Halfway Between - TVCT - 4

More of the photos of our exhibition at the Spring Knitting and Stitching Show.

As I said, I couldn't get good photos of it all, but I hope to get down to the National Needlework Archive to get good photos of the rest.

Delia Salter 'View from the Bridge'.
Deila's work at first looks like abstract marks. You read the title and suddenly you realise you are looking down into swirling water!

She says; 'From a bridge that links one side to another you are halfway between, not quite in one place or in the other. From the solidarity of a bridge to the precariousness of the water, you are halfway between the two conditions.'

Mavis Roles' work 'Seeds of Compromise' at first catches the eye with the lovely flowers. Then you begin to see what is around and you realise you are looking at No Man's Land. You think red=poppies and then you catch the clever statement Mavis makes by choosing to use an Honesty Plant instead.

Very thought provoking.

Sheila Dunscombe - 'Mediaeval Grids' inspired by mediaeval paving tiles and the backward text found on some because they were cut by illiterate workers who didn't know which way letters faced.

Several of the rest are linked to thoughts of the times between night and day.

Frances Self - 'Dusk, Darkness and Dawn' An interesting triptych.
Frances says; 'This piece was inspired by images and experiences dealing with a long stay in hospital with a critical illness. Dusk is the uncertainty of diagnosis. Darkness represents an endless stay in ICU. Dawn is the realisation of a future.'

She shared with us that at times, the view of a tree from her window was the only thing to give her hope. You can't tell from this photo, but the centre black portion has the main part of the tree quilted into it. You can see the branches spreading to either side.

Kate Findlay -'Pink Dawn' - inspired by thoughts about Dawn and Dusk, those rather mysterious states in between day and night. As I mentioned before, this piece has fibre optics included.

Kate says; 'Adding lines of light, which change colour slowly, gives a wonderful atmospheric effect in a room with low-level lighting, and it is very soothing to watch.'

Vivian Grant's work was a similar theme. 'Dawn', inspired by thoughts of a night going through the transitional stages towards daylight, with dawn coming
halfway between night and the expectation of what the day will bring.

While Gill Knight's - 'Sunset into Night', inspired by images from contemporary art from the Middle East, focusses on the other end of the day.

Also on one of the outside walls -
The large piece is one of Kate Findlay's pieces from her Hadron Collider series.

We had thought we would have a much smaller space and that another stand would be joined onto ours. So, when we found we had the outside back wall to fill as well, we called on Kate!
But the space was just right for hanging Ruth Archer's piece 'Between the Two Moons' with Kate's. The two 'spoke to each other' in a visual and thematic sense.

And finally, you may recognise the Cloud Puppy. I actually made him for this Halfway Between Challenge, but when our deadline was postponed, I took the opportunity to submit it to Festival of Quilts last year.

This is the statement I included. 'My piece is halfway between imagination and reality. Inspired by an Oriental creature. To me he looked like a puppy made
of clouds. I thought he would be great depicted playing in the wispy atmosphere of an imaginary planet. This is one of my series of ‘Fire Creatures’, making imaginary beings reality.

To see all the works in person, visit the National Needlework Archive in Newbury (Greenham Common). They are on exhibition from 19th March – 30th April. Check the website for opening times. I think it is only open on weekdays, with the only Saturday opening being the 5th April.

These posts about Halfway Between have been added to Off the Wall Friday at Nina-Marie's. If you have come from there, continue to scroll down and see more of the work in our exhibition.