Art in Action 2010

Just back and recovering from a wonderful experience at Art in Action, Waterperry House, Oxfordshire.

I spent 4 days sewing and chatting, chatting and sewing, meeting lovely folk and actually getting lots of creative work done too. I'm very pleased to say I was able to complete the sewing of my entry for the Festival of Quilts competition : contemporary section. See the finished piece in all it's glory at the NEC in August.

A huge thanks to Kate Wells for co-ordinating the Textiles section of A in A - just for her and Rowanna here's the recipe for the 'oh so healthy' gorgeous chocolate brownies that kept us going on setting up day!

[No it's not a miss print - it is sweet potato!]

Makes 16

Preparation time 10 minutes

Cooking time 40 minutes

400g sweet potato, baked in their skins until soft, then cooled

3 free range eggs

140g light muscavado sugar

60g dark muscavado sugar

A pinch of salt

150g dark chocolate 70 per cent, melted and cooled

100g ground almonds

2 tsp chickpea flour [gram flour]

70g of good quality cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

150g Turkish delight, chopped

Method: How to make Turkish delight brownies

1. Heat the oven to 16°0C.
 Line a square brownie tin with greaseproof paper.
 In a clean, dry bowl whisk eggs, sugars and salt until they become really voluminous and pale. This will take about 5 minutes.

2. Scoop out the sweet potato from their skins and mash with a fork. Fold in the chocolate, ground almonds, chickpea flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and vanilla extract until its incorporated. Add the Turkish delight.

3. Pour into the lined brownie tin and bake for 35 minutes or until the top is firm.

Simultaneous sampling

Over the last week I've been working 1:1 with a another Canadian designer, developing devore, dying, discharge and transfer techniques. Canada is apparently a bit of a textile desert!

The photo shows a hive of activity on the print table; constantly multi tasking and shifting between techniques with a series of samples on the go simultaneously. For me sampling in this way is the best way to understand a broad range of skills within a limited time frame.
If you're interested in learning new textile skills please get in touch.

Textile gathering.

Last Wednesday the studio welcomed a great group of textile ladies who had regularly taken part in my workshops over the last few years.
For the last 10 years I've cooked and created lunch for my students & we've enjoyed a vast array of culinary delights, yet on this occasion the tables were turned so everyone brought along a contribution & we had the chance to catch up on where their tactile techniques had taken them.
Maggie has moved on to BA Contemporary Practice at MMU, Val's studio is just about up and running, Cath showed us a stunning devore creation [soon to be exhibited at Cannon Hall], Wendy's calligraphy has gone from strength to strength, Angela brought her basket full of textile treats and Ali's time is all taken up creating a whole new being!! [Big congratulations!]
Thank you all for a lovely afternoon indulgently chatting, eating and drinking - I had my camera at the studio yet was so involved I forgot to use it...we'll have to do it all again soon to get a group shot!