Still wandering, still wondering...

I think this has been the longest I've gone between blog posts for sometime.  Maybe some of us feel we have run out of interesting things to say ... many of my early followers and followees seem to have trailed off too, or maybe we just haven't the motivation to say it. However a move to Facebook and the ease of using the iPad from my armchair has meant I have spent less time at the computer, and writing a blog post from the iPad is not so straightforward. I do intend to write a meandering post today so switch off now if you haven't the inclination. Many of my dear regulars will be familiar with this story, so please bear with me.
I set out  when I retired from teaching to explore my creative style in greater depth, and photography got me started. Studying with OCA enabled me to get to grips with a digital SLR camera and master the basics. However although I love taking photographs I realised my desire to create was not fulfilled by the photographic process.  Textiles called and I determined to teach myself the basics.  Having been on several workshops  I realised I needed a more structured approach and have just completed my City and Guilds, level 2.  So what next? Somehow I feel in just as much of a sea of uncertainty as when I started the course. Have I got to resign myself to the fact that I am just a dabbler with no particular place to go? Just a lucky lady who can indulge her love for acquiring art materials.
So here I shall share with you what I have been indulging myself with in while waiting for something to strike!

First of all this is my desk.  I do keep clearing up, honest!

I have a couple of sketchbooks on the go which I am using for some foliage studies at the moment. Coincidently DMTV has been featuring leaves too, which has been very useful to remind me of some techniques. This is what I think I want to use in some textile work...

 I have also been revisiting the course I did with Ruth Issett on colour, 

Seeing a couple of posts from Gina Ferrari and Angie Hughes who have both recently worked with Ruth, reminded me of how valuable it is to have a day or two dedicated to colour.  I really ought to try to come up with a resolved piece from all these samples. It will make me think.

And finally on Friday I did a one day workshop with Clive Barnett whose work I admired at the FOQ last year. We explored the use of discharge paste and dishwasher liquid to remove dye from different fabrics.  Clive had dozens of pieces of fabric to try, but we all started with a sample of black silk, cotton and linen.  The dishwasher liquid was brilliant, but gave a different result to the discharge paste. We used it in the same way, monoprinting, silk screen, themofax etc. He had a wealth of stuff for us to experiment with. The aim was to end up with a piece to add Kantha stitch to, but there was just not enough time in the day for me to start some. You can see some examples of Clive's work if you Google his name along with 'quilt', however there is not much there.

(this has come out rather yellow in this picture)

Finally I have also started an exploration of mark making  - another ongoing project that can last the rest of my days! Just something I can do when the mood takes me, or I want to do something and I'm not sure what.  I have started off with vertical lines.

Now all these things are loosely linked, as I'm sure you can see, perhaps just letting myself dip into this and that is good therapy after the restrictions of a course. I did speak to someone who said it was months after she had finished a C&G before she could settle on finishing something, and it is less than a month since I finished. Writing this has been good therapy, I realise now that I have been playing a lot, and it has not been as long as it feels since I completed something. Why are we so hard on ourselves?

Make sure you have a good week,

Jill

Finding a direction

I'm adrift at the moment. Having finished my C&G I feel all at sea, I need to find direction in which to sail. I'm delighted to report that my final quilt went down very well with my tutor - Linda Kemshall, and got full marks across the board, which is very pleasing. Now I'm going to let myself indulge in a few whims which have had to wait while I concentrated on my course work, but I don't want to drift about aimlessly.  I have said I will contribute to a local exhibition in September and aim to have some textile pieces ready for then. That's a good start as it will be my first as a textile artist, and there is plenty of time at the moment!!!

Meanwhile I have a few odds and ends to share with you. Firstly I had an urge to create a rag doll.  My sister and I made a doll we called Betty when we were really too old for dolls, she became an mascot and had all sorts of adventures. Betty was about six or seven inches tall, made from an old pillow slip, and had short, black wool hair.  My current version is rather more elongated and whimsical, and I have three in progress.

One thing I have learned is how tricky it is to make something like this of decent quality. These may just languish on a shelf unless someone offers them a home.

When I first tried some rust dyed fabric, I had to scrape together a few suitable pieces of old iron wear, but in the back of my mind I remember some old drill bits and so on that my Dad had given us when he moved.  A search made me think we'd thrown them out, but when MrT gave the greenhouse its spring clean they turned up.  It has taken me till now to give them a go.

 I re-wrapped everything after leaving it overnight and left it for a few more hours.

The Surform plane blade and the chunky drill bits have created some interesting marks.

Meanwhile the beautiful weekend meant a spot of gardening...

 and a spot of sketchbook monoprinting...

Chilly and drizzly here today, although it is brightening up a bit, no, now it's raining again!

