Inside out envelopes

Christmas card envelopes turned inside out for drawing practice, bird watching at home and at Slimbridge Wildlife and Wetland Trust.

Plastic flowers for Nature in Art workshops

I will be running a workshop making flowers from plastic waste. I am drawing attention to the amount of unnecessary plastic bags in our environment, often found in trees!!

Fungi

For Nature in Art I am looking at mycelium; the threadlike roots of mushrooms and fungi.

This was the spore print of a toadstool left on the cover of my sketchbook!

Nature In Art invitations

Work in progress trying out ideas for Exhibition invitations..

Pen and ink drawing with machine embroidery

I like the concept of 'back of the envelope' quick sketch drawings to capture an idea!

Strawberry Thief

This is my version of The Strawberry Thief by William Morris. My real strawberry thief this summer was a blackbird but his is a little more colourful.  Merry Christmas to one and all.

Carla's work in progress for Nature in Art

Look at these wondrous pictures of Carla's work in progress... We look forward to seeing more of this intriguing work 

Come if you can...

Sea memories Sketchbook

I am beginning some new work for the next BB exhibition at Nature in Art next year. I always begin with some experiments in a handmade sketchbook. This book is a tiny concertina with initial thoughts and memories.( 6cm x 8cm when folded up)

Exhibition visit

Kay and I visited the  Town Hall, Malmesbury on Saturday, where Pat Clayton and Janet Edmonds are holding an exhibition of their latest work. Well worth a visit. 

Pat has captured the beauty of the coastal landscape in these exquisite flowing cloths, books and landscapes. While Janet's hand stitched pebble forms show how hand stitch can be used to create beautiful 3 D forms.

Exhibition only on till end of this coming weekend, hope you can visit.

Day trip to Weston

Kay & I spent a lovely afternoon in Weston super Mare yesterday, visiting the Weston Quilt Show; admiring some beautiful quilts, especially one made using half inch hexagons and French knots as quilting stitches. A great way to use up all those little scraps of fabric, I can't bear to throw away.

I've always enjoyed piecing over papers and am sure will be part of a contemporary quilt, I'm working on for Nature in Art. 

Berber Landscapes

More ideas for next year's exhibition at Nature in Art. Hoping to grow some henna from seed!!

The Bees Knees

Ecodyed fabric & papers

Windfall leaves collected at Nature in Art, wrapped in silk noil bundles.  The start of my pieces for our exhibition INSIDE:TUO recording the seasonal changes in the garden. 

Really pleased with the results, especially the pieces dyed with birch leaves. I'll be joining them to create a long thin hanging. 

My steamed papers were even better.

Nature in Art visit

Eight of us spent a day at Nature in Art, Twigworth, looking around the gardens and gallery for potential spaces to place pieces for our exhibition INSIDE : TUO in August 2015.

We are planning to exhibit in the gallery and outside in the gardens, and found lovely spots to consider.

My favourite, this beautiful Hazel tree, set amongst some of their sculptures.

Carla & Carolyn found brambles laden with blackberries, in amongst beds full of wild flowers and seed heads.

Watch this space, to see how our work develops for this exhibition.

BBs at work on Sunday! From top- Alison, Carolyn, Corinne and Linda's hands. My envelope turned inside out with mirror writing and Alice going into looking glass land. Looking at seams inside clothes. All of us making a start on our new theme for the exhibition at Nature in Art next year.

Back of an envelope thinking...

Louise beginning work after leading us in a wonderful brainstorming ideas session

Carolyn sharing work in progress

Even lunch involved surprises about inside out - once the eye tunes in....

Another image from Sunday at Alison's Garden. 

Results of Eco dyeing

Unwrapped my parcels this morning, to find these lovely prints.

Summer Play Day

Unable to attend our summer play day due to illness, I thought I'd try Eco dyeing a few leaves from the garden. Using Acer, Geranium & Oak leaves placed between folds of Khadi paper, with cardboard on the outside tied with string, then steamed for an hour under a weight.

Looking forward to unwrapping my parcels later.

Inside Out

Great day sifting through ideas around our next Exhibition in 2015 at Nature in Art

On the inside

My great grandmothers widows weeds - unexpected stitch detail from the inside

Work in progress

Stitching my work in Alison's garden today. Linda

Eco-dyeing

Experiments in Eco-dyeing on cloth and paper
Corinne

Momigami

Just trying this on our workshop day - Carolyn

B B Workshop

Preparing for our new exhibition next August at Nature in Art.
All the best ideas begin on the back of an envelope

Festival of Quilts

Beautiful delicate paper pieces by textile artists Judith Mundwiler from Switzerland and Gabi Mett from Germany, my favourite gallery at Festival of Quilts.

Line, Shape & Design at Festival of Quilts

I spend 3 wonderful days attending a masterclass at The Festival of Quilts with Leslie Morgan, and playing with thickened procian dyes using various tools to create line and shape. 

Using various tools including  screens, glassine, & all sorts of mark making tools including a credit card.

The use of a credit card to apply the dye paints worked beautifully on a piece of African strip cloth blanket, creating sweeping marks of colour across the  cloth. Lots more playing with dye paints and strip cloth to follow.