Back To Stitching

It's a return to stitching this week and my threads are now my paints.
I'm just taking my time to enjoy working experimentally, playing with my ideas and exploring the recent mark making in my sketch book.
I visited Compton Verney this week to see the Stanley Spencer exhibition which is featuring many of his English country gardens.
His work is incredibly detailed and gives us a romantic view of village life in the 1940's and 1950's.
 But if you look closely you will see many boundaries, fences, walls, hedges and barbed wire which protect these beautiful idyllic gardens, which is said to have been Stanley Spencer's heaven.
Perhaps subconsciously he is protecting this very English garden of Eden.
You can find out more about Stanley Spencer here http://www.stanleyspencer.org.uk/

Sketching Stitches

This week I'm working in my sketch book.

I'm experimenting and developing my composition, looking closely at how I relate to my landscapes, how do they make me feel and how can I become a part of them?

I have finished my last piece for the exhibition which is a great relief and now I have some time to tidy my mass of jumbled threads!

June Stitching

My blog updates have been less frequent due to the amount of stitching I have, but the good news is I'm on my finale piece for the exhibition!

Yesterday I spent the morning at The Herbert Art Gallery going through the work I will be exhibiting, checking measurements, how it will be displayed and lots of paper work.
There is so much work that goes on behind the scenes prior to an exhibition with many decisions to be made.
I have included a range of  paintings and drawings which are the starting point of my textile pieces and you will also be able to see some of my sketch books.
The piece above is a section from my piece titled 'The Magic Oak Tree'.

Embroidery Magazine

I'm very excited to tell you my latest work is featured in The Embroiderer's Guild , Embroidery magazine, May / June issue.
This is a dream come true for me as I have been interested in embroidery as an art form since childhood and I first had the magazine in the 1980's when I was at school!
Click the link HERE to find out more.
A big thank you to Jo Hall the editor for the write up and displaying my work in such a beautiful magazine.

Back From France

I have been away from my blog not just to stitch but to fit in a much needed holiday.
My travels took me to where many artists have been inspired by the dazzling, intense light of the Cote d'Azur.
In Antibes I spent the afternoon in the Picasso Museum, with a wonderful range of art works, not just by Picasso.
These included the distinctive figures of Germaine Richier which stood against a dramatic back drop of sky and sea.
Other artists to see were Miro, Max Ernst, Niki de Saint Phalle, Tapies and many others.
There were many inspiring works by Picasso in the vast range of mediums this creative man used.
On one wall many of Picasso's hand painted plates were displayed in box frames, each an individual work of art and collectively an amazing decorative display.
In the corridors connecting the galleries were interesting photograph's of Picasso at work in his home studio.

Another day took me to the Medieval town Vence where I came across a tree made famous by the painter Chaim Soutine  you can see his painting Tree Of Vence here.
This town has many small, interesting, private galleries and it is also famous for the chapelle du Rosaire designed by Matisse.
When I was not sight seeing I spent my time sketching, this view is through two trees over looking the sea from Jean- Cap- Ferrat.

I'm now back to working towards my exhibition in December and continue to stitch my vast landscapes.

Wishing you a Happy Easter and I will be back soon with more stitching!

Michala

Thread Visions

The Landscapes are growing, not in quantity but in size.
I have been working on this one for months, it has engulfed me both physically and mentally.
Last weekend I did manage a few days away staying with my sister and enjoyed an evening at The Royal Albert Hall.
We saw the opera Madame Butterfly, which was extremely beautiful and moving.

This week I will continue working on the piece above and also another larger textile wall hanging.

Tears In The Forest

I'm still here amongst my piles of threads, busy stitching my dreams and memories.
Here is a sketch that I'm working on at the moment and this is leading to many other ideas in my sketch book.
I have the half term break this week so it's a good opportunity for me to catch up with my blog reading and to really focus on my work.
There is always so much to do!