Light and Dark, Sun and Moon

Winter Solstice: Sun and Winter Solstice: Moon
Wax, collage, feathers and stitch 2018

For several years now I've taken part in Surface Gallery's excellent 'International Postcard Exhibition.' I really like this project as it's a great way to start a new year; it's manageable, affordable and a great way to test out new ideas and get them out into the world. Technically I ended the year with this project as I made my postcards last month but the exhibition is this month so I'm going to let myself off.

Winter Solstice: Sun
Wax, collage, feathers and stitch 2018

As I've been experimenting with wax and collage recently I decided that I would use the postcard show as an opportunity to create a couple of small pieces exploring this technique. I've also become very interested in using the sun and the moon in my work over the last year or so (continuing my interest in dichotomies) and again thought this would be an ideal opportunity to experiment a little with these ideas.

Winter Solstice: Moon
Wax, collage, feathers and stitch 2018

I made a pair of postcards, they're designed to work together but I think they also work apart from each other. I made them on the solstice, being inspired by the idea of the turning point of the year and how even in our 'advanced' technology saturated lives the cycle of light and dark is still so important to us.

Winter Solstice: Sun (Detail)
Wax, collage, feathers and stitch 2018

Winter Solstice: Sun (Detail)
Wax, collage, feathers and stitch 2018

Winter Solstice: Sun and Winter Solstice: Moon
Wax, collage, feathers and stitch 2018

One postcard is entitled Winter Solstice: Sun and the other Winter Solstice: Moon, representing the dark and the light, night and day. I love the way cloud can diffuse the light of the celestial bodies, creating an ethereal effect and I wanted to try and capture this in my pieces. I used metallic paper and layers of tissue paper, all held together with wax. I tore rather than cut the paper to try and capture that hazy quality. It's been partially successful and I think it's an idea worth pursuing. I incorporated feathers in my pieces to represent us and the importance of our relationship to the light and the cycle of the seasons and of night and day.

Winter Solstice: Moon (Detail)
Wax, collage, feathers and stitch 2018

Winter Solstice: Moon (Detail)
Wax, collage, feathers and stitch 2018

Winter Solstice: Moon (Detail)
Wax, collage, feathers and stitch 2018

Although theses postcards haven't come out exactly as I'd hoped it's given me a start on some ideas I've been wanting to explore for a while and I hope that over the course of this year I will be developing this work further. In the meantime, if you're in Nottingham do go and look at the show and see the amazing diversity and skill of all the artists who've submitted their work.

What's it got in it's Pocketses?

My pockets...

This weekend I have been working on a project introduced to me by an artist, Kay Steven, I first met online and who I then met 'in real life' at my Tullie Textiles group. This project is part of a larger project called From Lincolnshire and Back  from artist Carol Parker and the idea is to encourage different approaches to work and networking amongst artists. The bit I took part in involves filling three small pockets with mini artworks which will then be collected and displayed by Carol in a book format. Each of the artists taking part in the main project were asked to fill a line of pockets themselves and pass a line onto another artist, which is how I got involved!

Pockets and instructions

Making bits and pieces

Adding drawings

As some of you will know working on a small scale is really not my strong point so this presented quite a challenge for me. However, it is good to be challenged and to work in a way that you wouldn't usually and the idea of pockets fits in quite well with the work I'm doing around wrapping at the moment. As always, things connect.

Printing on plastic

Pocket contents

Drawing in printed pocket

One of the guidelines for working on the pockets was to make something that was a bit about you and your work so I decided I would include a combination of drawings and stitched work. For me this project was a bit of fun so I have used it as an opportunity to use techniques I enjoy. I made some small feather drawings, some small samples of tatting and some Dorset wheel buttons. For the buttons I used threads I'd dyed myself, the wheels are a good way to show off the subtle colour variations.

How to make things removable...

How to make things removable...

Dorset Wheel Buttons

Dorset Wheel Buttons

The pockets are made of a plastic film stitched (by Kay) onto white card. As I started working I found that there was a bit too much plain white so to add a bit of texture I printed my page using some lace and acrylic paint. This made a good surface but obscured the pockets contents, this was good as it led me to experiment a bit more.

Playing with layouts

Playing with layouts

Print and buttons

When I started out I had a fairly fixed idea of what I would make to go in each pocket but as I worked this changed several times. I played around with the layout quite a lot, changing things around and swapping things in and out. In some ways the piece is more heavily worked than I would normally make it but it still has quite a minimalist look as I stuck with my usual muted colour palette. It was also suggested that a business card or similar was included so I added one of my 'hands' cards. Originally I had been going to have it landscape which made it hard to get out of the pocket so I added a buttonholed loop and ribbon. In the end I put it in portrait anyway but I left the loop as I like it!

Feather detail

Pocket detail

Feather drawings

Card detail

Overall, I think I'm quite happy with the finished piece. It's not like my usual work but it's given me a chance to work in a slightly different way and think about things a bit differently. I like the assemblage element of this work and think that might be something to take forward. I can't wait to see other people's pockets and the different approaches they've taken.