The Studio sorted out at last!

A lot of sorting out and re-arranging has had to be done in the studio in order to fit in all the new work from the exhibition..especially the antique furniture,some of whch I have had to tuck in under the tables, otherwise I would have had no room to work...here are a few new images of the space....although I have had to keep all the wall hangings rolled up as there just isn't enough wall space for them at the moment.They have been taken off their antique carved wooden mounts too, and these are
now standing in all their beauty on the shelf....as ancient works of art in themselves I think.

Unwinding...sewing & reading

It's been a busy week, dismantling my exhibition and ferrying it all down to the studio, followed by two days of sorting it out and fitting it all in....I must say that the studio felt really bare over the last 7 weeks, but now it is full once again, apart from the pieces which were sold.
Now that the work is all around me again, it has confirmed that I want to go further with combining ancient wood with the lace, so I have now aquired another 17th century offcut....this one already has quite a few small holes, so I am thinking of drilling a lot more and perhaps incorporating some stitching.
However....I am very much in need of a mental break, so today has been a perfect opportunity to spend the afternoon out in the garden under the trees with the beautiful William, sewing samples and reading.

I'm mounting the samples as "mini artworks", so they can be framed or given as gifts in the form of cards...although they are much more than cards...just small examples of my large works, made with as much detail, love and care, and they were popular at out Open Studio event, last year.
I've made some for the EAST textile art exhibition at Snape, as I joined the group after the exhibitions were in full swing, but I shall be able to join in, in 2012....I forgot to photograph them, which was a bit silly...so no images!

The Textile Blog: The Future Opportunities of Hand Production

The Textile Blog: The Future Opportunities of Hand Production: "Lacemaking in Lefkara, Cyprus from Etsy on Vimeo . Today's article was to be on a different aspect of lace design. However, I was approa..."

The pocket on the dress was made from an old Spillers Flour bag,referencing the part of a mother who is looking to nourish her family.
Comming from the pocket( not seen in th closeup) are the handmade Victorian tambour lace flowers used as signs of the joy inolved in doing this....they lead up to the stitched image of the family with the trailing threads, indicating that however hard a mother tries, she cannot always prevent the family from unravelling.

More "Fragments" from the Garden Room

Tomorrow is the last day of the exhibition....I have thoroughly enjoyed the the experience, and meeting so many lovely people, although so many lunch and coffee "dates" have all but bankrupted me over the six weeks!
Here are some different views, including a peep into the lovely 18th century cradle.

HELP...please

Suddenly I can't answer comments left on my own blog :(
When I try to, I have to enter my identity...plus the number code, and then I come up as "anonymous"!
Can anyone help me please?

The Poem

I wanted to use the beautiful mirror, and decided that it would be perfect for the poem the work has been based on.
It was important that the poem be handwritten, and the mirror to serve almost as a "notice board".

The Show: Inside the Garden Room

I'll just add a few images at a time of the show....it is now in he final week and closes on Saturday, but it has been such a rewarding experience.
I'm so touched by the kind, and positive feedback, and have met some lovely people whilst I've been popping in and out.
On Monday and Tuesday next, it will all come back to the studio....if I can fit it in! and I am quite looking forward to being surrounded by it, and hope it will continue to inspire me to go forward.
Before I start any more making,I am going to embark on some research into my 17th century ancestors who were heavily involved with the Flemish weavers and the Say & Bay trade in Colchester....it may turn out to be a blind alley, but this is where I am going next.The thread of my subject will still be there, but I am now looking to taking it even further.
I shall add more images over the next few days and thank you so much for your interest in my blog....I would love to hear from you.

New Images On The Way

It's been a really busy time with the exhibition in full swing, and as I didn't have a private view it has been a case of taking friends and family along most days in the weeks....which is lovely, but as there is an on site Bistro, it has been an expensive coffee and cake....or coffee and lunch season...however, I am not complaining as it has been a brilliant time with good friends, family and very good feedback ( and food....mroe weight loss needed!!).
The show runs untill the 18th, when it will all have to come back to the studio,which I have spent this week re arranging in order to fit it all in!
The studio looks so bare at the moment, that I am almost looking forward to it comming home....so far there is a red sticker on one piece, which is nice to see.
On Monday next I should be collecting the new images from my photographer friend, and will post them as soon as I can.

