Winter Sunshine

Sunshine and plants

Recently Mr. Stitches and I headed off in search of some warmth and sunshine to Tenerife. Neither of us had been before but we were in need of a rest and a bit of vitamin D and decided that it would be a good place to try.

We visited lots of gardens which really inspired me and has made me very keen to get out into my garden. I particularly enjoyed the Jardines Aquatico as it is tiered and pretty well hidden so you keep coming across different parts of it and it feels like a sort of secret garden. I also really enjoyed the Botanic Gardens, so many amazing plants! It felt a little odd to see a lot of the plants we grow as house plants in this country growing outside quite happily there.

Much of the landscape is quite harsh, it is a volcanic island and there is evidence of this everywhere. We went up Mount Teide, the tall volcano that dominates the island and controls much of its weather, which was really interesting as we saw a range of landscapes high above the clouds. Mostly it was pretty rocky but there were some interesting plants and we were also lucky enough to see the elusive mouflon, a mountain sheep native to Tenerife.

The other highly visible evidence of the volcano is the black sand beaches on the north of the island, where we were staying. I loved the contrast of the bright blue water and the black sand and the strange contrast of my feet burning walking across the hot black sand and then freezing as I stepped into the cold Atlantic surf. There were people swimming in it but a little paddle was enough for me! I was intrigued by all the rocks that has been arranged into cairns, hundreds of them right along the sea front.

I had hoped to see a blue chaffinch whilst we were over there but sadly we didn't manage to track one down. I was, however, highly amused by seeing canaries in the Canaries. Simple things. Many of the birds out there were familiar but with slight differences, the blue tits for instance are much more strongly coloured than ours. We also saw a great number of lesser kestrels, blackbirds and of course a good few gulls. We also went exploring on the water and saw Atlantic Spotted Dolphins and caught a glimpse of Short Finned Pilot Whales, which are actually also a type of dolphin.

We had a peaceful and relaxing week, walking in the morning and sleeping in the afternoons. I've returned feeling a lot more rested and ready to get back in the studio and to start some new projects.

Cathching Up

Sheep Family Portrait

A busy week off (mostly off anyway) from work followed by a busy week back at work and a lack of blog posts! However, it's been quite nice to have a break as it's made me appreciate that actually I quite like writing my little blog . Some of the things I've been up to include making djembe drum straps for Multi Cultural Carlisle's Drum parade (which was excellent,) performing with Prism Arts Theatre Skills group at The Culture Bazaar and then running craft activities there, lovely days by the sea at Southerness and Allonby, a craft sale at Talkin Tarn with The Heathlands Project and the start of a series of workshops in Carlisle for people with Cerebral Palsy. As well as the usual work and life demands and a very sad event. So, to summarise and bringit all up to date here is a collection of pictures.

Lambs at Newcastleton

Sunshine after the rain

Shells

Blue skies and breezes at Southerness

Sweetheart Abbey

Sweetheart Abbey

Splashing around near Allonby

Moth with beautiful iridescent wings

Craft at Culture Bazaar

Multicultural Designs

Fabric pieces to be made into a banner 

The Rag Rug Sea: James Rennie

Working on the green section

I was back at James Rennie School on Wednesday working on our rag-rug sea project again. The students have done really well and we had a lovely day working on the sea, finishing off pom-poms and making some lovely collaged fish to swim in the sea!

Working together

Beautiful work

Preparing strips

Helping each other

All working together

These pictures all show the back of the work, it can be difficult working from the back so I think the students did very well and it looks great from the front! It was great to see that some of the students had really got the hang of the techniques and they were very good at helping each other and working together. The piece is really starting to take shape and I think it will look fantastic when it is finished.

Finished pom-poms

Collaged fish, ready to be sewn together

Collaged fish, ready to be sewn together

My sample fish

Detail

The Sea: Textiles Project

Tie dye and fabric pom-poms

Recently I've been working with KS4 at James Rennie School. I've come in as a textile artist to work with the students to produce some work based around the theme of the sea. There are two groups, one group are doing their entry level qualifications so the work I've been doing with them will count towards that which is really exciting. A couple of weeks ago we did some tie-dye to produce interesting effects on fabric and this week we began making stuff!

Finished pom-poms and an almost finished one

Pom-pom detail

With the first group I did fabric pom-poms. These are so much fun to do and look really great when finished. It's also a lovely sensory experience as the more different textured materials you use the more interesting the pom-poms are to make and the better the finished piece looks and feels. I really enjoyed this session and I think the students did too; the atmosphere was calm but productive and it was good seeing everyone have a good search through the materials to find something they liked. The finished pom-poms look great and hopefully they will hang in front of the rag-rug piece the other group are making, which will look very effective.

Pom poms in progress

Pom pom detail

In the afternoon I worked with the qualification group. We discussed our ideas about design from the last session and I taught them the basic 'proddy' technique of rag-rug making, using wooden pegs I'd carved to a point. Each student made a sample piece and we began on the larger group piece. It was a very enjoyable afternoon, the students were quick to learn and engaged really well with the activity. I can't wait to go back and see how they get on with the final piece!

Working on individual samples

Working on individual samples

Working on individual samples

Starting the group piece