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.

Owl Moon

Owl Moon, 2018
Hand and machine embroidery on metallic fabric and naturally dyed silk and linen

Sometimes I have an idea for a piece of work and I get started and make it right away. More often though it takes a long time (years sometimes) for an idea to become a reality. On our first night in Islay on holiday three years ago we were lucky enough to get very close to a Tawny Owl. It swooped down and landed on a fence post right in front of us as we gingerly drove down a track to what we hoped was our accommodation for the week. It wasn't terribly impressed with us stopping to admire it but the experience stayed with me and since that moment I've been wanting to make a piece about that owl.

Tawny Owl, Islay 2015

Layering up fabrics

Layering up fabrics

As much as I love owls, I've resisted making any pieces with owls for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I only really make work about birds I've seen and been able to observe properly as I want my work to capture a bit of their spirit and to do that I have to get to know them. It's hard to observe owls in the wild as they mostly come out at night and they're very stealthy! Secondly, owls are very popular (I own many owl embellished items myself) and I didn't want to fall into the trap of making a 'cute' owl.

Building up the owl, using my drawing as a template and photograph as reference

Rust dyed silk for owl wings

Starting to add machine embroidery

For our exhibition 'Wingspan' at RSPB Geltsdale Visitor Centre, Mr. Stitches has written a poem about an owl hunting, called Owl Moon. This poem captures the wildness and skill of the owl and inspired me to finally get around to making my owl piece. As I mentioned, the idea for the piece had been in my head for some time so Nick's poem was just what I needed to kick start the process.

Detail: Owl Moon, 2018
Hand and machine embroidery on metallic fabric and naturally dyed silk and linen

Detail: Owl Moon, 2018
Hand and machine embroidery on metallic fabric and naturally dyed silk and linen

Detail: Owl Moon, 2018
Hand and machine embroidery on metallic fabric and naturally dyed silk and linen

I'd found some interesting metallic fabric on a trip to Bombay Stores in Bradford and I knew that's what I wanted to use for the moon. I also knew that I didn't want it to be too shiny so I experimented with layering up pieces of silk organza that I'd dyed with logwood, giving a beautiful deep purple colour. I also used some indigo dyed organza and used some indigo dyed linen as a base as I felt the piece needed a more solid ground than the organza. For the owl I used pieces of organza that I'd dyed with rusty pins as it had just the right texture and patterning for an owls wing.

Detail: Owl Moon, 2018
Hand and machine embroidery on metallic fabric and naturally dyed silk and linen

Like a lot of my work this piece was built up in layers. As always, I started by drawing and sketching my ideas before I started to play around with layering up fabrics. Sometimes the pieces of fabric come together really quickly and other times I spend a long time arranging and re-arranging until I'm happy. I used running stitch and star stitch to secure the background layers and chose to leave a lot of raw edges as I think this emphasises the wildness of the subject.

Detail: Owl Moon, 2018
Hand and machine embroidery on metallic fabric and naturally dyed silk and linen

Detail: Owl Moon, 2018
Hand and machine embroidery on metallic fabric and naturally dyed silk and linen

I then moved on to making the owl. Again working in layers I built up pieces of rust dyed organza, using my drawings as a template to cut out specific areas such as the wing feathers. I then worked several layers of machine embroidery in various shades of thread to build up the pattern and texture of the feathers.

Detail: Owl Moon, 2018
Hand and machine embroidery on metallic fabric and naturally dyed silk and linen

Detail: Owl Moon, 2018
Hand and machine embroidery on metallic fabric and naturally dyed silk and linen

I'm really pleased with how this piece has worked out, I think that it is starting to marry together different parts of my practice;  the work I've been doing on my feather banners, my bird portraits and drawings and my increasing interest in and experiments with natural dyeing. For me this piece feels like the start of something, as well as the resolution of an idea that I've had in my mind for a long time.

Show time preparation...

Puffin, 2016
Applique and machine embroidery on linen

After a very busy first half of the year I was feeling a little flat in terms of my own personal practice, I'd enjoyed the projects I'd been working on but I'd not had much time for my own work. I got the year off to a good start with my daily drawing, keeping it going through January and February but as time went on things started to slide, as they do, and I lost the impetus a bit.

Assemblage, 2016
Painted wooden box and curated objects

Assemblage, 2016
Painted wooden box and curated objects

Assemblage, 2016
Painted wooden box and curated objects

One Sunday a couple of months ago I was meeting Mr. Stitches at the sports centre (not my natural habitat) and I saw a flyer for Carlisle Arts Fair. I'd been looking for a project that would give me an opportunity to spend some time developing my own work and provide an opportunity to share my work with others. This seemed like a good option as it was local, I'd been to one of the previous Fairs and liked it and I'd thought about doing this show anyway. I checked the submission details and realised that it was the last day for submissions so I went home, put together my submission and sent it off.

Memento I, 2016
Thread wrapped twig, feather, hand dyed indigo cloth

Memento II, 2016
Gold paint, twig, feathers, red velvet

Memento III, 2016
Gold paint, thread,  twig, feather, red velvet

I was very excited to be accepted and since then having an event to work towards has really helped me prioritise my own work and helped me feel inspired to get going and get working! I have so many different strands to my work as a whole that often my own work falls to the bottom of the list because it doesn't have a deadline as such so a specific event such as this is really helpful for me.

Starling, 2016
Fabric pastels and hand embroidery on linen

Starling, 2016
Fabric pastels and hand embroidery on linen

Starling, 2016
Fabric pastels and hand embroidery on linen

I've really enjoyed spending time in my studio drawing, stitching and making. These are the things I love doing and having time to devote to them has been really rewarding and made me realise that I need to make this more of a priority. It's also fired me up with so many ideas that I want to explore. I've focused on making work that is less conceptual for the Fair so I've been focusing more on skills and aesthetics which has been quite liberating as I've been less worried about what it all means. As I've been less worried the ideas have been flowing and I've got lots of avenues I want to explore.

Raven, 2016
Lino print, limited edition of 20

3 Small Feathers, 2016
Pen drawing on watercolour paper

2 White Feathers, 2016
White gel pen on black paper

I'm writing this post partly as a break from all the practical preparation that goes into showing work; labelling, pricing, mounting (so much tape) and so on but now I must get back to it. If you're in Carlisle next weekend it would be lovely to see you!

Starlings, 2016
Machine embroidery on linen

Gannet, 2016
Machine embroidery and fabric paint on linen

Banner Making Workshop

One of my sample pieces for the workshop

This weekend I ran another textile workshop at Tullie House. This one was entitled 'Textile Banners, and it was a really lovely session. Most of the participants had done one or more of my workshops in the past which was great because it meant I already knew a little bit about most of them so could more easily offer suggestions suited to them and it also is a very nice confidence boost; I must be doing something right if people want to come back for more!

Choosing fabrics

Choosing fabrics

Choosing fabrics

I love running workshops, I find them a really satisfying and enjoyable part of my work. I get to do something I love and to share my interest and skills with other people. I think my favourite thing about running workshops is when I'm able to inspire people and help them achieve those mini eureka moments, whether it's mastering a certain stitch, completing something or finding the perfect technique or material for a piece. I was very gratified today as one of the participants bought a beautiful owl piece in she'd made inspired by my 'Embellishing Printed Textiles' workshop, I was also pleased to hear that other participants from that workshop had been really inspired to keep working with some of the techniques I'd shown them.

Adding stitch and developing designs

Adding stitch and developing designs

Adding stitch and developing designs

I sometimes (often) worry that I  don't 'do' enough during some of my workshops but with certain things, particularly hand stitch, I think it's really important to just have time to work on things without being constantly bombarded with information. I try to strike a balance between showing new techniques and giving people the opportunity, time and space to be creative and find their own path. I'm sure I don't always get it spot on but I think in our busy lives it's important to take time to work slowly, with our hands and to just try things and see what happens. As one of my participants today said "I'm just here to play, I'm too old to take it too seriously." Whilst I contest the too old part I think the part about not taking it too seriously and allowing ourselves to play is very important.

Adding stitch and developing designs

Adding stitch and developing designs

Adding stitch and developing designs

With this in mind I worked on a mini banner of my own today which I used for demonstrating techniques but also as an opportunity to play. I used fabrics and threads that I might not use in my 'proper' work but one of the things I am learning is that everything is connected. So, whilst I might not count this as a 'proper' piece of work there will be something in it that will feed into another piece. Often these play pieces allow me to make discoveries, sometimes big sometimes small, that will allow me to take my practice forward. They also offer me an opportunity to do something I love and that in itself, I believe, is very important.

Adding stitch and developing designs

My example/play piece