SiX and Friends

2012-03-02T16:04:00.003Z

Hi Everyone,

Congratulations, Laura, the painting looks wonderful, what a great gallery.

It has been quiet this week till today so I decided to put my picture of the plum blossom in my garden. I've watched it burgeoning from the first floor bathroom, I lost patience with the horrible terracotta on the walls which explains why I've been quiet! Nothing wrong with terracotta, just not in this room....

Annabel, the new painting looks gorgeous.

Catching up

2012-03-02T11:58:00.000Z

Hi everyone,

Seems like after a little flurry of posts I haven't checked in for a while. I have been working, honest. But I've got nothing to show for it. I did decide to go mad and try to get a quilt completed for the EAQ deadline. The deadline hasn't passed, but the quilt is still on the long arm being quilted and is in very early stages. After the instant gratification of painting and digital print I'm finding the quilting process to be so slow. Of course the piece is big and I'm quilting it stupidly close so I doubt it will be done in time. Mom gave me a talking to and so I think I'll save it for Festival of Quilts in August instead. It should be quilted by then...I had big plans for Festival entries this year, but they are rapidly falling by the wayside due to lack of time. I need an army of elves to come in for the night shift!

Good news is that my painting 'A Bird in the Hand' was selected for the Open exhibition at RBSA. I'm really pleased about this. It's been about fifteen years since I last had a go at their Open All Media. Last time I exhibited an embroidered portrait. They're still open to textiles, and when we dropped by yesterday to see the show there was a small number on display, but I liked the paintings and prints best. It's always interesting to compare textiles to painting in a gallery setting to see how they stand up to each other.

Considering that the hanging team have no idea what work might be selected, they had done a great job with displaying the exhibition and we thought the galleries looked excellent.

My painting is in the room above but it's tucked away out of sight in this shot. Below the keen eyed among you will spot two collagraph prints by Sue Brown. We do like her work. Every time we see lovely prints it makes us want to get out into the studio and play with the press.

Downstairs is the Craft Gallery which consists of a number of large glass cases. The work on display at the moment is from a variety of different makers with the theme of History Makers. There are pieces that reference vintage photos, old books, all sorts. Didn't take a photo there, but you can find out more on the RBSA website.
Hope you're all having a good week.
Talk to you soon,
Laura
x

DH buys a new picture

2012-03-01T18:15:00.001Z

How appropriate to the exhibition! Just thought I'd share :)

(Apologies for my reflection in the glass)

Resurrecting a disaster

2012-02-26T18:22:00.000Z

A couple of weeks ago I made a screen print of iris flowers. My sister had drawn the design on the screen with soy wax. She finished printing for the day and because I'm so mean I felt obliged to finish up the last of the paint rather than throw it away! A piece of fabric was grabbed with no thought of colour or suitability. You know how it is when you just grab the first thing you find. The result was less than lovely but today I've been working into it and I hope it has possibilities. I'm thinking it might hang together with the two appliqued iris quilts I've almost finished.

I wanted to lose most of the unconsidered colour and introduce a flat gold background like you often find in Japanese paintings. I was also thinking of the lovely red ground you often see under gold leaf so I painted most of the pinky red out using artists' acrylic gold paint, working with a fairly dry brush so that glimpses of the original colour remained. Then I added detail and shadows with Derwent Inktense pencils in Chilli Red and Sepia. You can't tell from these images but the flowers now have very long stems - I shall have to decide if they need to be tucked into a pot or simply finish at the lower edge of the quilt. At some point I must find an iron - sorry it looks so creased right now!

What's everybody else up to? You've been a bit quiet for a few days! Linda

Jamie Oliver's teapot.

2012-02-23T01:38:00.000Z

I went to Jamie Oliver's for lunch today and ordered a cup of tea with my lunch. Look at the teapot it arrived in!

Is it sad to take photos of what you're eating and drinking?? I'm not sure, but it was such a lovely oriental cast iron teapot that I couldn't resist; it made fabulous tea as well and had one of those built in strainer things so you didn't get a mouthful of tea leaves.

I asked if they were available to buy and the waitress went and asked for me. She said that they weren't but were available from IKEA! Who'd have thought?

This is a preliminary sketch done in pen and ink of my still life from the other day. I haven't got around to doing much apart from this and the sketchbook page (below) but will do the Chinese Lanterns next I think.

More books

2012-02-22T14:31:00.006Z

I said I would never be tempted to more books yet here I am with two more!

Book cases are groaning, I've no idea where they'll go when I have finished gloating over them....

But, look at the subject, Japanese prints and patterns.

Here are a couple of pages........

Chinese themed still life.

2012-02-20T16:39:00.000Z

Having watched DMTV's episode on drawing a still life (excellent btw!!) I thought I'd set up something using the little teapot my daughter gave me for Christmas.

I don't have a lot in the house that has an oriental theme so was a bit stuck but decided a few Chinese Lanterns were appropriate. Thought I'd go for Stephs minimalism, and lose one or the other, but couldn't decide which and will see what they look like when I've drawn them.

I'll let you know how I get on!

Sushi inspiration

2012-02-19T15:58:00.001Z

I love food! So what could be more fun than using a style of food relating to the orient. Sushi is so beautifully presented that I thought this would make a good starting point for at least one piece of work for our exhibition.

From my photographs I worked into my sketchbook emphasising the spiral construction of the sushi.

My next step was to load a chisel nibbed pen and needle nosed bottle with black dye and set to work drawing on some lengths of white cotton fabric.

The lengths of fabric are still rolled up in the utility waiting to be rinsed. Once they are rinsed and pressed I will pin them up and stare at them for a while before deciding my next step.
The pojagi that I posted about before Christmas is progressing very slowly as I'm finding it difficult to hand stitch the dark blue fabric with dark blue thread in the evening - roll on the lighter evenings!
Edwina

Rag Market bargains

2012-02-16T10:06:00.000Z

Hi Marie,

I'm glad to hear you enjoyed your day in the big city - it makes such a change when you spend most of the time out in the sticks like us doesn't it? Your Rag Market finds look gorgeous. I thought you might like to see the bargains I found there last week - nothing as sumptuous as your brocade but lovely cotton jersey irresistible a £1 a piece!

The black discharged one is finished (actually I'm wearing it as I write this!) and the grey one with black feathers just needs its neck finished. Took about 20 mins to make each top up on my trusty overlocker.

Annabel, you have to go with an open mind rather than a set shopping list. There's an awful lot of rubbish there too but if you keep your eyes peeled you can find some treasures. And remember there's always the Fancy Silk Store opposite and Jamie Oliver's for lunch!

Love Linda

Lace and brocade

2012-02-15T21:35:00.005Z

After taking in the lace exhibition at Birmingham Art Gallery, so not what I expected, and truly wonderful, I went for a browse around the rag market and look what I found! Small scale brocade, it had to come home with me......how Japanese is this! Fans and cherry blossom. Of course, any fabric I use in exhibition pieces will be my own, this gives a taste of the richness of the east.

Jiggery Pokery

2012-02-15T19:22:00.000Z

Hi everyone,

I love it when the blog is so busy with everyone posting! It's brilliant to see what's going on in everyone else's workrooms isn't it?

This afternoon I have started on what I think will be my first quilt for Orientation. I did have a head start though:

Can you tell what it was in a previous life? It's the skirt from our 'Art to Wear' outfit from last year's Festival of Quilts fashion show. Needless to say I won't be parading down a catwalk again anytime soon, so when is the occasion to wear a such a skirt? I decided there probably wasn't one and have ripped out the back seam. Of course doing that doesn't make a flat or rectangular (quilt shaped) piece of work so some modifications are required. I have made quilts that could have done with a dart or two to get them flat, but I do try my best not to start out that way!

I had thought that I could 'make up' the sides to get it rectangular and then add a bit more fabric to the top edge. As you can see pinned to the right I have got some more of this parchment coloured cotton, but sadly not enough. It's been in this state, staring at me for about a week now, but today I thought, what would I do if this was paper? Well, I'd just cut out the good bits and jettison the rest before collaging to a new background - simple!

Here it is chopped up. Obviously I was limited in the cutting up as some motifs were touching and couldn't be sensibly separated, but I've broken it up into four segments which has given me enough scope to rearrange the composition.

