Monday 30 November 2020

Wind Me In The Sea : SOLD


Amongst all the gloom, something wonderful.  I've  sold my  textile artwork  ' Wind me in the Sea'   to  a collector  of Japanese textiles. 
I was contacted  out of the blue, they'd seen it  when exhibited  with 7th European Quilt Triennial ,  was it for sale ? After an exchange of  lovely emails (  we found we  had  many  shared interests  )  I was very happy to sell it knowing it  would be going to   a good home where it could be displayed.   
Its a very personal  piece of  indigo scraps  stitched to  lengths of Japanese kasuri  from a kimono purchased  in Tokyo  when I travelled there with Susan Briscoe in 2006:  

A  year of stitching in the form of a winding cloth: double-sided, semi-translucent in a continuous loop. Mainly sewn on train journeys, my stitching, like my travels, continues and repeats looping back to familiar and treasured places " 


 
  
I was thrilled when it was  juried  into the 7th  European Quilt   Triennial,  it was exhibited  at:  

Textilsammlung Max Berk Heidelberg (D)  19.09.2018 – 06.01.2019

Kreismuseum Zons Dormagen (D)    18.01.2019 – 24.03.2019

Textiles Centrum Haslach (A)            11.05.2019 – 30.10.2019

Textile Museum St. Gallen (CH)           14.02.2020 – 19.04.2020

 It was supposed  to have come to the UK as part of the Festival of Quilts  2020  where I was looking forward to  not only helping to set up the exhibition and steward but also to see all the wonderful other quilts in the exhibition.   Alas  COVID  intervened so it was  returned to me  and was still carefully packed up in its bag .  



 I  unfolded  it for one last look  reminding myself of the  journeys made  stitching it   before carefully packing  it up and posting it .  It has now arrived with its  new owner who has let me  know how much they appreciate it.  I hope one day to visit . 

  Now I'm  inspired to start  again on it's companion  piece  "Wrap  Me In The Shore"  which has been   put aside since NW retreat  in February . Though  I won't be stitching  on the train  anytime  soon I look forward to  playing with  scraps  and remembering past travels. 

 

Friday 16 October 2020

Livingmaps: Dreaming of a Post-Covid World


 I currently have 2  pieces of work in the  Lockdown Art  Exhibition  at Creek Creative, Faversham. I've visited a couple of times  now  and there's some really interesting   artwork  on display reflecting different peoples experiences.  Wonderful to be doing something almost ' normal' again! 

 ' Nimbushimano' 

'Shimanonimbus' 

 In July I produced  these collaged  maps in response to invitation  by the Livingmaps network   to submit work on the theme of  'Mapping the Pandemic : Dreaming of a Post-Covid- World' and took part in a fantastic  webinar . I've just been re-watching it  ( I'm  at 57 minutes )  and had forgotten   how varied  and  poignant the work was.   
This is now being  written up for publication in the LivingMaps Review,   below is the  image of  my submission and a   summary  of   the ideas behind it. 
  


 "Before lockdown I travelled regularly by train from Faversham in Kent to London to visit galleries and for art courses and made artworks based on my journeys, my ‘Space Out Of Time’.  These included an installation of stitched overlapping booklets of tracings of maps along the route.  I primarily work with multi-layered, worn, textiles:  double- sided semi-translucent loops, referencing the continual repeats of my travels and linear records of walks on painted strips of calico.   

In lockdown, my focus has become been very local, using my bike to explore the countryside around me. I’m increasingly risk averse and feel safer on my bike than on foot, a travelling island with limited contact with people. My map ‘Shimanonimbus’ uses photos of my bike, altered in Photoshop, de-constructed and collaged onto a background of painted newspaper with glimpses of underlying text and colour. The shapes remind me of places visited and where I hope to travel to once more."  


 Hop  Fields, Graveney Road ,  June 2020



 

Thursday 21 May 2020

Drawing Tuesdays

14 April: View from a Window

21 April: View from Below 

28 April: Bags Purses, Bins  ( I didn't know I had quite so many bags on the back of the door...) 

5  May : Vases, Jugs, Pitchers  ( think Morandi

12 May : Holiday Souvenirs (  Echidna from Australia above, Guinea Fowl from South Africa below) 


 

 19 May : View into a cupboard/ drawer ( kitchen drawer continuous line above; watercolour below )


 Enjoyed the doodles round the edge, capturing the essence of implements! 

