November’s meeting was a delightful change for us. We heard a talk by Isabelle Lewis; she has an interest in stitch and applique, but her training is in graphic design and she has found her own niche in cut-card silhouettes. This was something new for us as a group, and members were intrigued by her work.
Cut-work card, with colour added behind through the cut-outs.Isabelle showing one of her applique and embroidery pieces.Cut card, with colour added from behind.
There are so many potential cross-overs between Isabelle’s cut-work, and our own work in stitch and applique. The talk reminded us that although our common-ground as a group is stitch, there is also a wide range of other interests amongst the group. There was lively interest from the many members present, and a good stream of questions.
Cut-work card combined with stitch.
Isabelle was introduced to us by member Alison Crosthwaite, who has known Isabelle for many years. Alison explained that Isabelle did the graphic design for her book Fibrefrenzi Artweave, (with marvellous results – on sale directly from Alison).
Apologies for the reflection in this photo, but it shows Isabelle’s interest in architecture and markets, and her French heritage.Applique and stitchPadded and raised picture based on a sketch of Isabelle’s living room, with a ‘fantasy’ view through the window. Couldn’t you just sink into that chair!
Work by the monthly Workshop and Traditional groups
In many organisations, the AGM is often a time when people discover some other pressing engagement that prevents them from attending; and when it comes to committee nominations people are seen intently studying the floor and pretending they’re not there. So it feels very positive that our branch had an excellent turnout for this year’s AGM, and that there is no shortage of people willing to serve on the committee. As well as the current committee all being willing to be re-elected, there were new nominations too, so we are all set for another healthy year ahead. Gay has been busy working on the new programme and there are some exciting things coming in the new year (this will all be added to the website, and your printed programme will be given out soon.)
Work by the monthly Workshop and Traditional groups
Members of the monthly Workshop Group and the monthly Traditional Group put on an exhibition of work that has been completed during the year. There was a lovely show of zippy bags, tuffets and boxes, and there were several of the wonderful ‘necessaires’ that were stitched from a traditional design introduced to the group by Cobi. One of the strengths of our branch is the sharing of skills and interests.
No doubt one reason for the good turnout for the AGM was a talk by Viviane Proyer on the history of the Embroiders Guild, and a ‘show and tell’ of historic embroideries. Viviane reminded members that preservation of the collection is the main reason why we pay the additional part of our membership fee to the National Embroiderers Guild, so that the special pieces are properly curated and cared for. She showed photos of some of the most precious pieces of the collection and spoke about their history, as well as bringing out the ‘handling collection’ that can be borrowed from the Guild. Thanks for a great talk Viviane. This is probably a good time to mention that in next year’s programme, Gay has organised a talk by Gerry Connelly, Textiles Curator at Worthing Museum.
Anne came up with the suggestion that members bring along any historic embroideries of their own that they may want to show members. Pride of place goes to these two child’s ‘stitch cards’ that were shown by Val, with the inscription ‘Valerie aged 5 and a half years’. The horse picture even has numbers written on it, which suggests that our treasurer was good with numbers even aged five and a half! Val also brought in this embroidery of swans, birds and bullrushes. The history behind the piece is that it was stitched by her grandfather when he was on fire-watch duty in London during the war. The background fabric that it was stitched on had decayed over the years, so it has been cut out and re-mounted onto a new silk backing in order to preserve it.
Jane R brought in this sampler which was stitched in 1829 by her great great great grandmother at the age of 13.
Sampler, 1829
Here are some others:
Turkish Towel borderSatin stitch in silk, date unknownSampler, 1785English, 1870’s
We have a new member – a flamingo! He joined us on our trip to the Royal School of Needlework, having decided that he wants to live in Carol’s garden. He may have revealed his name to Carol by now, but if not then you could post suggestions here. Freddie or Frederique were suggested.
Do you think he’s hungry? Perhaps he’d like a sandwich.
Unfortunately we weren’t allowed to take photos in the exhibition (some of the exhibits have been loaned by the RSN apprentice or student who created them and other pieces from the collection are used by the RSN on cards etc and subject to copyright).
In our own work, some prefer traditional techniques and others prefer more modern techniques, but everyone can admire the incredible workmanship of the pieces that we saw. Exhibits included a wide range of techniques, such as blackwork, goldwork and whitework. Some were historical ones from the collection and some are more recent. We had a talk on the history of the RSN, before being guided round the exhibits. Some of us didn’t know that the EG was originally an ‘offshoot’ of the RSN. Gone are the days when to join the EG you had to submit a portfolio of work so the Guild could see if you were ‘up to scratch’ and would be allowed to join! Now the EG is so different; beginners are very welcome and everyone learns from everyone else.
How exactly do you explain that you are going home with a flamingo?