I've laid the pieces onto the rectangle of spare cotton, altering the angles of the strings that suspend the birds and cages so that they converge more steeply to, at this stage, an imagined point. There's more fabric folded behind the top to accommodate this but my pin board isn't big enough to lay it all out!

As I've cut up the pieces I've kept some of the edges that now form negative spaces where new cages will be drawn into. You can see one in the photo above. I think this'll be a useful way to bring the composition together. It's all just pinned together at the moment and of course I don't have any Bondaweb. I think that might make it all a bit thick and stiff anyway so I might just hold it all together with some temporary spray then quilt it to death to secure it all.

Bye for now,
Laura

Progressing pots

2012-02-15T14:18:00.017Z

Sorry to have been quiet for so long (although those who know me, might well feel that is no bad thing). What is so good about this blog though, is that because there are several of us contributing, there is always someone busy and blogging. I have been enjoying following what the rest of the group is up to, and am having to gag myself to prevent me talking to Laura about that gorgeous printing beastie she has got.... I know that as soon as I understand it's (and her) capabilities, I shall be assaulted with ideas and inspiration, which will take many years, I suspect, to realise. And I haven't got a few years spare right now - definitely not! I haven't been idle - just had to do some work for other things. But I thought it was time I gave you all an update on poor old Oriental Pot 2 - who has been very gracious about being left hanging on the design wall, with no attention for a few weeks. I think when I last blogged, I had a first layout of the background, and a smallish blue pot - which will be receiving a bonsai tree, and definitely needed some help to compete with a typically busy background. Here he is ...

Definitley overwhelmed poor soul. So first of all I have added some lighter strips and am trying a couple of different fabrics to sit behind the pot ... pink ....

and blue ... which I like best. I know the bonsai will also suffer a little from the same problem, so I am planning to put a sort of moonish type of series of circles, behind where the tree will sit. I do not want this to be too dominant in itself, as I want the tree and pot to be my focal points, but I definitlely want it lighter and shimmering. I've decided to paint some bondaweb with pearlescent white paint - a bit watered down. I've then lightly foiled the resultant web with silver and oil on water foils. I've then traced and cut out the circles and placed them on the background ...

The outer ring - still with backing paper attached - it won't be as light as this ....

and the inner rings .... I think this might work ... fingers crossed ....

OK - not bad ... but not quite as shimmery as I wanted - the paint on the bondaweb has caused the foiling to be really subtle - this needs more bling .... so I decide to machine quilt the rings with silver thread and a very close stitch

closer up - just still too much white ....

You can see the stitching better from the reverse. The rings are in metallic silver and all the rest in two shades of shiny rayon - both greenish

And here it is from the front - hard to show the subtlety of the shimmering rings - but I think it is there ... you will have to come to the exhibition and judge for yourselves! All ready for the Bonsai now - which I have made a start on. I have a couple of other bits to do frst - but hope to be posting again soon - Hilary x

cherry blossoms and lions

2012-02-14T17:14:00.007Z

Hi all,
Not sure I can shout anyone down with this but on the continuing topic of "not really relevant" here's what I've been up to!
It's been feeling an awful lot like spring here this past week, which is glorious! We have had a very civilized ( so far) winter here at this end if Canada and my thoughts are on cherry blossoms. Prodded there by the arrival of the Call for Entry for Cherry Blossom: a Textile Translation show which happens every spring.

The quilt is about 37 inches wide by 45 inches long ( and for some reason is sideways in the image- sorry ) so those blossoms are big! I know they look a bit weird right now but they only have their “base coat” of paint on. It's not looking like much yet, but I have great plans!

I did make a wonderful find this weekend! with a very oriental theme. I have been looking for some "interesting" chairs and these are what I found.

There are two of them and they aren't a pair but apparently they are the mans (which is a bit larger and the one in the image above) and the woman's chairs. They need some serious clean-up and maybe a bit of glue but I fell in love with them. There is some carving on the backs which I am slowly unearthing....

Not quite sure what this little creature is meant to be ( a lion maybe?) but he/she might make an appearance in Orientation?

Bye for now, Catherine

Lost week

2012-02-13T10:53:00.004Z

Hi Laura and everyone,

A great painting, I love the colours, quite cold and dark.

I am back, last week was a washout for me, horrible cold sapped my energy but I did do something creative while sitting by the fire......lots of knitted egg cosies. A friend is making them for the charity she works for and asked if I would make some, just the job when your little grey cells are taking a break!

I also made a cup cake hat for my new great niece

and just for Linda, here is an ammonite, also knitted.

Now back to normal service......

Marie

Another step in another direction

2012-02-13T09:22:00.001Z

This is just me thinking out loud again! I've been drawing little houses and wobbly trees trying to get a Japanese feel. I've got an image of a lacquer box which was taken at one of the National Trust properties, and have used it as a design source for my sketches.

I think, if I use this idea, there might be 3 smallish pieces framed together using a black background, some home dyed fabrics from my stash in one of the shades below, and some gold leaf. The stitching will be simple but dense as is usual for me, with a bit of painting to add definition.

It's finished!

2012-02-12T12:51:00.000Z

Hi everyone,

I'd vowed not to blog again here until someone else did to avoid it looking like a takeover, but where are you all? Obviously having far too much fun!

The painting is finished and here it is:

A Bird in the Hand

And a detail:

Really enjoyed the process of painting and I've been mulling over some ideas for the next one. I'm aware though that I also need to crack on with some quilts. The deadline for EAQ VII is March and I don't think there's any way I can get something finished in time. I had planned to try for that exhibition this year and the deadline has snuck up on me again. No excuse really as I've had the posted pinned to my workroom wall since last August.

Edwina's already made a start on her entry for Festival and knowing she's the queen of the last minute that makes me think I haven't got much time on that either. After not entering there for a while I'd though it would be nice to join in again. After all, if we don't all enter there won't be so many quilts on display which'd be a real shame. Pity quilts take so much longer than paintings!

Hope you're all being creative.
Talk soon,
Laura
x

Day 2

2012-02-06T16:10:00.000Z

At risk of monopolising the blog I thought I'd post an update of how the painting is coming along. It's funny you know, you put off starting these things for literally months and then when you start you just can't stop and end up working like a thing possessed.

Anyway, as you can see I've started to give some form to the hands. I've gone in with some lights and darks just to try to establish where the shadows should be. I'm using a Phthalo blue as the base of this shadow colour, which at the moment looks a bit odd but I think that strange greeny tinge will actually work OK under subsequent paint layers.

This is how far I got after last night's session. The bird is still floating over the hands rather than resting in them so one of the tasks is going to try to rectify that. It's 50cm x 70cm by the way, just to give some idea of scale. Not too big, not to small.

Talk to you again soon,
Laura

Getting started

2012-02-05T16:39:00.000Z

Hi everyone,

I've been meaning to make a start on this new work for ages. I'm doing a painting that I think will accompany a quilt or two. It's continuing on with my swallows theme which didn't start out to be oriental, but the quilt that's also on the go has lots of bird cages which do look just like the ones you see massed at Chinese markets. This painting also features hands which are the linking element to the other strand of thought for this exhibition - more on that when there's actually something tangible to show you.
Back to the painting. I've done lots of drawing of this subject, both in my sketchbook and larger versions on loose paper.

Drawing is great for getting to know your subject, but the way I draw is quite different to the way I'm going to paint this. Nevertheless it's good to have these on hand for reference. I've also got some photos to remind me of the colours as the painting isn't going to be black and white.

Having already done the drawings there's no point labouring over redrawing it onto the painting panel so I've made a square-up tracing of the largest drawing I've got. It's still not big enough to transfer 1:1 so I've scaled it up as I've transferred it to fill the whole panel.

I'm painting onto a wooden panel which I've primed with a couple of coats of acrylic gesso. I've tried to get away with the most sparing use of pencil lines as a guide. I just read a book by an artist who's painting I really admire and she says to try to avoid using pencil at all as often it's easy to fall into the trap of simply filling in. I agree wholeheartedly, but I also need to get the proportions right so I want the safety net of the pencil this time.

With the pencil lines down I've started blocking in with paint. I'm using fluid acrylic. Just on it's own at the moment, but in subsequent layers I'll add some glaze medium to keep everything lovely and transparent.

I know, I know, the flesh tone wouldn't look out of place in an episode of The Simpsons but we all have to start somewhere! This is just the base layer and the colour will be modified with lots of overpainting with glazes.

Like the hands, I've blocked the bird in too, just to establish the lights and darks. There's so much detail on the feathers and I'm not sure at this stage how photographic I'll go.

Needless to say there's still a lot of work to go into this one yet. I'm hoping to do a bit each evening this week and if it goes to plan I'll post my progress. If you never see this painting again you'll know it all went horribly wrong!

Hope you've all had a great weekend.
Talk soon,
Laura

Chinese Lattices revisited

2012-02-04T09:16:00.001Z

I've been thinking about larger and more abstract pieces over the last few days, and have pulled this book from the shelves for another browse.

It's a collection of various lattice patterns collected by Daniel Sheets Dye, and I've found it intriguing and inspiring. The patterns come from Chinese windows.

Lattice windows, which have been used in China for at least 3,000 years, began to give way to glass in the early 1900's. Many of the paper ones were destroyed in revolution and wars between 1911 and 1949, and weren't replaced.

The windows had paper pasted on them to keep out the winter winds. Brrrr is all I can say as I sit snugly in my centrally heated, double glazed house whilst the temperature outside drops to -10C!!

Here's the inside of the book. It's just a collection of outline drawings, but there are hundreds of them.

I've made 2 quilts so far in my Chinese Lattice series, and am thinking of a third, using a central panel as an opportunity to do an oriental feeling naturalistic scene of some kind...currently I like the look of cranes and moons!

Below is a close up of the last Chinese Lattice piece - just to amuse! It's squares of made material (vilene, brown paper, gesso, gel, paint, antiquing wax) sewn onto a plain stitched background.

For Marie

2012-02-01T10:22:00.000Z

Marie in my spare time I trawl the auction house websites to see the treasures I could buy if I had the money to fritter. I saw this and thought of you after we had the conversation last week about Japanese screens. I could quite imagine your 'Valentine' design on one of the panels!

Isn't it gorgeous? The auction is today so tomorrow I'll be able to look and see what it fetched! I'll let you know. Linda - PS If you don't use that Valentine design in a quilt or a screen I think it'd make a great tattoo!

On your toes!

2012-01-31T16:29:00.000Z

Sorry Annabel, but I saw this and thought of you...

Mom and I escaped for a couple of hours this afternoon and whizzed over to Birmingham Art Gallery to see the Lost in Lace exhibition and also the Leonardo drawings. They allow photography of both so long as the flash isn't on! Afterwards I nipped into the PreRaphaelite rooms to look at one of my favourites.

Medea (detail), Frederick Sandys (1866-68)

I noticed for the first time what an oriental feel this painting has, knowing now of course, that the phrase 'oriental' can encompass Egypt too which seems to account for some of the symbolism, but apparently it also references Medea's past life in Japan. All of the gold behind her head is gilt and is so much lovelier than it looks in the photo. (Not having realised photography would have been allowed I only had my phone with me).

Feeling filled with inspiration I'll now put all that to one side and go back to the computer and tackle the list of jobs to do - oh well!

Japanese valentine

2012-01-31T10:37:00.003Z

Morning,

Had a few minutes of play on my Paint shop Pro software and I suddenly realised I had designed a most peculiar Valentine card, since my husband might faint if I sent it to him I'll send an early one to all of SiX and Friends!

Hopefully something more sensible will come from it that will contribute to my work!

Marie

Gilding in Thailand

2012-01-29T09:02:00.001Z

Outside a temple in Thailand where DD has been visiting this week.

Inside the same temple where history meets the present day...a monk on twitter?

Below: discarded remnants of temples and shrines.

Ooh!

2012-01-28T08:56:00.003Z

Hi everyone,

You all saw Laura's post about printing the fabrics, including some digital designs of mine, well! I have been doing some dyeing towards the exhibition work and when I received the fabric from Laura and put it on my design wall it almost arranged itself into a quilt along with some bits from my stash and the dyed lengths.

There's many a slip between cup and lip, or between design wall and quilt but I'm very inspired at the moment.....so here's a quick pic.

Unrelated but inspirational

2012-01-24T17:46:00.000Z

Hi everyone,

I don't know if this will be of any interest to you all - having seen the last episode yesterday, I realise that there's been a fascinating series about illuminated manuscripts on BBC4. Last night's focussed on Medieval and Tudor kings and how they used manuscripts to increase their power. The books in the programme are just awe inspiringly beautiful and they finish up with a little look around the Tudor room at the National Portrait Gallery (quite possibly one of the most wonderful rooms in a gallery in the world!)

I've not caught up with the previous episodes in the series yet, but you can see them all on the iPlayer. Here's a link to the BBC page for the series:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b019jsfg

Which is where I've pinched this image from to tempt you.

Makes you want to drop everything and find out the gold leaf!

Bye for now,
Laura
x

Happy New Chinese Year!

2012-01-23T12:00:00.000Z

Happy New Chinese Year everyone. It's the year of the dragon and I found this great picture on the web...

Just thinking out loud!

2012-01-22T15:37:00.001Z

I've just bought a couple of books about Chinese art, as I thought they may provide inspiration and, in the case of the motifs, maybe a free motion quilting pattern or two!

Below is a photo from the book Chinese Art In Detail (it's a British Museum book). It's a contemporary woodcut with water soluble ink by Lian Dong (born 1926) It's called Warm Water of the Dragon River, and was done in 1984.

I loved the simplicity of it.

This says "ice flow" to me, perfectly. It's very easy to see this as fabric and stitch.

It's a woodblock print and portrays a spring scene. "The desolate Dragon River begins to thaw, and only a few small birds stand on the nearest ice block to lend a sense of scale. The print is dominated by strong horizontal bands, in contrast to the narrow, vertical format of the traditional Chinese hanging scroll. It represents a new trend that began in the 1980's in which landscape was depicted as a subject in its own right. Bold white highlights are created by the embossing of the white paper, which also outlines the crests of the hills and the rich black of the water."

I also learned that the term "orient" derives from the Latin word oriens, meaning "east" Many ancient temples including pagan temples and the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, were built with their main entrances facing the East. To situate them in such a manner was to "orient" them in the proper direction. When something was facing the correct direction, it was said to be in the proper "orientation".

The word "orient" changed meaning lots of times. Originally it meant Egypt. It later extended to North Africa and Morocco. During the 1800's it spread to India and to a lesser extent China. By the early 1900's it was used to include North Africa, and southeastern Europe, and today is used to mean China, Korea, Japan, and peninsular Southeast Asia, but not the whole of of Asia.

Washington state prohibits the use of the word "oriental" in legislation and government documentation, preferring the word "Asian" instead. Oriental is thought derogatory.

When thinking about the word "Orientation", I seem to gravitate towards Chinese and Japanese art, but have learned that much of the things I like such as these birds, wallpaper decorated with flowers and pagaodas, and willow pattern plates, were actually made specifically for export to foreign countries, and were not for their own use. So I suppose that most of the historical Chinese art I've been looking at is a western view, and that the art the Chinese made for the Chinese was a bit different and more subtle.

Symbolism is important, and many of the scenes and creatures depicted have meaning which, I confess, has largely passed me by: for example, in the West the dragon is traditionally regarded as fearsome and possibly evil, but the Chinese regard it as a symbol of the Emperor, and also with rain-giving, and therefore fertile crops. It's important, and a thing to be encouraged. To me, it's just a dragon!!

Some of the most persistent motifs are connected with the quest for immortality and longevity: cranes, peaches, turtles and pine trees, all mean long life. Bamboo, bent in the wind but never broken, symbolizes the integrity of a scholar.

Chinese art was very hierarchical both in techniques and materials. At the top was calligraphy and painting, followed by jade and bronze. Below these came the decorative arts such as lacquer, porcelain and silk. Sculpture was reserved for religious and funerary use. These different classes of materials came about because of the value put on them by the Chinese; they had value if related to antiquity, or the scholarly.

Anyway, although I'm busy doing a quilt unrelated to the Orientation exhibition at the moment, I thought I'd let you know that I'm still thinking about it!!

Hot off the press

2012-01-21T18:23:00.001Z

We took delivery of a fresh roll of poplin yesterday so today I've finally been able to print some of the images that I've had waiting. Marie you'll recognise these - I hope you like how they've turned out. I think your artwork looks wonderful! I've printed everything at the sizes you sent me. The little ones are quite small though. What did you have in mind? If you'd like them done larger it's no problem, just send me a larger version of the file.

Marie sent me a CD with some of the digital artwork that she's been creating for Orientation. I think you'll recognise the main image as I'm sure she posted it here on the blog a few weeks ago.
With those printed I moved on to some images of mine. These are digital photos that I've been tweaking in Photoshop.

This lot will all go into the steamer tomorrow and then be washed and ironed. Marie, I should be able to get yours in the post to you on Monday so look out for a parcel arriving!

Hope you're having a great weekend.
Laura
x

A little progress

2012-01-21T17:12:00.000Z

I've added the stems and leaves to the second Iris quilt using fabric paint. I wanted the leaves to be quite swordlike and dark.

They've been painted in indigo with touches of aubergine but I shall add the shadows that would naturally fall beneath the buds and flowers, and where the leaves overlap each other, with a sepia pencil and wash.

You can see how I've started to shade the base of the flower with the pencil here. I think it will look OK on top of the metallic paint. I'm aiming for the effect of gold leaf that you see in a lot of tradition Japanese art. It was such a gloomy day today and the time just evaporated - by the time I got into my workroom the light wasn't good enough to carry on but I shall hope for better conditions tomorrow.

How are you all doing? Hope you're all making progress too!
Linda

Good news

2012-01-19T20:32:00.000Z

Hi Hilary - I've just been catching up with your blog and it looks as though you're teaching at the Quilters' Guild AGM in 2013. Laura and I have agreed to give a lecture on the Sunday morning - will you still be around then? It'd be great to meet up!!

Linda

Earthflight

2012-01-18T15:30:00.000Z

Hi Marie, well hi everyone, but this is mainly for you Marie,

Have you been watching Earthflight on the BBC? Last week's episode which I've just watched on iPlayer was about birds in Europe, but they also featured the most amazing shots of the white horses in the Camargue galloping through lagoons. As soon as I saw it I thought of you and your work with horses. I don't know if there are any images on the web anywhere that you could use, but the footage itself is wonderful. You can still watch again, here's the link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b018xsc1/episodes/guide

When you see it you'll think of that painting by Walter Crane called Neptune's Horses!

Laura
x

First one down

2012-01-15T17:15:00.000Z

Hi everyone,

I've finished the first quilt in this new series. Might not suit Orientation, but I have ideas on how this set of work will progress in a more Eastern direction!

"Two for Joy" 36cm x 96cm

I've used drawings from my sketchbook and reworked them as monoprints direct to white cotton fabric. I was worried that a white quilt will just disappear into a white gallery wall so I've added a plain black binding to give the quilt a definite outline.

I've added extra detail with pen drawing. I toyed with the idea of adding shadows behind the ribbons and the birds, but I've decided to keep this one simple. I quite like the 3D ribbons contrasted with the flat emptiness of the white background.

The text on the ribbons is from an Egyptian spell that I discovered in my research which talks about swallows. I was very tempted to add just a touch of colour (using Inktense pencils) to the wings and throats of the birds, but I think I'll save that for the next piece.

Really enjoyed making this piece - now onto the next!

linear monprinting

2012-01-13T16:30:00.002Z

Hi Laura,

I have been playing with the technique, what fun, hard to stop!

Here is a face I've printed, the wonderful texture comes from using a photocopy I had previously crumpled, I find it very pleasing......nothing to do with Orientation!

Plus lots of rabbits, Fibonacci would be proud.

Marie

Pot 2

2012-01-11T18:28:00.012Z

This is the first laying out of fabrics for Pot 2 - which, as mentioned will have a bonsai tree in it. As before, I am using fabrics that seem to have an 'oriental' feel to them, but actually aren't

The right way up - I'm pleased with how this is going, although I shall have to work at it some more to get that pot showing

It is a bit lost on this lively background - although most of my collages start like this - I really enjoy the challenge of keeping those gorgeous fabrics in the background, yet getting my focal points to stand out.

A lighter pattern makes a lot of difference, so I shall be adding this kind of element on top. But I shall probably get the main background down much as is first. I am very happy at this stage of making a piece - it's all new and exciting, and I am full of hope - watch that change!! _ Hilary x

New Year, New Pot

2012-01-11T14:01:00.002Z

Some great posts recently and I am really enjoying seeing how other group members work is developing ...... some lovely expressive drawing from Marie, Ineke and Laura and Linda. I am just about to go and paint Pot 2 - which will contain a bonsai specimen I think. Will post some images soon - Hilary

Synergy

2012-01-11T09:08:00.004Z

Hi Laura,

In the last few days I have finished reading a fascinating book about netsuki, the tiny carved figures used to hold male kimono together. Lots of animals and birds, needless to say, and I have been drawing some of them. The results have the same feel to your drawings.....don't you think? I'd love to include them in my work, there are others, for instance the horse above.

Marie

2012-01-10T22:18:00.000Z

a start

2012-01-10T22:07:00.002Z

Over the past few weeks I found some time to do some designing, had a go in my sketchbooks and also had a play day with Edwina and Sue in my studio. The red kite birds I've been working with lend themselves perfectly to be made oriental. Through Google I found a site to translate words into chinese signs - its good fun practising the lines.

The first one

2012-01-10T19:27:00.000Z

I always find it impossible to compartmentalise my work. I can't separate one theme from another and everything tends to blend and merge. So while swallows weren't top of my list for Oriental subjects, I've been working on them for other things and now I have a suspicion that they're going to sneak into my work for this exhibition too. Swallows do tend to crop up in lots of cultures and I think Chinese are well known for keeping small birds as pets in cages so I'm justifying it.

Regardless of which exhibition venue the work will end up in, I'm just making a start on creating lots of new work. After working head down for months on the Creative Sketchbooks course that we offer, I've got sketchbooks packed with ideas that haven't seen the light of day as far as quilts are concerned. It's actually been quite a long time since I made a quilt. After such a break I feel full of enthusiasm to do lots of stitching.

Here's the first piece in progress:

Apologies for the hopeless photos. My workroom isn't really a cave, but needless to say, all this work is being done between sunset and dawn!
I've monoprinted the swallow using one of my drawings as a guide. It's a brilliant technique and one that I just love, I don't know why I don't use it more! DMTV fans out there - this method actually features in the new show this Thursday so do look out for that if you're interested to find out more.

The prints are done onto a plain white cotton and I've added extra detail with a fine permanent drawing pen. Now I'm tackling the quilting which is very dense and very low key. All I'm aiming to do is flatten the background so that the birds will appear to be raised. This one will stay just black and white but I have plans for introducing some colour to the next one.

Along with the stitched versions is a painting on a wooden panel .Well there will be, at the moment I've got as far as priming the panel, but now I've told you about it, I feel compelled to get a move on.

Talk to you all soon,
Laura
x

Japanese Artist Ruisuke Fukahori

2012-01-10T15:37:00.001Z

My daughter sent me a link to the above artist who's goldfish are amazing! If you scroll down the page for a bit you will find a video of him at work. It's very inspiring.

I think I may have an idea for my minimalist piece folks!!

Riusuke Fukahori Paints Three-Dimensional Goldfish Embedded in Layers of Resin | Colossal

Orientation Piece 3 (Annabel) - Looking for Japanese lettering

2012-01-07T09:11:00.001Z

I'm looking for the Japanese lettering for Pine Needles. Google wasn't that helpful, so if anyone knows a reliable source I'd be very grateful!!

Orientation piece 2 finished....well, nearly!

2012-01-06T14:19:00.004Z

Well, I shall certainly revisit this one and give it a going over at a later date, but it's mostly done now. I have a frame to put around it so it matches the first piece, and a haiku to think of, but we're going to get some distance from each other for a while!!

Here's the process for you. Laura's beautiful fabrics cut and bondawebbed into position, and the background sky painted in using acrylics.

The stitching begins to add definition and narrative. Applique is added for the trees, leaves, hogweeds in the front of the picture, and the people.

