Leaves,Flowers and Giant Bugs

So, next week is the big week with the Degree Show opening night on Thursday. We get Monday and Tuesday to put it all together, I haven’t seen my space yet but I hope its not too big because I’m worried I haven’t got that much to hang! I will have to go for the minimal look.

Its taken me ages to get around to posting this because for some reason “Safari” kept “unexpectedly quitting “whenever I tried to use WordPress. It let me do everything else though so maybe it was a hint! Anyway I just had to dash into the village to download Firefox instead and it seems to work miles better.

These pictures are from various projects, first, second and third year, with the little jacket being one of my favorite pieces from Minor Project. It’s a combination of techniques on recycled woolen blanket,including heat transfer printing and appliqué using heavy wool dyed with Elderberries.The design still on the hoop is part of a dress for Final Major Project,you can’t really tell in the picture but the flower is screen printed devoré cotton so it is actually transparent.

I’ve been getting some nice comments on “Stitchin Fingers” which have been cheering me up alot but I still need a plan of action for finding work. We had an Enterprise Day at college yesterday. The most exciting thing about that was hearing about Platform Arts who are converting part of Middlesbrough train station into studio space for artists. Middlesbrough has had a pretty grotty image so this project, as well as Mima and Cleveland College of Art and Design ought to help make it a bit more vibrant and cultured…hopefully.

Meanwhile, its all wonderful in the garden. We spent yesterday making improvements to the willow house which now almost has a door, thanks to Jake, and no thanks to a HUGE BUG which made us all scream like fools ( I think it was a Cockchafer, can that be right?!!).

Forty Shades of Green

 
  
Its raining for the first time in ages and I’ve been listening to Johnny Cash after watching “Walk The Line” at the weekend. Brings back memories of the old 8Track stereo in my Daddy’s mustard yellow Ford Mustang!The forty shades of green outside my window have now turned to blue.
College today was all about finishing the boxes for the catalogue (they do actually look quite good afterall…) and having our photos taken for the gallery (maybe not looking quite so good but they did Photoshop our spots away!”They airbrushed my face” as Michael Stipe once said..!)
I got a bit of time to upload some more images, so today’s offerings include : a drawing of a floral motif which I used for digital print,a set of books covered in printed fabric,a dress with owl applique and vintage lace bodice and a detail of a dress design with hand and machine embroidery.
Right, back to making business cards. Goodbye for now.

Flowers

 
Hello, since I have no more images of recent work at the moment, here are some flowers I painted in first year as part of Visual Studies. We were told to use two different styles to depict the same subject, so one is thick, drippy acrylic and the other is water colour,and really thinned down acrylic.For me it was the first time I’d tried to paint on a large scale(A1) and using media I don’t normally use so I was surprised and pleased by the end result.
I have to confess I’ve been feeling a bit gloomy this week (see Lyndsay McBean’s blog for notes on negativity!) We started producing the degree show catalogue and it’s hard to imagine how it will look when its done…hand printed on waste board with “show cards” for each student.It could look fantastic and very original,I hope so because its got to reflect the hard work we’ve all put in and the fundraising we all did to pay for it.I think I’ve been really worrying about the “What Next?” thing too, but this weekend I’ve been sorting out business cards and thinking about who I can send cv’s to.There is a temporary job at “Oilily” which I would LOVE, its my dream job, but its in the Netherlands…I will send a cv anyway but would have to leave the kids home alone with 6months supply of Pot Noodles or something!! No harm in dreaming though.

What Now?

  
Goodness how time flies; I can’t believe its only just over a week since the end of Final Major Project. Already quite a few people have had job offers, including Lyndsey McBean whose work you can see on her blog and also at deviantART.
I went in to college today for a talk on “Intellectual Property”, so now I know all about Starbuck’s logo and why Coca-Cola changed their recipie but I’m still pretty much in the dark about what to do about finding some work and paying the bills! Anyway, I took advantage of the college computers to upload some pictures which means I can keep writing this blog for a while longer.( Anyone still out there???) I’ve also joined a group on “Ning” called Stichin Fingers which has been set up as a discussion forum for textile people…it may be interesting, too early to tell yet.
Bear of the day is my favorite print sample which I had originally intended to make up into a dress rather than just a “garment shape”…I now wish I had done that because then it would be possible to sell it in the future, perhaps on Etsy.This image shows the print before the addition of some raised embroidery in bright greens. The other image is another portfolio board showing work from First Year based on carousels, maps and caravans.

The Window at Gunnerton

Here is a picture, taken last year, of my lovely children in front of the stained glass window designed by their Grandfather, William Tillyer, in 2007. The church is a tiny Arts and Crafts building in the village of Gunnerton,Northumberland; a bit off the beaten track and so quite a surprise to find such a contemporary work there.
Meanwhile back on Witchmountain I am already fed up without a project to work on, so I’ve spent today doing some heat transfer prints on a length of black and white calico that was screen printed in second year. I’m going to make it up into lavender bags to put on the “Garden Produce” stall I’m sticking by the side of the road in a desperate attempt to raise some funds before going to London for New Designers next month! Not exactly high powered business I know but it’s keeping me amused until my brilliant career takes off…
I also intend to start drawing again soon so will be posting some images as soon as I can. (Unfortunately the broadband idea faded away due to BT being utterly useless and unable to sort out my Victorian phone line, what is a “line concentrator” anyway?)

