Wingspan: An Exhibition of Art and Poetry

I'm really excited to be exhibiting at the RSPB Geltsdale Visitor Centre again. In the winter of 2016/17 I had my show 'As the Crow Flies' there and it was a really important moment for me. 'As the Crow Flies' proved popular with visitors and I was delighted to be asked back. It's a lovely space to exhibit, very light and quirky and set in a beautiful location.

Stagsike Cottage

Stagsike Cottage

Mr. Stitches and an empty gallery

My partner, Mr. Stitches aka Nick Robinson, is a writer and as I'd be dragging him out bird-watching with me he'd been writing some poems inspired by birds and the nature reserves we visited. I asked him if he'd like to do an exhibition with me; my artwork and his poems as we are both inspired by the beautiful and wild places in Scotland and Northern England that we visit. He thought this was a good idea and so we went for it.

Exhibition view

Exhibition view

Exhibition view

I'm really pleased with the exhibition, I've made some new pieces and there's more colour than in a lot of my previous work. As I've been exploring natural dyeing recently a lot of these experiments have made their way into my pieces and are an important part of how my work is evolving. More and more I'm interested in our connection and relationship with the natural world and I want to explore this in my pieces.

Exhibition view

Exhibition view

Exhibition view

Nick explores some similar themes in his poems and I think that his poems and my pieces complement each other well. It's been great working together on this project and I think we've inspired each other. I'd had the idea for Owl Moon in my head for a long time but when Nick wrote his poem 'Owl Moon' I finally had the incentive I needed to make the piece.

Owl Moon, 2018

Edge, 2017

Little Egret, 2018

Little Egret (detail) 2018

We've also made a book to go with the exhibition. This has more of Nick's poems and illustrations and some of my artwork in. It's available to buy through blurb or we have a few copies for sale at the exhibition.

Our book

Our exhibition is on until 21st May 2018. If you'd like to visit it is free (but all donations to the RSPB are gratefully received.) The car park is about a mile from the visitor centre at Stagsike Cottage but it's a lovely walk. You can park up at the centre if necessary, please contact them to arrange this in advance (geltsdale@rspb.org.uk or call 01697 746717.) If you visit I'd love to hear what you think so do please get in touch.

Embellishing Printed Fabric: Workshop for Dumfries and District Embroiderers Guild

Fantasy Broccoli: Work in progress
Fabric markers and hand stitch on printed fabric by a member of Dumfries and District Embroiderers Guild

I get lots of workshop bookings and running workshops is one of my favourite parts of my practice. Usually I'm booked up 3-6 months in advance and most bookings come with that kind of notice. Some groups work much further in advance, planning their schedules a year or two ahead so sometimes I take bookings for a couple of years down the line, it always seems so far away when I take the booking but it always comes around sooner than I think! This was the case with a recent workshop for the fabulous Dumfries and District Embroiderers Guild. 

Setting up

Adding colour

Creating individual designs

When I took the booking back in 2016 I was running my 'Embellishing Printed Fabrics' workshop quite often; I find that I tend to run the same workshop several times in a short space of time and then it swaps to a different workshop. It was really good to come back to running this workshop after a bit of a break (I only ran it once last year) as it's a very relaxing workshop and offers a good opportunity to experiment and try out new stitches and colour combinations. 

Artistic license onion!

Choosing threads

Using home made stencils

I developed this workshop as I found that a lot of people wanted to do hand embroidery and stitching but weren't confident drawing or creating designs and this was holding them back. I had some lovely black and white printed fabric from Ikea so I started using fabric markers and pastels to 'colour in' the design and use this as a starting point for stitching. It's a great way to practice stitching and is a lovely mindful activity; it involves colouring in and stitching both of which have proven therapeutic benefits. 

Choosing colours

Work in progress

Work in progress

I always feel a little nervous running workshops for Embroiderers Guild groups; many of the members have far more skill and experience than me and it can be a bit intimidating. What I can offer though is a different way of approaching things and hopefully some new ideas and inspiration, not to mention my impressive printed fabric stash. It was great working with the Dumfries and District Embroiderers Guild, they were so friendly and welcoming and everyone was very positive and enthusiastic. It was lovely working with a group who are so open to new ideas and trying things and who have so much going on. I was asked to join the branch and if it wasn't for the fact that it clashes with my work at The Heathlands Project I'd have definitely taken them up on the offer! 

Work in progress

Work in progress

Work in progress

As always when running my workshops one of the most inspiring things is seeing the different ways people interpret the same idea. Everyone did something a bit different and I was pleased that I could provide that starting point and hopefully a bit of creative advice and inspiration along the way. One of the lovely things about hand embroidery is that because it is quite a slow process it allows time for conversations and thoughts to flow, often along quite unexpected lines!

Work in progress

Work in progress

Work in progress

I finished the day tired but full of positivity and enthusiasm (and delicious carrot and bean soup from Cafe Hubbub at Gracefield Arts Centre.) The group has an exhibition coming up along with The Dumfries and Galloway Guild of Spinners, Weavers and Dyers and the Solway Quilters. The show is called 'Hanging by a Thread' and runs from 14th April-12th May at Gracefield Arts Centre, I'm looking forward to visiting. 

Work in progress

Work in progress

Work in progress