Category Archives: News

I am granted permission to exist, and eat humble pie

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Apologies for the rant in the last post. I’m pleased to report that Facebook did accept the paper-trail that proved that Stephanie Jane Robinson is actually the same person as Jane Robinson. By gracious permission of Facebook, I exist! A miracle occurreth! It was only the extreme good fortune of never having bothered to correct my accidental ‘dual’ registration with City and Guilds, which meant that I have certificates in both names, and a newspaper photo of me in the name of Jane which they could compare to my passport photo as Stephanie.

So I am reinstated on Facebook, hopefully before anyone realised I had disappeared (which I realise would have been of world-wide significance to all). This is the photo I used for my Facebook page. Someone commented that it looks like something from the 18th century. Another century is probably where I really belong anyway, in a world before technology and electronics, and where you cannot accidentally delete yourself in one click.

Thank you, oh Facebook God. I promise that in gratitude for Your gracious mercy I will commit no more crimes. I will not do the following ever again: Think mean thoughts. Do the right thing for the wrong reasons. Puff up the chocolate packet to look like I haven’t secretly eaten more. Open the bedroom curtains and go back to bed, so people outside think I’ve got up. Rant (no, delete that one, without ranting I would explode).

Now let’s get back to planting some plants and doing some art!

Failed attempt to join the 21st century

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No images for this post because I’m too fed up.

Well, after a long time not getting around to joining Facebook I finally decided it was time to do it, partly because I realised that I was missing out on so much sharing of images and information in the textile world. So I spent more time than I care to admit setting it all up, opening my account, setting up an Artists page, linking to other pages, sending friend requests, looking at videos of cute cats etc. I submitted a couple of pictures of my work to ‘Textile Arts’ on Facebook and received 400 Likes in 24 hours and many lovely comments. People started linking from my Facebook page to my website. ‘Great’ I thought. ‘I’ve cracked social media. Piece of cake’. But then it all went horribly wrong. Through the post I’d put on the Textile Artist page I received friend requests from people I didn’t know. I didn’t want to offend anyone by declining, so I sent them messages inviting them to ‘follow’ my Artists page instead. Therein lies the problem. By sending the same cut-and-paste messages to people not on my friends list in quick succession, I triggered a security alert on my account and found myself locked out and my page closed down.

I received a computerised message which I interpret as saying that they don’t think that I am me. OMG, then I suddenly realised what the problem is. Very few people know that I was christened Stephanie Jane, because since before I can remember I have always and only been called Jane. It just never occurred to me that opening a Facebook page as ‘Jane’ might be seen as fraud, because Jane is who I am! I identify so little with ‘Stephanie’ that I’ve sat in waiting rooms wondering why the Stephanie who is being called isn’t responding. I’ve always been so careful at work to make sure that things like professional registration and DBS checks are all coordinated with my legal documents and to link the name I’m known by and my legal identity. I’ve always signed things like Court reports as ‘S Jane’. But I just didn’t think of it for Facebook. I received an automated message asking me to submit identification – but everything on their list is in the name of Stephanie, not Jane. How on earth do I prove that I am Jane??? As far as I’m concerned, Stephanie is the one I don’t identify with and she’s the one who can produce all the apple-pie documents. In the end I’ve submitted a copy of my C&G Medal for Excellence as ‘S Jane Robinson’, a C&G Medal for Excellence from Bucks CC as ‘Jane Robinson’, and a newspaper feature of me receiving the medal as ‘Jane Robinson’. This was the only way I could think of to link both Stephanie Robinson and Jane Robinson with a photo of yours truly that is publicly identified as Jane and can be compared to that other Stephanie woman in the passport. I really don’t know if that will do it.

If not, having just invited all my friends and family to be ‘friends’ and put myself about on the Textile Arts page with 10,000 or so textile people, anyone who tries to follow links to me will find that I’ve been deleted, leaving me looking and feeling very stupid. If it makes me feel like they have deleted me along with the Facebook page, then that probably illustrates why I held out for so long against joining it. Apologies to anyone who tries to contact me through Facebook only to find I’ve disappeared off the face of the earth. Please believe me that I do still exist, in real life, as a real person (who answers to Jane and not Stephanie) . I am still available for phone calls, emails, getting together in person, having real conversations  and ‘doing stuff’. How quaint! How last-century!

Now for some alcohol. Herrumph. So the Luddites were right all along.

Stitching in the air

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I’ve been trying out some of the experiments that I mentioned in my previous blog post. Last time I wrote about making lampshades using batik-dyed fabric. This week I’ve been playing with tea-lights, using a cut-away technique. I’ve used a ‘kit’ from Needcraft for the structure. This provides you with a top and bottom ring and a plastic stick-on backing that you apply the fabric to before assembling it all. My experiment was to see whether the backing plastic could be cut away and stitched into in the same way as pelmet vilene. It’s a lovely technique which gives you a lacy effect over the holes. It’s quite strange to stitch off the edge of the hole with no fabric or soluble fabric, and just carry on stitching ‘in the air’ until you reach the other side.

DSCN5447 - CopyThe fabric is space-dyed cotton. Yes, it was deliberate to leave the crinkles in (in fact I scrunched it while it was wet to make it more pronounced). The reason for that is that later on I will highlight the scrunches, either with metallic foil or with treasure-gold highlighter.

I stuck the fabric and the plastic backing together, and drew the motifs on the plastic and cut it away with a sharp blade before cutting the fabric away leaving the hole to stitch over. A zigzag stitch round the edge neatens it and catches the lines of stitching in place.

I was using a thread with two strands to it, one metallic and one viscose, which is usually quite good-tempered. The main problem I found is that the thread keeps snagging on the edge of the hole in the plastic, unlike stitching on pelmet vilene. Each time it snags, the metallic strand snaps which means re-threading.  To try to avoid this I have to stitch really slowly and there’s alot of re-threading of the needle, so progress is slow.

I’m not happy with the quality of the stitching, which is abit ragged compared to the purple and green sample here that was done on pelment vilene. I think it would be better to use a more slippery thread. Another improvement would be to do the stitching in the fabric first, before sticking it to the backing, and just cut the holes in the plastic wider than the holes in the fabric so that the plastic edges are concealed behind the zigzag edging. I’ll add some photos later on when it’s finished, but thought I’d add it now as ‘work in progress’ in case anyone has any suggestions of a better way to do it.

 

Quick and easy lampshades

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I’ve just been on a workshop on making quick and easy lampshades. Years ago my mother taught me how to make lampshades the traditional way, by wrapping bias binding round the frame and then hand-stitching the fabric to the bias binding, whilst with the third hand trying to keep the tension on the fabric in several directions at once. Since then, I’ve gone for the ‘quick dash into Ikea’ approach to lampshades, often ending up with something fairly neutral that I would then spot everywhere else I went. The joy of these lampshade kits is that you can use any fabric you want, and can produce a professional-looking shade without hours of tugging, tweaking and hand-stitching. Magic! The kits come from Needcraft and the workshop was at Sew In Brighton. Here’s a collection of shades by different students on the workshop – all came out looking good, and all so different.

Finished lampshades

For my particular shade I used some batik fabric that I made a long time ago, which has been sitting in a cupboard for a long long time. It is cotton lawn, coloured with a batik process using the trusty potato-masher. The first stage was to paint on some fairly pale Procion dye in pinks and turquoises. Then the hot wax was applied with the potato-masher, and finally the fabric was re-painted with more concentrated, darker Procion dye.

A kit is a far cry from the traditional hand-stitched approach – but the net result is very professional looking. I would like to try using whole range of original art-textiles and making them into shades – batik, printing, marbling spring to mind. And of course stitching. I’m pondering using the technique of cutting away parts of the fabric and machine stitching over the holes – probably by bonding the fabric to the stiff backing PVC first, and then cutting through both and stitching both at the same time. Like this cut-away image below – maybe even the same design (which came from a repeat-pattern that I developed from a collage). But instead of the green backing there would be a hole that lets light through. I sense some experiments looming!

Machine embroidered cut-away design on dyed pelmet-vilene.

Machine embroidered cut-away design on dyed pelmet-vilene.

