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!

Flutter by, Butterfly: Dissolving Fabric and Machine Embroidery Workshops

Butterfly Brooches
Machine embroidery on water-soluble fabric 

When I first got really interested in textiles as an art form (in my early teens) I was fortunate enough to be introduced to a whole range of exciting media and techniques by a relative undertaking their City and Guilds qualification. She was very generous with her time and materials and I still use a lot of what she taught me today. One of the things I was introduced to was water-soluble fabric. Not very helpful for fabric to dissolve in water you might think but artistically it has many possibilities; particularly when combined with another of my passions which is free machine embroidery.

Creating leaves with machine embroidery on water-soluble fabric 

Creating leaves with machine embroidery on water-soluble fabric 

Leaves created with machine embroidery on water-soluble fabric 

I've always been fascinated by transparent and lacy fabrics and water-soluble fabric enables me to create intricate, unique fabrics and pieces with embroidery. In essence the process is very simple; draw with the sewing machine onto the water soluble fabric (making sure the stitches all join up) and then dissolve the fabric in water, leaving the delicate tracery of stitches.

Small bowl created with machine embroidery on water-soluble fabric 

Small bowl (detail) created with machine embroidery on water-soluble fabric 

It's a material and a technique that I've returned to repeatedly over the past 20 years (writing that makes me feel very old) and I'm still fascinated by the challenge of using it to create a self supporting and unique textile. Towards the end of last year I was asked if I wanted to run some workshops that expanded on the skills I teach in my basic machine embroidery workshop. Working on water-soluble fabric immediately popped into my head and over the past few weeks I've finally had a chance to get up into my studio and work up a few samples and ideas.

Work in progress

Camberwell Beauty
Machine embroidery on water-soluble fabric

When designing workshops it's often helpful to have a 'finished object' outcome and this technique lends itself really well to making textile jewellery. With this in mind I decided to develop some brooches (a good one size fits all object) and decided that the beautiful jewel like colours of insects, specifically butterflies, would be a good subject matter. So, I got out my books, my sewing machine and my threads and I started creating.

Adonis Blue
Machine embroidery on water-soluble fabric

I've really enjoyed making my little flock, refining my technique and thinking of how I will share this with participants. I want my workshops to be 'jumping off points.' I want to share my skills and knowledge but more importantly I want to give people the confidence to take what I've learnt and bend it to their interests and to take it further, try things I've never thought of and see where it could lead.

Large White
Machine embroidery on water-soluble fabric

Butterflies
Machine embroidery on water-soluble fabric

If this has sparked your interest and you'd like to join me to learn the techniques I've used to create my butterflies and to have a go at making your own unique textile piece then I will hopefully be running a workshop at Holm Sown, Castle Douglas on 15th February (TBC) and one at The Eden Workshop, Plumpton on 3rd April (TBC.) Please contact the respective venues for more details and to book a place. I hope to see you there!

Purple Hairstreak
Machine embroidery on water-soluble fabric

Back in the studio...

Dipper
Machine embroidery and fabric paint on cotton. 2018

Over the past couple of weeks I've been able to get back into my studio a bit more and it feels really good to be working there again. We've had quite a stressful few months for various reasons and I haven't had much time to focus on my own practice. I had a look back through my book of knowledge (the notebook that contains all my thoughts, to-do lists, projects, ideas and so on) and I kept seeing 'need more time for my work' so I'm really pleased to finally be able to spend a bit of time on my own practice.

Dipper (detail)
Machine embroidery and fabric paint on cotton. 2018

Dipper (detail)
Machine embroidery and fabric paint on cotton. 2018

Mr. Stitches and I try and go for a walk every day as it has so many benefits for both mental and physical well-being and on one of our evening walks last week we saw three dippers together. I often see them along the river but usually only one at a time. I'd been thinking for a while about doing a dipper portrait and seeing them on our walk prompted me to actually get on and do it. I decided it would be a good project to get myself back into working in my studio.

Design drawing

I began by drawing out my dipper, I only make portraits of birds I've seen because it's important to me to observe and then capture a bit of their character rather than just what they look like. I love the way the dipper moves and the way it suddenly disappears underwater, it always seems as if it's been swept away but then it pops up again, fine and unharmed. To create my drawings I do use photographs and reference books as well as any quick sketches I've made whilst watching the bird to supplement my memory of the bird.

Work in progress

Work in progress

I then used my sewing machine to 'draw' my dipper onto fabric. I started with a black outline and then added some hints of other colours. I didn't want to put a background in, as I very rarely do, but I did want my dipper to have something to perch on so I added a rock and some swirling water so it wasn't floating in space. At this point I hadn't decided whether or not I was going to add any applique or paint; I was keen to experiment a bit with paint and in the end this is what I decided to do.

Rook
Machine embroidery and fabric paint on linen. 2016

Often when I use fabric paint I use the paint first and add the embroidery over the top but for this piece I wanted to do the reverse. I made a portrait of a rook a couple of years ago using this technique and I've been thinking about experimenting more with it recently. I wanted the result to be quite watery and for the colours to bleed out into each other and the background. I wanted to do it this way partly to evoke the watery world of the dipper but also to suggest the fragility of the bird and it's environment; our wildlife and environment are under so much pressure and I wanted to comment on this.

Sketches, books and work in progress

From sketch to drawing to finished piece

I really enjoyed making this piece, although at several points I considered abandoning it as it wasn't going quite as I envisaged. I'm pleased with the way the fabric paint has worked and I think this might be an interesting idea to explore further in other pieces. As an added bonus I received a message asking if the piece was for sale after I posted a picture on Facebook. It's always a nice confidence boost when someone wants your work on their wall and I'm delighted that the dipper will be going to a home where it will be appreciated!

Changing Impressions: Remembrance Workshops at Cumbria's Museum of Military Life

Objects and samples ready for the workshop

Earlier in the Summer I wrote a couple of posts about projects I've been involved in connected to the centenary of the end of the First World War. One of the projects I've been involved with was designing and delivering a drop in workshop (two actually) for Cumbria's Museum of Military Life as part of their Remembrance 100 programme.

Stitching

Making a rubbing

Adding stitching

In all honesty drop in workshops are not my favourite; the activity needs to be accessible and achievable in a very short time frame but should also be able to be extended if visitors want to stay, you never know how many people you're going to get and a lot like busses participants tend to either not turn up at all or all come at once! However, they are a great way of getting people in to museums and offer an easy way for people to participate which I do think is a really good thing.

Exploring colour

Rubbings and stitching

Adding stitching

Memory and how it changes over time is a theme I'm currently exploring in my own work so I was interested in creating a workshop that looked quite broadly at remembrance; what it means to remember and how that changes. (I wrote a bit about this on my post about the Remembrance 100 exhibition if you're interested to read more.) I'd also been asked to give the workshop a textiles focus, which was good for me as of course I love working with textiles.

Getting involved

Getting involved

Getting involved

I decided to create a workshop called 'Changing Impressions.' Using fabric crayons and cotton fabric I encouraged participants to make a rubbing of an object, creating an impression of it. If they wanted to they could then further embellish their rubbing with stitch. The idea was that by taking a rubbing from the object you would create an impression of it; it's from the object and bears a resemblance to it but it's not the same in the same way that our memories of things are not the same as the actual things (or events.) Further embellishment further changes the memory of the object imprinted on the cloth, just as each time we revisit a memory it subtly changes.

Workshop results

Workshop results

Workshop results

I really enjoyed running the sessions, both were well attended and what I loved was seeing participants, particularly the children, become very engaged in what they were doing and focusing on the process. In our increasingly fast paced world I think it's increasingly important to find time to stop, slow down and properly engage with an activity, especially one that uses the hands. I think I created several converts to hand embroidery, more than one child was heard to ask if they could go and buy threads to do some sewing at home. It was also lovely to see family groups sit and work together, supporting and encouraging each other and creating memories as well as exploring them.

