Work on the Wall (at the moment)

It's probably a good idea to fill you in with the work that is currently 'On The Wall'.

I'll post the images with a bit about them

Then in later posts show you some 'Historic Work' that will show where it comes from.

I am a firm believer that in the ebb and flow of life - all these things eventually settle - and find their place.

The work may come slowly

And appear 'Random' at times

But it never fails to amaze me that it all makes sense in the end

(This is why I photograph the work as it is being made)

     'When All Else Fails: Stitch'

Almost like a diary I often just stitch-  it's very soothing and settles the spirit

 

'November in Sussex'

Last November we spent some time in Sussex.

Driving along in the car

I stitched and recorded the colours of the Turning of the Year.

      'NIS'  (detail)                                'NIS'   (reverse)

This form of Diary makes the miles pass happily.

              

  
      'Bosigran: Iron Age Fields'

During October I was back in West Penwith, on a workshop at the St Ives School of Painting

with the painter Andrew Hardwick

whose mixed media painted works celebrate the textures and moods of the Landscape.

This experience generated a series of stitched works

where the textures of the fields were explored in stitch

                                                                       
  'B: IAF'  (detail)

            

                                                         

           

     'B: IAF'     (details 2, 3 and 4)

It was fun using different stitches

Maybe the surface would be richer for having spaces    

'Layered Silk Fragments Field Samples"

  'Layered Silk using Reverse Applique'  (detail)

Cutting through the layers to reveal different textures and colours

       much like the geology of the Earth.

   'Layered Silk using Reverse Applique'

  'Layered Silk Fragments Embroidered as Field'

These were 'fantasy' field patterns, but I liked the spontaneity of the marks

Something I have picked up from the drawings and paintings I made in the workshop                   

                          

     'Layered Silk Field Markings'

 details recalling lost paths, plough marks

                         

    and mysterious markings from the past

                         

   THAT'LL DO FOR THE MOMENT!

Knitting Cables in Linen

Sometimes the Hands are tired of being pricked and want to Knit!

Using linen yarn I've been knitting cables, in order to make new 'impression blocks' for make rubbings in oil on my dyed fabrics. These then become patches in the composite field systems.

The patterns taken from knitted fishermen's smocks are part of the rich tradition of textured knitted stitches describing elements  in the land and sea scape.

I'm going to be knitting a few more to make a selection of rubbings that will describe the surface of the fields.

I haven't used linen yarn before. The sisal (garden twine) I used was too hairy and made the rubbing not as distinct as I would like, as this is a 'cleaner' yarn I'm hoping it will make good sharp lines when coated in PVA glue.

More later....

The Mindful Hand by David Owen

Bin keeping Alice Kettle and Jane Mc Keating's wonderful  'hand stitch- PERSPECTIVES' as a treat to read when the brain has enough space to compute new information...

The whole is a series of essays by artists and academics specialising in art and textiles. 

I particularly enjoyed 'The Mindful Hand' by David Owen.

Owen explores the relationship between the hand and the brain.

                 

       Tate St Ives July 2011

As someone who has often thought the problems of frizzy hair and wardrobe crisis could be totally avoided by a transformation of self to what is essential!, and considered that this could be achieved by a 'reincarnation' as a cyber-form consisting of Hand- Eyes- Brain,  this is of particular interest...

         

self working in studio, acrylic on silk

           ".....Consider: the eye observes, focuses and gazes, while the hand touches, holds and wields.  Through the eye we encounter the appearance of the world as spectators and, within the context of the face, express reactions:the subtle glance, the wide-eyed stare, the cheeky wink the frank or hooded gaze. Through the hand, we encounter the appearance, and engage the substance, of the world as agents: we run our fingers across the ply of fabric, stretch it between our hands, fold or tear it into shapes. (The importance of the difference becomes clear if we try to imagine a world in which it is the look that acts physically on the material of the world and the hand that spectates.)......"

      self working on 'Eccleston' and 'Farndon' in studio, 

  here stitched water ripples to the river reflection with silk thread 

       onto the painted substrate

                             

For quite a few years I thought that the name 'Raginnis' might refer Regina, as in 'Elizabeth I'. The English are very fond of saying that no-one has invaded the country since William, Duke of Normandy in 1066. This is not strictly true because after the sea battle with the Spanish Armada in 1588 some Spanish did land and 'invade' at Mousehole in Cornwall. The local populace fought back, there were significant deaths and the Spanish were sent packing. I had wondered if the farm was so named to celebrate this fact.
Reading through a Cornish dictionary of placenames recently I discovered that 'Raginnis' meant 'facing the island' - which refers to the St. Clements Isle which is just off the coast at Mousehole and was once the refuge of a hermit, St. Clement.
I mention this as proof that we are never too old to learn, and that my vivid imagination has been proven 'WRONG'- yet again.

Lots of tiny stitches!!

With the cold and wind and rain and snow outside

it's been a perfect time to stitch and stitch and stitch...

This map is worked on merino wool tweed- 'English' tweed I'm pleased to say!

Using large scale OS maps and Google Earth to trace the field patterns.

These are a farm called Raginnis, close to the village of Mousehole (pronounced "Mowzel") in Cornwall.

It's part of a very special coastal walk you can take between the villages of Mousehole and Lamorna.

I like to take the Coastal Path then back through the fields along paths.

Using a simple running stitch, backstitch, stem stitch, eyelet stitch and a few French knots.

Carving Out Space at Ruthin Craft Centre

After all the snow of recent weeks

North Wales looked NUDE

Yesterday was cold grey and windy

But Ruthin Craft Centre was beautifully warm and inviting

I wanted to return to make some text drawings of Gary Breeze's work

Field View, 2013 on reclaimed slate

Fed straight into my 'field scapes'

Breeze carves deep into the slate creating shadows that shift and slide over the surface

Breeze uses dialect as a posting of place

Norfolk Ornithology, 2004 on Welsh slate

lists eight rows of text with Norfolk native and visitor birds

The shape of the lettering and the spaces between

are what give these pieces the status of Artwork

Anne's Diary II, 2009 also reclaimed slate

used another typeface

Breeze contorts the letters to fill the space

conjoining and inserting by turns

Anyone fascinated with how things fit into boxes would appreciate why these works hold such a fascination!

(David Nash and Guy Taplin to follow!)

  After spending several weeks working on these maps I have been trying to work out what to do next?!!