 

 

Creative Waves, Art on the Pier at Worthing

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I’m really pleased that five of my pieces have been chosen to feature in a ‘community art’ project on Worthing Pier. The Creative Waves project has been going for several years now. It features the work of artists from the Worthing and Adur area, on panels along the pier.  The images are printed onto specially treated vinyl which is resistant to UV damage, and they are mounted between glass panels that run down the centre of the pier. They stay there for a year and they seem to stand up to all the wind, salt, rain and blazing sun that comes their way.  The west side will feature one piece each from 50 artists, and the east side will feature five pieces each from ten artists.  The images on each side are mounted ‘back to back’ so that other panels can still looked through as windows. I like the very broad interpretation they give to ‘art’ – as well as paintings and drawings, they also feature silver-smithing, sculpture, embroidery, felting, printing and photography, amongst others. They also include lots of images from local children. Wow, if I’m pleased to have my work there, just imagine how exciting it would be if you were a young child! You can read more about the project here. I’ve just received the proofs (see below) of the images that were chosen (if you’ve looked at the Gallery pages here then you may recognise them). Worthing pier is a short stroll from my house and it will be quite surreal to see my own work there when we go down for an afternoon tea or an evening drink. How exciting!

Fossil bark, mono-print and dye

Flower Stem, wrapped wire and stitching on soluble fabric

Jane Robinson Bark cloth.

Fossil rock, gold-work on dyed and manipulated fabric

Turkish tulip flower-light, stitched on soluble fabric and wire

 

 

 

 

Behind a guarded door

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DSCN4091

I have finally been to see the Marian Hangings at Oxburgh Hall in Norfolk. I’ve wanted to see them for a long time, as they’re such an important part of English embroidery history. They are a collection of canvas-work panels stitched by Mary Queen of Scots during her years of captivity. They are based on contemporary drawings from natural history books; some are wierd and wonderful creatures that are part real and part mythical, and others are recognisable creatures. I like this one, A Frogge,  (that’s my pencil drawing of him next to it). The main motifs were probably originally stitched as individual items such as cushion covers, and were later placed together onto huge velvet backing panels. The techniques involved are quite restricted, but the painstaking work is amazing. DSCN5315

Oxburgh Hall is a beautiful place. As we wandered round in the spring sunshine, eating National Trust cakes and taking photos, it was is hard to picture it as a place of captivity. There is no doubt that Mary used embroidery as a subtle form of political expression. Historians debate how far the imagery should be taken as allegorical. For example one piece shows a lily on one side (symbolising France) and a rose on the other side (symbolising England.) A thistle, representing Scotland, lies on its side at the bottom of the picture, looking squashed and lacking space to grow freely. Another bears the motto ‘Virtue flourishes by wounding’ together with the thistle of Scotland. This was probably about as politically overt as Mary could be given the vulnerability of her position. It is hard to imagine the hours and hours, days and days, weeks and weeks, years and years, when Mary just waited. Waited, and embroidered. How amazing to think that she had the weight of history on her shoulders while she sat and stitched.  If she could be a fly on the wall now, how bizarre it would be to see her work studied by earnest National Trust ladies in sensible shoes, peering at the stitches and then heading off to the tea-shop. Who remembers ‘Fotheringhay’, that haunting 70’s song by Fairport Convention, written about the later period when Mary was moved to Fotheringhay Castle waiting for execution ‘To live such fruitless years behind a guarded door’.

How often she has gazed from castle windows over
And watched the daylight passing within her captive wall
With no-one to heed her call

The evening hour is fading within the dwindling sun
And in a lonely moment those embers will be gone
And the last of all the young birds flown

Her days of precious freedom, forfeited long before
To live such fruitless years behind a guarded door
But those days will last no more

Tomorrow at this hour she will be far away
Much farther than these islands
Or the lonely Fotheringay

I must just show you this photo of the priest-hole in Oxburgh Hall, the hiding-place for Catholic priests who were being hunted down and were hidden in big Catholic houses. That’s my brother going down into it (yes he did get out again – he was a caver for many years!) DSCN5300

Sadly the reason for being in Norfolk was the funeral of a very long-standing friend of my mother’s, who became an ‘Honorary Auntie’ for the three Robinson siblings. Rosemary was always there for words of wisdom and advice, combined with marvellous head-girl cheerfulness that defied anyone to be negative. The funeral was held in the beautiful Church in Worsted village in Norfolk. Rosemary left only one specific instruction for her funeral, which was that it was to open with the congregation singing ‘She’ll be coming round the mountain when she comes’! I defy anyone to be solemn and mournful whilst singing ‘She’ll be wearing pink pyjamas when she comes’! I think the whole congregation was crying and laughing at the same time. Rosemary used to end her phone calls or visits by wishing us ‘Much Cherish’. So here’s wishing you all ‘Much Cherish’.

Colour hue and saturation

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I’ve been playing with colour lately, experimenting with changing the levels of colour saturation. I started with this simple print that I did some time ago. The background is khadi paper which firstly had a layer of gesso rolled over one half. It was then coloured with turquoise Procion dye, and some areas had a hint of black added to the turquoise. On top of that is a simple mono-print in turquoise acrylic paint with white or black added, on an orange and turquoise background. What I was experimenting with in this piece was seeing how colours recede or move forward depending on contrasts in their position on the colour wheel and the degree of colour saturation. I’ve often admired the subtlety of other peoples work when they use delicate and complex colours, as I often tend to go for very bright, strongly saturated colour. So what I’m playing with at the moment is changing the level of colour saturation, and the levels of white and black mixed with the pure colour, to see how that changes the overall effect.

 

 

 

 

 

In these experiments, I used Gimp photo editing to alter the colour saturation in two stages, which as far as I can tell has a similar effect to adding both white and black simultaneously to paint or dye. In the pictures below I started with the original turquoise and orange print, but altered the colour balance first so that I could see the same process applied to different colour-ranges.

 

 

 

 

 

It starts to be apparent why the pure saturated colour-range in each of the left-hand photos doesn’t give such subtlety. Some might say vibrant or bold, others might say loud. The highly saturated colours on the left tend to be the ones that I normally choose.

 

 

 

 

 

Looking at the reduced-saturation ones in the middle and right-hand photos, some might say they’re subtle or delicate, others might say bland. Colour is such a personal matter, and it has such an effect on us.

 

 

 

 

 

These experiments with colour are a first stage in thinking about stitched textile work based on Indian designs. The photos don’t look at all Indian, I know, but I plan to use Indian motifs in the stitching and to use contrasts in hue and saturation to create the impact of the piece. The idea at the moment is to use backgrounds that have variations in colour hue and saturation, with stitching that contrasts with those. In theory I may be able to create the effect of stitched areas that recede and advance depending on the background. Watch this space, as they say.

 

 

 

Congratulations to Charlotte Haenlein, C&G Medal for Excellence 2015

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Charlotte Haenlein, C&G Patchwork and Quilting, Missenden Abbey

Charlotte Haenlein, C&G Patchwork and Quilting, Missenden Abbey

Congratulations to Charlotte Haenlein, who has won the C&G Medal for Excellence for Stitched Textiles 2015 after completing her course at Missenden Abbey. She kindly sent me these images of one of her assessed pieces and gave permission to show them here. This photo is a close-up showing details of the stitching, and the following photo shows the overall design. I’ve been trying to guess the inspiration and design sources behind this piece. It reminds me of Ikat and Double-Ikat weaving; a geometric pattern with a strong structure but with the edges softened by the graduations of colour. I’m intrigued by trying to work out how it’s done. Printed? Pieced and patched? I do know that the fabric is shot silk, and I can see that the quilting is done with a toning space-dyed thread. Congratulations Charlotte, and congratulations also to another Missenden Abbey student, Tina Brier, who has won the Medal for Excellence for Floristry.

Charlotte Haenlein, C&G Patchwork and Quilting, Missenden Abbey

Charlotte Haenlein, C&G Patchwork and Quilting, Missenden Abbey

Ceramic tile painting

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Does anyone have experience of painting on ceramic tiles? We recently bought some second-hand fireplace tiles on eBay, a floral design which I thought was going to be highlighted in red. Unfortunately it’s difficult to show colour on a computer screen and in real life the bits I thought were red are actually brown. I like the yellow, and the background is a lovely deep bottle-green. But brown is probably my least-favourite colour. I’m wondering if it would work to use a ceramic paint to highlight the brown bits with a hint of red? They are fireplace tiles so I think the paint could be ‘fixed’ in the oven without cracking the tiles.

The reason I originally liked the tiles is that the ‘tube-lining’ that outlines the areas of colour reminds me of the white lines of a silk-painting, so I have an idea to make a silk painted picture to hang above the fireplace that echoes the flowers in the tiles. It’s a long time since I did silk-painting except to make mottled backgrounds for stitch. I did some last year when I made a silk painting of Jeremy Fisher sitting on his lily-leaf for my God-daughter. Unfortunately when I fixed the silk I must have got it too hot because the gutta outlining came out scorched. Although the scorch-marks could have been incorporated into the design I thought it would weaken the silk in the future, so I abandoned it and did the same design on cotton with fabric paints instead. It would be fun to get back into silk painting as it’s a lovely technique.