Victorian Love Token Brooch

"Darling" has been named after the lovely Victorian mother of pearl brooch which I placed on the bodice of the wool flannel petticoat.
The mother of pearl is very thin and finely cut....it would have been a gift to a sweetheart....a love token.
I ponder on who they were, and make up stories about their lives together which kept the brooch so safe for so long.

"Darling"

He...or she was once someones darling...wrapped in wool,comforted and warm...
the flannel petticoat kept as a memory...
looked at, perhaps in wonderment in years to come...
as I do with my own teasure...
did the man who now stands before me once fit into this tiny garment?
where did the years go...slipped away in busyness,
fastened tight in memory.

Detail from "Darling"

Today a friend took some professional photographs of my exhibition...I am excited as from what I have seen on his camera, there are some very interesting angles and closeups...much better than my offerings, so I will add them as soon as I have them.
In the meantime, here is a detail from the work on paper entitled "Darling".

Exhibition Images

My sketchbook and some antique treasures in the showcase....the needlecase belonged to my mother,and is made from blue kid leather with pages of cream wool.
it has a little christian poem cut from a magazine wrapped in celophane paper and pinned inside the cover....it has always been there and must have acted as an encouragement to her...mother's name was Jessie Betsy.

Minories "Darling"

Minories "Quilt Fragment"

Minories "Mother"

Minories "Perception" Wall hanging

Images From My Exhibition...corners of the lovely Georgian Garden Room

All Set Up & Ready To Go

Setting up could not have gone any better...lovely technicians, wonderful friends to transport everything and a beautiful room, it has been stress free and a pleasure.The room still has the original Georgian fireplace and white painted wood panelling and two huge sash windows with folding shutters which overlook the garden.
The building is actually Tudor in origin but was "modernised" in the 18th century so is typically Georgian in appearance.
A friend is going to borrow a "special lense" with which he will be able to capture the whole room apparantly...but I shall take simple photos myself too, and put them up on the blog very soon.

Going Well!!

Set up for the exhibition is going so well...the technicians are lovely and I couldn't have hoped for better.
The wall hangings and framed works are now all up with the technical issues all easily overcome, and the dresses are on their stands.
Tomorrow I shall be installing the three pieces of furniture...small country antique table, chair and a wonderful 18th century wooden rocking cradle I found at an auction last week....these, together with some simple scraps of fabric and needle and thread should help to create the atmosphere I am looking for.....one where it feels as if the maker from the past has only just absented herself from the room.
There are still lots of small jobs waiting to be done like writing, emails and all the odds and ends, so it will probably take the week, but now it is starting to feel exciting....I'll put pictures up before too long now.

Getting ready to exhibit

I'm almost ready....just the second dress to finish and all those last minute fiddly bits, but thankfully all of the making is done...apart from a new piece that I started tonight, but I think I will just include it as a "work in progress" as there will be no time for framing or hanging....also, I'm not sure at this stage what I want to turn it into, so I can relax about it.
I nearly didn't get my cards printed in time as of course the photography had to come first, and before I could do ,that the work had to be finished....I have started to have some weird stress dreams, but the cards arrived today after paying an exorbitant extra charge for speed printing and posting ...another lesson learned!
There are 6 different images I think, but I do like the partial shots...especially these two from the camisole and collar hangings:

Nearly There and Bird Song

I have been doing the boring and painful job of hand sewing bits of Velcro to the tabs of the wall hangings.
My own fault, in complicating things, as they are all to be hung from unconventional pieces of wood, so I had to be inventive!....I now have very sore fingers!
I've also altered one of the smaller pieces that has troubled me for ages....funny how one can know something is wrong, but not see what it is... sometimes for ages...here is a detail from "Bird Song":

Glimpses Again

Two more....I'm looking forward to sharing all of the complete works soon.

