Nothing wasted.

Jenn had spent some time looking at photos she had taken some years ago.She had been out in the local park and surroundings looking for some inspiration.She had been looking down at the pavements and road surfaces, and also at signage.it occurred other that these might yield some ideas for messages.

Using some of the images she played around with taking parts and adding them to postcard size paper.She used a water-based ink pen and watercolour.

The way the ink bled when water was added was pleasing.

She wondered if she could replicate this on some linen, see bottom image.

It worked well enough but more experiments would need to be tried to make sure it would be permanent, maybe using Inktense blocks and paints.It is a tentative start which will need  development and introduction of fabric and stitch.Before that happens there is a matter of an exhibition or two to be prepared.

Reuse ,recycle .

Deryll had been working away at her flower border and had brought along a frame.We were not sure the frame complemented the piece ,as we thought it was too dark and perhaps she could paint it, we'll see.

She had taken one of her pieces apart and was mounting them individually in small white frames.It's amazing how rejuvenated they seemed.

Like Jane she has been turning  ideas over in her head for our exhibitions this year .She is thinking about the damage we are doing to the Earth with fracking and use of plastics etc and how her message might be to leave the Earth alone.

Feeling good.

Jane had been playing around with colouring some scraps of felt left over from other  projects.She has an idea for using them for her feeling good, good news messages.At the moment it is at the 'inside the head 'stage.She its toying with a garment to wear that would make you feel good and could be lined with good news.It is certainly an interesting and different kind of textile.

She had also been adding her insects to the bamboo background but was not entirely satisfied it was giving her the effect she was looking for.It was mentioned that perhaps they were too solid and dark.More work and experimenting will take place.

If you follow the blog you will begin to understand how much goes into the pieces we produce.It starts with an idea ,then lots of sampling before many hours of trial and error before a piece is resolved.

For Christmas Jane received this ,and as she said she wasn't sure why it had been picked for her .

However, on opening it became clear.......

these workings out on graph paper could have been done by Jane !

Unexpected outcome!

Sue had attended a gilding course which she found alright.The tutor finished early and showed them how to create boxes by just folding paper.Sue is of the option that something good can be found in most experiences and this is most certainly true of this course.

She has used lots of lovely hand decorated papers and made masses of lovely boxes.It even kept her occupied on a long flight to Canada and was a talking point with other passengers.The beauty of the method is they do not require lots of equipment and glue ,and can be scaled up or down.

Not content just to fold papers she trapped lace and leaves between tissue and created boxes.

We thought there was mileage in them and offered suggestions for her to explore.We'll look out for them and what she develops.

Inspired by .......and a new solo exhibition.

Ira ,as usual, had been beavering away on some new ideas for pieces.

This time her inspiration has come from the patination seen on copper and in particular she has been inspired by the artist KOJI HATAKEYAMA.

He/she  works in ceramics. Intrigued, she had sent for a catalogue  from an exhibition of work.

After our discussion about copyright, Ira wondered if she should continue with this train of thought.As she is not seeking to create his work and not working in ceramic we thought it was no problem, after all she might have looked at patination on copper and arrived here by the same route.

There is such a beautiful working of the colours ,built from layers of paint, organza

machined metallic and matt threads.No doubt there will be far more hand stitch ,beads and sequins before these pieces are complete.

She announced that she will have a solo exhibition at Slimbridge in March ,which will require 15 pieces to fill the showcases there .This is destined to be one, below.

Look out for details of dates and times  soon.

Missing strip cloth.

Liz has been using strip cloth for a good many years ,sourced through Maggie Relph and the African Fabric shop. However, there seems to be a shortage so Liz is trying other fabric.

These pieces are naturally dyed cherry on tree silk kapok.It is a softer, looser weave as you can see from the picture below, it is on the left.Liz has put two pieces back to back so these will be double sided and to be seen in the round.

Like some  of us, she has been "resting and considering."To keep her hand in she has been 'mending' this indigo piece by adding in patches with hand stitch and adding to the piece she brought last month.

With her plans to work pieces based around the Oak tree she had spent a lovely time in Foyles  bookshop and picked up this ,below.

Copyright?

Debby had been enjoying experimenting with her Gelli plate.

She had been inking up the plate with Raw Umber then using shiny magazine pages to create resists.

This lifted parts of the image leaving a ghost on her chosen base.

She tried a variety ,using faces and seascapes, all were surprisingly successful, and is another useful technique for image transfer.

However, it occasioned a discussion about the issue of copyright and the ethics of using other's images etc. for use in  work.We were not entirely sure how it applies .We know that the printed word is lifetime plus 75 years and that some things like newspapers and OS maps cannot be used.There used to be something that allowed a certain percentage for personal or educational use but not if anything was for sale.In this increasingly legislative  world we thought it best to use only those things we have done ourselves.With the increasing use of Pinterest, the internet and social media there is a growing problem of where ideas originate and who owns them.

Debby had been given this book, published in the 1930s.It looked surprisingly modern.

She had also picked up this little bargain for the princely sum of £3, in'The Works.'

2019 is going to be a BUSY year!

After our disappointment of preparing for exhibitions last year that had to be postponed, this year will be a whirlwind !

Bristol Guild have offered us a date April into May,Newark Park is fully open and we will be there in June and to round off we will once again be at UWE in August.We will be very busy bees preparing new work ,this gives a frisson of excitement but also apprehension as the months tick by so very alarmingly.

Keep checking back for how we progress.

The period up to Christmas is often a fallow one as other things take precedence.Viv has been busy cataloguing her Miao pieces for eventual handover to the museum.She brought along several as this will be one of our last opportunities to handle them.

The work is so very small and intricate that we viewed them through a magnifying glass.

We wondered how they managed to fold the tiny triangles .

The piece below on the left is bound with raffia to pleat the fabric for the indigo dyed skirts.

The colours of the exquisite embroidery sing out 

and are so finely stitched.

More offerings

Sally produced images from her diary of a recent trip to Zambia, made using recycled art paper that she had washed and hung out to dry!   Animal markings and landscapes combine possibly to become an interesting textile work one day.

She had been looking at the design of a cushion in Newark Park and has been making drawings from it. Some of these are transferred to layout paper which she has pinned on to a background of coffee-dyed calico. 

Jane had been experimenting with a bamboo duster that had been washed in her washing machine, ending up as a lacy, delicate fabric. On to this she was laying images of insects, machine-embroidered on to silk hankies, to see how the two could combine. 

Anne Coleman, a former GTA member, came to join us for the Christmas lunch and brought this wonderful painted and drawn zig-zag book she had been working on, which describes all that she sees from her balcony high above the Downs. We loved it!   

Deryll had been doing Kasia's Advent Calendar (see Carol's in previous Post) and these are some of the pages from hers:

She had also remembered a way of making Christmas cards taught in City and Guilds by Mary Youles and brought a sheet of them to show us.