Working with cloth and stitch myself, I'm always interested to see what textile pieces are chosen for the RA Summer Exhibition. There's always a lot of chattering on yahoo groups about how few there are but in the end, regardless of what media , it has to work as art - if that means framing or mounting on canvas so be it. I had to include Eileen Hogan's wonderful oil painting 'self-portrait through wardrobe ' as it sparked all kind of ideas related to 'travellers blanket' I've just started. I think I'd have to do a painting of my earring collection ( which is not small....)
 |
| 126 El Anatsiu |
Another wonderful varied piece by El Anatsui, it was great to get up really close to examine the different materials used
 |
466 Bridget Bernadette Karn
Although not really my taste, this felted picture fitted in well with the 'landscape' theme of the gallery and the texture of the wool made it far more interesting and atmospheric than if it had been a painting. Fascinating video here of how she does it. She also posted several pictures on Facebook asking which she should submit and had a very good response ( I voted myself , but not for this piece)
|
 |
| 855 Jacques Lawrence Calver |
I really liked this piece by
Jacques Lawrence Calver, you can really see the influence of 'Boro' in his work.
 |
| 668 Miranda Argyle |
It's good to see work by Miranda Argyle included again. Always thought -provoking , this piece 'inside out' is based on MRI scan of the brain with the underside showing ( read more about it
here)
I 'm a big fan of the 'unconscious side' of stitched work
 |
| 846 Susie Koren |
I wasn't a big fan of
Susie Koren's prize winning quilt ' Gravitational Force' last year at FoQ - the stitching and mark-making was rather lost on such a huge piece. But the two framed pieces here worked much better, stitching as a form of drawing, they looked like fragments of old maps or manuscripts.
 |
| 1014 Susie Koren |
 |
| 1216 Joe Tilson |
In Gallery X devoted to photography , the large tapestry 'Look' certainly drew your attention.
 |
| 1078 Eva Rothschild |
This year I found the mix of sculptural work in the lecture Room overcrowded, overwhelming, I didn't spend very long in there. 2 pieces close to each other were this wool embossed blanket set in resin ( the quilt police definitely wouldn't like that but I liked the enhancement of the texture and intensity of the blue/black colour)
 |
| 1072 Brian Griffiths |
I was intrigued by these dyed kitbags and investigating further online, found they were part of what seems a fascinating, poignant ,
site specific installation recording the history and stories of an old boxing club.
 |
| 308 Lindsey Archer |
I normally only give a cursory look at the gallery devoted to architecture ( something about all those straight lines ....) but 2 pieces caught my eye. I loved the quirkiness of these little structures made of paper, card , aluminium by
Lindsey Archer. It's interesting to contrast the arrangement in what I assume was the submission photo ( top) with the more organic layout in the gallery itself.
 |
| 333 Julie Massie |
This is the piece I would have wanted to take home with me - I've never seen porcelain used in this way, the qualities of of the edges spoke to me, especially when I found Julie Massies
website with further work inspired by the fragility of coastlines.
