Month: October 2024

Back in the summer (can you tell that I’m having a catch-up?) we had a chance to see a pop-up exhibition of work by member Eileen Blaney. ‘Showcase a Member’ is a chance to celebrate the skills of an individual member of the group. It is always interesting to see the development of people’s work over the years, as we are all learning new things all the time. Eileen particularly enjoys traditional hand-stitch, and she showed us some examples that reminded us of the wide range of skills that she has. She has always been supportive and enthusiastic about encouraging beginners, which is very much appreciated by members. Sewing and embroidery have been part of Eileen’s life for many years, as illustrated by the photo of her wedding dress and the delicately pin-tucked baby’s christening dress that the family’s children have all been christened in. Thank you for bringing in your lovely work to show us Eileen!

Kate Findlay kept us interested and entertained in her talk to the group this month. Kate spoke about her textile art, and she introduced us to several of her sources of inspriation which have each led to a ‘series’ of artworks. Her work features fabric collage with stitched details, often with the natural world as her inspiration, particularly plants and birds. A notable exception to the natural world as inspiration was a whole series that she made based on the ‘Hadron Collider’, the world’s biggest and most powerful particle accelerator. This work featured circles within squares, with meticulous detail featured in a series of big wall-quilts. It generated a lot of interest and was published in magazines all over the world. Other ‘series’ of work have been based on the town, river banks and people of Henley, as well as winter landscapes and birds. Kate told us about some of her processes and techniques, including showing a couple of videos of a piece of work through the different stages from initial background to main outlines, and finishing with detailed embellishment and stitch. The last photo below shows a close-up detail of a technique she calls ‘confetti’, which she uses to create texture and detail, for example in trees. There was great interest in her work, and enthusiasm to request a workshop for the group in the future.

What a wonderful trip we had this month to DSI London, where the amazing costumes are made for Strictly Come Dancing, as well as other extravaganzas such as Moulin Rouge and Broadway shows. We were treated to a very entertaining and vibrant talk first, accompanied by a glass of prosecco which set the scene for a lively morning. We were amazed by the quick turnaround for the Strictly costumes. The designers are told on Monday which dancers will be dancing that week, what dances they will do, and what themes are required for the costumes. Each costume for each dancer, for each dance, has to be designed, made, embellished, fitted and altered ready for a full dress rehearsal on Friday morning. The huge workroom upstairs was a hive of concentration and activity, with works of art being created at each work station. We were also shown round the enormous stock room filled from floor to ceiling with the most wonderful fabrics, in amazing colours. What a treat for anyone who loves bright colours and bling! Lots of photos below – scroll down and enjoy the colours.