Alice Fox Textiles: more squares...

Alice went to see NEW GREOUNDS last week and seemed to get alot from the work - always good to know that it's hitting the right spot! Alice Fox Textiles: more squares...

One day to go...

Just 24 hours before my new 'student' arrives from Canada. Despite the thousands of miles travelling and voluminous clouds of volcanic ash, Audrey Feltham is on an epic journey of devore discovery! And I can safely say I'm ready for her!!!.
The studio has had a clear out - a full car load went to the tip! It's had a fresh coat of white paint, there's been a furniture re-jig and a lovely collection of new devore fabrics arrived last week.
Now some of the cleaning has been for Audrey's benefit, but I must admit a lot of it has been procrastination & avoidance of a whole series of other jobs I needed to work on! Why is it that I work better under pressure. I would love just once to take everything at a steady pace and enjoy the process, rather than being backed into a corner! I know how to plan and manage my time - I now need to put it into practice in order to avoid the stress!
Having said all that I'm confident I'm on schedule & have work that I'm happy with for Prinfest next weekend. A textiler in a printmaking environment, um that's a slightly uneasy thought [I'll have to blog about that later - must get to the studio & review the latest pieces]

Making it your own

This is a great post from Ruth Singer that we all should take a moment to read!
Mantua Maker: Making it your own

Audery's international residency

For the last few months emails have been going back and forth between here and Canada, finalising plans for Audery's visit. For those who don't know Audrey Feltham is a printmaker based in Newfoundland. So keen is she to discover the delights of devore, she's travelling 1000's of miles over to the sunny Huddersfield to learn all I know about textiles! Can I condense it into 1 month when I've been engrossed in cloth and stitches for the last 30 years? Well I'll give it a go - it will be a whistle stop tour!



We have a heavy agenda:
May Bank holiday weekend we are both exhibiting at Printfest.
Following week we are part of 'Stitch' at WYPW, an exhibition bringing together textiles with all forms of printmaking.
Stroud International Textile Festival is the next venue - I'll be running a workshop and Audrey is complimenting this with a professional practice talk.



I want to use my blog for the next month to provide commentary on the visit, I'm going to aim for a update very day or so - that's quite a commitment for me, but I hope you'll enjoy the progress of the residency. Audrey is going to do the same, I'll post a link to her blog when it's up and running. Should be interesting to compare the two!

It's a big thing having a stranger in your studio, for an afternoon never mind a month, and I'll admit I've been very apprehensive. What if we don't get on? But tonight we spoke for the first time on the phone and all my fears have been alleviated - she sounds great, laid back and I can tell May is going to be wonderful - watch this space for the full story of Audrey's residency...

Devore submissions invited

Very little is written about the elusive devore process & I aim to compile all of my knowledge into a 128 page, full colour, fully illustrated 'dictionary of devore'. Submissions are invited for inclusion in the 'gallery' section of this new and exciting DEVORE BOOK.
Accepted work/artists/designers will receive full credit and have contacted published as requested. You will receive 2 free copies of the book and the option to purchase further copies at wholesale value.
To submit your own work for consideration, send a selection of up to 6 images of devore work (please include surface details and full piece shots), CV and short description of your process/working methods.
Submissions should be sent to:
Dionne Swift
Mountfield
12 Cinderhills Road
Holmfirth
West Yorkshire
UK
HD9 1EE
or email info@dionneswift.co.uk

Please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope if you would like your materials returned.
Submission deadline Friday 4th June 2010
Images can only accepted as high-resolution digital images [300 dpi resolution] with full caption details: name, title, year completed, materials, techinique, dimensions and photography credit.
Please forward this information to anyone who maybe interested.

Textile installation needs your help...

‘Roses From The Heart’ is a project being organised by Christina Henri, a Post-Graduate Student studying fine arts living in Hobart, Tasmania and who is co-ordinator of The Bonnet Project which recognises the lives of convict women deported from the UK to ‘parts unknown’ in the 19th Century ..................................... For crimes that required pity more than punishment convict women were forcibly migrated around the world. Until 1776 when the War of Independence halted their offloading to America, these ‘unfortunates’ were pawns of the slave trade. From 1788 to 1853 – 25,566 women were transported to Australia...............................

Members of the Embroiderers’ Guild Locally and Nationally, Quilters and Friends have been helping Christina raise 25,000 bonnets – symbols of the women’s spirit – A rose for an English or Irish rose, uprooted from all that was familiar and dear to them; a Heart to show the tribute is made with sincerity and empathy; from descendants, with love.

Exhibitions, enactments and much more are happening in Australia and when Christina accomplishes her goal she hopes to bring ‘the lasses’ back to England and Ireland with a Blessing Ceremony in Westminster Abbey and various Exhibitions around the country and further there will be tours in Denmark and wherever else in Europe, America and Canada ending the journey in N.Zealand before returning to Tasmania where they will be permanently displayed in a very contemporary, stylish public art work.

At the Twisted Threads Festival of Quilts in Birmingham 20th to 23rd August 2009 there was a Booth where people were able to see the progress of this project and receive handouts for this year’s Festival 19th to 22nd August 2010 when it is hoped that Christina will be with us with some 13,000 Bonnets representing those lost lives of women who became the pioneering grandmothers of Australia ................they died to their families back home, the majority never returning and many marrying never knowing what their partner/husband back home experienced from the loss of their loved ones................... may we offer moments of reflection, taking time out from our busy lives to contemplate the female convict story, to scrutinise our own value systems, our levels of judgement, tolerance and acceptance towards others.................................................If you’d like to support this initiative and be a part of a present day Memorial please get in touch with
Norma Bean.
18 Woodhall Crescent,
Saxilby,
Lincoln LN1 2HZ.
Norma.bean@ntlworld.com

See www.femalefactory.com.au and www.christinahenri.com.au
for more details and Database where you may find your Surname and adopt a person/persons.