I hope you have a bright week,

Jill

It's done and dusted

I have finally finished my City and Guilds course.  I have been doing it for about 15 months, and although I started fast and furious the last couple of Modules have taken me much longer than I anticipated. I have learned a lot, not least, that I can turn what is in my head into a piece of textile art work, but also that I must not expect to be able to do so over night.  As this goes against my nature of a quick turn around on the making front, it is time to take stock. When I retired from my full time teaching I knew that I could at last find time for creating in my life and it has lead me to explore lots of new areas. I certainly did not expect to have an on-line shop when I started out.  I have also learned a lot about myself. I started this blog as a means of recording my continuing education into my third age.

This quilt holds rather a lot of very special meaning for me and I was sure that I really wanted to get it right.  Firstly it started with photographs I took at Luton Hoo walled gardens.  Photography was the first step I took in my new adventure in creativity. The garden was like stepping into a secret world, discovering a neglected, magic place that was being lovingly restored. It spoke to me, I had been looking for it ever since I had read Frances Hodgson Burnett's book The Secret Garden as a child.
When I had chosen the images for the design, I searched for quotes about figs. There weren't many, but the one that stood out was the reference to Sylvia Plath's novel, The Bell Jar, which I talked about in a previous post. Although I did not remember reading the passage, the book holds a special place with me as described before.  I decided against putting any words onto my quilt, but it took me a long time to make up my mind, in fact, it was trying to choose which fabric, which stitches, where to place things that took so long.

Before I decide which branch I am going down next, I could do with a little consolidation, but who knows what will grab me next.

But now I will lay this project to rest and share with you some of my inspirational photographs and the finished article.

Thank you all so much for your lovely support.

Now I'm going to do a big tidy-up and decide what I'm going to do next!!

Hope you have a great  holiday weekend and are able to make the most of the grim forecast.

Jill

Stitching, stitching, stitching

I'm not going to say a lot,  you may be relieved to read.

Machine quilting ...

... and hand stitching.

There's still a way to go. Can't decide whether to put some words into it or not... and can't decide whether to bind or face it. 

Off to do a bit more seed stitching.

Have a good week,

Jill

Flying

Here's a quick post as I take a break before putting the dinner on. Can't believe the weather has matched the forecast so I have been torn between the garden and sewing machine. 

But meanwhile here is the lovely Bobby Britnell, whose two day workshop I was on last week. She has just published her book, "Stitched Textiles: Flowers",  and launched it at Art Van Go, so all the examples from the book were on the walls. She is a super teacher and it was great to be surrounded by her work - totally inspiring.

We worked in our sketchbooks and on fabric using similar techniques in each. 

When I got home I had to continue playing and this was the state of my workspace, but I had to get on with that quilt.

So I cleared it up and got out the machine

You will be so relieved to know that I have actually started quilting - hurrah!!! The end is in sight.

Hope you are having glorious weather too.

Jill

Sunny Saturday

Signs that spring is truly here at last as we have a lovely batch of frogspawn in the pond. I took this photograph earlier in the week, today the little fullstops are looking more like little commas.

However I cannot go long without mentioning my quilt progress. I drew up each panel to scale on squared paper and used this to cut out the fabric.

Some of you will be familiar with these images by now.

Here is the first draft pinned up on my design wall.

Meanwhile I have had a lovely two days with Ruth Issett at Art Van Go. This time we were working on fabric.  Although it doesn't show, the example below is printed on pale blue fabric.

We used fabric paint. Day one was very busy and a bit messy!

On day two we used our printed fabric to put together some little samples.

We chose one piece to work on.

Day two was busy too, but not so messy.  Ruth is an excellent tutor and very encouraging.

Back to that quilt. I printed the border with a foam block I made of a pattern of branches.

Below are all the panels ready to be stitched together  - first I have to iron down the leaves.

I'm thinking of including some words in one of the panels. I came across a wonderful passage from Sylvia Plath's book The Bell Jar.  My copy dating from the early seventies holds many memories as it belongs to a friend who was suffering with mental illness. Under very difficult circumstances we lost touch and I have never been able to return the book to him. The passage in the book refers to a fig tree. Esther, the central character is imagining herself sitting in a large fig tree filled with luscious fruit. Each fig represents a wonderful future; something she may become. However she is starving to death, sitting amongst the bounty as she cannot decide which fruit to choose, and they turn purple and drop, rotten, from the tree before she can make up her mind. I'll let you know what I decide.

Annoyingly my back is really playing up at the moment so I'm not sure when I shall be back at the sewing machine. I really want to be doing some work in the garden or out and about, but I'm afraid I haven't been able to do either.

Meanwhile here's Marvin looking a little bored.

I hope you're able to enjoy the spring weather. Have a good week.

Jill