When the stitching was completed, I began to do a little painting to soften and add definition.... and below is the finished quilt.

A close up of the middle distance.

And my little slightly stretched people walking amongst the flowers.

More new beginnings

2012-01-03T14:47:00.003Z

Hi,

Linda, what great raven imagery.

My new imagery comes from a couple of disparate strands of my research into Eastern art. I have combined a dragon with a kite design and rather like the result.

I love the richness and complexity of the result but I might have to ask Laura to print it for me, I can't see me painting such a tricky image as this.....in case anyone wants to know, I use Paint Shop Pro to manipulate my images.

Marie

Happy New Beginnings Everyone!

2012-01-01T14:49:00.001Z

When I start a new piece of work I need to have the basic ingredients in place. I need pictures in my head and preferably a title. No piece I've ever made that has any merit at all has come into existence without the all important name! It's never any good trying to conjure a title after it's made - the name comes first and the work has to grow into it. I've struggled with the Oriental theme because I usually work from everyday subjects. It feels quite foreign (no pun intended) to use anything so far removed from my personal experience so, although I did until she died a few years ago, have a Japanese aunt, I have no other connection even vaguely oriental to inspire new work. I draw and paint crows and rooks all the time because I am aware of them on a daily basis and fascinated by their appearance and behaviour.

They have a mixed reputation don't they? I am aware that some people consider them omens of bad fortune whilst to others they are thought of as clever and inventive. You may remember on a recent visit to Wolverhampton Art Gallery I photographed crows that decorated a number of Victorian chinoiserie objects like this one above and this prompted me to read a little more around the symbolism associated with them. Imagine my delight to find the following (much edited) in of all places, wikipedia!

The most popular depiction is that of a sun crow called 陽烏 or more commonly referred to as the 金烏 or "golden crow". Even though it is described as a crow or raven, it is usually colored red instead of black.According to folklore, there were originally ten sun crows which settled in 10 separate suns. They perched on a red mulberry tree in the East at the foot of the Valley of the Sun. The sun crows loved eating two sorts of mythical grasses of immortality. The sun crows would often descend from heaven on to the earth and feast on these grasses.

These grasses in my garden look mythical enough to me - I'm sure they could rise to the challenge.

Folklore also held that, at around 2170 BC, all ten sun crows came out on the same day, causing the world to burn; the celestial archer saved the day by shooting down all but one of the birds.

Doesn't that just conjure up wonderful images in your head? I have included suns and moons in my paintings and quilts for years and now it seems I might even have a reason (other than the fact I love them) for them to be there. All I have to do now is make my black crows red and find out what a mulberry tree looks like!

Hope you are all feeling excited by the coming year and all the creative opportunities it offers! Love Linda

A quick warm up

2012-01-01T13:32:00.000Z

After what feels like ages I've been back on my sewing machine today. This piece has been hanging around unfinished for an embarrassing amount of time - it's one of the Rail Fence quilts that we made for DMTV in the summer!

I thought it would make the perfect quilting warm up before I tackle something trickier so today, finally, it will be finished! It looks so much better when it's quilted. I'm doing the same pattern all over, just worked a bit smaller in the centre so it's fairly mindless, but satisfying!
Happy New Year to you all.
Talk soon,
Laura

2011-12-30T08:35:00.004Z

Hi,

I wasn't exactly out in the fresh air since this was taken from my bedroom but a gorgeous sunset on Boxing Day, couldn't resist, I've so many attempts at the perfect sunset, I'll get it one day!

Best wishes for the New Year to you all, look forward to seeing everybody,

Marie

Blowing away the cobwebs

2011-12-28T15:12:00.000Z

The sun was shining so I've been out blowing away the cobwebs and taking photos to add to my collection of reference images. I'm working on new designs to be digitally printed and I'm sure that some I've taken will come in for that. Here's a couple of my favourites:

I love the trees and hedges at this time of year and have some new work planned that's going to revisit some of the thorny things I did way back.

And who can resist some peeling paint?!

Bye for now,
Laura
x

Cake for breakfast

2011-12-27T16:53:00.000Z

Hello everyone!
Hope you all had a fun time on Christmas Day. Linda cooked up a storm and lunch was delicious, of course. My sister stepped in as Sous Chef and in spite of a slight mix up when reading recipes, the cheesecake and the cumberland sauce both went down very well with the family.

I love the lazy days after Christmas. I didn't make a wish list, but I got a Kindle which I really didn't know I wanted until now. I used to read all the time, but never seemed to find the time lately. All this has changed! Many of the classics are free on Amazon so I'm working my way through Great Expectations etc. first. I know, I know, it's on the TV tonight! The Christmas cakes I made were delicious and in true family tradition I had cake for breakfast - well it is my birthday after all!

Talk to you all again soon,
Laura
xx

Happy Christmas to you all!

2011-12-24T18:47:00.000Z

Happy Christmas to everyone, whoever and wherever you may be. I hope however you celebrate, Christmas will be all you want it to be!

I don't know about the rest of you but after a final shop at the market this morning I've been cooking all afternoon. The fridge door can hardly close and I may have to wait up half the night for the enormous cheesecake to bake! I did have help today though I'm not sure how helpful it was when number 2 daughter confused two of the recipes we were using! Hmm, a little creative thinking was required to make everything OK but I think we got away with it - we'll see what the tribe's verdict is at lunch tomorrow!

I hope everyone survives the next few days and will be raring to go again in the New Year! It's exciting to have so many exhibitions to work towards and I can't wait!

Linda

friendly and auspicious dragons

2011-12-24T09:26:00.003Z

Hi,

Just before we all get embroiled in turkeys and such I'd like to introduce my friendly dragon. Tatsu is the Japanese for dragon and unlike some other cultures they are a good omen.

Have a great Christmas and a happy New Year,

Marie

Happy Christmas

2011-12-23T17:31:00.002Z

Well - I'm signing off this evening for the holidays (well, a day or so at least) - so would like to wish all the other group members and all regular or indeed irregular followers a Wonderful Christmas and a Happy and Healthy 2012 .... see you all then - Hilary x

Look what DD bought me back from Hong Kong!

2011-12-20T13:32:00.001Z

Look at this delightful little teapot which my youngest daughter bought back from Hong Kong for me! Isn't it wonderfully inspiring for the Oriental theme?

Love the SiX and Friends blog?

2011-12-18T18:48:00.000Z

Hi All,

Thank you to everyone who's following this blog. It's great to know that you're interested in what the group's getting up to. If you've enjoyed the blog so far, why not help us spread the word by posting a link to us on your own blog or website? We've made a logo that you're welcome to use. Here it is:

Bye for now!
Laura

Mince pie crisis ends sewing.

2011-12-16T18:06:00.001Z

Here we are on the 16th December, and I've only just realized that I better stop sewing and get a wobble on with the cooking and present buying.

I'm usually much better organized; Christmas just seems to have snuck up this year and is shouting "BOO" in my ear.

So before I stop for the year I thought I'd wish anyone and everyone reading this, a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Peaceful New Year!

Here's where I'm up to with the landscape - can't wait to paint it!

The mountains have been shaped to show incline, and to separate one from the other; the leaves veined; the sky gently moved; the grass grown; the water made to flow; and the trees turned into small forests!!

Take care everyone, and see you at the beginning of January!

Let me introduce you

2011-12-13T16:53:00.000Z

Hi All,
Sorry to have been awol for a few days. I can see that there's been lots of back and forth, mostly about bats. I think the license is just if you need to post one. Hopefully you won't. I do remember that should you need to pick one up then you must wear thick gloves in case they bite!

I should explain why I've been quiet for the last couple of days. We've just taken delivery of our new fabric printer. It is extremely exciting and it's a wonder I've left it alone long enough to type this post! To introduce you, here it is along with Jamie, my partner in crime for this venture and chief technician.

As you can see the printer is a bit of a monster! It can print up to about 1.50m wide on pretty much any fabric you can think of from chiffon, organza or voile to corduroy, canvas or velvet. In this photo we're just running some tests onto some cotton poplin. The colours are amazingly vibrant and true. So far I've experimented with digital photos, but also scans of sketchbook pages and we've been printing them much enlarged.

