This framed work was made from a very thin layer of black, grey & white Norwegian wool, wet felted and sewn onto white muslin fabric using hand and machine stitching.
Wet felted black, grey & white Norwegian wool. Hand and machine stitched onto white muslin fabric.
Yesterday I went into Lincoln to see the Re-Action exhibition by Feltmaker Moira West being held in the Gallery at St Martins in Hungate. This little gallery hosts a regularly changing programme of art exhibitions from emerging and established artists and I was keen to visit on the Saturday as Moira was going to be there in person. It’s great to have the opportunity to view creative work of any kind when the artist is in residence to talk about how it came about and answer any questions you might have. Moira said she “was delighted to be invited by gallery manager and artist Phil Bowman to produce my fibre art for another solo exhibition. This body of work will stretch me artistically, whilst also allowing a continuing interpretation of human strength and weakness – a recurrent theme of my work.”
It was refreshing to enter a gallery and be encouraged, rather than discouraged, to touch all of the work on display. Moira believes that “art should create a sense of involvement for viewers, and prompt interaction between them and the work itself.”
Thought provoking work based around the subject of consumerism………
Her latest exhibition work relates to consumer excess, trade, and worship of the individual. This body of work is shown alongside some of her more important pieces from previous exhibitions.
“Freedom”, “Choice” and “Order”……. fabric, silk and wool.
“Hallelujah”….metallic threads and wool / “It’s What Shapes Us”…..jute, yak and wool
Moira’s work cried out to be handled as it is wonderfully textured and tactile. My favourite piece is the tall grey vessel entitled “Hallelujah – Leonard Cohen” from a collection inspired by singer song writers. The piece below is a detail from “Purple Rain” which combines steel mesh with British wool.
Detail of “Purple Rain”…..British wool, steel mesh, silver and linen warp thread.
It was lovely to meet the artist and see her work, if you get the chance the exhibition runs until 16th September.
Today saw the first of my workshops at the Alford Craft Market Centre. Alford Craft Market is a not for profit organisation promoting quality Lincolnshire Crafts run entirely by volunteers. The shop is stocked with a wide variety of hand-made items including ceramics, felting, textiles and jewellery to name just a few. There are always a variety of classes and workshops to choose from including pottery and glass, felting, textiles, etc. Classes are held in the Big Lottery funded studio at the rear of the Craft Market Shop.
I had five ladies in the studio today making Tyvek Leaves. It was a lovely group and a relaxing day, this is how they got on…..
Annie’s leaf
Jo’s leaf
Rose’s leaf
Allison’s leaf
Molly’s leaf
Next month we may be using some Tyvek again along with various other materials including Lutradur, Vilene, cellophane, fabric, paper and found objects when we spend the day creating with mixed media.
My Nuno felted Autumnal Collar has been left to dry overnight and this is how the finished piece looks……
I was pleased with the shape and size of the grey merino collar I made recently so thought I would stick with those proportions to make an Autumnal Nuno Collar using the “tile” technique.
Colour scheme based on a Charity shop silk scarf.
A shop bought yellow/orange/purple silk scarf formed the basis of my colour scheme. Using a set of Colorhue silk dyes I mixed a yellow and purple to use on Uzbek silk to tone in with the patterned scarf. The colours were incredibly vibrant and brighter than intended but the “Dune” Superfine Merino from World of Wool has knocked it right back and it looks very subtle in the finished scarf.
Uzbek silk painted with Colorhue silk paints
All together there were tiles from four different silk fabrics, this close up shows some of the wonderful textures that have resulted from them.
Nuno felted collar, still wet but looking lovely!
Tomorrow I will post a photo of the finished collar……once it’s had time to dry out and show its true colours.
When I’m teaching workshops I get a lot of satisfaction from motivating students and from seeing their finished work, but not everyone gets to finish their project in class. So I get particularly excited when someone takes the time to photograph their finished piece and email it to me. This week I’ve recieved images of Jane and Pams Tyvek Leaves, beautifully executed and framed, which they created at the workshop in Billinghay last week.
Also Deborah sent me this photo of her wonderful Bergschaf wall hanging which was made at the workshop in East Keswick earlier this month.
My latest Merino wool collar has been created using 23micron wool tops from Bronte Glen. I love greys and neutral shades so was automatically drawn to this particular blend called Storm. It’s made up of Raven, Granite, Mocha and Champagne and, although it turned out darker than I expected, I absolutely love it! The circular brooch is made from the same wool and machine embroidered using Madeira rayon threads.
This year, for the first time, I will be one of the exhibitors at the Big Textile Show at Leicester Racecourse which is being held in October. I will be displaying various art quilts along with my felted creations.
It’s a terrific show with very diverse work……here are a few of my favourite images from last year.
One of the textile groups I belong to is LINQS (Lincolnshire Quilters) and each year we respond to a challenge to make an art quilt based on the life or works of a particular person. Our latest challenge was inspired by Sir Isaac Newton and the work will be on display over the coming bank holiday weekend at Waltham Windmill. The exhibition is free and we will be having a sales table and demonstration area. There will be lots of other things going on at the working Mill with shops, cafes, picnic area, miniature train rides and a model engineers marquee, etc so a great venue for a family day out!
The exhibition is open from 10am – 4 pm on the Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Here are just a few examples of what we have on show…..
Gravitree by Jean Proud
Inspired by the life and work of Sir Isaac Newton by Karen Lane
The Mind of a Genius by Mary Jackson
Woolsthorpe Manor by Pat Cave
Lincs In Stitches 
