Looking outside..

Carla's mushroom trail

Kay's with a ladybird visitor

Liz Harding's in the breeze

Dialogues

 Mentioned in this post here Kay and I met in Chapel Arts Cafe in Bath

The sharing of work, discussing ideas, looking at threads - all make for rich dialogue.
This image represents that to me with my burnt orange thread lying in amongst Kay's work.
It's a precious thing about the BB's - this sharing...

Come and Visit Us!

THERE'S STILL TIME!!!!... Our exhibition at Ruskin Mill entitled "Curiously Enough" is only open until 1pm on Thursday, if you have not seen it, only 3 days left...In the meantime...with huge thanks to Ian Wilson, here are a few quotes from his review of our exhibition "Curiouser...?" at the Silk Mills in Frome last September...some of the work featured at our current exhibition "Curiously Enough" was shown at this exhibition...The review was in the Jan/Feb 2012 edition of Embroidery Magazine...



"...'A Print for Patti', made by Susi Bancroft while caring for her dying mother, was so hung that it moved in the slightest draught of air. Like a very English interpretation of a Tibetan prayer-flag, Bancroft's thoughts about making and grieving were hand-written on Liberty cotton lawn, cut and pieced  onto an unfinished quilt begun by her mother..."



"...Against the cream-painted stone walls Kay Swancutt's joined, seamed and stitched quilt like pieces in ecru fabric "Joins 1 and 2"-had a presence both quietest and impressive, which encouraged thoughts about the meditative slowness and repetitiveness of the making process..."


"...Uncoiling from a niche in the wall-like water falling from a cleft rock, 'River of Cloth' by Liz Hewitt had a single, sensuous line of blue stitches working its way down the white cloth and formed a fascinating companion to 'Water Stills my Soul', a slender strip of blue material with thousands of tiny white stitches making the unstitched central position into a meandering, curving stream and manifesting how the understated stitch can posses a semiotic power..."


"...Alison Harper recycles synthetic materials used for takeaway coffee containers, and also meticulously cuts crisp packets by hand putting the resultant lengths of fibre to many uses including knitting and making jewellery..."


"...'Friday Tea' celebrated this weekly ceremony in Lizzie Weir's family and consisted of a washing line of charmingly clean family linen bearing, in both hand and machine stitching such words as 'Jammy Dodgers', alluding to the cherished ritual...


"...Paying homage to the culture of Japan, Carolyn Sibbald's representation of a kimono, with sashiko stitching on indigo dyed fabric, was reconstructed but wearable garment that would look wonderful in movement...."


"...This exhibition bore exhilarating witness to the range of concerns and practices.personal philosophies and deliberations upon the processes of making of the Brunel Broderers represented..."

Mapping the Future: where are you now?

As we said in this post Textile Forum South West have an exhibition coming up in Taunton, Somerset
As 8 BB's are in TFSW we thought it would be good to put up a post inviting you to come and see our work!

Browse the blog here
Click on the invitation
to read more!

The Broderers Discuss!

This week an unexpected surprise happened - I found Alison, Liz and Kay having coffee in my sitting room! Not planned and what a treat!

One of the greatest strengths of the BB's is shared creative dialogue - looking at work together and discussing strengths, ways to develop, uncertainties and emerging thoughts. Before long work appeared out of bags to look at - the 'Mapping the Future' Textile Forum South West Exhibition is coming up soon and we all felt like some BB support! This kind of sharing of work is invaluable for artists and it reminds me we need to try to make time for it to happen!

Detail from 'A Route Through' - Susi Bancroft

BB Workshop Day

A couple more images from when we met recently and started some creative experiments for what will be our new exciting exhibition based on the wonderful collection given to us from a small tailoring business... more of this later...

Kay

buttonholes, feathers, corsages, patches, seams, pockets, fragments

Embroiderers Guild

Went to Somerset to give a talk about the Brunel Broderers to the South Somerset Branch of the Embroiderers Guild - what a warm welcome and such interest - we had a great time! The new 'Chair' Janet Hiscox sent this lovely thank you letter:
'Can I say a big thank you both for your talk on Saturday - everybody thoroughly enjoyed it, said it was wonderful to be able to hear easily (no I'm not saying you've got a big mouth) it just makes it so much easier when you have everyones attention which you did.
They really enjoyed the talk but loved musing over the embroideries and of course made absolute pigs of themselves taking practically all the badges.
I am sure we will be using more of your group members for workshops in the future so be ready for us!!
Anyway, once again many thanks and please let me know of any more exhibitions'.

Curiouser Collages

Lizzie, Susi, Liz H, Kay

spikes of colour,

swathes of paint and stitch,

loose threads,

frayed threads,

recalling journeys, capturing sights, smells and experiences of the place familiar...

new work by Liz Harding














muted palette, folds, seams, rhythm in stitch

work by Kay Swancutt.

...willow tears weaping....

work by Carla Mines.

Coming Along

Image for previous text

Work in progress - this is one of the units for one of the pieces for Frome

Thought for the Day

Everyone seemed to like the quotes I post so here is another one by Satish Kumar

'To find a synthesis between the intellectual and the manual, between the head and the hands, between contemplation and action and between science and spirituality.'

This is exactly what we were discussing at the meeting yesterday and I referred to it in my own practice.

Quote

I love this quote from Joan Schulze:-

' The days passed as I created, one-by-one, a body of works that taught me yet again the power of limited means and focussed attention.

Pin Tucks

I have begun some pin tuck samples and I love the way the needle moves in and out of the fold and how it relates to the movement in the felt.

I found this lovely quote from 1859 -

'Thus the day was spent in friendly gossip as they quilted and rolled and talked and laughed ...Unrestrained gayeties followed..serious matrons commentated on the cake and told each other high and particular secrets in the culinary art..One might have learned in that instructuve assembly how best to keep moths out of blankets;how to make fritters of Indian corn undistinguishable from oysters;how to bring up babies by hand; how to mend a cracked teapot; how to take grease from brocade..how to make five yards of cloth answer the purpose of six; and how to put down the Democratic party. '(Harriet Beecher Stowe 1859) Remind you of any group you know?? Kay

"Curiouser...?" Kay Swancutt

A seam is a join where two or more pieces of fabric or other materials are held together with stitches

A stitch is a short length of thread that has been passed through one or more pieces of material, either for decoration or to join pieces together

A joint is an edge, junction, or intersection with infinite possibilities

stitching

Happy New Year to Everyone and I hope it will be a peaceful and 'stitchful' one. Some images of the current stitching on curves etc.

Material Evidence Symposium

Bath Spa University

Material Evidence Symposium 

Corsham Court Centre, Corsham, Wilts
29th September 2010 - 9.00 - 5.00 Cost £20 inc. lunch

'This research symposium and exhibition seeks to identify a pathway that links the academic, the maker and the making. It will focus on how academic research can inform and inspire practical work and how these can work together symbiotically.'

Key speakers - Maxine Bristow, Amy Houghton, Tim Parry-Williams

For booking contact Alison Dagger, Bath Spa University, Postgraduate Centre, Corsham Court, Corsham, Wilts. SN13 OBZ.



Liz, Alison and Kay - our current research work will be part of the exhibition for the day/

Look What I have found

In my search for petal numbers fitting into my research criteria I have found this flower with 55 petals - my studio wall as it flourishes- Kay