It may well only have been 5degrees C today with a threat of snow, but that didn't stop us getting the first run washed and out on the line. I may be biased, but I think this butterfly fabric might just be the most gorgeous thing I've seen in ages! It's a photo of one of Linda's butterfly collections that she acquired from a college. It's printed onto silk chiffon that's as light as a feather. I only have a few fabrics to play with at the moment, but I'm sure that this chiffon will become a favourite for scarves or for shadow applique projects.

So to finish the introductions I will tell you the name of our enterprise and give you the first peak at the logo...

As time permits I'm working away on the website for Fingerprint and needless to say we'll be producing more samples to show how versatile the printing can be. I have a feeling I'm going to need to order more fabric!
Bye for now,
Laura
x

Li

2011-12-09T17:47:00.007Z

Now this isn't going to be a particularly impressive post, but I thought it was about time I joined in. I have juggled with a few ideas for some work and abandoned them and this is a possibility at least.

I like these little 'Wooden' books and bought this one entitled 'Li' some time ago. It's an ancient Chinese term applied to the universal and inherent pattern of things. I think this will serve as a theme as I have wanted to explore animal markings and the connectedness of patterns in nature for some time. So I may have to acquire a book or two as well, there's one called 'The Self-made Tapestry ' which may be relevant. It all sounds a bit worthy so far; I think I just want fun with pattern, with some Oriental twists worked in too. I'm also pondering on minimal pieces based on Japanese gardens, you know, some gravel, a tree and two rocks. You could spend ages moving those elements around looking for the perfect composition.

I will most likely use my precious few scraps of 100 year old Chinese newspaper I found in a Chinese screen I bought about 30 years ago. In the screen were disintegrating beautiful embroideries and two paintings, and the screen itself is beautifully carved. It's also in the loft which is sad, I feel guilty now so I may have to retrieve it.

Here's the cover.

Some pages.

Some more pages.

These are the scraps of old newspaper I have left. I used some in a recycling project, unfortunately, although the newsprint does make the work look interesting.

sketch book work

2011-12-08T10:12:00.002Z

Hi Everyone,

Just had a few evenings when the studio was too cold and there was far too much football in the sitting room so I found refuge in my cosy upstairs office, intending to do some digital design work. However, spurred on by Linda's example I had treated myself to some Inktense pencils so started to mess about with them in my sketchbook. One thing led to another and I made a couple of digital collages from different pages, thought you might like to have a peep....

Marie

It's good to hoard...

2011-12-07T18:44:00.000Z

Turns out that collecting is genetic. Be it the irrepressible urge to pick up the shards of old china that I spot in the fields as I walk home, or the growing pile of small tins that I'm amassing on my window sill. I can't really tell you why I want these things, but I'm sure that one day, they'll come in. I get this trait from my mother, evidence of which you have already seen and she in turn, from her mother. My Grandma's house by the way is simply an ever-changing display, mostly of china, but any beautiful object might find a home there.

There are certain special things that I'm sure we'll keep for the rest of our days, but for everything else there's the risk of the cull. Every so often space must be made for new additions and none of us are averse to a serious clear out. This is the long way round telling you about this little thing:

I can't imagine how this little scrap of folded paper has survived the many blitzes that we've given the workroom over the years. Why on earth it would have been kept I have no idea. Somehow it's survived and not been thrown out. Linda rediscovered it today in her search for various inspirational things. In the pursuit of all things origami it'll now be added to my sketchbook and saved!

The patchworkers among you will no doubt think it immediately looks like a block design. I'm not sure I have the inclination to piece it. I've got other plans. For now though, they're all theoretical so I better get on to some practise and see if any of my grand master plan is going to work!

Hope you're all having a good week. It's the countdown now to Christmas holidays - the first batch of mince pies have been and gone and the tin of Quality Street is in serious danger of not seeing Christmas! I've been feeding the cakes with brandy, they smell great I just hope they'll taste as good. The temptation to cut a slice and have a peak is almost too great. I'm not sure I could hide the evidence of such investigation though, even with a seriously thick layer of marzipan and icing!

Let the search begin

2011-12-07T13:53:00.001Z

Hi everybody.

I've been trying to get some ideas flowing for the exhibition. Now we all know that actually making something is the easy part - what takes the time and brain cells is knowing what that something will be! I've been gathering my thoughts and began by searching around the house armed with a camera. I found these lovely Japanese bits and pieces an old friend brought back from her travels as gifts for me. They've been hidden away for far too long and I'm wondering if I can finally make more use of them.

I've even got the original tag from one of the shops where the things were bought.

I've never used the pincushion because it seemed too precious to stick pins in!

Even the carrier bag it all came in could be an inspiration.

Yesterday we got our monthly fix at the local auction house. I was on a mission to seek out something oriental and spotted this ginger jar. No one else seemed interested in bidding for it and I got it for £5. When I brought it home Laura commented that it looked like something you won at a fairground when they'd run out of goldfish!

It's no great treasure but I'm sure I can do something with these colours and shapes. And looking at all those little raised dots suggests there may have to be beads involved somewhere.

I've spent a lot of time looking at traditional Japanese and Chinese art and what I'm drawn to is the absence of perspective, the stylised simplicity of the subjects, the focus on ornamentation and especially the use of gold leaf.

Today I made paper and laminated chinese fortune cookie wrappers between very fine layers of pulp. I plan to wax some of the papers ready for stitching. They might become a book or a mixed media piece - really don't know yet. Right now there's lots of collecting and preparation of materials going on but no real direction discernible yet. Just got to crack on with it I suppose.

mounted and complete!

2011-12-04T16:36:00.003Z

Went down to B&Q yesterday and got a very nice man to cut a quite enormous piece of MDF up into manageable sies for me, including one for my Oriental Pot piece. I have two more boards of an identical size as well - so I feel a bit of a triptych coming on I think ... probably more pots, but I have also got plans for some cranes and a couple of moon gazing hares - as ever my problem is one of selection from all the excitement in my head. Anyway - I got the board covered and the quilt bound and mounted - it is now just ready to hang on the wall.

I find this stage of the work perhaps the most difficult as I always seem to have lost confidence in the piece by the time I have made it and am full of doubts. I did make some final adjustments to this one - I brightened up both the pot and the blossom with some additional paint as they had lost their lustre during quilting. But I know now that all I can do is leave it and trust my original plans and the process, and believe that in a few months I will like it again. Does this happen to anyone else? or like so many things, is it just me! - Hilary x

no idea where this will go..

2011-12-04T04:05:00.006Z

Hello from Vancouver!
As the far flung and physically distant member of the group this blog is a terrific idea, its a great way to stay connected.

I agree with Linda, it`s much easier to talk about my work than it is about myself so I will keep this short! I am a Vancouverite born and raised though I have had the good fortune to spend time in the north- what we call north of 60. I love the landscape and people of the north and west coasts. The amazing legends and landscape of those areas have provided me with endless inspiration in my work. I really enjoy researching traditional legends and interpreting them in new ways. I spend at least one night a week life drawing, it provides me with no end of inspiration and really hones my drawing skills. I am a huge fan of the written word and will often use text in my work, quotations and stories offer no end of ideas!

I usually develop my ideas by painting , drawing and collage in my sketchbooks and I enjoy working in paper almost as much as fabric.

I have been really stumped with the Orientation theme , there seemed to be so many possible options I wasn't really sure where to go. This pile of miscellaneous bits have started a few ideas circling.

The lovely little embroidered cap was something I fell in love with at Festival of Quilts this past ear ( funny how these things work out isn't it!?) It is a Hmong child's cap dated and has the most wonderful embroidery. It is a bit fragile and some stitching is obscured in the folds but there are the best bugs and birds embroidered on it, and some wonderful flowers.

I have some wonderful rice paper pages with Korean ( I think) writing on it, the pages are quite old and gorgeous when you really start to look closely. There are some wonderful shapes in the individual characters.

...and then there's the pile of antique kimono pieces I have had for ages... really years!
So, I have no idea where the ideas are going yet but I have started playing in my sketchbook... this is going to be fun!

Bye for now, Catherine

Can you tell what it is yet?

2011-12-01T17:55:00.000Z

After flailing around in the dark for a while over this Oriental theme I think I might have a seed of an idea that could have potential. Origami! In the name of research this of course justified the purchase of books...

