Saturday 31 May 2014

Weaving Lichens

A detail of a piece in a continuing series of work based on lichens. This piece will be exhibited at the iD exhibition taking place at The Bristol Guild, Bristol from 14th June until 5th July.

The pale green colour is my first attempt at dyeing woollen yarn from plants. This is horsetail which is an ancient plant but a pernicious weed in this area. No mordant was used.

I have also tried dyeing with lichens from an old tree branch which we removed from a tree in the garden, results were disappointing. However  the synthetic net bag that I put the lichens in has come out a beautiful bright yellow. I wouldn't normally dye with lichens but these would have been burnt otherwise.

Sunday 25 May 2014

Workshop with Alice Fox

The work table

Rusty items




Dyeing in progress














On Thursday I was very lucky to attend a workshop with Alice Fox Alicefox-textiles.blogspot.com as part of the Stroud International Festival.http://www.stroudinternationaltextiles.org.uk/
It was a fantastic day, lots of chat, lots of sewing and loads learnt.
Although I have done rust dyeing before I have not done it with tea which produces greyer tones which I like. I now have pieces soaking in tea in my studio, I will publish the results next week.








My work next to purple scissors

Night time flowers

SLR with flash

SLR with flash

SLR with flash

SLR with flash

Small camera on night time mode

Small camera on night time mode

Small camera on night time mode

Small camera on night time mode

Small camera on night time mode

Small camera on night time mode
On Friday evening there was a short time with the most amazing light, I haven't really managed to capture it but here are some images anyway from my garden.

Wednesday 7 May 2014

Having Fun

Weaving

Mud covered woven vessel

Photos, sea glass and phials to be filled


Mud and plant fibre











































I am having great fun compiling pieces for my next exhibition with the iD group.
I intend to do two or three pieces based on the natural environment, this one is about where I live, Sand Bay. The weaving is based on the colours of sea and sand, the photos are of the general view and the mud is from the beach. The phials will be filled with various items from the beach.