Starting some new work

I'm using the opportunity of a mixed media sketchbook class with Sue Brown to play with ideas for a future BBs exhibition on the theme of Inhabit. I've been looking at prehistoric British rock art and exploring the marks, possibly symbolic, to be found. The plan is to develop some of these into stitched samples & see where that leads. These are some pages from my sketchbook.

Sculpture park

Interesting collection of over 40 sculptures in a lovely woodland setting with views out to the wider landscape, at Cass Sculpture Foundation near Goodwood in West Sussex.

Watermark book

The book - Watermark - for the Wool & Water Festival is finished at last. The exhibition, at Newark Park a National Trust property by Ozleworth, opens in early September & runs for two months.

The canal cuts across a changing landscape as it leaves Stroud heading for the Severn.

Bridges act not only as crossings but also as way points marking distance travelled. Their names roll off the tongue like those in the shipping forecast ...skew, upper mills, Stonehouse, nutshell, ocean ...

The canal's sinuous line is reflected in the long narrow format of the book with the pages an unfolding zig-zag and each section between bridges a different page linked end to end.

Plant material along the towpath was printed to chart the mix from urban, to garden escapes to wild natives. The bridges names are debossed. Blue ink & linen reference the water and the leather binding is inspired by the leather bound books in the canal archive.

New exhibition

Spent yesterday printing from plants found along Stroud canal to make up a book for the exhibition at Newark Park as part of the Wool & Water Festival.

Framing

Pieces waiting to be framed ready for the BBs next exhibition at the Gardens Gallery in Montpellier Gardens, Cheltenham. it opens on Wednesday 4 September & runs until Tuesday 10 September.

Next project

Painting pages for next month's Stroud Artist Books. The theme is 'Reflection', so I'm going to be looking back at my childhood. Using an old book that I was given to recycle. I've removed some of the pages, gone through it & glued pairs of pages together & am now painting the pages with gesso.

Gather

The theme for SAB this month was gather which made me think of smocking. After various different attempts at stitching the page sections together this is how it ended up. Sage green cotton rag handmade Khadi paper, linen thread, dark grey linen to cover boards, & dotty paper for the endpapers.

Appliqué

Sewing homework this week was to make a portrait of Freda Kahlo using raw edge appliqué. The words are what she said inspired her work, perhaps originating from the appalling health problems she had all her life.

Dyeing

Experimenting with dyeing calico & cotton rag paper using things found in the kitchen - red & brown onions, plums, turmeric, plums, orange peel & avocado. The papers are to make a book for the next Stroud Artist Books meeting. The fabric I want to use to make a stitch diary.

Still life

Having a change from turned edge appliqué floral still life's. This one is worked in felt, thread & stitch on a piece of old blanket.