Hmm...reading an origami book is a bit like reading through a knitting pattern - nothing makes much sense until you start. Here's my first attempt which wasn't quite as difficult as it looked, but not far off.

It is in theory a crane and it does look a bit birdlike, more so than other origami forms that I've seen so far, some of which really need a caption underneath to give any clue as to the subject. Where is all this leading I hear you wonder. Well I'm not sure yet, but I am confident that it won't include any fabric folding, that's just not my cup of tea at all.

This first crane is folded from a photocopy of a drawing I made of a bird in a cage. That might have potential I think - to decorate papers that have some meaning and then use them in the folding. There are also a couple of avenues I want to pursue that explore the stages of the folding. Time to make a start in the sketchbook!

Great work Annabel!

2011-11-30T12:06:00.000Z

Annabel I'm all admiration for your productivity at the moment. I'm so pleased to see the fabrics suited the piece you're working on. I do feel now that I have at least contributed something to this exhibition! Can't wait to see how the quilting and extra painting transforms this one too. I reckon when it comes to the next Life quilt then you should just go for it. Wherever it's displayed the organisers can put a little sign on the door along the lines of "Images in the exhibition contain nudity which may offend". That should get the punters through the door like nothing else!

The woodcuts of Utagawa Hiroshige

2011-11-30T11:00:00.000Z

I was going to make a start on a large Life piece next, but although I have the necessary poses from one of the ladies who does life modelling for me, I'm not happy about the quilts that will make up the background yet. I still need to think it through properly; for example I'm not sure how controversial I dare be!

However, all this did free up some time at the weekend for some more work towards the Orientation exhibition.

I've been looking at the woodcuts of Utagawa Hiroshige and felt inspired to attempt a landscape, based on one of his pictures at the Ashmolean Museum at the University of Oxford. I was very aware that I didn't want to make a slavish copy of course, but liked the apparent simplicity of his style. Mount Fuji seems to appear in just about everything, so it's in mine. Blossom trees feature heavily too so I have included a couple which I hope are in a similar style but also quite different.

I wondered if you'd like to follow progress so far?

Here's the plain white (unironed!!) cloth on my easel. I've put pencil marks where I think the water, hills, and Mt Fuji etc ought to be.

I then stuck bondawebbed fabric shapes onto the white cloth. Now this fabric is very special, as it's some that Laura dyed. When you look at a gorgeous piece of cloth, it takes courage to cut into it and use it. Part of me just wants to sit and stroke it, but I was brave.

I wanted to paint the sky rather than use cloth so that I could calm things down a little. I used turqoise, white and black paint to get this effect.

And then I've added some figures and some trees to give a little perspective. There will be hogweed in the front (what else from me?) and possibly some Japanese anenomies too. The picture will be heavily stitched and painted as usual.

Obviously there's much to do, but it's a start.

The haiku which goes with this one will be by Yoshi Mikami Issa (1762-1826)

In my old home
which I forsook, the cherries
are in bloom

(slightly puzzled as this haiku doesn't follow the normal format, but I'll check it out at some point)

More confirmed dates!

2011-11-29T15:39:00.000Z

I can't remember if I mentioned these dates for Orientation at The Bramble Patch before but Anne tells me the Easter exhibition runs for two weeks either side of the bank holiday so in 2013 it will run from Saturday 23rd March until Saturday 6th April

Sorry to post twice!

Dates for your diary

2011-11-29T15:36:00.000Z

Hi everyone,

Just a quick post to let you have confirmed dates for Orientation at Minerva in 2013. There will be a preview on Sunday 7th July and the exhibition will open on Monday 8th and run through to September 7th. I know it's ages away but you know how these events creep up on you when you're least expecting them! Anybody even own a diary for 2013?

Something about myself....

2011-11-28T15:43:00.000Z

I realise that I've not introduced myself at all really so I'll try and write something.

After working as a draughtswoman before having my family, pattern cutting and dressmaking became my big thing, then I spent time learning as much as I could about embroidery, then came patchwork, I found my passion and have spent many happy years indulging in making quilts.

Another passion is my computer, I love digital design and I'm sure this will appear in my work for Orientation, so too will my new love, making needle sculptured figures. I have been making them for about four years but still consider myself a novice with lots to learn.

Above is a photo of my latest figure.....

Let me introduce myself

2011-11-28T14:43:00.000Z

Hello - I'm Linda. This is me in my studio surrounded by sketchbooks and stuff waiting to go into sketchbooks!

I'm sorry I've been a bit slow to post and I know it's about time I contributed to this blog! We all talk at length about our work but we're less than happy to talk about ourselves. I used to have a CV with lists of awards, qualifications and achievements on my website but reading it one day I thought who on earth does this woman think she is and promptly deleted it. It's enough to say I've been making quilts for a long time and have done OK with a few of them. I went to Art College back in 1969 and after a Foundation year I found myself taking a degree in Graphics for some unknown reason. I must have chosen it because I thought it sounded cool - I certainly had no idea what it was and when I did I realised it was a big mistake. I persevered for 18 months then quit. The next few years were without much direction - actually that's wrong, there was lots of direction just not all going the same way. I spent a year teaching English to young boys in Greece, hitchhiked fearlessly around Europe with my sister, travelled overland to Istanbul, (a scarily foreign place for a young girl in the early seventies!) and went to Australia for a few months tracking down an old school friend and various relatives I'd heard about but never met. Eventually I came home and got my first 'proper' job in a University library, got married, had two children and found the Quilters' Guild. I've drawn and painted all my life and happily combine those things with quiltmaking. I'm not happy unless I'm making something so there's aways some project on the go. Working with Laura to produce videos for our subscription based TV, exhibiting my own work and online teaching keeps me pretty busy these days but I wouldn't have it any other way. I shall try to get into gear with some Orientation work for you to see as soon as the muse strikes!
Bye for now,
Linda

Kimono programme

2011-11-27T11:34:00.000Z

Hi Laura,
that is an amazing coincidence, I'm so glad you heard it, very informative. The subject is complex and mysterious, a lot to get my poor head around. £10,000 for a child's kimono is also rather for surprising, an adult's at £70,000 must be prohibitive, no wonder the art of wearing a kimono is disappearing.

Marie

Kimono

2011-11-27T09:17:00.000Z

Hi everyone! Wow Annabel, what a great first piece for the exhibition. I just love the quilting! I caught a programme on Radio 4 last week about Kimono. It's about how the Japanese are now favouring western dress and the risk that as the Kimono masters are so old, the tradition may be lost in the next 10 years or so. It's still available on the BBC iPlayer and there are some photos on the website too. Here's the link:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b017chpt
Bye for now, Laura x

Thoughts and processes - piece 1 (Annabel)

2011-11-26T11:16:00.000Z

Sometimes I mutter. I mutter a lot about many things, but one of them is the distorted body images we see in advertising. We're bombarded with images that are unrealistic and demoralizing. Many celebs find it necessary to play around with their image distorting their features with surgery until they become hardly recognizable. I understand why. It's up to everyone to do as they wish of course but it gives a false impression of life and the ageing processes. Advertising companies play around with photos enlarging, smoothing, enhancing and altering, and I wish they wouldn't but all I can do in response is mutter.

This is a long way round to tell you about the first piece which I've nearly finished for the Orientation exhibition. Yes, I know it's early and I wasn't trying to be the school "swot", but I've a lot on this coming year, and have to cram it all in where I can!!

So, I've been playing around with distortion in my sketchbooks, making people all sorts of funny shapes.

The photo above shows a drawing made by making the head and shoulders normal sized and then increasing the body length by double from there onwards. I haven't altered the width, so I've ended up with long thin people.

I guess this must be how they do fashion drawing? No wonder they need 6 foot tall, very thin people, to do the catwalk thing.

The inspiration for the people themselves and the kimonos (which seem very complex!) came from a theatre programme for the Doyle Carte. I think it must be 1930's, so my ladies have come out looking slightly art deco.

I also decided to stretch some trees.

Apologies for the sideways photo! I've painted the background fabric using a mixture of fabric paints including some interference powder to give a slight shimmer. I wanted to keep the image fairly simple and uncluttered; my main focus being the ladies.

