Selected at Newark Park

Kay & I spent a wonderful day this week, exploring Selected at Newark Park, near Wootton under Edge. The exhibition is part of Stroud International Textiles Select and features 30 artists such as Caroline Bartlett, Caren Garfen, Susan Early, Matthew Harris, Jo Lovelock, Jennifer Collier to name just a few.

The pieces are beautifully placed around the house & gardens, some so well sited that on the first walk around can be missed, as look like part of the House's collection. 

We spent most of the day there, enjoying the surroundings, the exhibits, the history of the house, even getting a tour of the basement rooms, and the stunning views from the house of the surrounding landscape. It's well worth a visit!!

Here's a few images of some of my favourite pieces, apologies for the image quality as the light levels were abit low in some areas.

Caroline Bartlett

 

Zoe Hillyard's Ceramic Patchwork

Jennifer Collier Paper Sculpture 

Jennifer Collier

Jo Lovelock

See some of my work at this exhibition

Violets

Happy Easter to all- Violets on a corner of a piece for my Newark Park exhibition in June.

Boro

Saw a fantastic exhibition of Boro textiles at Somerset House yesterday. The exhibition is on until April 26th. I thoroughly recommend it. I do not know where you will see such a large collection of this work again.

 Such an inspiration in terms of the composition, texture and use of stitch.

 From the website: This April Somerset House will host an exhibition on the Japanese textile tradition of Boro. Translated to ‘rags’ in English, Boro is the  collective  name for items – usually clothing and  bed covers – made by the poor, rural population of Japan who could not afford to buy new  when need required and had to literally make ends meet by piecing and  patching. Generations of Japanese families repaired and recycle jackets and futon covers, handing them down to relatives and sewing their own sagas and stories through the threads. Despite still being looked upon unfavourably in Japan today, Boros are becoming highly collectible in Western cultures. Certainly Boros bear a striking similarity to work of many contemporary western artists. Can these once humble objects be considered works of art with their unique arrangements of shapes and beautiful hues of blues and browns, Boro will showcase 40 historic pieces in a new light within Somerset House. A collection never before displayed and compiled over the last six years. 

The Blue Butterfly

I am having a good month at the Guild at 51 in Cheltenham so this piece is going there on Friday. It is called The Blue Butterfly and about the near extinction of the Large Blue and its reintroduction near my home. We have tried to see one and never been lucky hence its tag line - chasing the blues! (38 x 26cms framed size)

Rust Dyeing in Cornwall

I had great fun recently while on holiday in St Ives, experimenting with rust dyeing in the sea, on Godrevy Beach. I posted while in St Ives, about my beachcombing finds, along the beaches. Having found a bundle of rusty wire and the remains of a rusty chain, I decided to try wrapping them in strip cloth and immersing them in sea water. Here's a video we made showing how we did.

Lots of laughter as the bundles were nearly washed out to sea, and very strange looks from people as they walked past. Lots of fun, and only got soaked once. Results will follow.