Summery Summaries: Part Three: The Heathlands Project

Pieces for the Stitch a Tree Project

Because I'm at The Heathlands Project every week I often forget to blog about the projects we get up to. I've been at Heathlands for over 8 years now and I still love working here, I love the sense of community and also the opportunity to get involved in all sorts of projects and the freedom I have to try all sorts of things with my groups. I always like to get my Art and Textiles groups involved in projects as it provides a great opportunity to get their work out there and challenge people's perceptions about what they can achieve.

Stitch a Tree

Materials

Designing a tree

Earlier in the year we got involved with the excellent Stitch a Tree project. The project aim was to connect people around the UK to show support for displaced people across the world. Artist Alice Kettle then collected all the trees and has joined them together to create a ‘forest.’ I really liked this project because it was simple and achievable but also touched on some very important topics. I also like working on projects where lots of small pieces come together to create a unified whole. 

Work in progress

I thought this was a lovely project to be involved with. I also worked on this project with my Tullie Textiles groups so between them and my Heathlands crew I was able to send at least a copse worth of trees down!

Tree details

Tree detail

Bugs Quilt

Bugs! The Heathlands Project 2018 Quilt

Every year with my Textiles groups at The Heathlands Project I make a quilt and usually we send it down to The Festival of Quilts in Birmingham. Although it's quite stressful getting it all finished in time and I always end up giving up a day of my free time to get it completed I do like working on a big project like this. I made the first quilt with them in 2011 so this is our 8th quilt.

Designing our bugs

Tie dye patches

It's a really good opportunity to introduce and experiment with a whole range of techniques and it also gives some of the now more experienced participants a chance to develop their skills further and show them off. This year we re-visited tie-dyeing and also experimented with embroidery, applique, and needle felting. Each person's patch is unique and beautiful and I love the way their personalities shine through. Using the same materials and equipment each person produces something so different but when put all together they all work so well.

Work in progress

Work in progress

Work in progress

This year we chose the theme of 'Bugs!' as we'd won a roll of beautiful organic jersey from the lovely folks at Pigeon Organics printed with bugs. I devised an unnecessarily elaborate but entertaining system of joining it all together involving elastic loops and felted balls. We got some lovely feedback from the judges and we're already planning next years quilt!

Details

Details

Details

In addition to our group quilt this year I also sent down two individual quilts that members of my Textiles groups had made. Both of the individuals had worked so hard to create their pieces and we're so proud to have their work included in the show. Getting it all organised was hard work but well worth it for the sense of achievement they both got.

Feedback for our Bugs quilt

One of the individual quilts entered

OCN Courses

Group rag rug

As well as our internal groups we've also been running an Open College Network course in Environmental Arts. For this course Adult Education provide us with a tutor who comes along and delivers the accredited course. It's a great opportunity for us as it means we get a new person with new ideas coming in and the guys gain a qualification. Over the length of the course we've tried things such as paper making, rag-rugging and weaving. The course is continuing this term in the form of 'Seasonal Crafts.'

Paper making

Weaving with plastic bags

Rag rug hedgehogs

Summery Summaries: Part Two: Prism Arts

I've had a very busy year at Prism Arts! As it's one of my 'proper' jobs I tend to not blog about the projects I work on which is a bit of a shame as a lot of them are really quite exciting and they do occupy a lot of my time. Continuing on from part one of my Summery Summaries (I do realise we're well and truly into Autumn now but I do like alliteration) I thought I'd do a quick re-cap of some of the projects I've worked on over the last year.

Studio Arts: Still life drawing

Studio Arts: Portraits

Studio Arts: Adding colour to drawings

My main role at Prism Arts is to lead the Studio Arts course; a visual arts programme for adults with learning disabilities and autism. We aim to enable our participants to develop as artists and gain all the different skills they'll need for that; not just practical art skills but also skills such as working to deadlines and briefs, writing artists statements and finding and applying for opportunities. We work in partnership with lots of other organisations to create and deliver exciting and rewarding projects that allow the work to be seen by a wide range of audiences.