Monday 13 April 2020

Keeping Going




World turned upside down ( or running empty ? ) 

 Today we  had our traditional Bank Holiday  brunch , yesterday we had  our usual Easter lamb with veg ; summer pudding and ritual sacrifice of a Lindt chocolate  bunny.  In some ways  it didn't feel that different  to usual  holidays when  we have  quality time together  but outside the bubble of our dining room the world  around is a scary place 

Before 
After

 We've been focusing on projects around the house , dismantling bookshelves, re-organising the garage ( and I've pumped the tires up on my bike ) and I've pulled out a lot of dandelions from the lawn
 We got a Waitrose delivery (ordered weeks ago) , probably the last for a very long time.

 I use ' Erica the Exercise bike' every day (  she was the subject I drew for Drawing Tuesday's ' Chairs' )


 And  going for a brisk walk round and round the rec , observing the squirrels, the trees coming into leaf and in this case my shadows. 

Last  weeks ' Drawing Tuesday' was 'Self- Portraits'   so I refreshed my rusty sewing machine drawing skills ( counterintuitive as you move the fabric rather than the drawing implement) 

In theory  have lots of time for creative projects  but  little motivation,  doing the ' Small Reflections' , the  'Drawing Tuesday'   sessions and the daily prompts   with the 'HottinGirls'   is  enough and all offer contact and support. 


 When  it was my turn to set the prompts , I used the titles from quilt exhibitions I'd been involved with and was amazed with the different  imaginative responses . My interpretation of 'Horizons'  was the rooflines from the bedroom (  my original  was ' Nautical Dawn'  which featured on the cover of the catalogue) 
 Other prompts have been more challenging eg  ' Quarantine '  ( 'Tahini Rage'- disproportionate rage over trivial things ) but also opportunities to reflect , tell stories  and find out more about each other
' Dig'  my mum's  trowel ,  well designed  and balanced , a pleasure to use.

 I miss  going to exhibitions in town , going to the sea,  my journeys  by train  but I'm enjoying the small things, like seeing  daisies come up in the lawn.  Keep safe

Sunday 29 March 2020

A Changed World...

 It's difficult to believe  that  just 5 weeks  ago , Ian and I were having Sunday  lunch at the Carriage Restuarant   in between talks at Faversham Literary Festival  before I headed off   to the Lake District  for my annual  sewing retreat.  So much has changed.
  At the Carriage, Nicky and Tania  are doing   a fantastic job cooking meals for those who need them ,   and we're luckier than most. Ian was already  working 3 days  a week  from home  but now full time, not having to go into London which was our biggest worry  tho' he's working longer hours  answering peoples concerns. 
 I was lucky enough to squeeze in a haircut just before lockdown which should  last  me a while. Faversham   has a real community spirit  and open spaces to exercise in.  There's several local food suppliers besides the  supermarkets,  and  we've got a full small chest freezer ( batch cooking  is something we've always done)
 Like many creative people,  in theory I have lots of time  at home now to  stitch and draw , and lots of projects  I could be working on   but as   many people are finding,  concentration and motivation are limited.   This week I've spent a lot of time in phone calls  with my MIL , finalising an online food order for them to  delivered on Monday ( she's used to shopping almost daily ) .



 Thank goodness for the internet and  social media, I'm  probably more in daily contact with people than I've ever been .  Since  January I've been  posting daily black and white photographs( ' Small Reflections')    with a group of around 150  people locally.  

   I used to meet once a month with sketching friends at the 'Hot Tin'. We all did the #30daysketchingchallenge   and  now we can't meet up  physically, we're  taking it in turns to  set prompts  which has been  challenging and hugely entertaining. I'm already thinking of what ones I'll set. 
' HotTinGirls' 
' Luxury' ( Reading in the bath , with apologies to Bonnard) 

'Temptation' ( looking at reference material when I should be doing something else) 

Likewise the 'Drawing Tuesday'  group, with museums closed  and not able  to meet up  has gone virtual. Last week we were all drawing tablecloths.

  On the Oast Quilters  Facebook  page we've been keeping in contact , posting photos of our studios,  first quilts and   having a drink together at 6.30 on a Friday !  ( the small circular depression on my SewEzi table is just the right size for a wine glass!)   What do you call #trainstitching  when you no longer travel?...
The 'Edgy Stitchers'  group I belong to had met up  at a members house at the beginning of March  - most of what we discussed then like visiting exhibitions is irrelevant now.  It was lovely to  have a Zoom meeting  with some of them  , see their studios and  sharing what we'd been up to, as well as  our frustrations, I look forward to  more of these  virtual gatherings.

 Being in contact with friends and family is so important ,  sharing  helps to  diminish the  worries   a  little  ( as does shared laughter)
 Keep well, keep safe.