Projects like this have been on hold for a while. My mother-in-law was desperate to leave hospital, so we found her a place in a care home while bones mended. Sadly the care home wasn’t a great success and there was ‘much weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth’ (and that’s just the relatives!) There was a notice board in the entrance with the heading ‘Activities This Week’. The board was always empty. I was tempted to add ‘Abandon hope all ye who enter here’. My normally positive outlook only just withstood mother-in-law’s cheery reminders of ‘Not long til you’re old and in this state and who’ll look after you’? But I guess if you’re looking over The Edge then you can be forgiven for commenting to other people that it looks like a long way down. Anyway, at the weekend we effected ‘The Great Escape’ from the care home and took mother-in-law back home with a lovely live-in carer, so fingers crossed that things will look up for everyone. Perhaps we’ve left the twin towns of Much Weeping and Much Wailing behind and moved to Little Hoping. Maybe one day we can move on to Great Hoping?

Ah well, if you haven’t got youth, faith or children to protect you, then art provides some kind of hand-rail and fairy-lights along the edge of The Abyss. Art, and also the wonders of nature; moorland streams, secret mossy places, sunlit uplands, flowers, silence. And cuddles. And being connected to people. And old polished wood. And cats sleeping in the sun. And tiled fireplaces!  So if anyone has any experience of ceramic painting then I’d be grateful for your thoughts. Do you think it would work?

Article in ‘Be Inspired’ by Workbox

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Be Inspired by Workbox Article

Be Inspired by Workbox Article

I am really pleased that I have just had an article published in the Workbox Annual Magazine, called ‘Be Inspired’. This is an ‘extra’ annual edition that is longer than the bi-monthly Workbox magazine (130 pages) which they release in time for stocking-fillers for textile addicts. I am delighted by the editing and the graphic design of the article. It’s very strange sending off an article as a text document and some Jpegs, because at that point you lose all editorial control over how it is presented. I opened the magazine quite nervously, wondering what they had done with it, and I was so pleased to see how they had used it. All in all they gave it 8 whole pages (!) including some whole-page photos of my work. I can only include some ‘fuzzy’ images here, because I own copyright of the photos but not the text, so if you would like to read it you’ll need to buy the magazine.

Be Inspired by Workbox Vol 3 Article

Be Inspired by Workbox Vol 3 Article

Be Inspired by Workbox Vol 3 Article

Be Inspired by Workbox Vol 3 Article

Be Inspired by Workbox Vol 3 Article

Workbox Magazine Nov/Dec 2014

Workbox Magazine Nov/Dec 2014

I was asked to write something about ‘My Textile Journey’ after Workbox put a City and Guilds Press Release about me in the Nov/Dec edition of the magazine (forgot to mention that on the blog, but they gave it a whole page which was nice – see left). I wasn’t sure how interested Josephine Public would be in the details of how I learned to sew, so I thought it would be more interesting if I linked it to something more general about re-finding creativity later in life. Over the last year or so I have had so many people commenting, quite sadly I think, that they would love to be creative but they feel something is blocking them from this. Sometimes it’s time, and sometimes it is a lack of confidence in their own creativity. I am always struck by the way children don’t suffer from this – they just jump straight in and use their imagination and creativity in a spontaneous way. It seems so sad that something about modern life means that adults often lose their confidence in creative expression. I firmly believe that if we have it as children then it must still be there as adults, just buried so that it feels out of reach. My article tries to suggest some reasons why that happens, and what people can do to try to get back in touch with the creative freedom enjoyed by children.

Be Inspired by Workbox Vol 3 cover

Be Inspired by Workbox Vol 3 cover

This is what the magazine looks like on the cover. It’s slightly difficult to find in newsagents, but I did see it on sale at a big branch of Smiths although some of the smaller branches don’t seem to have it. It can be ordered online http://www.workboxmag.com/shop/be-inspired-vol-3/

Changing the subject: I’ve been enjoying decorating the new house for Christmas. At times I’ve wondered why I was doing it since it’s been a period of really intense pressure on time for various reasons. However, I think I cling to Christmas rituals in defiance or denial of time pressure. Taking out the Christmas decorations each year is like greeting old friends after an absence. It reminds me of a different era as a child, when there really was time to enjoy it all properly. I don’t think I’m romanticising when I remember time to wander the Devon fields collecting dried grasses to spray gold, making hand-made decorations, and making danglies for the Christmas tree. There are times when this hits me as a sad time-warp (usually in a supermarket, when I hear tinned carols and ask myself where we all went wrong with modern life and why we are under such time pressure and things are so pre-packaged). But at some stage I always enjoy decorating the tree, at which point I am a small child again, gazing up at all the sparkles and pretties. Roger laughs when I keep going in and saying ‘pretty, pretty’ and says that middle-aged Jane has been replaced by three-year-old Jane.

Anyway, many thanks to those of you who reply to posts or who email me separately with comments. It’s great to hear from you. Wishing you a very happy Christmas and New Year one and all.

To-do lists, cardboard boxes and discomobulation

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People say that moving house is one of the top five stressful life-events, and I think they’re right. Unfortunately, quite soon after the move my 90 year old mother-in-law fell at home and broke two bones. One way and another I’m rather discombobulated so I hope you can forgive the long gap between posts. As an apology, here’s a totally irrelevant photo of something that amused me when I was in Oxford. How bizarre it is that the same world can contain war, poverty, oppression, natural disasters – and a knitted lamp-post cosy in Oxford.

Moving house provides so many opportunities for a control-freak to write endless lists. Things to pack, what to pack with what, what to leave out, what goes where at the other end, who to notify of change of address, even lists of lists. It helps me to feel that life isn’t spinning out of control. It goes something like this:

List                                                                                                                                                             Write List A                                                                                                                                               Write List B                                                                                                                                                 Write List C                                                                                                                                                   Write List of lists…hang on a minute that’s what this one is…if I keep going round this loop then everything is under control…

The balance of order and chaos starts to tip in the wrong direction

Evidence: the disappearing list was there

Evidence: the disappearing list was there

My lists keep the world in orbit and remind the sun to come up in the morning. My in-tray normally has 3 tiers, which are ‘Urgent’, ‘Soon’, and ‘Manyana’. Unfortunately now they’re all muddled up in a heap labelled ‘Oh my God what’s in there?’ Worse, the to-do list went missing. Woe is me! The dark side threatens to engulf the world! How can the forces of chaos be held back without my list? Look, there it was on the desk. And then suddenly there it wasn’t.

There has been an ongoing debate for years as to what all the ‘stuff’ that filled our cupboards actually consists of, and I categorically denied that most of it was mine. However, packing and labelling all our combined worldly goods has officially confirmed that I am a hoarder. I’m not sure what the relative proportions of boxes says about me, except that when I say I’ve got nothing to wear I’m probably making an accurate statement of fact.

Clothes: One wardrobe rail, one box, two suitcases, one box of shoes.                                            Walking, water-sports, travel, camping: 9 boxes                                                                                      Books: 21 boxes                                                                                                                                          Art equipment and textile ‘stuff’: 20 boxes                                                                                        Noo-Noos:  Undisclosed number (classified information).

Ah yes, I’ll tell you about Noo-noos. My brother and his family have a collective name for all those things that have no particular purpose in life except to be put on a shelf and gather dust. They call them Nicky-Nacky-Noo-Noos, or Noo-Noos for short. It came as quite a surprise to see how many boxes of Noo-Noos there were. For example I have a great weakness for ceramics – I love the feel of handling hand-made studio pottery, particularly stone-ware. Then there are all those pretty things, dangly things, brightly coloured things, childhood treasures and things that I’ll keep for ever because I love the person who gave them to me (like the little hand-made pottery fox that my God-mother made for my birthday when I was very small). And since childhood I’ve loved collections of things – coloured glass, little boxes, my mother’s antique porcelain, shells, antique ivory sewing things, old glass lace bobbins, and things that are just – tiny. All the stuff that my husband looks at and asks in a bewildered tone of voice:  ‘What’s it for?’ In a parallel life I am a higher spiritual being who rises above attachment to material things. But in real life I have a hearty disrespect for people who tell you to de-clutter your life, and I love my ‘stuff’. I definitely don’t do ‘minimalism! Maybe you don’t know what I’m talking about? Perhaps you’re the kind of person who has wonderful half-empty cupboards with spare space? In which case I admire you but it puzzles me!

