Getting Ready

Next week I am going to Littleheath Barn Studio for the first two days of a four day Summer School.  The second two days are a week later.

The theme is Buildings.  I love buildings and architecture and few textile artists seem to use this topic so I was excited to sign up.

However!

Do I use the redbrick buildings I love along the canals in the West Midlands?  Or do I use the beautiful architecture found in Venice as inspiration? 

I decided I would get out all the things I have related to the two topics.

Canals

Books

 

Sketchbooks

Photobooks

My poem as a Thermofax screen

Lots of collage material

Venice

Books

Sketchbooks

Stamps and Stencils

Thermofax screens

Another book, map, photos and postcards

A box of collage fodder and other inspiration

Well, it was good to find out what I had.  BUT!  I'm no further on in my choice.

Come back next month to find out what i did.

Thanks for stopping by
Bernice

In conversation

In conversation with a friend about creativity, making a series of pieces of work and other related things, we began talking about how we move from one piece of work to another.  And I said that it was a good idea to reflect on a finished piece before moving onto the next as the first piece might inform the next.  Brilliant point!

However it's not what I do!  Do you?

So practising what I preach I'm going to reflect on all my map series at once.  Too late to do it after I finished each piece!  As several of the pieces are going to Eclectica exhibitions and need naming, I thought I could do that at the same time.

Hanging Book
Size: 114x10.5cms

I have made several of these before as books.  They usually fold up and have a button and a buttonhole.  This one has been made as a hanging with D rings at each end.  Making this was well within my comfort zone.

Map Collage #1-6
Size: 10cm square collages within a 20cm square box frame

Mapping
Size: Box frame 27cms square.
6 small fabric collages 3x approx 7x5cms, 3x approx 5x5cms

I had started the small collages before I started the Shelley Rhodes online course.  However I've done a workshop with her and have done lots of collage.  These collages were in a series with them laid out on the the table and different bits of fabric auditioned on the different collages to see where the best fit was.

Map Abstraction
Size: 42x45.5cms

The five pieces of fabric were left over from setting up 'Bits and Pieces' and the hanging book.  They were lightly bonded to the calcio.  Acrylic felt wadding was bonded to the calico and also to a backing calico.  I handstitched through the layers and finished the piece with bought bias binding.  The running stitch followed the marks on the fabrics and extended to the edge of the piece.  This piece was different from other pieces I've made - more abstract - but still within my comfort zone.

Bits and Pieces
Size:53x41cms

This was the first piece to be assembled and almost the last to be finished.  It has a mix of machine stiitching and handstitching.  I wasn't sure how much handstitching to put on. It fits with the other pieces in the series but I don't know to what extent this influenced the other pieces, and vice versa.

What Three Words
Size: Closed 19x15cms  Open 40x15cms

I had made the book using one piece of fabric, because I like making books.  It was made by folding into 16 and cutting along lines - the red lines in the diagram below.

The pages hade been bonded together and a cover added before I knew what I was going to do with it.  The blue fabric had been painted with dye whilst narrow masking tape had been stretched over it.  White paint had been stencilled on top.  The pages were too dark and patterned when I decided I want to stitch maps.  Stitching on organza was suggested.  It worked well but I don't think it's a technique I particularly want to repeat.

Maps & Grids
Size:  Closed 20x15cms   Open 40x15cms

Of all the series, this is my favourite.  It's more adventurous but still not particularly experimental. It contains both the running stitch element and the collage element with a few extra media - paper lamination, hessian strips, OS maps and machine-gridded paper.

On reflection

This has been a worthwhile activity although not necessarily informing a new piece from the previous piece in a series.  One reason for this is that I'm looking at the whole finished series.  The other is that when I work in a series like this I tend to have all of them on the go at once.  This enables me to work on which ever piece catches my attention on any particular day.  Or how much time I have to do something.

In actuality I suspect they all inform each other. But in looking back over the series in this way has been useful.  I think I will be looking to develop some of the ideas in the Maps & Grids book at a later date, possibly in another book or look at how I could make wall pieces.

But that's for the future.  For now, I'm going to have a rest from textiles and do some messy, painty stuff and also the Sally Tyrie workshop I signed up to and haven't done much with.

I started with a conversation with a friend which led to me having a conversation with my work.

Let me know in the comments below whether you reflect on finished pieces to see what you have learned about them and about yourself.

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice

More from New South Wales

This is my last post about our trip to Australia.  In between the 2nd and 3rd Airbnb Roger and I spent a day in Cronulla.  It's built on a promontory

On the left as you look at the map above was a marina.

We walked along the shoreline from the marina and then walked over the hill and down through the park that you can see on the map to the right of the name Cronulla.  This side of the town had beaches.

We took the ferry to Bundeena which was described in the guide book as having been an artists' colony.  It was a disappointment to me that it wasn't an enclave of little gift shops and art galleries.  We had lunch and walked on the beach.  Then got the ferry back to Cronulla and took a train back.

Next day Andy drove us to the New South Wales Rail Museum and then on to River Cottage.  This was a fabulous cottage right in the middle of nowhere overlooking the river.  It rained for hours on end and river rose 3-4 feet in 24 hours.

Fortunately the cottage was high up overlooking the river so there was no possibility of being flooded.  However I did wonder whether the track to the cottage might get washed away by the rain.

We visited the Book Barn which was amazing and then drove on to a pub for lunch.

We had a restful last full day at the cottage.

On our last day we packed up the cottage and drove back to Andy & Naomi's.  After lunch Andy took us to the airport and we came home.

Thanks for armchair travelling with me today
Bernice

Making little books

I am thrilled that my eldest grandson, aged 6, loves to make little books.  As he is in Australia and I am in the UK, it is not possible to make them together.  The next best thing is to make short videos for him.  I thought I would share them with you.  (Sorry they don't have subtitles).

I made this video in 2013 but it's still relevant!

This is a new video to go with the one above.  And you will notice you don't actually need the ruler!

And this is the newest one.

I hope you enjoy making some little books.

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice

The Three Rs

Reading, Writing and Receiving.  I know!  It's supposed to be Arithmetic, but I try to avoid numbers especially those on bank statements!  Listening doesn't start with an R so I looked for a synonym and found receiving.

So what am I receiving?  What am I listening to?

On Sundays I listen to the preacher from my church.  During the week I listen to podcasts from Matt Tommey.  On Tuesdays he interviews artists of all kinds and on Fridays he does something called Five Minute Mentoring.

What am I reading?  Or re-reading?

I've just finished re-reading 'Stay the Path' by Bobbie Houston and 'The Gifts of Imperfection' by Brene Brown.   I like to read books very quickly so have to keep re-reading them to be sure I've taken in everything.

I'm also re-reading the D.I. Nikki Galena series on Kindle Unlimited, having just finished re-reading the D.I. Munro series by Pete Brassett.  Next on my list to re-read are Donna Leon's Commissario Brunetti books and another great series, set in Venice, by Philip Gwynne Jones.

What am I writing?

Well, this blog obviously.  I'm also writing two blog posts on creativity for the church blog.  In addition I have set up a zoom & WhatsApp group of writers and poets from church where we encourage one another in our writing.  Here's a poem I wrote earlier!

What am I watching?

I've just finished watching three weeks of the Tour de France.  Despite not having a bike myself I love watching cycle racing.  Strange or what!  Last week Sky Arts moved to Freeview so now I'm watching lots of programmes from there.  There was a great documentary on Madness over the weekend.  The group not a condition!!!!  And tomorrow Bake Off starts - hooray!

I realise that's four questons I've asked myself.  And watching doesn't begin with an R.  Reviewing was the nearest R word I could find.

I've loved thinking about R words, rather than the R rate.  How about you?

What are you receiving, reading, writing, or reviewing?

Thanks for joining me today.
Bernice

Reading List

I thought I would show you some of the books I have recently read, recently bought and recently downloaded.

First, two books I've just finished reading.

Reading currently

Just arrived in the post

And the downloaded collection on the Kindle App on my iPad.

In between I'm reading detective fiction!

Should keep me going for a while!

Thanks for joining me today.
Bernice

Traverse at the NEC

For four days in March, the ladies of Traverse exhibited their work on the theme of Destinations.  Cath has written a brilliant blog post about it.

Here, I'm going to share photos of my work.  This is Pathways.

Venice Hanging

Venice Tiles

The various Venice inspired books

A rare photo of me.  Here I'm demonstrating how to make mixed media books.

And the little zigzag book I made over three days.

On Sunday I began to make a fabric scroll book.

Since the show I have put together this video using photos from different members of the group.  Enjoy!

We have set up our own YouTube channel and hope to put new videos up every now and again.

Thanks for joining me today.
Bernice