Blossom at Swiss Cottage Library,
EU hat at the March for Europe
Eye-dazzling euphorbia
Crystalline glaze ceramics by Matt Horne
Sunset on the River Thames
School of gentle protest by the Craftivist Collective
Wonderful British watercolour landscapes at the British Museum, free , on until 27th August. Rewards quiet contemplation.
I did not take part in last year’s journal challenge organised by the Contemporary Quilt Group, mostly down to problems with my Yahoo account. These problems’ to be partially resolved, so I signed up for this year’s challenge. This year, the size is 11” square, with a theme to be decided by each participant. On the last date of signing up, there were 170 participants for 2017.
My theme is “Microscopic” and I will be attempting to work in 4 series with 3 quilts on each theme.
The first is “Plankton” as I already had some shapes in mind from previous work and from current sketchbook activities. The plan is to start with a shoal of plankton ( is that the correct term?), then focus on an individual plankton (I think plankton is both a singular and a plural noun) and then show a close-up detail of the single plankton. the additional challenge I have set myself is to buy no new materials, and to use my hand-dyed cloth wherever possible.
January
Planning
Deconstruction-printed cloth, then masks and stencils applied and overlaid with oil paint sticks.
Machine-quilting
Back
Overlapping stencil and mask
Finished. I really enjoy random textile processes, and interpreting these when I use them in a final piece. In this one, I like how the circular blobs suggest the plastic waste polluting our oceans, affecting even the smallest life forms.
February
Appliqué cut with scissors and scalpel
Experimenting with foiling ( the foil a generous gift from Helen Howes)
Choosing the orientation of the appliqué - first time using Steam-a-Seam 2- I’m impressed - the temporary surface stickieness, makes this very easy to use.
Quilting before stitching the applique
Machine applique
Finished. I like how the foil dots can suggest either the light on the water or the dots of micro plastic pollution - depending on how optimistic one feels!
March
A magnified detail of the single plankton, machine appliqué again
More foiling
Finished, but pondering whether I should go back and quilt the lower edge. I’ll live with it for a few days then decide.
On top of all of that, I went to see the exhibition by LondonQuilters on until 15th April. Very generously, there are photos of all of the quilts on their website, here. I was drawn to the works by Jane Steward, Rachel Tyndall, Vivien Kernath and Martha Crouch. Well worth a visit.
On a beautfully sunny day, I was able to get to the Victoria Miro Gallery to see the work of Do Ho Suh. Stitched, gauzy cloth in glowing colours, replicating some of the places where he has lived. On until 18th March, well worth a visit. Not so sure about the exhibits at the next door Parasol Unit, where the stitch is poorly-executed and looks like an afterthought.
And on the way home,more colour to make the heart sing.
Our inspiring tutor, Abigail Downer ha been absent for a few weeks. Her cover teachers have been good, but not as stimulating ( for me anyway). A complex still-life this week, with reflections, shapes, tones,
rendered in charcoal
We are supposed to be working further in to this next week, inspired by the collage and layering of Rauschenberg. I’m not sure where that will take me, but let’s see.