My father had a wonderful way of categorising things in his workshop at work. Four drawers in a filing cabinet were labelled in turn: ‘Bits, Bobs, Odds, Sods’. Noo-Noos are decorative, whereas Bits, Bobs, Odds and Sods are more functional. My paperwork on the other hand is filed in boxes labelled ‘Useful Things’, ‘Boring Things’, ‘Nice Things’ and ‘Nasty Things’. The great thing about this system is that I don’t accidentally stumble across a nasty thing like a will while I’m looking for a nice thing like an exhibition brochure. Things can be re-categorised – for example an insurance claim is ‘Nasty’ while it still has a sting to it, but becomes just ‘Boring’ once it is dealt with and forgotten. Roger sometimes says he thinks he’ll find himself neatly folded and filed, and asks whether he’d be classified as ‘Useful’ or ‘Nice’. I reassure him that it definitely wouldn’t be ‘Boring’ or ‘Nasty’! Some of the more urgent ‘Boring’ and ‘Useful’ things are beginning to get organised in the new house, but sadly most of the Noo-noos and books are still packed. I hear them tapping on the boxes with little cries of ‘let us out’ but I have to ignore them for now.

If you were wondering why there’s no art to show you in this post, then this photo may help explain it. I’m looking forward to a time when I can start decorating, get the Noo-noos and books out of boxes, start designing the garden, dig some flower-beds, and get into the boxes of art stuff. Last weekend I had a lovely day with textile friends and we are starting to think about a joint exhibition, probably now in Spring 2016. Some time between now and then I look forward to being reunited with my art and textile stuff and getting back into the creative process. As a child I was fully trained in the art of bread-and-butter-before-cake. The cake is in front of me on the plate now, so I’m looking forward to being allowed to eat it.

Good bye sea-views

Good bye sea-views

 

Hello garden

Hello garden

Knitting and Stitching Show, Part the Second: Gelliping with Hilary Beattie

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I enjoyed a wonderful day of ‘gelliping’ with Hilary Beattie at the Knit and Stitch show. Unusually for the Knit and Stitch show it was a whole-day workshop rather than a ‘taster’ session, which meant there was time to play and experiment. I was inspired to go on a workshop with Hilary when I read about her teaching on Sam Packer’s blog catch a crumpsey. It is lovely to go on a course with a tutor who is so passionate about teaching, and I found the day very inspiring.

I’ve been wondering what the latest craze with gelli plate printing is all about. How is it different from ‘normal’ mono-printing using age-old surfaces like plastic or glass? Well now I know the answer – you can do all the same things that you do on a glass plate, but there are some extras. The biggest difference, I think, is that unlike printing from something firm, gelli plates will take an ‘impression’ of an item you use as a resist. After inking up the gelli plate and placing a ‘resist’ on it (like a leaf for example) the first print you take from it forms a negative print where the leaf appears as a ‘void’. So far that’s the same as a glass plate. But the difference is in the second print you take from it. The leaf gets pressed into the gelli; when you remove the leaf and take a second print from what’s left, you end up with the positive print of the leaf, with the tiny details like veins all showing. That’s a rather muddled explanation, so I recommend Hilary’s new book that has just come out, which makes it all clear through examples.DSCN4978

Or you can use the gelli plate just like a normal mono-print surface, like these that I did by printing several layers of colour and pattern. With these ones I was trying to create an impression of depth by over-printing with light and dark, or matt and shiny.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are a few prints put out to dry (below) that were done by the rest of the class. I would really recommend a course with Hilary – she’s like a human whirlwind, good fun, very spontaneous and not at all precious about art. What a great day. And no, I really didn’t have time for a course as I should really have been packing for the move, but it was good to escape from the sea of boxes for a while. Wonderful displacement activity.

 

 

 

 

Knitting and Stitching Show, Part the First

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Renate Keeping

Renate Keeping

Renate Keeping

A Flood Warning for the tidal areas of Shoreham Harbour on Thursday (normal high spring tide plus an extra storm-surge) meant that I spent the morning putting in my mother-in-law’s flood defences, and only got to Ally Pally in the afternoon. I was really pleased that a lovely stranger came and helped me. She was walking her dog along the river and saw me staggering around with giant planks and heaps of sand-bags and came and helped for half an hour. How nice is that? So although my first day at the show was cut in half, in fact I went up in very good spirits, musing on how nice people can be. The other thing that helped me enjoy my whistle-stop rush round the show was that this year for the first time I treated myself to a 20-minute head, neck and shoulder-massage at the show. I’ve seen the people in green T shirts offering massages at previous shows and felt slightly shy about saying ‘yes’. But it got rid of tired muscles from sand-bag operations, and in fact it was so pleasant that I’ll make a point of doing it next year too. I started by feeling slightly self-conscious being massaged in such a public place, but after a few minutes I was relaxed, and soon after that I was away with the fairies. The main thing I missed out was the big trader’s hall, which was probably a good thing for my bank-balance.

Renate Keeping

Luckily I did manage to get round the main exhibitions that I wanted to see. Here are a few of my favourite things. I loved these apples by Renate Keeping, which are reflections on ripening, ageing and time. They are displayed in ‘crates’ and look like they have been lovingly gathered and stored at the end of the season. You could almost smell them, or reach out and take a bite. Closer inspection revealed marks and blemishes, and little holes where a creature had eaten its way in.

 

Renate Keeping

I was very taken with Jo Beattie’s work ‘Precious Memories’ (below) which was based on photographs of people she loves, capturing ‘moments in time’. Images are stitched onto organza and then cut-away into silhouettes, like this one of children in a play-ground. They are mounted away from their background and displayed with a strong light, so the shadows become as much part of the work as the stitching. Judging by conversations I overheard, this was a very popular piece.

Jo Beattie

Jo Beattie

Margaret Talbot’s piece below was inspired by the centenary of the start of the First World War. The description reads: ‘Margaret’s work was inspired by the scars of war on the landscape, the devastation of crops and the pollution of the land between the lines. Perfect fields disintegrate into ‘no-man’s-land’ and then into absolute destruction.’ Techniques include pulled work on silk scrim. I found it strangely moving.

Margaret Talbot

DSCN4823I finally got to say hello to Kim Thittichai on the stand where she was demonstrating, but only as the show was closing and the crowds finally melted away. Kim is buried in there somewhere, chatting and demonstrating away!

‘Part the Second’ will follow later. That was a day workshop with Hilary Beattie the following day, which needs some photos sorting before I add it.

A Round Tuit.

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I used to share an office with a colleague who had a round ceramic plaque on the wall by her desk, with the inscription ‘You always said you would get A Round Tuit, so I thought I’d give you one’. OK so it was abit cutesy – but I could identify with the sentiment! I definitely need to get a Round Tuit at the moment. People who have stitched alongside me know that I’m the world’s greatest prevaricator, and I spend for ever getting a round tuit. Right now I think there’s a good reason though, as I’m beginning to pack for a house-move. We’ve had an unbelievable gap of 5 months between exchanging contracts and completing, so we drifted into the mindset that we had endless time available to sort everything out. Now suddenly it’s looming in 5 weeks time and there’s so much to do. I haven’t moved for 19 years and Roger hasn’t moved for 26 years, so it’s a big deal and we’re quite unsettled. Art is virtually at a standstill, so I thought it would be a good chance to tackle some small UFO’s.

Earlier this year I went with some friends on a wonderful course with Gwen Hedley, called ‘Cut, fold, form, patch, piece’. We made a series of little pieces based on manipulating fabric and paper, enclosing and trapping things within folds and flaps. I came home with a head full of ideas and a box full of projects to finish, and of course that’s where they have stayed since then. But they are an ideal thing to keep out during the next few months of chaos, because they are small, portable, easily put-down-able, and can be done in the hand without access to messy space. They don’t need any great concentration on design – they just evolve in your hands as you stitch. That’s great at a time when I’m distracted by trying to get our current home ready for new people, firstly de-cluttering and secondly decorating.

Fellow textile addicts will understand the way that ‘stuff’ just expands, filling cupboards to bulging and over-flowing. When the cupboards are full, then the boxes start to pile up in front of the cupboards. Why is it that whatever you need is guaranteed to be in the most deeply buried and inaccessible place? And horror of horrors, when you start hoiking it out of cupboards and trying to rugby-tackle it into boxes, then it expands in an exponential explosion.

We’ll be saying goodbye to our sea-views, but we’ll gain a garden (and an ‘extra’ room…now I wonder what that could be used for??? Any ideas???) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are some more of these little experiments in the pipeline, and they’ll each have more stitching added before being mounted onto something less harsh than the paper they’re currently on. After that they’ll probably turn into a sort of little 3D sketch-book-thingy.

