Another day, another book!

Creative Intent is a monthly online shared critique session - basically a group Show & Tell. It's run by Christine Chester.  Each of us in the group works on our pieces and at the zoom session talk about what we've done.  It's a chance to ask for advice or ideas of where to go next with the work if we're stuck.

At our last session I talked about my wanting to transfer the maps in my sketchbook to my fabric book.

My problem was how 'in your face' the pattern of the fabric is.  One of the suggestions made was that I stitched the maps on organza and layered that on the top of the page.  I tried this out at a studio day this week at Littleheath Barn Studio.

I traced the first two maps onto tissue paper.  Then put the tissue paper over the organza and stretched both tight in an embroidery hoop.

I used running stitch and then ran back!  I mean I stitched back into the spaces with running stitch.

This shows the organza laid over the fabric book.  I will be cutting up the organza and stitching it onto the page.

Watch this space for updates!  It might be a while because I want to finish the other book first.

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice

Paper Lamination

I spent 3 days last week at Littleheath Barn doing a workshop led by Christine Chester.  It was so enjoyable.

Transparent fabrics are notoriously difficult to photograph but here goes!  This is the basic paper lamination with newspaper and organza, with matte medium scraped through a Thermofax screen.

The next two are the result of a gesso lamination.  My fabrics don't really echo each other as they should.

Another newspaper two

The next two are dry brush lamination using magazine pages.

I handstitched this piece.  It needs pressing and binding.

Find out more about Christine's online Paper Lamination course.

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice

Another grid of grids!

This week I took part in another zoom session of Notice What You Notice.  I talked to Christine about the grid of grids I made last week and she suggested trying it on translucent fabric.  It's really difficult to photograph!

Anyhow! I put an old map on the table, stretched a piece of polyester organza over it, and taped it up with masking tape.

As with the one last week I started with indigo acrylic paint.

Added tape and printed with white acrylic.

Added more tape and printed with Payne's Grey.

I peeled the tape off carefully.

It had occurred to me that the fabric might stick to the map due to the plasticity of the paint.  However it peeled off easily.  However very little of the paint went through to the map.

Here's the painted fabric.

I put the masking tape onto a large sheet of paper and cut it into 7cm strips.  I shall probably make them into a zigzag book.  What else!

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice

 

Notice What You Notice updates

I'm astounded to find that I haven't updated you on how the Notice What You Notice course with Christine Chester is going. I discovered I haven't updated you this year!

Since that's several months, I'm only going to share photos with notes rather than a full on report.

I made a zizag book using images I had manipulated on the computer. 

 I covered both sides

We looked at the work  of different artists using photographs in their work.   One of the other students found the work of Diane Meyer.  You know I would be instantly drawn to her Venice work.

Then I had a go with my photos printed on watercolour paper.  I used a preset stitch on my sewing machine

I printed a photo on Lutradur but when I heated it the photo disappeared.  I layered it on top of some painted paper and then onto printed fabric.  I started handstitching it but decided to machine instead.

We looked at the work of Ismini Samanidou and interestingly each one of us on the course chose a different piece of work that attracted and inspired us.  This is a weaving although to me it looks more like inscribed concrete.

During the class session I worked on dark and light and the idea of using heavy and light amounts of stitching.  However rather than actually stitching I played with crosses on the computer.

Next we are looking at artists and particularly textile artists who use metals in their work.  I'd better go and do my research for it.

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice

Notice What You Notice

This month with Notice What You Notice we talked about research and how to go about it.  I tend not to research in the strictest sense for new work.

I have done researched projects in the past particularly for my City & Guilds Creative Embroidery Certificates and for the Master Practitioner course I did.

Since then I've tended to veer away from this type of research.  I've immersed myself in the photos I've taken related to a theme and then tried to reproduce the feeling rather than the photo.  For example this sketchbook is based on a local canal.

Kate Green, who I know through the Artist Mentoring programme we're both in, recently posted a video about her MA research project: Hidden Potential.  The work looks amazing and I'm so impressed with all the research she has put together.

If you're a Creative, what research do you do?  Do you have a style of working before you start on a piece of work?

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice

PS There's an opportunity to enrol on Notice What You Notice starting in January - on zoom or in Christine's Eastbourne studio.

NWYN Concertina Book

As I told you in a previous post, the second session of Notice What You Notice was looking at a photo of an item provided by Christine, rather than an object or photo I owned and therefore knew something about.

It's been quite difficult to photograph the concertina book so I've made this video.  The first half is the front of the book and the second half is the back.

I tried to take photos so you could see through the holes to the pages behind.

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice

Notice What You Notice 2

Previously on Notice What You Notice we looked at an object or photo of our own. (Can you tell I've been binge watching a tv series - actually several series of Project Runway! They always start with Previously on ...)

This month Christine provided us with photos of 3 items to choose from.  I chose this one.

What do you think is in the photo?

I thought it was a plank of wood.

Christine told me she thinks it's some sort of leaf, but now I'm wondering whether it's the bark of a palm tree.  Yes! They have palm trees in Eastbourne!

Anyway!  We were asked to make a concertina book and then to make marks that we had observed in our chosen object.

Here are my pages to date:

I mopped up the pages with paper towels

I'm going to collage bits of the paper towels into the concertina book.

Watch this space!

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice