Dyeing and drawing.

Liz had been dyeing some fabrics with avocado to create a basis for a Pink healing blanket.She had also been making her own inks using collected oak galls and black walnuts.

She also told us how the inside of a Tetrapak can be used to make effective drypoint plates.As long as the surface isn't scored and broken the  method is the same as aluminium.The design is drawn ,inked ,wiped and printed.

The plate and the resulting 

print.Voila! another use for waste.

Jenn had stitched more of her 'mark-making' samples and had tried out Karen Stamper's Concertina Sketchbook course.www.karenstampercollage.com

The process was very enjoyable ,using masking tape ,sticky labels, ink and collage to prepare the pages 

Then the pages were worked into with Posca pens .Jenn had used photos of Italy as a reference for these first few .She is hoping the techniques might translate into fabric.

Continuing and developing themes.

After UWE Deryll has continued to work on the theme of 'Messages'.

She has just completed this piece, above and detail below.

It is very pertinent with all the images of seas and waterways clogged with plastic waste as it is entirely made of plastic waste! It will make an appearance at Nature in Art next year.

Jane too, has continued to think about ways of developing her idea from UWE.She wants to create  a companion piece with the colours draining away and disintegrating.At present she is developing ways this might happen ,from not using an underlay to stabilise the stitches, and allowing the threads to unravel and pool beneath the piece.Jane is an amazing technician and we have no doubt she will achieve her aim.

She likes the 'stitch and flip' method of patchwork and decided to see if she could use her embroidery machine to replicate the technique.Below are the results, now she can just cut up the patches and assemble a quilt!

Horses........

Sally brought along her finished book using Tibetan Prayer flags

as the theme.The horses are believed to bring luck and good fortune,

and each colour represents an element.Red -fire,

blue-space, yellow-earth and   green-water.

This coil and mother of pearl disc will be used to fasten the pages.

She had also been printing onto fabric with some of her digitally manipulated zebras.

As yet she hasn't decided what these will become.

Island hopping

Sue had ventured off on a cruise visiting islands in the Atlantic .She went to The Canaries,Madeira,Cape Verde and finally St Helena, where she had an ancestor.All along the way she used her sketchbook to record things of interest ,preferring this to taking photos.A very personal way of making memories that can be revisited each time the book is opened.

Since her return she had been sorting through work that had been put aside.

Lots of lovely textures

and colours,

worked on the embellisher and destined to become backgrounds for stitch.

She had also attended the E.G.cyanotype workshop 

and created this ginkgo leaf which has been stitched into.

Masterclass

Ira treated us to her favourite foil technique

bringing along samples for us to handle.This above a before and after.

She uses the foil as a layer covered with baking parchment and a hot iron passed over to create the bubbled and distorted surface.

The resulting "fabric"can then be cut up and incorporated to other surfaces using machine stitch.If using synthetic fabrics a heat gun can be used to further distort the surfaces.

This piece has been applied to silk using machine stitch.It will then be  intensively hand stitched and lots of beads and sequins will be meticulously applied.

Ira also showed some small pieces of silk and stitch, developing a lino print idea 

In other news, she has been invited to show work in Thornbury church as part of the Severn Vale Trail next year .It will be a an opportunity to see her Medieval themed work displayed together.

Colour and sparkle.

Viv has completed her lovely sunflower piece, all it now needs is to go to be framed.She manages to turn snippets of fabric into fabulous representtions of flowers.

Already in progress is this daisy piece,

it uses a mix of silk fabrics and paints.Both are destined for our Nature in Art exhibition next Easter.

Carol had created these delicious stars for our tree 

which will be displayed at 'TREEFEST'

at St Mary Redcliffe church from 3-7December 2019.

November

Kirsten is a member of Clevedon art club and this month she brought some of her very competent life drawings.

She also contributed  these lovely decorations for our Treefest tree at St Mary Redcliffe in December.

She had found her 'A' level workbooks with themes of dry stone walls and fertility figures, rocks and cave painting.

They contain samples of felting

print 

and weaving 

as well as patchwork.

She is thinking of reviving her interest in stone walls ,we are intrigued as to how it will result.