Roger just looked over my shoulder and asked why I was posting photos of strange stuff tied up with string…

…Is there anyone out there…?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Workshop On The Web Article

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Jane Robinson 3D Goldwork Fossil Rock

Jane Robinson 3D Goldwork Fossil Rock

I’m pleased to say that I’ve just had an article published in the on-line magazine ‘Workshop on the Web’ (Edited by Maggie Grey). I am a subscriber to Workshop on the Web and have enjoyed many a good article and workshop, so I was delighted to be invited to contribute. I was asked to write about one of my finished pieces in the Diploma in Stitched Textiles (Embroidery) course exhibition, which Sam Packer for WoW had seen last year. I had put this piece into the Festival of Quilts (Quilt Creations Category) this summer, so it seemed a good idea to choose this one. The article is split into two parts – the first covers piecing and patching the fabrics and dyeing them, and the second covers adding the gold-work fossils and manipulating it into a 3D piece.

Gold-work Trilobite

Gold-work Trilobite

 

What I couldn’t show in the article is that the rock is designed to ‘levitate’ and float in the air. To see it floating, click here.

If you’re not already a subscriber to Workshop on the Web (or WoW as people call it) then I do recommend it – not only because I’m in it!

The History of English Embroidery

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A visit to Parham House in Sussex has just reminded me of the wonderful embroideries on display there. They have an impressive collection of stumpwork pictures, as well as tapestries and furnishings. Parham House has a generous attitude to photography, allowing photos provided no flash is used. What a boon for anyone who enjoys the History of English Embroidery – it means you can look at the images in more detail than you can get in a postcard. As well as embroideries, there are some fantastic examples shown in portraits. I love the way the artist has captured the texture of the velvet, shown in the top photo, and the way the pile captures the light. It is quite amazing that although so few actual examples of Elizabethan embroideries still exist, we have such a good idea of what they looked like through portraits. This is such a good example, showing gold-work and silk shaded fantasy flowers in the swirling designs that the Elizabethans loved so much.

Portrait said to be of Elizabeth I.

The one above is said to be of Elizabeth I, although art historians question this as the shape of her face is different from other portraits of her. Anyway, whoever she is, just look at the detail in the starched Reticella lace collar, and the mad little silk-worms embroidered on her dress.

 

 

This poor soul looks like she could be quite spirited, if she could only move her head!

A question for you

Now, I have a question. As part of the City and Guilds Diploma in Stitched Textiles (Embroidery), everyone does a big project on The History of English Embroidery. I loved doing mine; I got completely engrossed in it, and it ran to 100 A3 pages. I would rather not know how long it actually took! Now after all that work it is shut away in a cupboard, which seems abit of a waste. When I was doing it I came across some fantastic books written by specialists in their field which tended to be on very specific areas, such as a particular technique or an era. I found relatively few that had a complete overview (except for the wonderful book by Lanto Synge that includes the whole of Western Europe). What I was also looking for was something that was relatively short and simple, and contained more of a summary that would give an ‘overview’ before delving into the more rarefied professional tomes. Then when we had our C&G end of course show I noticed that other C&G students wanted to photograph pages from our finished projects, as a starting point for their own project. So I wonder if there’s any interest in me putting it all on the website so that anyone who is interested can see it? It’s no substitute for studying the specialist books by the professional textile historians (or preferably seeing the originals) but it may be useful as a starting-point.

I’d need to scan it page by page, so I thought I’d see first if there’s any interest. What do you think?

 

 

The Festival of Quilts 2014

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Sandra Smith, The Cloths of Heaven, Miniature Quilts (detail) I loved the subtle colours and the simplicity of this.

What a feast for the eyes at the Festival of Quilts. The feet have just about recovered from a bad choice of footwear for a day of standing and shuffling about, and the photos are finally uploaded. This was the first time I’ve been to the festival, and I really under-estimated how much there would be to see. It took a whole day just to look at the competition quilts – there were about a thousand just of those. I ran out of time for the curated exhibitions and there was no time at all for the traders stalls so the bank balance didn’t suffer, unlike Ally Pally. Definitely two days next year.

Inneke Van Unen, Emotion in Art, Route du vin blanc. This was one of the few non-competition galleries I did get to see. I bought her catalogue for the exhibition which was worth every penny for the lovely colours. I also enjoyed chatting to her.

I found my first visit to the FOQ really friendly. As well as meeting up with friends and familiar acquaintances, I had some really nice conversations with various unknown people. For example I had an hour to wait between my friend’s train time and my own, and as I was sitting in the bar a lovely stranger came up and asked if I’d like a conversation as she was on her own too. How un-British, and how nice! I didn’t write down a name so it has slipped from my memory. If that’s you, then do reply here and say hello!

My 3D ‘Fossil Rock’ was entered in the Quilt Creations category. I was disappointed with how it was displayed – it’s a tiny little thing that was displayed at knee-height. When people are used to looking upwards at huge quilts, and if they have tired feet, creaky knees or shopping bags on their shoulder, are they really going to bother to get down to knee-height to look at something so small? It’s the first time I’ve entered anything into a competition so I wasn’t specific about wanting it shown at eye-level – I thought it would have been self-evident. Oh well, you live and learn. Here’s someone who did bother to crouch down – thank you, unknown lady!

Most of my favourites came from the categories of Art Quilts, Contemporary Quilts and the Fine Art Quiltmasters (I don’t understand the distinctions between these – can anyone enlighten me?) The rest of this post shows some of my favourites (I’ve saved the best for last) but first there were some traditional ones that I liked too. My favourite traditional quilts didn’t win, but they easily could have been winners in my humble opinion.

Annelise Littlefair, Kutch Diamonds, Traditional Quilts

Annelise Littlefair, Kutch Diamonds, Traditional Quilts

I love the quilt above by Annelise Littlefair. The closer you get to it, the more exquisite detail emerges (see below). The machine-quilting is done very delicately. Apparently this was a winning quilt in a previous quilt competition (Sandown?) and I can see why. It would have been my choice of winner of the traditional category this time too.

Annelise Littlefair, detail 1

Annelise Littlefair, detail 2

Annelise Littlefair, detail 2

I loved this traditional one below, with beautifully stitched applique. It could have come straight out of Averil Colby. I can picture a group of people sitting round the quilt frame stitching it, in a quilting bee in ‘Little House on the Prairie’. Shame the photo makes it look pink – it was a lovely crisp white.

Sue Horner, My Baltimore Quilt, (Traditional Quilts)

Sue Horner, My Baltimore Quilt, (Traditional Quilts)

Simon Henry, 1850, Traditional Quilts

Simon Henry, 1850, Traditional Quilts

Here are two more I liked in the traditional category. On the left, a lovely applique by Simon Henry.

Below: a piece by Laura Armiraglio. I did wonder if it might have been more ‘in place’ in the Pictorial category, but as I mentioned before I don’t understand the categories so what do I know??? It’s lovely anyway.

Laura Armiraglio, Omaggion a Gerda Bengtsson

Laura Armiraglio, Omaggion a Gerda Bengtsson

 

 

Penny Armitage, Cosmos, Miniature Quilts

Penny Armitage, Cosmos, Miniature Quilts

And here are some that struck me from the other categories.

Here’s another ‘pretty’ one by Penny Armitage in the Miniature Quilts category, which I think is a machine cut-away technique (beautifully done).

I liked the colours and the freshness of Yvonne Brown’s Tulip Time (below). I particularly liked the way the cut-away sections echoed the other bands of tulips.

Yvonne Brown, Tulip Time, Quilters Guild Challenge Winner

Cherry Vernon-Harcourt, Holkham Beach

Cherry Vernon-Harcourt, Holkham Beach (detail)

 

Definitely a case of ‘less is more’ here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two-Plus-One, Shared Abstraction, Group Quilts.

Two-Plus-One, Shared Abstraction, Group Quilts.

 

I like the contrasting colour-scheme of this quilt by ‘Two-Plus-One’, and the simple restrained stitching.  I also liked the mat texture, which included paper as well as fabric.

Two-Plus-One, detail

Two-Plus-One, detail

Two-Plus-One, detail 2

Two-Plus-One, detail 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I read a complaint in someone else’s blog that ‘the arty set’ are taking over the Festival of Quilts. No doubt some of my choices would have her full disapproval, but hopefully there’s room in the quilt and textile art world for the whole spectum, from ‘arty’ through to ‘cutesy’, and all shades in between.

Yvonne Kervinen, Urban Landscape, Art Quilts

Yvonne Kervinen, Urban Landscape, Art Quilts

Louise Peers, Bushfire, Art Quilts (Highly Commended)

I loved the subtle colour-gradations of ‘Bushfire’ above. I’m not sure if the background was painted or shibori-dyed, but it was lovely, with more trees appliqued on top. I love the tiny little green shoot on the right – the piece could have been called ‘hope’.

