'I'm sorry......

........but I haven't done really anything to give you'.

A familiar refrain that is then followed up with piece after piece of completed work or work in progress!

Ira is prolific and what she calls a little the rest would call a LOT!

She intends to work a series of samplers to include collage, appliqué and stitch for UWE.Her message will be Textile Work is Art. 

These have begun with layers of her own painted and printed papers attached to a ground.She has added in some collaged papers and it is after this stage she will work her magic with closely stitched and beaded surfaces which will transform what you see here.

She has an ongoing fascination with historical buildings, stained glass and medieval walls.A  collection of books by Roger Rosewell helps in her research into this subject. She loves to use abstraction and is planning work around Tintern Abbey .We thought it might be an idea to use Prinfab and send some of her work to be transferred to cloth and then work on them.

Come take a peek.........

....but we hope you'll come in person.

All things scaly.........except a shelfie.

Debby almost had a theme this month running through her show and tell. First with this fishy  piece of fabric ,a lovely Japanese piece depicting Koi carp.She says she often finds it easier to work in series , as once she is 'in the groove' she can move from piece to piece  getting a lot done.This is a case in point ,below, her series of 'shelfies' of plants in pots.If you visit the Guild exhibition ,which opened today until May 18th.you will see what she means.

Her scaly pieces are for Newark park in June and depict Poseidon and a mermaid ,with more than a nod to Botticelli, both inspired by the blue and white tiles they have there .

He seems rather fierce , in comparison to her dreaminess.

Lastly she couldn't resist Spike ,the weathervane .She has used paint and transfix to really 'bling' him up .Apologies for the blurry photo!

Landscapes

Deryll brought along one of her tryptich ready for Newark in June.She does landscape so well.

She had been working on her piece for UWE ,creating lots of samples in the process.

Her piece has grown and been given lots more thought .As yet she has not resolved the gaping chasm in the middle ,where the piece is torn apart.She doesn't think black is the colour she wants to show the void, we agreed.However ,she is toying with creating undulations in the piece to show how the land would react .

This is a close -up of an unused piece of silk from a donated  petticoat, dyed by Deryll.It will reside in her stash until a use is found.

April ........work moves on apace.

The day we met was dark and dreary .As a consequence the photos were taken in artificial light and  have an orange cast despite efforts to correct.Hopefully this will  encourage you  to come see the work "in the flesh"at our forthcoming exhibitions.

Kirsten had gone LARGE .Making felt this big is not easy and creating such a sky is magnificent.We were reminded of Monet paintings.He worked on canvasses so there was a support.Kirsten now has to consider how to mount and hang such a large ,weighty piece.We offered suggestions but she will find a solution.

Sally was debating how to bring her first piece for UWE together to create a coherence while conveying her message.She felt it lacked contrast and 

the words needed to be integrated and camouflaged somehow.The pinned on ones are temporary.We thought to extend the stitching so that it flowed across from patch to patch .

Her other piece deals with Tigers and their march to extinction because of 

their continued use in Chinese medicine.

Unfortunately ,some traditions are so embedded in our cultures so that we wake up to the damage they do much too late .

Next exhibition.

Layers, folds and holes.

                                            Liz had been continuing to add to this piece.Her feeling was that         
the leaves needed more definition ,so she had added stitch with the machine which made them much more visible .

She enjoys working with strip cloth but recently it has been less easy to get and what she has been able to source has been of an inferior quality .

So,ever resourceful she has used two layers of mud cloth and stitched through

This small piece ,below, is for Contemporary Quilters West and is to be 16"square. A challenge in itself!

She and Debbie  Pawle are going to exhibit together again at UWE. Their work will feature collections they have gathered.Liz visits St.Ives, Cornwall regularly and is basing her work around the colours she sees in the rooftops.Beach combing is an essential part of any visit and this pebble, along with many other beach finds will feature.

She also visited Whitby in Yorkshire recently and picked up a great many pebbles like the one below.It is intriguing as the hole is as if it has been drilled by some tool.We wondered if they were created as fishing weights ,or someone had been on the beach making pebble stacks by drilling holes then threading onto  driftwood........we'd love to know the answer .

She has also returned to another passion, that of bookmaking.This one created with solid fold over covers and using her rust dyed papers.

'Out of the Fold' ,a recent book purchase yielded this 

 

fascinating box structure which fold up into a long oblong.

and a star box, below. Paper of all kinds works but will fabric? We will wait and see.

The Natural World.

Deryll had listened to our opinions last time and had been trying some ideas to give her piece the impact we thought it needed .Below you can see how she has pieced 'sky' and 'land 'fabrics together. She had also  been auditioning fabrics to create the fissure she wants to represent the fracturing of the land .She had used black here but felt it might be too stark a contrast so was going to try subtler shades.

Her pieced fabrics work well though, a compilation of her hand dyed fabrics collected over time and stitched together.It is a departure for her to work large but we think it will be well worth it .

Debby had attended a workshop back last year with Alice Fox where they couched all sorts of items to fabric with organza and  stitch.Carol liked the idea when she heard Debby talk about it.

She had already  collected together a selection of shells and pebbles mounting them on pristine white backgrounds .

Using tiny coloured stitches she had emphasised the shapes and created a stitched border which make these beautiful little treasures important in their simplicity.

With time marching on she has returned again to her piece for Newark.This is based on a textile hidden away in one of the drawers of a chest in a bedroom.

Using dyed blanket and variegated thread,Carol is embroidering what will become the seat of a chair.It's already looking good ,we can't wait to see the finished article installed in Newark for our June exhibition.