Kilmartin Rock Art Textile

It had to happen - after our visit to Kilmartin last month - some Rock Art inspired work......

The inspiration...not necessarily this pic, but you get the idea....

The finished piece...

And the detail...

Loch Druidibeg

A while back I posted that I was inspired by the colours and textures of the RSPB's Loch Druidibeg NNR on South Uist -  Click here for photos. 

Colours and textures ....

I began by enjoying some gelli printing and dying to create the base fabrics based on the colours and texture of the reserve, which were then patchworked, quilted and embroidered to create the finished piece.

Royal Fern gelli printing.

Hand coloured and embroidered.

And putting it all together ......

The finished piece....

Karst: an artistic response to limestone scenery

Over the last few, well several, maybe even many, months, I have been working on a collection of textile pieces for a collaborative exhibition based on Karst landscapes. I have been working with Kay Leech who is a well known textile artist and today we got to hang the exhibition at Shambellie House, just outside Dumfries. So, here are the videos and photos of our work .... Now the eagle eyed will notice there aren't any labels yet - there will be by the time the exhibition opens on September 18th. It runs until 4th October, open daily 10 - 4, entry is £5 and includes tea/coffee and cake/ scone. Our exhibition is part of a much bigger quilt exhibition, so there's plenty to see. 

Seaweed patterns

And whilst photographing patterns in the sand ....there was seaweed too - which may lead to a textile piece...and maybe I should have picked some up to press and dry, so that I can print with it....

Purple Saxifrage Textile

Finally, another finished piece. This one uses layers of hand dyed and printed wet strength tissue, cotton and organza, with machine and hand embroidery. I really like using the wet strength tissue, especially layering it after it has been 'coloured' by taking random textural prints off a Gelli plate. First a couple of photos of Purple Sax on Pen-y-ghent. Sadly we missed our annual trip to see it this year, as the weather was rubbish! 

Playing on the computer to get ideas ...

The finished piece that will soon go off to be framed.

And closer too.....

County Sligo textile...

You may be thinking that I haven't done much artwork, but this last textile piece has taken a while - not so much in the making time, but in the having confidence to try it time! Anyway once it was all cut and pinned, after some initial stitching the fun bits began. 

The piece is inspired by the coastline of County Sligo in northwestern Ireland. I was lucky enough to be able to use very high-definition drone photographs from a scientific paper: Sedimentology and geomorphology of tufa barrages on rock shore platforms by Thomas W Garner, J. Andrew Cooper and Alan Smith. 

The paper focuses on the structures and shapes of tufa on a rocky shore platform. These are formed, in very simple terms, by water from the land, that is carrying calcium carbonate, seeping across the shore platform. As the water slows down it deposits the calcium carbonate, in the form of Tufa, in a range of formations. The shapes of these cascades and barrages are influenced by a range of factors that are addressed by the paper. 

The piece was made from hand-dyed and gelli printed, layered fabrics that are machine and hand stitched, as well as having some paint added to them. 

and below...some close-ups.

Whitbarrow embroidery

A rather uncharacteristic piece of work form me: a detailed, hand stitched embroidery. Inspiration was  the top of Whitbarrow Scar in South Cumbria.

The top of Whitbarrow.

The finished piece with detail below...

Limestone Pavement

Having finished my Meltwater textile piece I need to start thinking about what to do next....

This is a sample piece which may, if I have the patience, lead to a larger gryke based 'thing'! The sample is carved and needle-felted foam with stitchwork and an attempt to make Maidenhair Spleenwort.