Text and Image, Cloth and Paper

A different place and time when on holiday or as part of work travel can provide new approaches for your work. A recent visit to the south of  France to Studio Preniac during early harvest time gave plenty of inspiration. Text and images can both stimulate and be collected as a resource.

Montcuq market text and images in the produce stalls and Graffiti on a door in Cahors.

 

This piece, a detail from Indian Journal  uses woodblocks and roofing felt. We were extending the house at the time. People generously sending in pieces for Tea Flora Tales  

have used a variety of text and images.This work will be shown at The Beaney Gallery, (Canterbury Museum) from the 30th November.Details of this and current exhibitions can be found on my blog.

Picasso and the cubists   used text and images in collages referring to everyday objects and scenes.The definition of collage, as found in the Oxford English Dictionary, is “an abstract form of art in which photographs, pieces of paper, newspaper cuttings, string, etc. are placed in juxtaposition and glued to the pictorial surface.

 

Picasso  "Still-Life with Chair-Caning

 

Kurt Schwitters 

Taking their inspiration from both photographs and drawings made on location and the text and images found on route with their own collections students on the course at Preniac developed their own textiles collage pieces reflecting everyday references. Thankyou to the students who kindly allowed me to use images of their work.

 
Jug print and map (Barbara)                          Folding book form with a sea theme (Daphne)

 French Landscape (Roz)

 Marie Antoinette and Cahors (Ellen/right)

 Detail of blue collage (Jeannie)

Connected Details (Flo/right)

                  Pots and paper (Jenni)

  Riot (Jo)

 

Book form sketch (Gail)

This piece 'Text' contains my father's handwriting His birthday was the 11th September.

Detail of my quick stitch sketch of sunflowers.

 And finally some sunflowers, my name on a car plate!

Thanks to Bill and Liz for wonderful food, company and more.

I am returning to studio Preniac in May-June 2015..now all I have to do is plan what to do.

www.studiopreniac.com/

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Wabi Sabi and The Joy of 'Accidental' at West Dean

I have just had a most wonderful Summer School week at West Dean with a group of students who really took the idea of Wabi Sabi and the joy that can be found in the overlooked and accidental to a new level.

We found some small details to draw and photograph in the gardens and were later entertained by the Chilli Festival

 

Had a glimpse of enough sun on one of the days to experiment with sun print and when we were not able to do that, we dyed 

Lovely transfers and dyed fabric by Lesley Thomas

Lis Gabb working board full of colour

Julie Ford linking words to several pieces loved the box form presentation

Katie Boucher detail of layered and stitched transfer and teabags and Judith Ward red thread miniature.

  

Detail of Amy Fords layered collage,,even net curtains can be beautiful.

 

Resources boards ideas and some of the raw materials we sometimes need 'to remove all that is unnecessary. It is really hard to communicate how the workshop went through several changes over the week as we refined our ideas. When working I forget to take images as I am concentrating on the jn in hand.

Finally, during the afternoon off I captured a few images from West Dean, shadows and ladybirds as well a visit to Chichester where I revisited the wonderful John Piper tapestry and found a needlepoint cushion and wall ceramic with birds.

Thank you to the students who gave me permission to use the images and to West Dean for providing such an inspirational environment to teach in.

Finally, on the last day, I found out 'Connected Cloth' co written with Anne Kelly, is already out there.

Frames and Windows

I have spent the last few days working with my students at the Aylesford Priory not far from where I live. This gave me the opportunity to look at how frames and shapes for creating work. At the Carmelite priory there are some wonderful reliefs and artworks by Polish artist Adam Kossowski. His modernist style is fitting for the age of the the building. Following his release from a Soviet labour camp he dedicated his life to working in christian places of worship. The current pottery at the priory was founded by David Leach (son of Bernard Leach).

 

The Peace Garden provided a sheltered area with wooden posts separating the planting providing challenging divisions of space. I made the quick sketch below in a demo to my Adult Education students and you can see some of their work relating to the planting (laid out on a table during coffee break)

On my way to Hampton Court Palace I took some images whilst stuck in a traffic jam. Loved the way the steely grey fence separates the weeds beyond.

 An finally, remembering Tasmania, even a view through a window can present an opportunity for developing further. This resulting piece has a broken, open 'frame'.

Chasing Shadows

As Summer sets in the play of shadows chasing across the landscape become more evident. I enjoy the intimate  play of light and colour on walls, footpaths and  the reflections on windows and through glass.

  These images taken in Plymouth are the a few from a series which look at transparent and opaque surfaces and marks in these 'found observations'. Texture and light in ordinary objects and things have own narratives which I like to explore in my work. The detail below from a piece 'View from a Medway Barge' links drawing  with printed and layered surfaces.You can find inspiration in simple things.

The sketch made whilst in Australia looks at reflected views in a window of the trees in bush and the bedstead just outside the window.

  Printing is one way of taking a direct 'mirror' image of an object. This is a group print experiment by students at attending a workshop at Mad Hatter Studios

Dame Elizabeth Blackadder DBE RA, uses reflections and what may seem to be disparate objects as seen in 'Still-life with Mirror and Japanese Print'.

My next Summer School at West Dean 'Tracing Shadows' presents the opportunity to explore some of these ideas.

I am also taking part in Open Studios this June  www.seos-art.org/artists/casholmes .

 

Dyeing Down Under

Last day in Australia in Perth so what do I choose to do? I spent this morning with my friend Pam dyeing fabrics with the leaves of the Lilly Pilly tree. Below you can see the plant, the dye pot and the results. Her veranda is amazing hanging with skulls so could not resist a few sketches as well. I will follow up some time with some more piccies but am getting ready to pack. 

Oh, and another Magpie of course!

A kangaroo skull