I like Thankful Thursday

On Monday, I had a cataract surgery on my right eye. 😵Depending the result, I will update this to let you know how I am! I need to give it a few days rest, so I am setting this up to post without me.

I like K+S! Last Thursday I went to the Knitting and Stitching Show with my friend. I did take a lot of photos, but many of them weren't intended to go on the Internet.

However, I always like to see what the fashion students at Kings Ely have made. Quite a bit of theatre about them, but interesting anyway.

Sometimes you can just see what technique they were focusing on or what unit of study.

But most of them have a good grasp of how to make something work 3D - which is really what garments are because they have to go round the 3D moving shape which is the body.

And here is a detail of the work of Natalya Aikens that was in the SAQA Gallery "Concrete and Grasslands". I really like her work!

Natalya works a lot with repurposed materials, often plastics built up and stitched with images of New York buildings or bridges, but this piece is one from her St. Petersburg series that repurposes old laces to make a wonderful image of one of the crumbling buildings of St. Petersburg, Russia where she was born.

and of course, when my brain is on inspiration or art alert, I like what I see with a different view.

Quick photo of these braces (or whatever) spotted through the open door on the Picadilly Line. We were on the way to the show. I like the pattern they make.

So, hopefully my eye will be rested for next week. Apologies if I am unable to post.
But either way, today or any other Thursday you can see more I likes via the links at LeeAnna's blog.

Thursday K+S

Apologies for missing Thankful Thursday this week.
I am at the Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace in London. Stewarding for the afternoon at the SAQA gallery Concrete and Grasslands.

Edit: Just see what I bought! It was late night opening. When we got there, it was nearly lunch and time for me to steward. So, we stayed after my shift and I managed to do quick purchases and look at some of the galleries. (loved so much of it, but really liked the Cork Textile Network from Ireland.)

Like I need beads, or thread and fabric if you think about it! from Paint Box Threads rainbow colours, from Totally Beads a possible project and replacing stock on the beads. Fabric from Bombay Fabrics and also different African fabric suppliers - Diligent Hands and Dovetailed London. I have used most of the African fabrics I had, but I have more to say about the African refugee situation which doesn’t get on the news.
A few of these are for possible dresses, too. No I haven’t used the fabric from FOQ! Yet!

My friend Pat came with me. We left here at 9am and got home after 11pm! And last week we were also in London on Thursday, so I am done now for going to London! Too much of a good thing.

Stitching at Knitting and Stitching

Just a couple photos from going to the Knitting and Stitching Show on Thursday.

One of the first things:
Getting involved with a communal stitching project...based on an idea in the book shown about how girls were judged on the amount of their stitches. This was part of the exhibition by the group Un.Fold.

So, we took 2 pieces of calico and did stitches. Competitive if you wanted. I have never took the time to aim for few and/or even (or even straight!).

They counted the stitches and wrote them on the tag. Well, I counted them and wrote a number, but she said to count the ones on back as well! Ok. So it was 56.

They are going to do something with all of them at some point.

Also:
I found another person working with fishing net techniques! Gail Baxter All under the name of contemporary lace.

  

Now you see 2 makes it not so strange. She was also excited that someone else saw the potential. Only she has discovered further 'stitches' and shapes!

Start with one thread and get a circle by adding some (I need her to tell me how!)

innovative design

I was very busy on the SAQA stand all day at the recent Knitting and Stitching show, so didn't really get out in the corridor that normal punters walk through to get into the show. (exhibitors go in through the back)

But as we were on our way out, most of the lights out, I realised I had nearly missed seeing the work done by the textile/design students at King's Ely. For a while now, there work has been exhibited in that corridor.

So, the spotlights on the gowns were still shining though the rest was dark, and I was trying to get photos before getting tossed out. But still, you can get an idea of the ideas and techniques encouraged for the module. I can guess it was about texture!

It must be great fun to learn in an atmosphere where you can go where your imagination takes you.

Their website states: "King’s Ely’s fashion students frequently achieve among the best GCSE and A Level results in the whole of the UK, with many students going on to study in top fashion colleges."

I wish I had been able to take more time to look at the garments closer!