Louise Peers (detail)

I had to put my hands in my pockets to avoid stroking the quilt below.

Cecilia Gonzalez Desedamas, The Difference, Art Quilts (detail)

Maggie Birchenough, Rose 4, Art Quilts (Judges Choice)

Maggie Birchenough, Rose 4, Art Quilts (Judges Choice)

Maggie Birchenough (detail)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I loved the very restricted colour-palette of this one by Maggie Birchenough, and the textured detail in the stitching.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

‘Wrapped In Colour’ by Meredith McCarthy (below) is a very different kind of quilt, which glowed as the light shone through it. It reminded me of old stained glass windows.

Meredith McCarthy, Wrapped in Colour, Art Quilts

Kate Crossley, Clock, Quilt Creations

And here’s my favourite, Kate Crossley’s ‘Clock’ which had the unanimous vote of all the judges to win the Quilt Creations category. Of all the things I saw at the show, this is the one that I would be most pleased to have created myself. It’s a wonderful concept as a way to make a textile statement on ‘time’. It’s completely bonkers, stuffed with detail, and beautifully stitched. The closer you look, the more it draws you in to study the detail (see below).

Judging by the people crowding round to photograph it, this was a popular choice by the Judges. Look at the photo at the bottom – it shows how captivated people are by this piece.

Kate Crossley, Clock, detail 1

Kate Crossley, Clock, detail 3

Kate Crossley, Clock, detail 2

Kate Crossley, Clock, detail 4

Kate Crossley, Clock, detail 5

A constant crowd of people to photograph Kate Crossley’s Clock

It’s Shaun the sheep

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That's not a stake through his heart, it's the remains of a sparkler

That’s not a stake through his heart, it’s the remains of a sparkler

Here’s a quick post to show you the photos I’ve just received of the Shaun the sheep cake I made for my mother-in-law’s 90th birthday. The whole family are Shaun fans, influenced by Audrey aged 90 and her sister Ann. This includes the middle-aged generation, the young adults, the teenagers and the school-age and pre-school children.

Shaun is made from sugar-paste icing made with glycerine (wonderful stuff that you can mould like plasticine). The grass is coloured butter-icing and the flowers are courtesy of the local supermarket. Shaun kept letting his head droop onto the grass, so he has a cocktail stick in his neck to help him stay awake. I had two helpers to make the grass and arrange the flowers – Veronika and Milo. And yes, there were a few spare sugar flowers that had to be sampled first.

My mother-in-law is called ‘Granny Cake’ for good reason!

Waiting patiently for cake while adults keep talking

Waiting patiently for cake while adults keep talking

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The only problem was that the adults couldn’t bring themselves to eat Shaun. The children were less squeamish. But after some discussion of the method of dissection (pull his head off? chop him into slices?) in fact he was removed to a plate while his field was eaten instead. (Update: I’m told that Shaun now lives in a box and may make a guest appearance on another cake).

Pay Up!

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Pay Up

There has been alot of interest in my previous post, ‘Reclaiming Childhood’ which was about the exploitation of children in the embroidery industry in India. The exhibition of paintings by Claire Phillips will move to Worthing Museum and Art Gallery from 13th September until 24th Jan 2015. Do go and see it if you can.

Do you remember the sewing factory that collapsed in Bangladesh, The Rana Plaza? It was in the news in April 2013, when all 9-storeys collapsed, killing 1138 workers and injuring 2600. Workers in the shops and bank on the ground floor were all evacuated the day before, when big cracks appeared in the building, but garment workers on the other floors were ordered back to work the next day despite the known risk. There was shock and outrage in the Western world for a while. Then other things took over in the news, and our daily lives took over, and how often have we consciously thought about it again? There was a flurry of publicity a little while later about setting up a compensation fund for the families and survivors, and the willingness or otherwise of the big clothing companies to pay up. We are lucky to live in a country that has stricter health and safety legislation and enforcement, and prosecution of companies that breach these regulations. If something does go wrong, there is compensation, and there are state benefits and free health-care. Nothing can compensate for the loss of a loved-one, but it is in the power of the big clothing companies who used the factory to make sure that the injured and bereaved are not destitute.

Well over a year later, the compensation fund is still a long way short of the amount that should have been raised. Some companies paid up straight away, and some gave in gradually and reluctantly to public pressure. Others have yet to pay up, or have just made a small contribution that falls a long way short of what is needed. Click here to see more information about who has and hasn’t paid up, from the website of Cleanclothes.org, who campaign for fair wages and safe working conditions in the clothing and embroidery industries. http://www.cleanclothes.org/ranaplaza

Some companies have made the amount of their donations public. Some companies that had no clear link to the factory also made voluntary donations. However, others failed to pay up. One of the companies that dragged its’ heels is Matalan, who until this week were the only UK company not to have paid a penny. After considerable public pressure they finally made a donation this week, only the day before the deadline for payment and well over a year after the disaster. This is only a ‘token’ payment, to the short-term disaster-relief, not the full amount that is needed for long-term compensation. Their argument is that they stopped using the factory a few weeks before the accident. But this was for quality reasons, not humanitarian or health and safety reasons. Most garment manufacture in Bangladesh and India is done on this short-term basis, which makes health and safety harder to enforce. Another argument is that they were not found culpable (but nor where any of the other companies who used the Rana Plaza, but they have paid up anyway). Their third argument is that there is no court order forcing them to pay (but the other companies who have paid up willingly have done so without a court order). They refuse to disclose the actual amount they are offering to the fund, and without Matalan’s permission to disclose it the fund also cannot state how much they have offered. If they are as proud as they claim to be about their (reluctant, late) contribution, then why not disclose the amount? Their argument is that they ‘only’ used the Rana Plaza for a short time, although they acknowledge that this was very shortly before the disaster, and that they stopped using it for commercial reasons not for humanitarian or health and safety reasons. If every company took the same line as Matalan then there would be no compensation fund at all.

 

 

Reclaiming Childhood

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Claire Phillips: Geeta

Last week I went to the opening night of an exhibition of paintings by Claire Phillips, a Sussex portrait artist, at the Oxo Tower in London. The title of the exhibition is ‘Reclaiming Childhood: Face To Face With Child Labour In India’. For several years Claire has worked with the charity ‘Bachpan Bachao Andolan’, which is a charity that rescues children from slave-labour in India. Some of the children come from factories and from domestic service. Many come from embroidery sweat-shops, where they have been stitching for hours and hours each day. They have no education, no health-care, no freedom, no time to play, and no kindness. If they fall asleep while working they are beaten. If they cry, they are beaten. They can’t see any way out or any future. Children are particularly desirable to embroidery sweatshops; they have good eyesight, nimble fingers, and can do detailed work that is more challenging for adults. One particular irony in India is that the numbers of children who are estimated to be in bonded labour instead of education is roughly equivalent to the number of adults who are out of work. This is the cost of the cheap embroidery that we buy in the West.

Painting by Claire Phillips: Mukti-Ashram Boys

Painting by Claire Phillips: Mukti-Ashram Boys

As embroiderers we know just how long it takes to hand-stitch sequins, or to do exquisite metal-thread work, or to stitch on tiny beads. How often do we buy a piece of embroidered clothing, or a bag or scarf, which has been hand-stitched in India? When we do, how often do we stop to ask ourselves why it is so incredibly cheap? Why not apply a quick bit of logic. Start with the price we pay, and subtract the cost of the shop that we bought it from (staff, premises, business rates etc). Subtract the cost of handling and shipping it across the sea from India. Subtract the cost of the wholesaler in India. Subtract the cost of transporting it within India. On top of the costs at each stage, add a profit margin. Once you have taken off all that, what is left? Peanuts. In that case, how can the person at the very end of the chain, the person who stitched it, possibly have been paid a decent living wage? And how likely is it that this person was a child?

The lucky ones are rescued by the charity. Some are returned to parents, and others stay in children’s homes run by the charity. Here they receive care and kindness, proper food, education and time to play. They learn to trust people; they learn hope, and they learn that they can have a future.

Painting by Claire Phillips: Deepika

Painting by Claire Phillips: Deepika

The sound-track and the written commentary to the exhibition tell us about the conditions that some of the children were rescued from, and the painful stories that led to their exploitation. However, the exhibition is lighter in spirit than I expected. The paintings show the children just as children, as Claire met them; playing, playful, exploring, mischievous, and fun. These are children who have a second-chance at childhood. It takes them time to learn to trust the adults around them – but once they do, their sense of fun is tremendous.

