Newark Park

Next summer the BBs exhibition will be at Newark Park near Ozleworth. A few of us went over today and looked round the house & gardens for inspiration. Down by the lake ther is a lovely garden building and lots of wild flowers. I drew some of the flowers there and have been painting them since I got home.

Washing line landscapes

Coloured some fabrics yesterday to use in my washing line landscapes. Beautiful day so hung them outside to dry. I love the soft colours you can get with painting your own bits of fabric.

Eco dyeing

The strips of cloth that have been dyed over the last month or so with leaves, twigs and bark from the hedgerows together with rust from found objects on my walks. Washed out and hung up to dry in the early morning sun of the garden. Off for the next walk now to see what else I can find to use.

Unwrapping bundles

Unwrapped the bundles today that have been hanging around in the garden for some weeks since I steamed them and before that left them a couple of weeks in an exhaust dye bath of eucalyptus.
I found that some of the vegetation had sprouted and the seedlings were growing through the layers of cloth. When I separated them it looked like tailors tack stitches.

American Byrde 2

The piece based on the American Byrde, part of the Oxburgh Hangings, is coming on but is taking some time as it is worked in cross stitch using fine woollen thread. It will have to be finished off while watching tv or when travelling as I need to get on to the next thing now.

Washing work in progress

Trawled the charity shops in Cirencester yesterday for white garments to use in my Inside Out piece that may go in the Brunel Broderers' exhibition at Nature in Art in August. Having washed them all they hang early in the morning to dry in my garden. A narrative is beginning to form.

Byrde of America

'Byrde of America' based on an embroidery on the Oxburgh Hangings squared up ready for stitching as a sample at next weeks Brewery Arts class. The original embroidery was probably stitched by Mary Queen of Scots whilst in the custody of the Countess of Shrewsbury, (better known as Bess of Hardwick). It was worked in cross stitch on linen canvas and along with various other separately worked motifs was mounted on velvet.

Opus consutum

Opus consutum was inlaid work using fulled woollen cloth. I thought it would be fun to make our own cloth using traditional wet felting methods. The shape was inspired by an old seal bag and the sun & moon roundels came from the John of Thanet panel.

Class has started again

The class at Brewery Arts has started again and this term we're taking a quick look at the history of embroidery starting with the Bayeux Tapestry.