Knitting and Stitching show

On Thursday I was at the Knitting and Stitching Show all day. This was a new venue for SAQA to try out, so the organisers showed the Food For Thought exhibition which had been in Birmingham in August at the Festival of Quilts.

A few photos.

The work looked different when it was in a different arrangement. Some of the work that was hardly noticed at the Festival of Quilts had a great deal of interest when it was hanging next to different companions.

I had a great time talking to people about the work. A very large number of people had not seen work like that before, being knitters or embroiderers. (Britain, and especially the K+S show, is known for their unique approach to embroidery and stitch.) I love the times when I can encourage someone to begin taking steps...you have to start somewhere. You don't get to the middle if you haven't done the beginning! And they go away with a new perspective at what they might be able to achieve. one step at a time.

I am still pretty exhausted. (Got the 7am train and finally returned at 10pm!) So, yesterday was a recovery day.
But today I am catching up with things like sorting out the new beads! K+S is one of the best places for me to source beads. Not that I don't have enough beads...but I wanted a larger range of the 'faceted' type - shapes like triangle and hexagon. And I know I have a limited number of the ones I refer to as 'glistening' - with a metal lining. I think I will use them for something in the run up to Christmas.

I didn't get much chance to see the rest of the show. The one exhibit that impressed me the most was Entwined Memories. Work by members of the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland. But although I took photos, they asked for them to be for personal use.
Click on the link to see photos from K+S which are on their facebook page.

I also stopped in to see the work by Helen Pailing.

Doing some exiting things with waste glass and heddle wire!

I had a little chat with her just at the end of the day.

And came home with one of these! Heddle wire and used blinds material.

I just liked the look of them. To add to my eclectic mess that makes up my studio.

Just need to work out where to hang it!

And at one point, I had a quick wiz round the students. The one who interested me most was Susana Borobia. But I didn't have time to chat like I normally would. I was taking a quick break while a friend looked after things when I went for a cup of tea. You can see some of her work at the link on her name. I liked the extreme lace look.

K+S 2014

On Wednesday I went to the Knitting and Stitching show with my friend. It was a Very Long Day. But worth it. I made some really good connections. And because not everyone had realised the show was to be 5 days this year...Wed-Sun rather than Thurs-Sun...it meant you could actually get into some of the stands which are usually packed. I got right into Art Van Go and looked everything. I actually had a full loyalty voucher, so that was good. Also bead stands which are so difficult to get into properly without a lot of "excuse me's", had plenty of room by the time I got to the vendors.

This was just one of my discoveries because there was room to look. Buttons!

Now I don't have to make do for the stripe dress. When I get to it, I can use the large white and large blue buttons for some other things I have in mind.


The galleries were amazing as usual. I got a few photos where you were allowed but some I forgot to take note of the group.

These two from Prism caught my eye.

Celia Stanley

Tansy Blaik-Kelly

And these I can't seem to recall the group or the name of the artist. If you know it, can you let me know and I will add it here?

I loved the draping and the sheen of the silk in this piece. (I think it was silk!)

And the graphics of this one.

Sorry to be so vague about these. By that time I was in quite a lot of pain...and then yesterday had a migraine. So, even in looking through the catalogues, I have lost those memories in a gap someplace in my brain!

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.

Halfway Between - TVCT - 3

A few more photos of the TVCT exhibition at Knitting and Stitching last week.

The first exhibition we did had quite a few 3D items to display on plinths. This time there weren't so many. Here are a few of the small ones.

This book 'Lost' is by Ros Crouch.

We chose to display it in a star shape, but it would also work to have the pages together showing the layers which work together to illustrate the feeling of being lost.
The text on the pages are lines from Dante’s Inferno which describe being lost at the middle of his life in a dark wood.

I wasn't able to get a close up of the other work (had jobs to do!) But here is a photo showing them in the centre of the room.

Besides Ros' book, to the right is Annie Hamilton's book 'Halfway Between Reality and Fantasy'. She enhanced her sketches of a wood near her home. Annie says 'By looking very closely at small areas of the ground, I could make out leaves, twigs, plant and small dark spaces that seemed to form odd creatures.'

and in the front is Clare William's 'Imaginarium' which she describes as a travelling theatre with the quote ‘An imaginarium is a place to go for your imagination – to let it flower, let it grow, let it take you places.’

