Sunday, 7 August 2016
Quilt Museum, Lampeter. 2016 Exhibition
This year's exhibition features quilts made using flannel. (I have an exhibition guide in my file which includes more, and better, photos.)
Ruth Packham Felting Exhibition
Introduction and Artist's statement:
Ruth lives and works in Borth, Ceredigion. Trained as a Fine Artist, Ruth makes work that has its origins in the space between art and craft.
Describing herself as an artist/maker Ruth works predominantly with British wool fibre, using felt making techniques to realise her nature-inspired creations. Ruth has exhibited her felt work widely, taking it to Muscat in Oman and Norway in 2014. She takes part in wool and craft fairs throughout the UK and regularly teaches felt making.
This exhibition sees a departure from Ruth's usual more colourful work into the graphic and striking world of black and white and is Ruth's second visit to Gallery 3.
Felt Places
'Felt Places' is an exhibition of work inspired by and in memory of Roger Clive Powell, husband to Jen Jones, architect and restorer of old buildings, resident of Ceredigion and a generally lovely person who passed away in 2015.
The needle-felted buildings are just a few of those that Roger worked on.
The landscapes are snapshots of Ceredigion, celebrations of the beauty within which we live. Taking time to look at the world around us, whether over a fence to the distant hills, or at seagulls wheeling above, reminds us to stop, to breathe and to feel joy in the moment; life is short.
The work is made by pushing wool fibre through the fabric using a needle-felting needle - the results give an almost charcoal effect, sketchy and soft focus. The wool used in this work is all from the Cambrian Mountains.
Birds gathering on a wire, some say, have a sense of the ominous. There are flocks of corvids that fly around Borth at dusk and together with seagulls the noise of these is the day to day soundtrack to life in this seaside village. Ruth spends time looking at and photographing these birds as they perch and interact on the wires in front of her house. These wet felted pictures are the result of her observations.
Ruth lives and works in Borth, Ceredigion. Trained as a Fine Artist, Ruth makes work that has its origins in the space between art and craft.
Describing herself as an artist/maker Ruth works predominantly with British wool fibre, using felt making techniques to realise her nature-inspired creations. Ruth has exhibited her felt work widely, taking it to Muscat in Oman and Norway in 2014. She takes part in wool and craft fairs throughout the UK and regularly teaches felt making.
This exhibition sees a departure from Ruth's usual more colourful work into the graphic and striking world of black and white and is Ruth's second visit to Gallery 3.
Felt Places
'Felt Places' is an exhibition of work inspired by and in memory of Roger Clive Powell, husband to Jen Jones, architect and restorer of old buildings, resident of Ceredigion and a generally lovely person who passed away in 2015.
The needle-felted buildings are just a few of those that Roger worked on.
The landscapes are snapshots of Ceredigion, celebrations of the beauty within which we live. Taking time to look at the world around us, whether over a fence to the distant hills, or at seagulls wheeling above, reminds us to stop, to breathe and to feel joy in the moment; life is short.
The work is made by pushing wool fibre through the fabric using a needle-felting needle - the results give an almost charcoal effect, sketchy and soft focus. The wool used in this work is all from the Cambrian Mountains.
Birds gathering on a wire, some say, have a sense of the ominous. There are flocks of corvids that fly around Borth at dusk and together with seagulls the noise of these is the day to day soundtrack to life in this seaside village. Ruth spends time looking at and photographing these birds as they perch and interact on the wires in front of her house. These wet felted pictures are the result of her observations.
Sandie Lush Exhibition, Lampeter, 2016
This was a lovely exhibition displaying a selection of cot quilts all made using just 3 quilting motifs taken from a vintage Welsh quilt. The artist's statement follows:
Sandie has always been interested in crafts and for many years spent her spare time both hand and machine knitting, making crochet lace and working counted thread cross stitch designs. She had never seen a patchwork quilt until moving to New York in the early 1980s and it was another ten years before she attempted to make one herself. Initially interested in machine piecing, she regarded hand quilting as a chore. However, seeing a wholecloth quilt at a quilt show was a revelation and soon she was designing and stitching her own wholecloth quilts. Without the need to stitch over bulky patchwork, hand quilting became the love of her life.
Sandie's first wholecloth quilts were all inspired by Amy Emms and her flowing feather designs traditional to North Country quilts. It was several years before Sandie discovered that traditional Welsh wholecloth designs were very different. Their infinite variety and sculptural quality made them much more of a challenge to design. It was love at first sight.
This collection of cot-sized quilts was inspired by two motifs used to make her quilt, Yn y Pinc in 2002. The original quilt was in reality more akin to the Durham quilts, albeit using two Welsh motofs; a cable known as Welsh Trail and a paisley pear motif taken from the cover of a traditional quilt group newsletter. It was several years later that Sandie discovered that the paisley had been copied from a quilt in Jen's (Jen Jones) collection made by Mrs May Thomas at the turn of the 20th century. Mrs Thomas's quilt and her novel paisley design inspired Sandie to try to create as many designs as possible using this motif. the decision to limit herself to only a few additional motifs added to the challenge.
