Tree Rings

I've been thinking for a while how I could express the inspiration and ideas generated from  experiencing the work of David Nash. I've also been considering how I could interpret the theme 'Metaphors for Ageing' for entering SAQA exhibition. The two have come together  in tree rings and I've been working on a sample over the last few days stitching densely with machine into some hand dyed African batik. It's quite thick fabric and it has quite a sculptural form  which I love but might not please the quilt police! I found this wonderful acacia wood plate in the Kew shop yesterday when buying a calendar. It was so hard to choose!

The David Nash sculptures currently in the Shirley Sherwood Gallery have wonderful fissures and cracks. I'm working out how best to interpret these in  textile- as cuts or dense stitching to give the illusion of cracks?

David Nash Cork Structures

Back at work today and Kew is heaving with families enjoying themselves thanks to the '12 Days of Christmas' Free Entry offer. Still a couple of days to take advantage. It's much quieter behind the scenes as most people are still on leave.
One of the highlights of 2012 was having the ongoing sculpture installations of David Nash on site. I go past the Nash Conservatory (no relation!)  every day and as soon as the Cork Spire was installed in October I took Ian along to see it ( not just for scale)

It was assembled surprisingly quickly from this stash of cork bark sections  - there was scaffolding and someone blancing on a nifty-lift placing things in position.

It makes a wonderful companion piece in a different scale to the Cork Dome
I love how the colours have changed in just a few months

I wish I could afford this print which sums  up  the textures and shapes so well.

Lego Quilt Update -On the Design Wall

I've been motoring away making the 20 (4 x 5)  ten inch blocks for this lego quilt and they are now trimmed to size and pinned  on the design wall to marinate and tweak.  I've also  just about finished my Sketchbook  Project  using lithographs I made several years ago and have put together a sample for SAQA 'Metaphors for Ageing'  based on tree rings , inspired by the work of David Nash.
Just in time too as I feel I'm  going down with the lurgy that has put Ian in bed for the last 3 days.
At least I've had a productive end to the  year !!

Wishing us all a creative 2013.

Blue Marks Journal Quilts

Now the Christmas activities are over, with a well stocked freezer and fridge, I'm now in the second day of my planned creative period. First thing on my list was completing  my Journal Quilts 'Shades of Blue'. I had so many ideas that came to nothing - I worked for quite a while on  blue doors and printed off loads of images on  fabric before deciding they were too photographic and not enough blue! Sorting through my fabric stash  and scraps for potential bookwrap material, I came across some monoprints and leftovers from other projects with interesting marks so this became my theme.

 Several years ago  after Cas Holmes workshop I bought some Pebeo Soleil fabric paints and did some sun printing with weeds  from the garden, I combined these with some monoprints from Jo Budd workshop and machine quilted it

 I was pleased with the double stitched leaves I achieved on Indigo Winter School at Great Missenden and combined them with some scraps of arashi left over from 'Weymouth Waves', adding some machine stitching.

 I produced this gorgeous monoprint with  brush strokes of  screenprinting inks on silk when  working on pieces for Red Flotsam but couldn't bear to use it! So I took photos and inkjet printed sections out on fabric at different scales (below). I used different thicknesses of white thread and hand stitched it.  Definately an idea to follow up - having your cake and eating it!!

It has its limitations though - it doesn't have the sheen of the original so in this last JQ I used a silk satin monoprint, both shiny and matte sides and machine stitched with Madeira metallic thread. I really wanted to hand stitch it but ran out of time but I like the effect anyway.

 

I've really enjoyed this years challenge  and found it a useful process to explore and make mini-series on different themes resulting in a more cohesive collection. Look forward to seeing what next year brings! 

 

Festive Greetings

This year we have reduced the number of cards and printed copies of our annual letter we send out and are donating the savings made to 'Combat Stress'.

 With all our best wishes for the Festive Season and 2013

Mags and Ian

Catching Up Part I - Drawing at the V&A

Work finished for 2012  after heroic sessions catching up with transferring plants to fresh media; chilling and cryopreserving  orchids; putting a rare moss into sterile culture. The Christmas ham was collected this morning and Ian has anointed  it (and himself and the kitchen) with treacle glaze.  Cumberland sauce, Tiramisu, summer pudding , ginger macaroons and devils on horseback made and in the fridge. So finally a bit of time to catch up with a few blog posts I've been meaning to write!

The Friday following  the last of my National Gallery drawing sessions, we had booked tickets for the final days of 'Bronze' at the Royal Academy (more about  that in another post). I also had my lab Xmas lunch that day - as we didn't finish until 2, rather than going back to work  for a couple of hours before I was due to meet Ian,  I headed off to the V&A. I have my favourite haunts there  but influenced by my drawing classes I went for a wander around the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries. Lots of interest (including the wonderful Tristan and Isolde  quilt) but after all my weeks of studying folds in fabric  what caught my eye were the stylised folds of  'The Virgin Annunciate' drawn with distemper on linen.  Difficult to believe it's from 1500, it looks so modern!
I did a rough sketch but I'd like to return and do more detailed studies.
Appropriate too as I'm currently reading the  World Invisible  series on my Kindle which starts off with drawing in the V&A.

Thread and Surface

 

 Just received my copy of the 'Thread and Surface' Limited Edition  Sketchbook  Project   which includes a spread from my 'Distressed Doors' sketchbook.  

 

It's fascinating to see what other people have done with the same theme,  reminding me with pleasure of the evening I spent at Canada Water library looking through sketchbooks and giving me the inspiration to get cracking with my 2013 project which I've left to the last minute as usual!!

 

I think they chose well - the image of the door in a cave at Sougia in Crete  is the strongest composition.





 

 

The pages of my sketchbook were constructed from used 'colour catchers', treated with either inkaid or Golden Digital Ground and inkjet printed photos. I joined them together with connecting strips of non-printed colour catchers using zig-zag and then stitched them by machine using Madeira Polyneon thread.
Above are the 2 sides of the same sheet and below that how it looked once bound.