These small pieces on the plinths were near to the centre of the room, but worked well visually with the 3 pieces behind them. The work seen on the wall in the photo above were inspired by various aspects of water and used shibori fabrics and natural dyeing techniques.
From left to right:
Margaret Ramsay - 'Fleet Mudflats' part of a seascape series exploring rhythm and referencing the transitional intertidal zones of the Fleet. She also blended inkjet images of indigo shibori fabrics and photos of sand ripples, then altered them to look like the genuine article.

Cathy Park - 'Sky, Sea, Shore' Cathy had fabric she had dyed with indigo and potassium permanganate. To her, they were 'halfway between what I wanted and what I liked.' I think that together they work well to be just right!

Marion Robertson - 'Rock Pools at Nairn'. Marion chose a part of the beach where there are rock pools because of the happy memories of playing there as a child, and also of her children playing there. She says, 'For me the rock pools are neither land nor sea but sometimes they are both.'

Marion has been giving valuable help with the admin side of the exhibition. She also spent a great deal of time putting together inspiration packs which we were able to sell to help cover exhibition costs.

And finally for 3D work.
I didn't get a photo of Dorothy Crossley's piece 'Cannock Chase' on its own. It was wonderfully textured and when it was hung away from the wall the shadows behind added even more to the depth which was already in the work. Dorothy's inspiration for her woven tapestry came from her walks on Cannock Chase. She says, 'The viewer is encouraged to enter the environment and look to see what is between the trees.'
You can see Dorothy's piece on the wall in this photo.

The work in front of Dorothy's piece was made by Jane Glennie.

Jane submitted two very different pieces. One very large and one very small.
Jane used a scaled up knitting process with recycled video tapes to create her large piece, 'Two Trunks'. The two textured, thin, iridescent black structures were influenced by the trunks of pines in Swinley Forest, Berkshire after the recent forest fire. She asks, 'Are the trunks living or dead? They are somewhere halfway between. If dead themselves, they are supporting visible life in the form of moss and lichen.'

Unfortunately I didn't get a photo of the small one. It was rather fragile, so she waited to the beginning of the opening day to take the little porcelain pieces out of their wrappings. As I said, at that point, I totally forgot to take any more photos.

A few more photos tomorrow.

Halfway Between - TVCT - 2

The Thames Valley Contemporary Textiles group are very privileged to have a large number of artist who do innovative work to a high standard. One of these is Kate Crossley.

The Exhibition - Halfway Between - has 3 of her pieces in it. Kate submitted two pieces, but having seen a piece she had submitted to Festival of Quilts last year, I asked if she would also add that to the exhibition.

Book at Bedtime was displayed directly outside of the opening.* This was a great place because it was so interesting it drew a lot of the people in to see more.

163 x 115cm

It is something that requires standing there for moments at a time to take it all in. Amazing.

Inside we had 2 of Kate's pieces which were formed by embedding stitch and found objects into resin. With the lighting provided by the K+S organisers, the work glowed.

Many people were drawn straight to the piece In the Beginning there was Void.

And after coming out of their reverie looked around and headed to this work Chrysalis.

The technique requires a lot of patience and perseverance to execute. This Chrysalis was the 3rd because the resin process went wrong with the first one, then the second one, being finished, laid on a table. Then it rolled off and broke! I think the persistence paid off.

You can find out more about Kate Crossley by visiting her website.

All of the work has been taken to the National Needlework Archive in Newbury (Greenham Common) today to be exhibited from 19th March – 30th April. It would be worth your while to go and see these pieces more closely. Check the website for opening times. I think it is only open on weekdays, with the only Saturday opening being the 5th April. I will post more of the K+S exhibition photos tomorrow.


*I must say Thank You to Margaret Ramsay who did a stellar job with the main curating task of arranging placement of the work for K+S. Jane Glennie made a mock up of the gallery (photo here on Margaret Cooter's blog - we never thought to take a photo of it so I am glad Margaret Cooter came by when we were setting up) and with Margaret's arrangement, we could get right on with the work with only a few adjustments.