Child working on zari-work

Child working on zari-work

The art on one wall is a poignant reminder of what these children have lost and regained. There are two sets of pictures done by the children; the first set is soon after they are rescued, when their drawings tend to be timid and unconfident. Some, like the ones below, show details of the embroidery work they had to do for hours – in this case Zari (goldwork).

Children's art soon after rescue

Children’s art soon after rescue

Children's art soon after rescue

Children’s art soon after rescue

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Children's art

Children’s art

 

 

Other pictures are done by children who have been at the centre for longer and who have started to experience the world as free children should be able to experience it. These pictures fill the page with expressive, joyful images of the world around them; houses, the sun, a cow, or flowers. They have recovered a sense of childhood that most western children can take for granted.

Children's art

Children’s art

Children's art

Children’s art

Children's art

Children’s art

Kailash Satyarthi

The exhibition is on at The Oxo Tower until the 20th July, and will be at Worthing Museum and Art Gallery from 13th September 2014 until the 24th January 2015. Do go and see it if you can.

For more information on the charity, go to http://www.bba.org.in/

For more on Claire’s art, go to http://www.clairephillips.com/

There is also a talk by Kailash-Satyarthi at the Oxo Tower on the closing day of the London exhibition (20th July). Kailash is rated as one of the top human rights defenders of the world today. He and his colleagues literally risk their lives in the process of freeing enslaved children, and they have rescued around 80,000 children. In the painting by Claire (bottom left) he is pictured with some of the children rescued by Bachan Bachao Andolan. They are having a school lesson, something taken for granted by western children.

http://www.oxotower.co.uk/events/talk-human-rights-defender-kailash-satyarthi/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you to Claire Phillips for permission to include images of her work on this blog.

What wondrous things…

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Recently I wandered through an amazing wild-flower meadow in Sussex, a vast and glorious array of colour and celebration. I find it hard to grasp why flowers are quite so beautiful. The naturalists’ answer is that it’s so that the bees choose them to land on rather than their neighbours. Crinkled purple vetch competing with the splash of red poppies, competing with homely, wisely-winking daisies. ‘Land on me’. ‘No, land on me’. ‘Oh, please, land on ME’. But wouldn’t the bees still find them if they were all just shades of dull brown? Is it really necessary, for survival, for them to be quite so glorious? I love the sheer unnecessary beauty of them, which seems to exist for no other reason than that it does.

Machine-embroidered panel

Here’s a piece I made a long time ago now, based on grasses blowing in the wind. It’s from later in the summer, when the wild-flowers have faded and the grasses are turning gold. It’s machine-embroidered, with layers of bonded ‘snippets’ as a background, and dyed orange and green velvet cut-away as a top layer to make the grasses. The thumbnails below are the pencil and pen-and-ink drawings that started this piece off.

 

 

 

 

 

Flowers can be held up as shields against sad, bad things. They help us to celebrate, to grieve and to rejoice. The recent winner of the City and Guilds Medal for Excellence and Lion Award for Floristry, Jill Harden, said to me ‘I can’t imagine a life without flowers’. I guess that’s why artists paint them, poets write about them, and we textile artists stitch them.

Lara Sparks

Lara Sparks

I came across the work of Lara Sparks recently at a Sussex Guild of Craftsmen show. She kindly let me photograph her work and put a few pieces here. Some of her work features images of wildflowers and grasses, delicately stitched on a backgound of linen. She was also featured in a 6-page article in Embroidery Magazine. Her website is at http://www.larasparks-embroidery.co.uk/

Lara Sparks

Lara Sparks

We were introduced to this wild-flower meadow by our friend V and her husband. I was thinking of V as I wandered through it recently, without her company this year as she was away saying her final farewells to her mother. V is a real celebrant of the wonders of nature, discovering it each day as it if is all new again since yesterday. Which, of course, it is.

W Keble-Martin’s ‘The Concise British Flora in Colour’ stood in the same place on the family bookshelf in Dartmoor for fifty years, consulted earnestly as a family Bible.  Keble-Martin is probably quite bewildered now to find himself on my bookshelf by a shingle beach in Sussex. Open it randomly now and old flowers drop out, dusty and brittle from fifty years pressed between the pages. There is still a hint of their true colours when they grew in the fields, river-banks, meadows and moorlands of Devon, picked and studied when the sun shone every day and everything was ever, and pressed between the pages as talismans. The pages have pencilled notes of where and when each flower was found; the one and only exception to the crime of writing in a book. ‘Lady’s Pennywort, Aish Lane, 1968’. ‘Heath Pearlwort, Skerraton Down, July 1970’. ‘Sea Purslove, Aveton Gifford, April 1972’. Many are from ‘The Meadow’ behind the house. For there is, actually, only one meadow in this universe; the one from which the house, Meadow Cottage, takes its’ name. Fistfuls of wild-flowers were brought home home as presents, drooping from being clutched in small, hot hands. And if a particular treasure was found by a child, then our name was entered carefully in the book along with the flower, place and date. My mother’s hand-writing is on the page, as if she will come back one day with a new flower to identity. I can’t remember why I was so obstinate about learning their names, but how glad I am that they slipped into my mind anyway, and can be recited as a litany as I walk. Moon-daisy, cow-slip, vetch. Rose-bay Willow-herb, Bindweed, Sedge. Red Campion, fox-glove, Ling.  And valiant Cow-parsley, towering over all the others to declare that it is here anyway, whether we are here to see it or not.

This Heritage

They are not dead, who leave us this great heritage of remembered joy. They still live in our hearts, in the happiness we knew, in the dreams we shared. They still breathe, in the lingering fragrance windblown from their favourite flowers. They still smile in the moonlight’s silver and laugh in the sunlight’s sparkling gold. They still speak in the echoes of words we’ve heard them say again and again. They still move, in the rhythm of waving grasses, in the dance of the leafy branches. They are not dead; their memory is warm in our hearts, comfort in our sorrow. They are not apart from us, but a part of us, for love is eternal and those we love shall be with us throughout all eternity.

(Author Unknown)

 

 

 

Missenden Abbey Diploma shows

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Bobby Francis

The Missenden Abbey Open Day last weekend was a wonderful display of work across a range of different subjects. There were tutor displays that included floral art, beadwork, botanical painting, watercolour, ceramics, mosaics, batik and goldwork. I had an interesting conversation with a graphologist, who ‘read’ my handwriting with great accuracy. She seemed quite intrigued by the fact that I can write fluently in joined-up mirror-writing (not the most useful skill in the world, but apparently quite interesting for a graphologist. I gather I share this strange phenomenon with Leonardo Da Vinci and Lewis Carrol!). I remember quite clearly one day, as a child, I just decided that I would be able to do mirror-writing, and sat down and did it. It didn’t take any practice. There was a strange way of shutting off the part of the brain that said I couldn’t do it, and almost hypnotising myself into knowing that I could do it. It seems to be important that I have both feet planted on the ground, and that I am relaxed. There’s a process of kind of ‘sinking down inside myself’ almost like a meditation, and then it just happens. I have no idea why, or what it means. The only thing I do know is that it feels just the same as being absorbed in observational drawing.

We were impressed with the City and Guilds student work in Stitched Textiles (Embroidery) and Patchwork and Quilting. The photo above is a piece by Bobby Francis. It is a big ‘installation’ of exuberant folded strips of stitched paper, which cascade from a height of about 6ft, to a ‘tumble’ on the floor. Below left is the ‘tumble’ as it lands on the floor, and below right is a detail of a stitched ‘seam’ that runs down the piece. I wondered if it was inspired by seams in rock, as rock formations was Bobby’s subject for her Research Project.

Bobby Francis, C&G Stitched Textiles

Bobby Francis, C&G Stitched Textiles

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bobby Francis

I watched Bobby’s Research Project with particular interest as her chosen subject (rock formations) was similar to mine (rocks and fossils). However, it’s amazing to see how very differently things turn out, even from a similar starting point. Here are a couple more of Bobby’s pieces (left and below) both of which I find very striking and exuberant.

Bobby Francis, C&G Stitched Textiles

In complete contrast, this lovely piece (below) by Barbara Deacon is stitched in delicate detail. It was made for Barbara’s god-daughter and her husband, and features the two continents of Africa and India that they each have particular connections to, through historical family connections and through travel. Dyed fabric is used beautifully for the sea and the land-mass, and the stitching is exquisite. I love the spirited elephants trotting across the top (see detail below).