Glimpses

Absent from my blog, and working hard to prepare for my exhibition...just one more week to go before installation...and it will be an installation, the first I have made.
I have a beautiful Georgian room, and with the help of my tattered period armchair and some simple props, aim to create an atmosphere in which the maker ( from a previous century) is expected back in the room at any time!
Thre are 11 new works, and all the normal concerns over how they will technically be hung, as some are very heavy, and others are on unusual mounts, etc. but I'm not allowing myself to get stressed, as I know it will all work out in the end.
Just one more dress to make, and I'll be there.
Here are some more glimpses.

Family Sample

Here is a little sample worked as inspiration for the front of the "Mother" dress....loose threads showing that no matter how hard a mother tries, the family can still uravell...but even in the unravelling, love can hold relationships together.
This will go in the glass case along with my sketchbook and some wonderful small artifacts...one is a length of finely knitted Victorian lace which is still attached to the knitting needles.
Things are very busy now as I am setting up work in Slack Space Gallery, Colchester this week, and there are now less than three weeks to my solo exhibition...so much to do...it always feels like it will never get done....here's hoping and praying!

The combination of such ancient wood and antique lace seems just such simple beauty....although the lace, being Victorian, is nearly 300 years younger than the panel.

A Lovely Mother's Day At Cressing Temple

It was so peaceful to walk, sit and meditate in the walled garden at Cressing Temple Barns, with my daughter in law on Mother's day...just the little break needed in the hight of all that has to be done towards the exhibition.
I love walled gardens, and now have the inspiration I needed to change mine.Now I know how to replace most of the lawn...I shall make a small version of a knot garden and fill it with lavender and bee plants...it will take time,but then anything worth doing takes time...one day at a time is the way to tackle anything when the task seems too great to begin.

Detail from the new "Quilt Fragment"

A detail from the "new" Quilt Fragment".

Work In Progress

After the sale of the "Quilt Fragment" last year, I have always intended to make another...certainly not the same, as I don't do that, but one that also told another story.Here is an image of the work in progress...It is now finished, but I won't be able to put final images up untill the photography has been done, and I may leave it untill the exhibition opens. The panel with the glove is NFS, so it is ok to be up here.

Getting Ready For My Exhibition

In contrast to the intensive stitching and layering on much of my work,I am enjoying telling some simpler stories...this is a 17th century oak panel with an antique handmade glove.It was inspired by the glove which used to hang on the back of my studio door....and has now found a new home.I love old wood, and this new part of my journey seeks to combine it with the textiles.

Yay.....Well At Last !!

Just to let you all know that I am well at last....Flu & Bronchitis laid me low for nearly 6 weeks...but here I am at last....and working frantically to get ready for my exhibition at the Minories in Colchester.
Just 5 weeks to get several pieces made...plus all the other things to be done....and older work going into another show at Slack Space in Colchester, so it's late nights and waking up early with a "busy head"....images of some of the new work soon....xxxx

Absent for a while

For the first time in years I have been...am still very ill...a chest infection on top of Flu has laid me out for two weeks and it doesn't want to go away!
Hoping to be back here soon...am missing my studio, but have to patient and just rest....too many headaches to stay on the pc.

Fresh Inspiration

My lovely old body form has stood naked since her collar was sold in October....
I have experimented with many pieces on her since, but nothing sat worthily....untill now.
I have had this beautiful shattered Victorian fragment from the neck of a blouse or dress for a long time; it has inspired several progects, but it may now be time for it to become one in itself.....I have a vision of a wonderful neckpiece which will incorporate...sensitively, this fragment, but....how could it then be separated from the body it had grown on? Could I bear to part with both...as one artwork...this is a day for visions, thoughts and dreams.

The lovely detail at the foot of the frame.
Wonderful Lion masks....I am wondering if the textile work could somehow be put onto the mirror...it seems a shame to take the bevelled glass away completely...something to ponder.

A Wonderful Find

This had been thrown away by another artist, it is in need of repair but will be such a beautiful frame for a piece of very simple....but deep textile artwork.
I usually prefer plain rustic wood for frames, but this is crying out to be used and needs a work that is both the opposite of what the frame stands for and yet blends beautifully in context...
Once again I see my favourite words of "the unlike being joined"...I believe this contrast will always be important to me.