Stretching and pushing out of my comfort zone

Instead of the usual E.A.S.T meeting today we invited artist, Vinny Stapley to take the group through some design exercises.  We arrived at the hall at Braintree District Museum to find Vinny putting together a still life - dried foliage, exotic vegetables and interesting lighting.

We began with some warm up exercises.  Using charcoal, first we had to draw with our non-dominant hand.  We had about 8 minutes to make our drawing.

Then we had to draw without looking at our paper - I really struggled not to look, and did not take a photo of this exercise.  Our final warm up exercise was to put our paper on the floor and then draw with our charcoal attached to a very long stick.

We had time for a group critique before our next exercise.

Then we moved on to working in colour - in a section Vinny called the 'magic roundabout'.  For each 'station' Vinny placed a different type of media.  Each activity was timed - about 5 or 8 minutes for each.  Then we moved to the seat on our left and picked up the next media.  As we moved along we also moved around the central still life - so our view changed.  We were supposed to capture moments - and think about what was being left out.

Sometimes I built on an image I had already started - sometimes I tried something completely new.  A different fruit perhaps - but I kept coming back to the dried teasels and what I think was cow parsley.

Then we used some card windows to pick out sections - something we could develop.  

For the final session of the day we worked in groups to create a 3-dimensional response to the central still life.  Again we were time limited and had to use materials that were to hand. I worked with Felicity and Libby to create this response to the pumpkin and cow parsley florets, with a 'box' (made from paper) - a juxtaposition of the natural and man made.  The title of the workshop was 'organic subversive' and we felt that this would also be the title for our finished 'sculpture'.  Oh - and we decided to add a little humour as Libby's glasses were just the perfect colour.

The importance of lighting was discussed as we looked at the sculptures by the others in the group.

All in all it was a really interesting day.  I was really pushed to do work I haven't done for ages - in particular drawing, but also using natural objects for inspiration and working with some new types of media.  There were quite a few pieces that I was very pleased with, and I think can be developed further.  I am also wondering if I can combine anything from today with the work from the workshop I did with Diane Bates.  

Watch this space!

Power of Stitch at Braintree Museum

E.A.S.T's latest exhibition, Power of Stitch, is now open at Braintree District Musuem (until Saturday 29 June 2019).  My own contribution is a body of work called 'A chain of events' which refers to three stories related to the technique of tambour work - a chain stitch made with a hook rather than a needle.

I became interested in the history of tambour embroidery when I discovered a number of girls at the eighteenth century Foundling Hospital being apprenticed to embroiderers from the mid-1760s.  The embroidery masters (they were mostly male) were also sometimes identified as tambour workers.  When I tried to learn more about the technique's history in Britain all I found was that it arrived in England in the mid-1760s.  Prior to that it has a long history in China and India where it has been used for centuries.

Looking through newspaper archives from the eighteenth century the first person I found who advertised tambour work (then called broder au tambour) was a Mme Catherine Pignerolle.  The newspapers, from February 1765, include several advertisements by Mme Pignerolle teaching skills and selling items worked using this particular technique.  There were others teaching and selling tambour needles, but Mme Pignerolle seemed to be one of the most regular in the press.  When she died in 1773 it took three days to sell all her possessions.  I wondered did tambour work make her rich?  Her story is represented by this piece of work.

To represent 30 foundling girls (and one boy) who were apprenticed to the same embroiderer I created 30 hearts.  Each one has the name of one of the children, their number (all foundling children also had a number), the year they were admitted/born and the year they were apprenticed.  One side of each heart has a little 'window' showing a foundling token - identifying notes, objects and fabrics.  On the other side I used cottons that are reproductions of 18th century textiles.  These fabrics had been a gift from a friend.  I wanted to use these because these girls, unlike many of the foundlings, might have been supported by this friendship network.  

My last piece of work relates to another tambour related story from the newspapers.  That of Frances Glover and Elizabeth Wheeler who, aged 20, were found in the New River, London in 1780.  The report states that they were unable to find work (as tambourers) and it was thought this might have been the reason why they threw themselves in the river.  By now this date there were increasingly stories of tambour workers being sweated in workhouses - demand was high and competition meant selling cheap.  Did tambour work make them poor?  These girls are remembered in my third piece of work.

As well as tambour embroidery, one of the other main themes of this work has been the representation of time.  It is one of the reasons I have used photographic images - as a means to capture time.  

To find out more about the other artists whose work is on display visit the E.A.S.T website - HERE.

Following a Thread - until 24 June 2017

My work is now on display as part of EAST's latest exhibition Following a Thread.  The exhibition is at Braintree District Museum, Manor Street, Braintree, Essex, CM7 3HW (UK).  Today was our private view and it was lovely to see everyone's work on display.  The exhibition will be on at Braintree until 24 June 2017 then move to Snape Maltings in Suffolk (29 June to 5 July 2017).

My work relates once again to my interest in the archives of the Foundling Hospital with six beaded hearts - one for each of six foundlings.  During the time the exhibition is open I will post the story behind each one.  However here is my display - though the photo does not really do it justice as there is just too much glass and reflection.  Also I probably should have got much closer in so I will try and take a better photo over the coming weeks.

For more information about EAST - www.easttextile.co.uk

Bits and Pieces

This blog is a mixture of small exhibitions either textile or with a textile link starting with one I think I will miss as it closes this week:

The Museum of the Order of St John is a small museum in Clerkenwell, which as the name suggests, tells the story of the Museum of the Order of St John.  Most people might recognise the order for its links to St John's Ambulance.  Despite being on since October I only learnt about a week ago that they had a small (free) exhibition relating to Caravaggio's The Cardsharps, called Caravaggio: Fashion and Fabrics.  Actual textiles are displayed alongside the painting bringing the artwork to life in a very real way.  The exhibition finishes on Tuesday 31st January 2017, but mention it in case some else may do so.

However last week I did manage a visit to a modern textile exhibition by a group Texere at Gallery 50, Craft Arena, Barleylands in Billericay.  Texere  is a textiles education working group, working within European Textile Network (ETN) who have a programme of events and activities across Europe.  Although the exhibition is small, there were some excellent pieces of work on display including some weaving and embroideries.  Texere: celebrations - 25 years of Texere continues until 12 February 2017.

I was also very fortunate to be able to be invited to the Private View of Life in an English village at Braintree District Museum, Braintree in Essex.  This is an exhibition of print and drawings by the internationally famous Bardfield Artists.   I went with my friend and fellow EAST member, Susan who knew a lot about the artists and Bardfield.  Susan had used the work of Bawden and the village of Bardfield for the inspiration behind her contribution to EAST's Threads of Time project made for the millennium and now part of Braintree Museum's collection.   The collection will be the subject of a talk EAST are giving later this year at Chelmsford Embroiderer's Guild.   (Thanks to Susan, as well as Claire at the museum, for permission to use the image at the top of this page.)

Life in an English Village continues until 15 April 2017, and really shows what a beautiful county Essex can be.  It was also interesting to learn a little more about the Bardfield Artists and their wider community.