A Walk in the Woods

Memento III, 2016
Twigs, feather, thread, gold paint, red velvet.

As I wrote about in my last blog post, over the past couple of months I have been busy preparing for Carlisle Arts Fair. I've been able to spend some time in my studio making work and I've also had a chance to start playing around with some ideas that have been floating around in my head (and sketchbooks) for a while but which I haven't had chance to develop.

Tatting

Assemblage, detail

Assemblage, detail

One of these ideas involved working with boxes; more specifically making small pieces of work that could be displayed in boxes. I was thinking about artefacts and museum displays and the idea of making something precious simply by putting it in a box, giving it protection and status. Making some pieces exploring these ideas was going to be one of the first things I did in terms of making work for the fair.

Assemblage, 2016
Wooden box, curated objects

Assemblage, detail

I had already amassed a small collection of boxes, including a wooden box with small compartments and a lid with a clear acetate panel and so I started working with these. I curated a collection of small objects and made some small pieces of tatted lace and a cushion for it to sit on. I included several feathers as well as I wanted the boxes to fit in with the rest of my work.

Reliquary, 2016
Found wood, gold paint, fleece, feather, indigo dyed thread

Reliquary, 2016
Found wood, gold paint, fleece, feather, indigo dyed thread

Reliquary, 2016
Found wood, gold paint, fleece, feather, indigo dyed thread

As often happens, however, things didn't go exactly according to plan. I spent a full day working on my box pieces and at the end of it I felt extremely dissatisfied with everything I'd done. It can be very difficult when you've had an idea in your head for a long time and then when you finally get to try it out it doesn't work quite as you'd hoped.

Collected materials

Work in progress

Found feathers

This left me feeling rather grumpy and as Mr. Stitches was also feeling a bit grumpy we decided the best thing to do was to go for a walk. We're very lucky to live in a very beautiful part of the world and we only have to walk for a few minutes before we're out in the countryside. As we walked and talked I felt my mood lift and new ideas started creeping into my brain. I'd been collecting interesting twigs and on this walk I found some beautiful magpie feathers too and as I was walking I started thinking of new ways of working.

Memento I, 206
Twig, indigo dyed thread and fabric, feather

Memento I, detail

Increasingly I've been interested in incorporating natural materials into my work and place (in the sense of location) has been becoming more important too. I wanted to create some pieces of work that were created from the environment and that continued to explore my interest in birds, feathers and the idea of the bird as representative of the human spirit.  I've also been looking into the folklore of various cultures that see birds (and feathers as representative of birds) as surrogates for the human spirit. The druids, for instance, created cloaks of feathers as they believed this would help them channel the bird spirits which would let them get closer to the sky gods and thus be able to transcend earthly bonds.

Memento II, 2016
Twig, feathers, red velvet

Memento II, detail

When I got back to the studio I started working with the twigs and feathers I'd collected as well as threads that I'd dyed naturally. I began to develop a personal vocabulary using these materials (more of this in another post I think) and I'm really excited about how this work could develop.

Memento III, detail

Memento III, detail

London Calling

Seagull Sculpture (with yarn bomb)
Limehouse, London

At the end of March Mr. Stitches and I headed down to the great metropolis to see his siblings. I hadn't been to London for ages, over six years, so I was looking forward to going and seeing some of the galleries and exploring the city. We had a great trip; good company, nice walks, intriguing sculptures and excellent exhibitions. I got to have a wander around the V&A which I always enjoy (so much to take in, I only ever try and tackle one or two galleries per visit) and we visited a rooftop garden at the new Crossrail station.

Little head sculpture
Limehouse, London

The view from where we were staying

Tower Bridge

Whilst we were in London I really wanted to go and see the Alexander Calder: Performing Sculpture exhibition at Tate Modern and I wasn't disappointed. The show was even better than I hoped, I came away full of ideas and really inspired by both his work and his approach. I could have spent many more hours in there but did get chance to sketch some of the pieces and I bought the catalogue which I'm enjoying reading.

From the Circus Series, wire drawing by Alexander Calder
Image from: www.wireartsculpure.altervista.org

My sketches from the exhibition

My sketches from the exhibition

My sketches from the exhibition

I was particularly inspired by his early wire portraits, literally drawings with wire. Because they have a 3D element the way they are lit can radically alter them, with the shadows becoming as important as the drawings, something which I have a keen interest in with my own work. I also like the sparseness, as I often work with continuous line and in a quick and sparse way myself I saw in these wire portraits another way to develop my own drawing.

Thread wrapped twig and feather mobile

Thread wrapped twig and feather mobile (detail)

I also especially like some of Calder's later 'mobile' sculptures. Although not all necessarily based on natural forms I read a lot of them as natural forms and it sparked off all sorts of ideas in my mind. This week I finally got round to putting some of the ideas about mobiles and making into action, experimenting with feathers and twigs. This has really got my creative juices flowing and I'm hoping to explore these ideas further.

Two Sides to Every Story...
Twig, thread and feathers. May 2016

Two Sides to Every Story...(detail)
Twig, thread and feathers. May 2016

March was a busy month and April even more so so whilst we were away I thought I'd be amazingly efficient and use our trip as a chance to prep for one of my workshops. I was due to run a folded sketchbook workshop (which sadly got cancelled) so for one of my samples I thought I'd make an envelope sketchbook about our trip. I used leaflets and tickets and bits and pieces collected on the trip which I collaged together to make custom envelopes which I then joined together to make a little book. I love making these books, they are a good way of using up all the stuff I have collected as well as acting as little mementoes of visits.

Plants from the rooftop garden

Plants from the rooftop garden

Plants from the rooftop garden

Although I really enjoyed our visit it confirmed my belief that I really don't want to live in a big city any more. Too many people and not enough greenery for me, which not so many years ago is not something I thought I would ever say. Whilst I do miss the amazing and easy access to art and culture that big cities offer I now find I prefer the access to the natural world and the peace and space that living in a more rural county offers. Luckily, because I live in the modern world with planes, trains and automobiles I'm able to take advantage of both!

The Woollen Woods: Talkin Tarn 2015

You've got to love a badger in a tree

The Woollen Woods is in it's third year now, it is an outdoor art installation comprising woodland themed woollen artworks in support of The Campaign for Wool. I took part with my Heathlands textile group in 2013 and this year with my Tullie Textiles group. There are several different locations this year, the nearest to me and my group being Talkin Tarn so we made our pieces for the woods there.

If only all slugs were this beautiful

Lovely ladybirds

Beautiful butterfly

I went for a visit to see the installed art works at Talkin Tarn and it really was a great experience, so much time, skill and enjoyment has clearly gone into creating the pieces and the team who have put the works up have done a great job. There's a real variety of pieces done by a range of groups and individuals, some of the pieces are very life-like whilst others are more unusual! What I particularly enjoyed about wandering around the woods was seeing so many visitors, of all ages, engaging with the art works. There was a real sense of fun and interest with people calling out to each other to come and look at this or that.

Owls by my Tullie Textile Group

Dragonflies by my Tullie Textiles group

One of my dragonflies

Enough words, enjoy the pictures and if you're near any of the Woollen Woods sites I highly recommend you take a look. If I've pictured your artwork and you'd like it credited, please drop me a line and I'll be more than happy to do so.

I loved all the huge dragonflies by Grange'o'Sands Primary School