoint in shoes

and large hangings.

Another quote 

Painted birds and knitted jumpers.

More stripes

A jacquard coat,painted screen and a glimpse of another quilt.

There was more to see in the main museum ,quilts hung from the main staircase,and some beautiful line drawings done by Kaffe in the 1960s.

If you get a chance go along it's on until November.Even if you don't knit ,quilt or embroider it is a visual treat.We had a great day and the sun even came out so we could enjoy a cuppa in the sun before wending our way home.

BORO exhibition, London from Viv

Last Wednesday I went up to London to  the Courtauld Galleries see the BORO exhibition of Japanese poor farmers' and fishermen's futons and coats - recycling done in extreme circumstances, but with results which today look like contemporary abstract works of art.  They are truly remarkable . Here are a few photos:

These items are now so rare and collectable they fetch thousands of pounds each.  You can see a red spot underneath the first one - and there were several others. I thought about my big bag of old jeans remnants and am determined to produce my own "boro" (which means rags and tatters) before too long!

  

Selected at Newark Park

A friend and I spent a wonderful day this week visiting Selected, an exhibition which is part of Stroud International Textiles Select  at Newark Park, a beautiful National Trust property near Wootton under Edge. There is work by 30 artists some of whom have made work in response to Newark Park; including Caroline Bartlett, Caren Garfen, Susan Early, Matthew Harris, Mary Butcher, Zoe Hillyard and Jennifer Collier to name just  a few - exhibited throughout the house and gardens.

The pieces are sited well in the rooms & garden, and you do need to look carefully to spot some of them, as they look as if they are part of the house's collection.

It's well worth a visit, we spent most of the day there, exploring the house and grounds. Here are some highlights, sorry if some of the images are not very good quality, but the light levels were low.

Zoe Hillyard's  ceramic patchwork.

Jennifer Collier's paper sculpture.

Caroline Bartlett

Susan Early's woven willow.

Play and development.

Viv had been playing with papers .If you remember she brought along her ideas book last month.

She had been toying with ideas to do with irises.This is moving her idea along and thinking how it could develop.This could be a mixed media piece on it's own.It will be interesting to watch how this progresses.

BS9

 Jane brought along her engines piece,it is almost done just a little more stitching before it's ready to mount.

 She also showed us what she had been doing with Marilyn's thread cast offs.She had bonded the cut ends and was wondering if they would need to be stitched to keep them attached to the backing.We offered various suggestions as to what might be appropriate as we thought it shouldn't detract from the overall effect.

It has the look of a glorious sunset.

Other pieces Jane brought will be on display for the Embroiderers Guild stand at the BS9 arts trail.This was one of her samples for her City and Guilds Diploma.Lots of interesting threads woven through a grid.

The other piece was done on a Mary Sleigh workshop and showcases some of the some of the traditional techniques that Mary has studied on her many trips to Africa.

Jane has put her own slant on them.The  fabric is a raw silk and some African strip cloth.

Finally a plug for this event,the Embroiderers Guild will be at St Monica's and Debby will be showing but I am not sure where.Look at her site on the front page of the blog for more info or go to the website mentioned on the flyer.

Surfaces.

What a lovely box ! These are  Deryll's flower stitcher  embellishments .

 

They are used in her new piece,here are a few 

little details

To whet your appetite.

Another few surface delights from Patricia

She brought along two beautiful wraps,inspired by marks in the sand.

These photographs don't do justice to the work that has gone into them.

They are silk ,stitched and beaded with 

layers of fabric and meant to be 

worn around the shoulders.