Short Cloth in progress

String, Felt, Thread

Ive been reading String, Felt, Thread: The Hierarchy of Art and Craft in American Art for the past two weeks or so and it is probably the best book on the history of textiles in contemporary art. It deals with the struggle artists (especially women artists) had for art -world legitimacy in the 60's and 70's; the artists involved in the art/craft divide (Faith Ringgold, Miriam Schapiro, Harmony Hammond & Judy Chicago); the artists who did get recognition and why (Eva Hesse & Robert Morris);  and all the things that have come out of this now. I have to say im only two thirds of the way through the book but I would already say it's a must read! I only wish this had been written sooner so that I could have read it sooner!

I think its also been influencing my ideas, especially those surrounding my bundles.

More Bundles

So I finally made some more bundles. Been thinking about amulets, talismans and spells; ritualistic acts, intent and magic and how close they are to each other. How close I feel to the materials, how linked the idea is to intent, how linked materiality is to an idea. 


Make. 
Making. 
Made.

What you think?

Check out the Millinary skills!

If you live in London and like hats and headbands then you should head down to the latest East London Craft Guerrilla fair and check out my good friend Little Yellow Birds. She makes delightful 1940's and 50's style hats and headbands. This one pictured below has been entered into the fair's tombola, so if you buy a ticket you might be lucky enough to win it! Although I kinda want it for myself!

Craft Guerrilla August Craft Market.Saturday 28th of August from 10 am to 5.30 pm. Beautiful Interiors shop garden. 34 Orford Rd. Walthamstow London E17 9NJ.

The Aftermath

Its been a week since my open studios and I am still trying to catch up with sleep! It was so tiring but really good too; hundreds, no thousands, of people passed through our doors over the 2 and half days and I had so many productive conversations about my work that I am still trying to get it to all sink in. Some surprising discussion about my textile pieces that are still 'works in progress'which have really helped my confidence in that area; I wasn't sure what reception they would get and so I was extremely happy to find so many people being drawn into my studio space to see them up close.

I took this photo in a rare moment of relative quiet just to show you my space with people in it looking at my artists' books and

my textile work on the wall and the textile bundles work in progress in the foreground there. Thanks to everyone that came along and sought me out in the melee and to those who just came across me by chance; I hope to see you all next year!

Open Studios - 30th July to the 1st August

So its open studios time again! My studio will be open as part of the Hackney WickED Art Festival this weekend so feel free to come along if you are in London.

I will have a selection of current works and works in progress out on display plus there will be a special chance to see Micro-Pages (the book arts exhibition on microfilm that toured the UK earlier in the year) on my very own microfilm machine!

Opening Times:

from 6pm Friday 30th July

10am - 7pm Saturday 31st July

10am - 7pm Sunday 1st Aug

There is a map here; and you will find me in the Mother Studios block (no. 8 on the downloadable map):

Studio 9.5

Floor 3/D

Mother Studios

Queens Yard

White Post Lane

Hackney Wick

East London

Nearest station is Hackney Wick station on the London Overground line (orange line on the tube map).

I look forward to seeing you there!

scarf experiments

Tried out some nuno felt scarves with muslin. Cant seem to get this second image to flip round the right way - blogger image upload seems to have a mind of its own these days.

Long Slow Cloth just got Longer

textile bundles

So bundles, yes, bundles. I have been inadvertantly making textile bundles since my degree and its only now that I have started to make them with a certain purpose. The ideas behind them are those of archaeology, mysticism and archives. Documentation as bundles; bundles and a form of archive; a repository for memories?

Anyway; they are certainly going somewhere. . .

nuno felt experiments

Felting Strange Landscapes

natural felt balls in the highlands

So I went to the highlands of Scotland last week for a wedding; after which my family and I went for a walk up a hill near Loch Ness and look what I saw:

Felt balls on a barbed wire fence! Fantastic! The highland bulls must rub past the barbed wire and the hair gathers around the barbs until it felts together to create a string of felt beads along the fence - natural felting - fantastic. Here is a pic of the beastie that must have caused this phenomenon:

Curious Drawers at Stroud International Textiles Festival

Went to Stroud last weekend to the Textile Festival with my sister and had a great time despite the awful weather! There were a series of open studios and exhibitions spread out around the town. One of the best was called 'Curious Drawers' which featured a group of textile artists who call themselves the Brunel Broderers.

It included an interactive piece where you were encouraged to take up a needle and thread to stitch into a chest of drawers. Here is my sister in stitch action:

There was also a great stall area where they were selling little pieces of work; I was so amazed at the fantastic work on display and I fell in love with several of Lizzie Weir's pieces that were for sale; in the end I only bought one but I am thrilled with it and I am sure you will agree its quite beautiful and the composition just sings to me:

Now all I need is a frame...

Sideline Blog World Ideas

Going to use this that I bought ages ago to make this. Love it! Will post pics when done.

Meanwhile here is an image to sum up the past few days.

Sampler

Been quiet for a while - busy but quiet. Still stitching when I can fit it in.

Felt, Cloth, Stitch