Inspiration from dedication

(Image from saint johnsbible.org)

 A visit to St Martin's in the Fields this week for a candlelit concert led to an unexpected treat, in a viewing of some reproduction pages from the St John's Bible.  I am not religious, so this could be a well-known project in the Christian community, but it was new to me.  Hand-lettered, with quill pens on vellum, and illustrated with pigments used in medieval manuscripts. The reproduction pages on paper are absolutely breathtaking, both the calligraphy and the illustrations, so the originals , on vellum, must be startlingly vivid.

Many artists collaborated on this project and I am particularly struck by the pages by Suzanne Moore, combining text with image.  It is possible to look through the bible on line but the colours are a pale imitation of reality.  

If you are in Trafalgar Square, it is worth going in to see the East window, a remarkable piece of art by female artist,  Shirazeh Houshiary,  and to visit the great cafe in the crypt.

Spring greens

So many shapes and shades.

April journal, in by the skin of my teeth - EH16

Finished on 30th April, about 4h before the deadline for submission.  Zooming off to university with the world at my feet.

Even although it was only 30 miles away, funding at that time meant I could leave home and live in.   Liberation.

Hand-embroidered panel ( Jenny Hart design), machine trapunto and machine quilting. Post code abstracted out to a decorative edge stitch on the panel. Hand-dyed commercial fabric from amazing supplier at FoQ whose name I have forgotten.

 This is how I felt,  off to my future. The dark side represents what I was leaving behind and the candlelight of dinners taken in the dining hall during the 3 day week. The brighter side was all that was to come.

Lots I would now change on this in terms of composition, but is was a useful and fun exercise to try to convey my memories in cloth.

Colour - who knew shadows contained so many colours

Another great day with Richard Box, today getting an understanding of how colours interact to give shadow.  Exciting, exhilarating and exhausting, but this was the result - it actually is recognisable as something.  Richard teaches elsewhere in the UK, so do look out for him, he is a great teacher.

I have actually drawn something

An unexpected bit of free time has coincided with a pre-booked drawing course at Morley with the lovely, encouraging Richard Box.  I am therefore able to completely give my mind to the two days, without having any interruptions.  Yesterday, Richard gave we terrified starters a recipe to follow, and it works.  Blurry images form my phone, as i certainly didn't expect to be photographing any results.

It actually looks like a "proper" drawing.  Colour today, what a treat.

Journal quilt, March

Our parents bought their own house, and all it brought was stress.

Self-dyed fabric,commercial fabric, machine quilting, machine embroidery, Ultrabond.

Lots of symbolism for me here: the ever-changing clipped curves of the hedge around the corner plot of the house; the use of inappropriate materials ( 5 layers of ultrabond does terrible things to a machine needle; uneven, wobbly lines and scrappy finish; mismatched finish on the edges using whatever is to hand; half-bottles; words lacking distinction; machine quilting of the postcode all slightly uneven due to the wadding. Quite cathartic really.

It is straighter than it looks here, I think it is the camera angle.

Dr Who fans, quick.........

Go and look at this now and bow down to patchwork genius.