Train Stitching Part 2 : a beginning

 After several false starts and ideas that didn't come to fruition, I've finally got going  on a new 'train stitching' piece. I began it on my birthday, gathering together some scraps to take with me and pin to the  background fabric 

I didn't want to replicate exactly 'Wind Me In The Sea' ( detail below) which I'm delighted to say has been accepted for 7th European Quilt Triennial  which will open in Heidelberg in September but I like the idea of using indigo again but combined with some other colours . I tried different combinations  of colours and materials for scraps and backgrounds  but nothing was really gelling .   

Then looking again at the work I'd put together for Cwilt Cymru 'Traces' exhibition  with it's use of Musa's kola  fabrics  with indigo shibori   along with  paintings  seen in Margate and the colour palette I'd used for 'Painting the Novel' , I  made the connection that the subtle hues of the shoreline are what  grabs me at the moment. Working with a restrictive palette gives more opportunities to explore the tonal range, shape and composition as well as mark-making. I'll probably use the same range of colours for course with Gizella Warburton in  a couple of weeks.  

So I've  started gathering together scraps into  one of my African baskets and am  experimenting with wrapping some strips around the kasuri background fabric .  Lots of decisions to make - how many strips of kasuri to use, whether to join them together in a loop or as separate strips,  what colour threads to use. But the process is what's fun and at last I'm excited to be stitching again. 

Cwilt Cymru Exhibition 'Traces'

Not long now until Cwilt Cymru  exhibition 'Traces'  opens at Stockport War Memorial Art Gallery. I'm honoured to have one of my  quilts feature on the flyer ( above) . 

I'll also be at the preview 'meet the artists' on Saturday 3 March 2-4pm 

Indigo Ripples 

Shorelines

Hidden Fractures

Fleet Mudflats

Back to Birchington

We revisited Birchington on -Sea  on Sunday and had a lovely walk and delicious Sunday roast at the Minnis Bay. We haven't been since last year and I wanted to gather further photos and sketches of the breakwaters which have provided a rich source of inspiration for my recent series of artworks.

Also  an appropriate place to celebrate   my quilt being selected for Fine Art Quilt Masters at the Festival of Quilts. Being one of only 20 shortlisted from entries all over the world is a real honour! I'm not sure of the etiquette in showing you the quilt yet as is still has to be judged so I'm erring on the side of caution.

 As a change from breakwaters, I've also been studying the layers of the cliffs, I'm thinking of a tryptich.

Traces, Places

 January 2017

After a lot of cogitating,  ' Traces,Places' is the theme I've chosen for CQ Journal Challenge  2017 , hopefully broad enough to encompass  interpretations of  my surroundings in scraps and old quilts. I have big plans ! and  intend to use these as samplers   and try-outs for larger pieces , partly working towards  Cwilt Cymru's next exhibition ( the theme being 'traces')   but also  entries for  other  competitions and exhibitions as well as building up a series of work  based on the breakwaters and sea defenses at Birchington.  

Postcard textile  sketches

  It always takes me a while after I've been doing  an art course  and been bombarded with ideas and techniques to see what sticks, to see what I can take and use in my own work. There was  a lot of useful stuff covered in 'Advanced Painting'  particularly in strategies for starting; choice of colour   and 'steal like an artist ' looking at others work , pinching ideas and making it your own .

Paul Nash

John Piper

 One of the lessons was on using Photoshop or similar, not only at the start  but to look at your own work differently ( eg  reviewing tone, increasing saturation or contrast) and try different scenarios out.  As I've been thinking for a while of using the back of an old red and white log cabin ( I love the holey 'marks'!) ,I'd already been playing with images  using  the 'conte' filter .  The images above are manipulated artwork of Paul Nash and John Piper  while the image below is one of my photos of Birchington
.

And then manipulated  copies of my own work 'Bexhill Breakwaters'

 When CQ  Kent group came to visit ( there were 10 of us  packed in the lounge!) I gave a very quick demo of the acrylic  techniques I used ( summarised in a series of posts I did for 'And then we set it on fire... 'blog).  I'd forgotten  the delights of painting over old stitching samples ( below)  

So I'm currently  revising the methods I was using and working on some samples to  try painting on ( a lot of stitching from the back  of a gessoed section of quilt with Perle thread in the bobbin) . Watch this space!