Hand In Day

  
Here are a random selection of images to celebrate handing in Final Major Project yesterday. One is a strange family photograph featuring me, my mum and my brother with our Daddy as cameraman! The other two are part of a second year furnishings project that was based on the Wienner Werkstatte. Not my strongest project but I do quite like the final painted out design which survived a major coffee spill disaster and was actually improved by it! The sketch book page shows samples of heat transfer print on cotton velvet, a technique I’ve enjoyed exploring in further projects.This project was entered for the Bradford Textile Society Prize, which was won that year by Leanne Hodgson from my yeargroup.
Well, I can’t believe four years of study is over ( apart from the degree shows ), it feels very empty here in the kitchen without the piles of fabric and paper and thread and beads and general junk. Typically the heat wave is over now that I have time to enjoy it and the garden has gone crazy,time to get out there and knock it into shape…

A Walk in the Woods

I’ve just got back from a lovely evening at the opening of Jane Thorniley-Walker’s exhibition at Mount Grace Priory where the paintings competed sucessfully with the amazing surroundings.
We walked down from the village through the woods which were full of Bluebells, Forget-Me-Nots and my favorite wild garlic flowers. No bears to be seen but there was a family of mice which hopefully didn’t all get eaten by the owl that was hooting on the way back…
Later, Becky let us have a go with the “Bat Detector” which means you can hear the bats as they flutter about overhead.I got talking to a friend from the village who told me about her upcoming exhibition with the Designer Bookbinders in London.Angie studied Textiles but has since become a well respected bookbinder and has published books on the subject which I hadn’t realised ( Angela James “The Handmade Book” New Holland Books) Not for the first time I felt so lucky to live in this place which is not only beautiful but full of wonderful creative and inspirational people.

Meanwhile, Two days left to tidy up sketch books and finish sewing and putting things together. The dress above is a final piece,discharge printed wool serge, applique and embroidery with chiffon layer. The book cover is by Angela James.
Wish me luck!

 

Morning Mr. Magpie

 
What a gorgeous morning, I’m so happy to be staying at home today instead of treking into Hartlepool and feeling my spirits sink the closer I get. Its a strange drive though; like being in one of those speeded up nature films since things are only just emerging up here, trees in bud etc. but down in the lowlands its a riot of blossom, dandilions and council bedding schemes.

Anyway today’s task is to finish some of my final pieces and think about how I could display them ( I was thinking of making hangers out of twisty branches maybe?)I also need to get all the random bits of experimental sampling,drawing and so on, stuck into my book rather than in a pile on the kitchen floor.The bear(above) is one of these random bits…too small to be a final piece unfortunately. The magpie is from the Minor Project, a digital and heat transfer print with machine and hand embroidery on vintage woolen blanket.
Right, I have to go and make a start, but first I might have a look at this blog which I found last week, interesting to see what other people graduating from similar courses are up to…
http://guerilla-embroidery.blogspot.com/

International Dawn Chorus Day

I wasn’t intending to be awake to listen to the dawn chorus, even though the Today programme on Friday suggested everyone got up at 4am to have tea in the garden and listen to the birds.
For some reason I was awake anyway, so I listened to them all going mad until a chicken from next door started kicking off and it suddenly went quiet…how long is the dawn chorus? Do they stop after a bit and just get on with other bird things? (Look at www.idcd.info )

Today’s bear is a final sample piece, screen printed and embroidered using both hand and machine;its “wool voltaire” with appliqué and layers of chiffon and digital print.
This weekend I have managed to get some odd jobs for college done such as covering all my sketch books and trying to cobble together a few more final pieces. Yesterday my kitchen was in chaos as I had bits of fabric taped to the floor for printing and various jugs of dye dotted about a little bit too close to jugs of coffee…
Project report needs writing now so goodbye until next time.

Bank Holiday Weekend

Hello again. I don’t know if anyone is still reading this but I’d just like to say to everyone at Cleveland College of Art, Good Luck getting everything finished this week! I have a huge list of things I want to do as soon as this project is handed in, its going to be so nice to be outside in the garden or actually doing some exercise instead of being glued to the kitchen chair sewing and drinking too much coffee.

Today I have been sorting out my sketch books which, as I speak, are still looking like a big pile of waste paper on the kitchen floor, with no covers, because I’m printing and embroidering some fabric to cover them. Today’s picture is a page from my visual studies book which includes collage, watercolour and a photograph I took of the woods nearby ( it looked like bears may live in there).I really liked the drawing of the foxy wolf thing but decided it might be a bit sinister to use in children’s wear ( I used to be terrified of the fox who lived at the bottom of my bed and bit my toes when I was little…I think now it might have been pins and needles!)
Well, the grass is growing and covered in blue Speedwell (?), I want to go outside but must return to the needle and thread.
More soon.