Update
The flamingo is now spreading his wings in Carol’s garden – see photo at the end. His name is Frankie – apparently there is a link to East Preston and the 80’s. Frankie goes to Hollywood East Preston? No, I don’t have a clue either. Answers on a postcard…
If anyone was feeling under-confident about their creativity, then this month’s talk by Paula Watkins had the power to change that. Paula inspired us with the way she has shared her art in order to help people feel happier and more confident. Like many people, Paula was put off from following art as a career, being told that there would always be people better than her. The reason she shared this part of her story with us was to show how creativity can be fostered and nurtured at any stage of life, despite a lack of initial confidence or direction. Paula’s breakthrough moment was when she went to see a City and Guilds exhibition. Initially she was discouraged and thought she could never achieve anything like it, but she was encouraged by an elderly woman who had completed the course and who told her that if she wanted to do it then she could. This simple encouragement changed her life, and she signed up for City and Guilds and has never looked back. Her approach has been to ‘say yes to everything’ and then work out how to do it once the commitment was made. This led her into teaching art groups in various different community settings, and training as a teacher. Paula has worked in education for many years, and has particularly enjoyed working with people with learning disabilities and people with mental health issues. She is passionate about the way that community learning can transform peoples’ lives. There were several key moments that stay in the mind. One was going to the European Parliament with a group of young people, when a girl who was an elective mute was able to find the confidence to speak up about the importance of funding for creative projects. Another was hearing about the kind of emotional safety net that Paula’s art-groups have provided for people at a vulnerable time of their lives.
Paula de-mystifies art, making it accessible and fun. She uses spontaneous, non-intimidating techniques, with affordable materials. She helps people create work that can ‘evolve’so there is no intimidation over creating designs.
Paula brought with her a lovely collection of art-journals and altered-books, which she kindly agreed I could photograph and share here. She has found that making ‘play-books’ are a very non-intimidating way for children to learn to enjoy a book. Art journals have been very positive for people experiencing mental health difficulties. Paula spoke about the way that making things and enjoying images can help well-being. Many members of the audience had examples of their own where art and stitch have helped at a time of crisis or depression.
Paula is clear that she is not an art-therapist and doesn’t try to ‘interpret’ people’s art. However, just hearing her talk about her work made people feel positive and happy, so it is easy to see why her art and stitch groups would help people to feel happy and relaxed.
We had a lovely relaxing day for our August ‘Garden Meeting’. Traditionally, our August garden meeting is a chance to sit and stitch together and have a ‘show and tell’ of work that members have been getting up to. It’s good to see what a very wide range of interests and techniques we have across the group.
Medusa (detail)
Pride of place went to Medusa, the branch entry into the Regional ‘Fantasy Wear’ competition, which was awarded a joint second place. Snakes were contributed by lots of different people which gave them a good variety. If you look at the close-up you will see that Medusa herself has a snakeskin face. This mysterious effect was created by Gill.
I took lots of close-up photos of individual pieces of work, but as they didn’t have name labels I couldn’t ask for permission to put them on the website, so I’ll just add some photos of the overall show. If you put something in to the show and agree to it being put in the gallery of members work, please could you drop me an email and describe which piece it is and I’ll include it in the gallery. There are so many lovely things hidden away in people’s houses, which would be good inspiration for other people to see.
Claire Bullock came to talk to us this month about felting. It’s difficult to describe how funny and entertaining Claire’s talk was – so I’ll simply say that we spent a happy afternoon chortling away.
We also learned alot. One of the great things about Claire’s talk was a practical demonstration of how she incorporates scraps of fabric into felt. Claire de-mystified the process, and demonstrated how quickly and easily these delicious textiles can be made. For those of us whose felting tends to produce weighty door-steps, it was a revelation to see just how thinly Claire lays her wisps of wool down, and then how gently she felts it.
Gently teasing out wisps of wool ready to feltLaying the wool downAdding scraps of fabricGently felting the layers together
Claire brought a lovely selection of her work with her, which she kindly let me photograph to put on the website here. Wouldn’t it be great to have a workshop with her to learn some of these techniques? No more felt that looks like a cow-pat and risks knocking people out if thrown as a frisbee. Here’s a link to Claire’s website for further inspiration.
What a delightful afternoon for our June meeting, listening to a talk by Lara Sparks. Judging by the numbers of questions and the throng round Lara’s display table, Lara’s talk was enjoyed very much by members.
Lara told us about a world that most of us know next to nothing about, which is the world of embroidery designers working in the fashion industry. Lara worked in various roles, for example designing and providing the prototypes of embroidery designs for high-end fashion houses making wedding dresses. She recounted one disaster when, after two weeks of stitching the embellishment on a very expensive wedding dress, the sewing machine had a hissy fit and sputtered oil onto the white silk. Oops. Then Lara had a stint of doing embroidery designs for women’s and men’s fashions, as well as designing for children’s clothing. Now she works on embroidered cushions, lampshades and home furnishings and exhibits with the Sussex Guild of Craftsmen (the next exhibition is this coming weekend, Sat 16th-Sun 17th at Parham House).
The drawing and design skills learnt during Lara’s art-college training have stood her in good stead. At one stage she was having to come up with one, sometimes two designs per day, not only drawn but also stitched.
See some of Lara’s work below here, with kind permission by Lara to include images of her work on our website. There is great enthusiasm to invite Lara to run a workshop for the branch. If a date is arranged for this, then Ann will let everyone know in the newsletter. To see more of Lara’s work, go to her website: http://www.larasparks-embroidery.co.uk/
Look at this gorgeousness that was made by Lea Dishott on the recent workshop with Isobel Moore. The workshop was machine embroidered swirls, using fabric, printed paper with a light colour-wash, ribbons, braids and bits and bobs. Wonderful. It sounds like a fabulous workshop that was really enjoyed by everyone. If anyone else would like to send me a photo of your work from the workshop then it would be good to see some more.
Here are some more ‘works in progress’ from the day. It would be lovely to show some of the finished pieces if anyone would like to send them in.