The project started slowly. Yn y Pinc was made in 2002 but the idea for a series of quilts lay fallow for another ten years. Sandie created two quilts in 2012 and then one in each of the following two years. It was following a conversation with Jen in June 2015 that the project really sparked into life. In the following seven months Sandie designed and had stitched another 18 cot-sized quilts as well as a small pram quilt. Her original intention was to make 12 quilts, but new fabrics were found, the ideas kept flowing and Sandie kept stitching. Sadly, making all these new quilts has not even made a dent in her fabric stash!
Sandie has always been interested in crafts and for many years spent her spare time both hand and machine knitting, making crochet lace and working counted thread cross stitch designs. She had never seen a patchwork quilt until moving to New York in the early 1980s and it was another ten years before she attempted to make one herself. Initially interested in machine piecing, she regarded hand quilting as a chore. However, seeing a wholecloth quilt at a quilt show was a revelation and soon she was designing and stitching her own wholecloth quilts. Without the need to stitch over bulky patchwork, hand quilting became the love of her life.
Sandie's first wholecloth quilts were all inspired by Amy Emms and her flowing feather designs traditional to North Country quilts. It was several years before Sandie discovered that traditional Welsh wholecloth designs were very different. Their infinite variety and sculptural quality made them much more of a challenge to design. It was love at first sight.
This collection of cot-sized quilts was inspired by two motifs used to make her quilt, Yn y Pinc in 2002. The original quilt was in reality more akin to the Durham quilts, albeit using two Welsh motofs; a cable known as Welsh Trail and a paisley pear motif taken from the cover of a traditional quilt group newsletter. It was several years later that Sandie discovered that the paisley had been copied from a quilt in Jen's (Jen Jones) collection made by Mrs May Thomas at the turn of the 20th century. Mrs Thomas's quilt and her novel paisley design inspired Sandie to try to create as many designs as possible using this motif. the decision to limit herself to only a few additional motifs added to the challenge.
The project started slowly. Yn y Pinc was made in 2002 but the idea for a series of quilts lay fallow for another ten years. Sandie created two quilts in 2012 and then one in each of the following two years. It was following a conversation with Jen in June 2015 that the project really sparked into life. In the following seven months Sandie designed and had stitched another 18 cot-sized quilts as well as a small pram quilt. Her original intention was to make 12 quilts, but new fabrics were found, the ideas kept flowing and Sandie kept stitching. Sadly, making all these new quilts has not even made a dent in her fabric stash!
Tuesday, 19 July 2016
Sheila Bownas Exhibition, Rugby Art Gallery and Museum. 25th June to 3rd September
This is the transcript of an article I've written about this exhibition for Contemporary Quilters' newsletter and a Craft Club that I write for....
A feature on Woman's Hour about an exhibition of fabric and wallpaper designs by artist Sheila Bownas, caught the attention of cqgb member, Brenda Thomas, who shared a link on the Yahoo site. I followed the link and was interested enough to drive up the M1 to Rugby to visit this exhibition.
If you haven't heard of Sheila Bownas, don't feel bad, you're not alone. Sheila, although a talented artist and a prolific designer, was relatively unknown during her lifetime. She died in 2007, and a collection of her paintings and designs came onto the market and was bought at auction by Chelsea Cefai, an employee at Rugby Art Gallery and Museum. Chelsea was looking for a painting for her home, but acquired approximately 210 paintings and designs. Fascinated by this collection and recognising its importance, she started delving into the history of it, and determined to bring it to the attention of the public and give Sheila's work the recognition it deserves.
Sheila was born in the Yorkshire Dales in 1925. An obvious talent for art won her a WRCC Junior Art Scholarship in 1941. After 4 years at Skipton Art School, she went on to study at the Slade School of Art in London, during which time she had 5 paintings accepted and exhibited by the Royal Academy. Her post-graduate studies took her to Florence for a year.
Sheila would have been 17 when she produced this 'homework' piece showing her early talent.
A feature on Woman's Hour about an exhibition of fabric and wallpaper designs by artist Sheila Bownas, caught the attention of cqgb member, Brenda Thomas, who shared a link on the Yahoo site. I followed the link and was interested enough to drive up the M1 to Rugby to visit this exhibition.
If you haven't heard of Sheila Bownas, don't feel bad, you're not alone. Sheila, although a talented artist and a prolific designer, was relatively unknown during her lifetime. She died in 2007, and a collection of her paintings and designs came onto the market and was bought at auction by Chelsea Cefai, an employee at Rugby Art Gallery and Museum. Chelsea was looking for a painting for her home, but acquired approximately 210 paintings and designs. Fascinated by this collection and recognising its importance, she started delving into the history of it, and determined to bring it to the attention of the public and give Sheila's work the recognition it deserves.
Sheila was born in the Yorkshire Dales in 1925. An obvious talent for art won her a WRCC Junior Art Scholarship in 1941. After 4 years at Skipton Art School, she went on to study at the Slade School of Art in London, during which time she had 5 paintings accepted and exhibited by the Royal Academy. Her post-graduate studies took her to Florence for a year.
Initially, inspiration came from the village she was brought up in, Linton.
Images of children fishing in the river Wharfe, probably something that Sheila did as a child.
As well as producing botanical illustrations for the Natural History Museum and the Botanical Society of the British Isles, Sheila Bownas produced many designs for wallpaper and fabrics, so why is she not as famous as, say, Lucienne Day? Well, although Sheila's designs were sold to manufacturers such as Liberty, Marks and Spencer and Crown, she did not have a high profile, and having sold the designs, she lost control over them and her name was not associated with them. In fact, we don't even know which designs of the 50s, 60s and 70s are Sheila's! She had meetings with John Lewis and Bernard Ashley, Laura Ashley's husband, but we don't know what came of those meetings. The collection bought by Chelsea, are the designs that were not sold, so these lovely paintings and designs have never been seen.
An unearthed document shows that Sheila did apply to get a secure staff job. An excerpt from a letter dated October 1959 reads 'With reference to your desire to obtain a position in our studio, the director feels that should an appointment be made at all, a male designer would be preferable'. So Sheila continued to be invisible despite being a commercially successful designer.
Sheila worked through 3 decades, adapting her designs to the style of the day.
1950s designs
1960s designs
1970s designs
Chelsea Cefai, as well as exhibiting these designs, is selling them to local artisans who are producing various crafts with them. To commemorate what would have been Sheila's 90th birthday, Chelsea launched the 'West Riding' collection with furniture and lighting, and works in porcelain and fabric. She is determined that these lovely designs will be given a second chance to shine.
Students from a local art college used fabric, specially printed with chosen designs, to make these impressive shift dresses.
Sunday, 17 July 2016
Module 1 Evaluation and Authentication
Evaluation:
Choice of research theme: 'Woodland' is a good choice for me. Not an original choice I'm sure, but I walk through woods every day, and as the seasons change, there's always something there to inspire.
Use of sketchbook to glean visual information: This isn't a strength of mine, but I'm aware of that and keep trying! Have signed up to the Kemshall's sketchbook course, so I hope my sketchbooks will improve.
Your designs: I was only happy with one of the assessment pieces submitted for my P&Q diploma. This time, I want to ensure that I LIKE the designs I produce, so I want to focus on this area and explore as many design avenues as possible.
Proposed design ideas: I think the jacket could look good, but success will depend on how the made-fabric fits with the brown cotton. I've shown cuffs, but they could detract, so I'm keeping my options open until I see how they look.
Artists study: I chose artists whose work I like and admire. I think my choices in the future need to be more objective. Getting to know and understand an artist's work may bring an appreciation of it (or not) so I will be open to works that don't immediately appeal.
Friday, 15 July 2016
Exhibitions in Frome, 5th July 2016
On the 5th of July, an exhibition by the Frome and District Branch of the Embroiderers' Guild opened and an exhibition of the Contemporary Quilters West, called Unfolding Stories 2, closed. This was the one day when I could catch both exhibitions, so I made the trip to Frome.
The exhibition of embroideries was small, and included works by members, whatever their skill level. It was an interesting exhibition with some lovely pieces. Some members were doing a City and Guilds course and included preliminary designs along with the finished works.
The exhibition of embroideries was small, and included works by members, whatever their skill level. It was an interesting exhibition with some lovely pieces. Some members were doing a City and Guilds course and included preliminary designs along with the finished works.
From the Air - Dorset Coast by Rosemary Cain
Rust 2 by Jean Hornsey
Ideas book for the lamp picture by Sara Bowley
Autumn Leaves by Jean Hornsey
Rural Peace by Daphne Mackley
UNFOLDING STORIES 2
Contemporary Quilters West
I enjoyed admiring the work in both exhibitions. They were very different from each other. The Quilt Exhibition was in a larger venue with each work given space. I assume the selection was juried because it was all of an extremely high standard. Visitors were offered a book of artists' statements to accompany the viewing which added to the enjoyment and interest. The photos shown below are a small selection of the photos I took.
Works by Angela Knapp
Purple Top 2 by Maria Harryman
Dye and oil sticks on cloth; stitched
I had to include Stephanie Crawford's works as I did my Diploma in P&Q with Stephanie, who was one year ahead of me. The diploma course helped her to find her own current style of painting on fabric, then stitching. One of her assessment pieces was a Chinese triptych which went on to win prizes in Britain and America - we all admired this work during it's creation, and sympathised with her for the number of thread ends that had to be sewn in after each sewing session!
Sorry, can't work out how to rotate this!
Hungry by Angela Knapp
Another work by Angela Knapp
Bright Morning by Judy Stephens
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