Workshop results

Rust and Red: Adventures in Colour and Remembering

Memory Cloth (For Cathy)
Rust dyed fabrics, hand embroidery, feathers and found objects
2018

Over the course of this year I've been involved in a number of projects connected with the centenary of the end of the First World War and Remembrance. When I first began getting involved with these projects I wasn't really sure how my work would connect; military history isn't really my thing. However, the more I thought about it the more I realised that actually there are a lot of connections, particularly with the remembrance element of the centenary.

Memory Cloth (For Cathy)
Detail

Memory Cloth (For Cathy)
Detail

Memory Cloth (For Cathy)
Detail

Memory is one of the themes that I'm interested in exploring in my work, in particular the way that it changes over time and the way that objects, especially textiles, hold memories. One of the reasons I like to work with natural dyes is that they are a way of preserving a memory of that resource in cloth and I also like the way that the colours can change and shift over time, they remain beautiful but they change subtly and slowly just like our memories.

Memory Cloth (For Cathy)
Detail

Memory Cloth (For Cathy)
Detail

Early on in the year I began work on a piece in memory of a particular person; Cathy. A member of Cumberland Embroiderers Guild and a very talented stitcher Cathy was always so enthusiastic and encouraging and always wanted to hear about my projects. When she died her son asked me to help sort through her extensive stash, dividing it up amongst the charities I work for. I kept a few of her unfinished samples and the needles and pins that were too rusty to use. I wanted to create a piece of work that would celebrate her life and provide a way of remembering her.

Work in progress on Memory Cloth

I used the rusty pins and needles and a small pair of her rusty scissors to dye and print some fabric. I then assembled this dyed fabric along with some of her unfinished samples, feathers and various other bits and pieces. I joined these pieces with lines of stitch, representing her journeys through life and connecting all the different elements together.

Silk dyed with cochineal

Wool, cotton and linen dyed with cochineal

Linen, cotton, wool and silk dyed with cochineal

The finished piece was exhibited at Farfield Mill as part of the Nostalgia exhibition earlier this year and then again as part of the Cumberland Branch of the Embroiderers Guild exhibition at Tullie House in September. I like that the piece could be both personal (as it was when shown in September) or more general (as it was in May) but either way I found people could connect with it and find their own stories, memories and interpretations within it.

Flow: Red
Naturally dyed fabrics, feathers, sequins and hand embroidery
2018

Every two years Cumberland Branch of the Embroiderers Guild holds an exhibition (as mentioned above.) This year our theme was Red and the Chairman's challenge was Poppies, to tie in with the centenary and remembrance events. Although I use touches of red in my work it's not a colour I'm very confident with, I lean more towards cooler colours like blues and greens. However, I wanted to create a piece for the exhibition and, handily, earlier in the year I'd been doing some dyeing with cochineal so had quite a few bits of naturally dyed fabric ready to use.

Flow: Red (detail)

Flow: Red (detail)

Flow: Red (detail)

Inspired by the pieces I'd made for Remembrance100 at Cumbria's Museum of Military Life and the piece I made in memory of Cathy I decided to make one of my mini banners, as I call them. I wanted red to be the main theme but I also added touches of gold to hint at the preciousness of life but also as a nod to military regalia and medals. I also wanted the piece to reference poppies and remembrance so I incorporated black and red sequins. As always I included feathers as in my work I use them to represent us and because I wanted this piece to be part of my 'Flow' series, which explores the flow and change of life and memory.

Flow: Red (detail)

Flow: Red (detail)

Although quite different to my other pieces I like this piece, it is much bolder and less subtle and it was interesting working with such a strong colour. I found it very challenging as often it felt too much but I'm happy with how the different elements have eventually come together.