I then had enormous fun raiding the stash boxes for fabric scraps, and bonding them into place. The whole piece was then very closely free machined. I love the feel of heavily machined quilted cloth. I also put lots of pattern onto the kimonos and into the background.

By extensively free machining the background with pattern, and then painting it afterwards, I could be as decorative as I liked, yet still keep the overall effect as simple. Does that make sense??!

I've decided to try and imbue the pieces with some kind of meaning, by working either from a haiku or making one up to go with the pieces. I can't say I quite understand the haiku thing, but it's an interesting exercise!

It's not quite finished as I have all the framing etc to do, which will be in dark brown cloth. I find that if I put things aside and come back to them at a much later date, it's easier for me to see if there's anything else that needs doing.

A Small Dragonfly
This Way, That Way, This Way, That,
And It Passes By

And that's the first piece done then!! I shall be doing some more of course, but will take it a bit easier from now on. I'm going to be making another very large life piece next for another exhibition in the summer so may be quiet for a while, but I will try and blog as I go through the thought processes and making of the oriental pieces in future, rather than land you with a lump of stuff!!

Kites and Patchwork Blocks

2011-11-25T09:51:00.000Z

This may or may not be related to our exhibition but it set me thinking....My local group had a speaker this week who is a scientist and loves maths and builds kites.

He became very interested in block patterns used by quilters for his kite designs, now he has extended this into block distortion using number sequences. The results are fabulous and I have a feeling I might be asking him for more information, maybe a new quilt will come out of this, who knows. I certainly wouldn't be attempting to stitch but painting would be an option. No pictures of his kites but here is a very old painted distorted quilt so this isn't new to me at all. What goes round comes round....here is a couple of pics from the past.

Edwina

2011-11-24T22:56:00.001Z

It is very exciting being part of such an energetic group but also quite worrying as I'm a bit of a last minute person so it seems quite unusual to see so much work already underway for an exhibition that is not happening for ten months! I know, I can hear you all saying - those ten months will pass by very quickly - and I know I will be the one working through the night to complete in time.
So my intentions are good and I have already started exploring some possibilities. My work is very much fabric led and I will usually start a new set of work by dyeing and printing fabrics. These then tend to inspire my designs. Last week I made an indigo vat and dyed some cotton organdie and linen.

I am exploring a method that is used to make Korean wrapping cloths known as pojagi. Pieces of fabric are joined together by hand using a run and fell seam and when a sheer fabric such as the cotton organdie is used the seams become a major part of the design as you can see in this small sample.

I think this has lots of possibilities so I will keep you posted!

Edwina

Brief and to the point.

2011-11-24T16:56:00.000Z

Love the entries so far, many thanks for setting it up Laura. Steph

Annabel

2011-11-24T16:48:00.000Z

OoooEck! I'm not good at introductions either but here goes.

Well, I'm 56 and trying not to be. I am married to Graham and have two beautiful wonderful daughters, that sadly don't live very near me. I was born in Somerset but I moved so many times as a child that I'm left with a permanent feeling of not having a place where I can park my heart. Warwickshire does for now.

I've been quilting for about 12 years and painting for about 4 years, and just recently the two have sort of melded together. I'm on some sort of happy journey but don't quite know where my destination is. It might be that I will continue to change and not have a "style"...ever! I have no artistic background whatsoever and have come a little late to such things, so feel I need to cram lots in before I get too old to hold the scissors.

Whilst I'm painting, I think I'll never sew again, and whilst I'm sewing, I think I'll never paint again. I need to do both in some form. I have a room which is the back half of a double length garage, which has been converted for me to use as a studio. It has huge glass doors which open and let the summer in - when we have any of course, and am free to produce whatever the mood fancies. I also like to work on a large scale - I like the impact large quilts make in a gallery space.

It's important for me that what I produce is meaningful in some way, and I'd love for it to be called art. That would make me happy. I have a sense of humour which sneaks into pieces as well, without being asked! I don't know how it does that; it's magic.

For the Orientation exhibition, I've found it hard as I don't own any artefacts and have been relying on images from books, National Trust houses, postcards etc. I've found everything to be quite graphic or at least with clearly defined lines. This is both limiting and stretching. To get the oriental feel, I've needed to copy this style, but that also means working outside my comfort zone. I'm needing to think quite hard but have made a start and will do another posting in a couple of days so you can see where I'm up to!

2011-11-24T16:14:00.000Z

Time to see if I can post an image .....so here is an update of that blue pot - it's now got some blossom added to the branches. I have made this quite a pale, salmony pink and wonder if it should have been a brighter pink? .... not sure, so will leave for several weeks and see how it looks then. I want to bind this quilt with blue and white to match the pot, but have nothing quite right in my stash. So I have spent a happy few hours over painting another cloth, to get just what I want. Time consuming - yes - but hopefully worth it. It will then be mounted on to a board to make for easy hanging, and which will also give me a chance to balance out that green at the top - which looks a bit top heavy for me I think. I already have another pot on the boil too!

Following Laura's lead - and who better to follow - I will also give a quick introduction to myself, as I am probably the one person you have not already heard of! I studied for my C+G with Linda and Laura - completing it last October (2010). My tutor was Marie Roper and I had a wonderful time. I know Edwina and Ineke from the Contemporary Quilt Midland Group and I have known Steph for quite a while too, being an avid admirer of her work. Annabel and Catherine are new friends, who I am very much looking forward to getting to know better. I am very inspired by the natural world, colour and strong lines/form. Linda and I tend to like the same sort of things, but have made a pact not to worry about it. I love to piant and dye my own fabrics, but also really enjoy collaging with a variety of commercial fabrics. I like to mix up patterns and colour, and see what I can get away with. I am still very much developing as an artist and am delighted to be part of this group and this exhibition. I also talk a lot! - Hilary x

2011-11-24T15:49:00.000Z

Signing in and catching up - having a busy time in Holland, teaching and trying to get some Oriental inspiration. Holland is east of the UK......

Will post some pictures soon

By way of introduction...

2011-11-24T15:42:00.000Z

I thought that as this blog is my idea that I better kick start it into action! I thought it makes sense to start with the introductions so here's mine. I hate those formal 'tell us about yourself' sections that are often required for exhibition catalogues, I can never think of anything sensible to write, but I'll make this my best attempt.

Lots of you know that I work on a daily basis with my mother Linda who's also in the group. We enjoy planning and working on projects like our online courses and DMTV together, but usually that just means that we spend hours sat side by side in front of our respective computer screens! When it comes to our own creative time, it's usually a much more solitary affair. Linda heads out to her workroom and I slope off home to mine. We once joked that we ought to have an exhibition and call it 'Between Sunset and Dawn' as that's when most of our work happens!

I thought I'd show you a quilt that I suppose represents my recent work. It's called Sisters and as you can see it's a double portrait of me and my sister. At the time I was making this piece I was really interested in the idea of combining figurative elements with pattern. That's something that I still find fascinating and I'm sure that the Oriental theme of this new exhibition will mean that I can pursue this a little further.

I'm also interested in making work that reflects the local landscape. Here's one that's inspired by the view from my back garden.

I think that because I usually work from inspiration that's very close to home, I'm finding it quite a struggle to find a 'hook' for the theme Orientation. It's quite strange for me to be thinking about sources of inspiration that I don't know very well or have first hand experience of. I've been thinking less about objects and more about ideas that are associated with Far East cultures. It's got a long way to go, but the first stage will be to start a new sketchbook to explore some of these thoughts. I've got a shelf full of lovely empty books so no excuse not to crack on. It's exciting to sit here without the first clue of what the work I'll make for this exhibition is going to look like. It's going to be a journey full of discovery and adventure!

Oriental Beginnings

2011-11-24T15:38:00.002Z

Hi,

I think I'm here! This is one of my autumn photos that is part of my inspiration

2011-11-24T15:38:00.001Z

Greetings from Canada!
Thanks for getting this up and going everyone.

better late than never ...Catherine

2011-11-24T12:29:00.001Z

Phew!!

It works!

2011-11-24T11:34:00.001Z

Hey Hilary, you made it!

Trial Run

2011-11-24T11:30:00.000Z

OK - as almost certainly the most technically challenged of the group - I am checking I have followed Laura's excellent instructions properly. If you are reading this - then I have! - Hilary x