Studio Arts: Making brushes

Studio Arts: Mark making with hand made brushes

Over the past year we've had a really busy time and since I last blogged about Studio Arts we've had two exhibitions and a commissioned project. This year we're involved with a big Heritage Lottery funded project looking at Carlisle's textile heritage and we've got two exciting curatorial projects running. We've also been trying to squeeze in some skills development workshops including brush making, different approaches to drawing and portraiture.

Here's what I've been up to over the past year:

China: Through Our Eyes at Tullie House

China Exhibition Interpretation

Following on from our very successful Gallery Trail at Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery last year Studio Arts once again worked in partnership with Tullie House to create an exhibition responding to some of the museums Chinese artefacts. This was a really exciting project, it was also very challenging as due to unexpected circumstances the brief had to change part way through the project but we overcame these challenges and were able to create a thoughtful and beautiful exhibition.

Exhibition view

Exhibition view

Exhibition view

Feedback

Folk Tales at Carlisle Archives

Folk Tales interpretation panel

We have also exhibited work at Carlisle archives this year. Studio Arts were inspired by British folk tales and created work inspired by the stories and costumes they researched for this exhibition. I like to show work at the archives as being a public space it allows us to show our work to audiences who may not otherwise find us.

Textile Commission

Some of the textile pieces for Gosling Sike

Bert Badger
Applique and machine embroidery

Fox
Fabric pens and tie dye

Prism Arts have been working with Cumbria Willdlife Trust on a big five year project connected to one of the trusts newest reserves; Eycott Hill. The Trust have also recently moved in to new offices up at Gosling Sike in Houghton (on the edge of Carlisle) and they commissioned Studio Arts to create some textile pieces for their new buildings. This project gave us the opportunity to develop our textile skills and try some new ways of working.

Work in progress on Freddie Fox

Dragonfly
Applique and hand embroidery

March of the Unsung Women: Carlisle's Puppet Pageant Parade

Processions 2018 March in Edinburgh

As well as running Studio Arts I also get involved in lots of other Prism Arts projects. One of my favourite projects this year was Processions (celebrating the centenary of The Representation of the People's Act which gave the first women the vote) and this project became the inspiration for the theme of this years Carlisle Puppet Pageant. In one form or another I've been involved with the puppet pageant since it's inauguration in 2013 and this year Prism Arts were commissioned to run the puppet pageant.

Puppet body parts

Puppet faces

Making bodies

We wanted to celebrate the important but usually overlooked women of Cumbria so we created 10 larger than life puppets of ten important women from Cumbria's history. We worked with a wide range of people, schools and groups, bringing people together to create something truly memorable. I was away for the actual parade but I really enjoyed being involved in the creation of some of the puppets.

Works in progress

Mr. Tinker: A poodle not an unsung women

Work in progress

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.

Life Drawing: 1.10.18

Continuous line drawing

After a break from Life Drawing over the summer it was good to get back to it. It didn't feel like that long since the last session as I've been so busy but I did find my drawing was a bit rusty. These sessions have become a really nice social experience too and it was good to catch up with people and hear what they've been up to.

Blind drawing

Continuous line drawing

Blind, non dominant hand drawing

I've written many times about how the model and their personality affects each session; it's not just in the poses they chose, it's the presence they have in the room as well. Our model for this session has been modelling for my groups for several years but recently has lost a lot of weight. It was really interesting how this has changed the way she models and the way session with her felt. As always she gave us lots of challenging poses, she is an excellent model and always pushes me out of my comfort zone but it felt quite different to her previous style.

Continuous line drawing

Blind drawing

Looking at details

I really struggle with foreshortening so I was both pleased and disappointed when our model gave us a really tough pose, I didn't quite get it right this time but each time I tackle it I learn something new that I can take forward to the next time.

Continuous line drawing

Continuous line drawing

Blind drawing

I've been experimenting with encasing my drawings in wax in my studio and as I was drawing during the session I was thinking about how some of my life drawings might work treated in this way. I think it could be quite effective and is something I will possibly have a go at in the near future. In the mean time I need to get back to my daily drawing so that I'm ready for the next session!