Winter

Winter, a photo by kayla coo on Flickr.

Wishing you a very Happy Christmas.xx

Art Threads

Stitching my landscape

 

 

                                 Compton Verney

                                The Workshop at Compton Verney



I have been meaning to blog for quite sometime, firstly about the workshop I ran at Compton Verney which was two weeks ago.
It was a great pleasure to teach in such beautiful surroundings and everyone was inspired to create pieces all of which were individual, different and experimental.
The emphasis was on trying out new techniques while interpreting their own studies from sketch book work.


Last week I visited the  Pre-Raphaelites  exhibition at Tate Britain, a fantastic exhibition which includes many textile works including William Morris's four poster bed.
I admired the painting by William Holman Hunt inspired from verses of the poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson , The Lady of Shalott.

There she weaves by night and day
  A magic web with colours gay.
  She has heard a whisper say,
  A curse is on her if she stay
  To look down to Camelot.
  She knows not what the 'curse' may be,
  And so she weaveth steadily,
  And little other care hath she,
  The Lady of Shalott.

This vivid painting rich in colour, painted like a heavy Victorian tapestry depicts the Lady Of Shallot, tangled in her threads!


Tomorrow I will be joining in with the festive fun at The Herbert Art Gallery for the Making Merry which will have many handmade and vintage stalls.
I will be there to help my Mum on her vintage stall and I will display a few of my small brooches.

Then it will be back to working on larger pieces for my display "British Romantic Landscapes" at Fashion, Embroidery, Stitch in the NEC in March!

"The Coldest Winter"

"The Coldest Winter", a photo by kayla coo on Flickr.

They say we are due a very cold Winter.
So far it's been faily mild, yesterday it rained all day and night which brought flooding to local roads.
Today a gale has been blowing and now the rain is with us again!
I am adding a few more of my art brooches to etsy over the next couple of days.
I think I will be staying in as much as possible!

Inspired By Compton Verney

                      " Life Of Colour" a page from my sketch book.

Last week I spent several days at the art gallery Compton Verney, one day visiting the excellent Tapestry exhibition and then spending a few hours sketching in the beautiful grounds.
The colours of the tapestries struck me most of all; within the many pieces the threads have such a rich density of colour. There are no reflections from glass or oil paints, I relised why I love creating my work with a range of materials.
I admired the weavers craftsmanship combining different textures, weaves and yarns to recreate the artists original paintings and sketches. Some of these works of art which are on display show how closely the weavers interpret a painted surface.
Then on the Saturday I started teaching a two day art and textile workshop at the Compton Verney learning centre, the local landscape and exhibitions provided a wealth of inspiration.
I had the pleasure of meeting a lovely group of people who were very enthusiastic, due to this I am looking foward to next week to see where our creative journey takes us.

A World Within

A World Within, a photo by kayla coo on Flickr.

I thought it was about time I added a few items to etsy, I will be listing small items but also a couple of limited edition prints of paintings, which I had on show at The Herbert Art Gallery.
The originals I am hanging onto for my touring exhibition sometime next year.
Last week I did a talk for a group of textile artists which was very interesting and it's not long until my workshops at Compton Verney, so plenty to keep me busy!

The trees here are the most vivid colours, reds, yellows and golds, there is a sharpe nip in the air, a move towards Winter.
The leaves have started to tumble creating the most beautiful rich coloured carpets.
Time to work in the sketch book again.

A Story Within My Stitches

Untitled, a photo by kayla coo on Flickr.

Another piece of work I finished a few months back.
The landscape is a place of stories, this is from my childhood.
I'm hoping to add a few small items to Etsy soon, I just need to finish another larger work which I will display at the NEC in March.

Autumn Tondo

Autumn Tondo, a photo by kayla coo on Flickr.

Working on a larger Autumn Tondo, see the smaller art work on the bottom right to see the scale. I have a life time of stitching a head! Just a few more stitches and it will be finished.