Barbara Deacon, C&G Stitched Textiles (click to enlarge)

Barbara Deacon, C&G Stitched Textiles

Barbara Deacon, C&G Stitched Textiles (click to enlarge)

I think a mark of a good course is when each student develops work that is unique and personal to them. Another good example of this from the Missenden Abbey show is the work of Anne Lange (pronounced Anna). Anne’s special subject was lettering, particularly examples of specific historical bibles. Anne spent time doing observational drawings in the British Library, and researching old documents in her home town in Germany that have particular historical resonance for her family history. The piece below is a great example of her use of ancient styles and lettering, to produce a rich, encrusted piece that has echoes of medieval illuminated manuscripts as well as Opus Anglicanum goldwork, blending the English and German traditions together.

Anne Lange, C&G Diploma

Anne Lange, C&G Diploma

Anne Lange, C&G Diploma

The piece below by Anne shows her use of rich encrusted ‘bling’, in an arcading design that could be medieval. I recommend that you look at her website to see more examples of her work. There are some lovely goldwork pieces there, and some interesting Mandalas. Anna runs online stitched textiles courses from Germany, which can be accessed from other countries too. Check out her website here
 http://www.lange-nadel.de/

 

 

Anne Lange, C&G Diploma

A special mention should be made for Anne’s husband Burkhardt. Anne has travelled all the way from Germany for each of the Missenden Abbey C&G Certificate and Diploma weekends, spanning six years in total. Burkhard has driven with her from Germany each time, allowing her time to stitch in the car. Once I heard that, I discovered that I can stitch in the car without getting car-sick. Wonderful use of time. Husbands take note!!!

The Patchwork and Quilting work was impressive too. There were some beautiful full-sized quilts which I haven’t included here as I didn’t manage to catch the people who made them to ask their permission to put them on my blog. However, I did manage to catch up with three quilters who had made some small pieces ‘in the style of’ well-known quilt artists. It’s an interesting idea, to take the style and methods of someone well-known, and blend that with your own subject.

Chris Beamish, 'in the style of' Alicia Merritt.

Chris Beamish, ‘in the style of’ Alicia Merritt.

Chris Beamish, ‘in the style of’ Alicia Merritt (detail, click to enlarge).

Alison Mayall, 'in the style of' Phillipa Naylor.

Alison Mayall, ‘in the style of’ Phillipa Naylor.

Alison Mayall, 'in the style of' Phillipa Naylor (click to enlarge).

Alison Mayall, ‘in the style of’ Phillipa Naylor (detail, click to enlarge).

Kay Lockie, 'in the style of' Kate Doughty.

Kay Lockie, ‘in the style of’ Kate Doughty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately I completely missed all the Patchwork and Quilting Certificate work, as we accidentally missed out a whole room. Congratulations to Charlotte Haenlein, a Patchwork and Quilting Certificate student, who is being nominated by Missenden Abbey for the Medal for Excellence. Hopefully we will see some of her work somewhere soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

The Lion Awards

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The Missenden Abbey Contingent: Jill Booker (Floristry Tutor) Jill Harden (Medal Winner, Floristry and Lion Award) Jane Robinson (Medal Winner, Stitched Textiles), and Janet Edmonds (Embroidery Tutor)

The Missenden Abbey Contingent: Jill Booker (Floristry Tutor) Jill Harden (Medal Winner, Floristry and Lion Award) Jane Robinson (Medal Winner, Stitched Textiles), and Janet Edmonds (Embroidery Tutor)

What a night! City and Guilds did us proud, with a great celebration of all the awards. Congratulations to Jill Harden, who also picked up a Lion Award for her Floristry course. Well done Jill and Jill!

'The Red Carpet'.

‘The Red Carpet’.

Not sure what made us laugh, but that's the kind of evening it was.

Not sure what made us laugh, but that’s the kind of evening it was.

Here I am on my first (and probably only) red-carpet photo-session! With any luck the official ones will be slightly better…(later comment – no, they weren’t!)

For me, one of the awards that particularly stood out was for Samith Rajapaksha, who travelled all the way from Sri Lanka to collect his award for International Learner of the Year. To do his course and get to his work-place, he had to walk two hours from his village every day. I liked his statement that ‘no dream is too big and no dreamer is too small’. I was also pleased to see an award for Ian Reynolds, Community Supporter of the Year, for his work supporting carers, ‘the forgotten people’.

 

It was a great evening; drinks, acrobats, eats, entertainments, speeches, awards, posh frocks, more drinks, and lots of socialising. We had some great conversations with so many interesting people, from different subjects, different age-groups and different social backgrounds. The one thing in common was a sense of energy, enthusiasm and excitement. It was great talking to some of the people in their twenties who had won awards – it was clearly a life-changing event. You could see the passion and energy that went into it all.  There were a few funny conversations, such as chatting to the felt-making medal-winner while our other-halves compared notes on the silk ties made by their respective partners. Here’s DH, sporting his.

DSC00073A rather strange photo on the right here, but it does record the extremely rare event of a good-hair-day, so here it is for posterity!

 

 

If I were you I wouldn’t start from here…

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Soluble fabric and machine embroidery

Soluble fabric and machine embroidery

I do sometimes wonder if I’m just plain bonkers. Does this look to you like a dress that will be ready to be worn the day after tomorrow? I could have made life so much easier; but no. Starting out on this little journey, I had such a clear idea of where I was going: a red velvet dress with a ‘Taj Mahal’ neckline, with Indian-inspired gold embroidery round the neck and hem. Simples. But as I’ve gone along, little road-blocks have appeared along the way. I feel like the person who asks for directions only to be told ‘if I were you I wouldn’t start from here’. Instead of catching a quick and comfortable bus, I’ve embarked on a great long trek, minus maps.

Decide to make a dress (can’t find a pattern that’s right). Decide to make my own pattern instead (don’t know how to – have to have lessons). Decide on red viscose velvet (doesn’t come in red so I dye it). Dylon don’t make the right shade of red machine-dye (mix my own). Make up a prototype (looks like a hospital gown). Alter, adapt, tweak. Re-cut pattern (get in a muddle about adding and subtracting seam-allowances).  Start on machine-embroidery round the neck (it takes much longer than I expect. It always does. Why did I forget that?) Decide to save time by not embroidering round the arms (cut the shoulder slightly too narrow so it has to have embroidery after all as there isn’t enough for a seam allowance). Look for red shoes to go with it (fail to find ones I like & decide to dye some suede ones. After applying the dye, notice prominent note on the bottle that says ‘Only suitable for leather, not suede’).

Somehow I think my grasp of style and glamour has over-reached itself. Here’s a picture of me as a toddler. I really haven’t changed much.

Note to self: For next project, engage both brain cells at the same time!

 

Indian doodles and dress-making

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Indian doodles and designs

I love the vibrant, highly saturated colours that are so special to Rajasthan. Here are some bits of art-work and a couple of stitch-samples from the Diploma course, based on Indian motifs. Designing and making the dress that I mentioned in my previous post seemed like a great opportunity to to explore these Indian themes further.

Machine-embroidered Indian design

Machine-embroidered Indian design

Indian block-print

Indian block-print

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Counter-change design in felt

Counter-change design in felt

 

 

I had reached the doom-and-disaster phase of the project (does everyone get that I wonder???) when luckily my fellow Diploma students and I had one of our get-togethers. Settled in the sun in Elaine’s garden, I had the full focus of three ‘helpers’ to re-pin, adapt, cut and re-tweak the prototype. There was also great encouragement not to abandon the project. I think we ended up with something that looks less like a hospital gown and more like a dress!

 

Dyed viscose silk velvet

Dyed viscose silk velvet

On that basis I unpicked the prototype and made a new pattern, and dyed the viscose silk velvet to make the finished piece. Here’s the dyed fabric. I love viscose silk velvet because of the way it drapes, and catches the light as it moves. It soaks up dye in great thirsty gulps, which means you can achieve a really highly saturated colour. 3 metres of heavy fabric would be difficult to dye evenly by hand, so I did it in the washing-machine using Dylon machine-dye. Strangely, Dylon don’t seem to have a deep mid-red, so I used a tub of Orange and a tub of pinky-red. Luckily my theory worked, and it came out a deep mid-red colour. Designs for the neck and hem are based on the doodles below, which are a kind of embellished Taj-Mahal motif. Underneath that are some stitch samples for the dress (Janet trained us well!) Now the dress is half-made-up and I’ve started the machine-stitching on soluble fabric round the neck. I hope it works out OK. Eek! Watch this space!

Gold ink project cover

Gold ink project cover

Indian doodles - detail

Indian doodles – detail

Dress designs

Dress design

Machine embroidered stitch sample. Soluble fabric and viscose silk velvet.