Completion Catharsis

Gold paper and feather collage

Wow, it's been a long time since my last post! When I started this blog ten years ago way back in 2009 the world, particularly the digital world, was a different place. Over the last decade social media has exploded, our use and reliance on the internet has grown hugely and the the world of blogs is not what it was. Don't worry, this isn't a "isn't modern life terrible lets live in a cave" kind of post, I just want to set out some of my thoughts.

Jackdaw, 2019
Fabric pastel and hand embroidery on linen

Jackdaw, 2019
Fabric pastel and hand embroidery on linen (detail)

Over the last decade I've used my blog for different things; reflecting, recording, promoting, ranting and sharing to name a few. Recently though I've not used it much at all. Social media channels such as Instagram have meant that I share "little and often" rather than saving things up and writing blog posts about them. Like most things this is good and bad; it's great being able to quickly share and connect with people but for me the downside is that I don't share much 'in-depth' information and I certainly don't share as much of my reflections (which may actually be a good thing; it's probably only interesting to me anyway!) There are also other reasons for not blogging so often, I'm very busy being one of them! I also started a newsletter so information that would maybe previously have gone on here goes straight into that.

Flow: Moon, 2019
Hand embroidery and found objects on naturally dyed fabrics 

Sometimes I miss this blog and posting regularly but mostly it sits here, waiting for me. I don't know whether I'll carry on writing it next year but I'll leave it here for a while and see. I like to look back over my posts occasionally, it reminds me how far I've come and what I've achieved. Which leads me back to the reason I started writing this post which was to share some finished pieces with you. These have all been 'works in progress' for some time and I really wanted to get them done before the year is out so I've been enjoying sitting down with them and working on them until they're resolved.

Flow: Moon, 2019
Hand embroidery and found objects on naturally dyed fabrics (detail)

Some pieces come together quickly and easily, others need time and several attempts to get them done, which is the case for Jackdaw and Flow: Tide-lines. Often it isn't even that I don't know what to do it's just that I'm not in the right mood or there are too many other things that must be sorted first. I find that, particularly with hand embroidery, I really need to be able to sit in peace to resolve these works, it's so time consuming that I feel like I need a clear block of time to get stuck in. It's a bit odd really as the process is actually very calming and meditative and easy to pick up and put down. Maybe it's just my need for some quiet time?

Flow: Tide lines, 2019
Hand embroidery and found objects on naturally dyed fabrics

Flow: Tide lines, 2019
Hand embroidery and found objects on naturally dyed fabrics (detail)

Whatever the reasons, these pieces have been a long time in the making but I'm pleased to have finished them and have them ready to share with the world. I have a head (and several sketchbooks) full of ideas of what I want to do next in my work and having cleared these pieces from my 'to-do list' I feel like I'm ready to start working on some of these ideas. Maybe I'll share them on here and maybe not, we'll see!

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.

Sky High: Exhibition at Farfield Mill

Around about this time last year I was busy working on my first solo exhibition 'As the Crow Flies' at RSPB Geltsdale. It was a really good experience for so many different reasons. It gave me an opportunity to focus on my personal practice and an incentive to see ideas through to finished pieces and it had a huge effect effect on my confidence; creating the work and putting it all up showed me that I could create a professional exhibition on my own and the feedback I got was so positive, the exhibition was extended as it proved very popular with visitors to the site. I also sold quite a few pieces of work which is always a good confidence booster too! It was also a good opportunity to bring my work together and see what I'd done and where I wanted to go with it.

As the Crow Flies, RSPB Geltsdale 2016/2017

As the Crow Flies, RSPB Geltsdale 2016/2017

Following on from the success of 'As the Crow Flies' and feeling inspired and positive I made an enquiry at Farfield Mill in Sedburgh about the possibility of exhibiting there. Farfield Mill is an arts, crafts and heritage venue based in an old Victorian Mill. I always enjoy visiting as they have a good range of exhibitions (with a strong focus on textiles,) lots of artists studios and an excellent cafe! I was delighted to hear back that they would be interested in displaying my work and would be in touch. Not long after they got in contact and asked if I'd be interested in exhibiting this Autumn. I was a little hesitant at first as it was not long away but I really wanted to show my work at the mill so I said yes.

Farfield Mill, Sedburgh

Installing (along with work from previous show!)

I went down to visit the mill and met Anne Mackinnon who as well as being a talented artist organises the exhibitions at Farfield Mill. It was interesting talking to her, especially as we had both done the Embroidery degree at Manchester Metropolitan University, albeit at different times. It was good talking about our work and looking at the different spaces. The space that the mill wanted to house the exhibition in is the Howgill gallery, a lovely big open space with lots of light. As it was quite short notice and it's a big space Anne suggested sharing the gallery which I thought was a good idea; it takes some of the pressure off but is also a good chance to work with other artists and see how my work interacts with theirs. We looked at several artists and decided that the beautiful, moody landscapes of Daniel Cooper would be perfect. Luckily, Daniel was happy with this idea to and so we set about getting the show organised.

Exhibition Views: Cyanotypes

Exhibition Views: Cyanotypes and banners

Exhibition Views: Banners

Having an exhibition to work to is both exciting and stressful, it is very good for focusing the mind and makes you really prioritise what you have to do, especially if you are working in a limited time frame. Daniel made a beautiful poster for the show and I did something I hate doing but which is quite useful; making a spreadsheet. I catalogued all my work with dates, dimensions, prices and lots of other information, I can't claim to have enjoyed it but it's a useful thing to have!

My Magpies in the windows...
Curiosity 2016

My Magpies in the windows...
In the Shadows 2015

My Magpies in the windows...
Hail to the Thief, 2014

Installing the exhibition was surprisingly easy. The people at Farfield Mill were really friendly and helpful and the hanging system is very easy to use. The downside to the system is that it's not always easy to get pictures, particularly smaller ones, to lie flat against the wall. What I like about it though is that it's easy to rearrange and there's no banging of nails and drilling of screws.

Exhibition Views: A Drop in the Sea, 2015

Exhibition Views: Sky Collar, 2017

Exhibition Views: Flight I and Flight II, 2016

I'm really excited to be showing my work at Farfield Mill and I'm really pleased with how my work looks up in the gallery. It's also very exciting to be exhibiting with another artist and I think our pieces complement each other well. I think it works well because although our subject matter is different we share similar colour palettes and are looking at similar ideas; the natural world and our place in it and our response to it.

Exhibition Views

Exhibition Views

Exhibition Views: Daniel Cooper's prints

At the end of the month I'm running a Mini Textile Banners workshop alongside the exhibition, which can be booked through Farfield Mill. If you go and see the show I'd love to know what you think!

Sunshine and Feathers: Cyanotypes

Cyanotypes on watercolour paper drying outside

Last year I did a little bit of experimenting with cyanotypes; mixing the chemicals myself and preparing the paper and fabric for printing. I really enjoyed the process and the results and a couple of the pieces I made I showed in my exhibition 'As the Crow Flies' at RSPB Geltsdale. I've got another exhibition coming up in October at Farlfield Mill and I really wanted to make some more sun prints for it, carrying on some of the ideas I'd been looking at last year.

Cyanotype on watercolour paper

Cyanotype on watercolour paper

Cyanotype on watercolour paper

During the summer in Cumbria it doesn't really get properly dark, at least not until very late. To prepare the solutions and fabrics/papers for cyanotype printing you need darkness as the solution is light reactive. This had been causing me a bit of trouble as our house is very light and our curtains are pretty but not that effective at keeping out all the light! However, I was lying in the bath the other night and noticed that it was actually getting quite dark (this was about 9.30 pm.) I was seized by the urge to create some fabrics ready for cyanotype printing. I got out of the bath, closed all the curtains in my studio and began mixing chemicals (in a health and safety conscious manner of course.)

Preparing the chemicals

Preparing the materials

Preparing the solutions isn't that hard, it just requires a bit of careful measuring and mixing. Painting the prepared solution onto the paper and fabric is also not that hard (however, I was now starting to lose my earlier enthusiasm and wish I'd gone to bed instead!) What is a challenge in our lovely light infused house is keeping the fabric in the dark so that it can dry properly. Using a combination of a fan and getting up at silly o'clock to check on the drying progress I managed to get most of my prepared materials dry and packed away before the sun came up.

In the sunshine

In the sunshine

In the (mostly) sunshine

The next step is to wait for a sunny day. Of course it is usually very sunny in Cumbria but as with all things when you really want it to be sunny it rarely is. I was working in the studio on some embroideries and checking the weather; which was decidedly cloudy and threatening to rain but there were sunny spells. I reached a point where I couldn't carry on with the piece I was working on (I'd run out of fusible webbing) so was feeling a bit irritable and fed up. I decided to risk having a go at doing some sun printing. I closed the studio curtains again and blacked out the kitchen window, gathered my feathers and started arranging feathers onto my prepared fabrics and papers. This all had to take place in the dark so I didn't activate the cyanotype chemicals.

Before rinsing

Rinsing

Rinsing

I then headed outside and let the magic begin! I used glass to weight the feathers down as being feathers they're very light and liable to blow away otherwise. I love watching the chemicals that I've painted onto the paper or fabric reacting with the light. The feathers block out the light and this is what creates the print, it is interesting using patterned feathers as different colours allow different amounts of light through so the chemicals react to a greater or lesser extent, which shows up in the final print. As it turned out the sun continued to shine brightly, allowing me to print all of my prepared materials and the clouds drifted off elsewhere.

Experimenting with splashing before rinsing

Resulting print

When I think the print is fully reacted I cover it up and take it inside (where it's dark) to 'set' it. I carefully remove the feathers and wash the print in water to remove the excess chemicals. At this point the classic blue and white emerges. When printing on silk you can hardly see the print until you rinse it when it seems to appear out of nowhere. I love this part of the process, seeing a print emerge and judging whether it was a good print or not so good. I also experimented with splashing water on some of them before rinsing, a technique I'd seen used by H Lisa Solon on Instagram.

I was really pleased with some of the prints I produced, especially some of the ones on paper and a big print on cotton that I'd been planning for some time. There were casualties, I'd tried printing on tracing paper which was very effective but unfortunately I was a bit rough during the rinsing stages and it all fell apart. I'll have another go next time!

The remains of a cyanotype print on tracing paper

Cyanotype on watercolour paper

Cyanotype on watercolour paper

Cyanotype on silk

Much of my work at the moment is about the sky in the sense that I'm interested in the human desire to transcend and to our tendency to look skywards for inspiration. The feathers I use represent birds which in turn represent us being able to fly up to the next level. Cyanotypes suit these ideas well as they have the blue of the sky and require the sun to create them. Mr. Stitches said that my big print on cotton reminded him of a witch doctors costume which I was really pleased about as this is kind of what I'm aiming for, a shamanistic approach to exploring our need to look beyond what we have and where we are.

Cyanotype on cotton: Exposing

Cyanotype on cotton

Adding stitch

I've started stitching into some of the prints already and I'm looking forward to showing them at Farfield mill. I'm using gold thread to represent the gold of the sun and red to represent blood/life.

Cyanotypes on silk with hand embroidery

Cyanotype on silk with hand embroidery

Cyanotype on silk with hand embroidery

Cyanotype on silk with hand embroidery