So long since.....

....I posted here!  Sorry to any followers that are still with me after so long a gap.  I am still working away in my very cold studio mainly on a commission for which I did some sampling recently.  Thought I would post a picture .......

I quite like the black and white combo!

New news.....

...or at least something I can now mention as it has all been confirmed.  The Reveal Group of which I am a member have been invited to exhibit as the prestigious Farfield Mill in the Autumn of 2011.  We shall be exhibiting a new body of work under the exhibition title of "Unfolding Stories".  I am already buzzing with ideas and starting to work tentatively in my sketchbook and am looking forward very much to a new project for the New Year.  You can check out the exhibition dates at this link, and I shall be posting them on my website in the New Year.  I only recently visited Farfield Mill for the first time to attend a course given by Cas Holmes - its a wonderful venue in a splendid area of the country and very much worth a visit.

A little flat.....

....this weekend seems very quiet after all the September busy-ness.  Thought I'd post a photo of Radiant Works/HOST event as a little reminder

Last day....

of HOST tomorrow. Radiant works will be open from 11.00 am to 5.00pm for the last day of open studios tomorrow.  I hope you can call in and say hello.  Dionne Swift, Fiona Wilson, Alison Taylor, CarolAnn Allan, Julie Seaman and me will all have work on show and there will be an opportunity to have a look around Dionne, Fiona and Julie's studios......artists at work!

Sneak preview.......

A hectic weekend.....

... Fri: preparing for HOST, dusting, hoovering, window cleaning, hammering, hanging work, picking mum up from the station, glad rags on and down to the champagne reception, curry dinner, collect work from reception and home,
....Sat: off with mum to the Lakes for a collage course with Cas Holmes at the wonderful Farfield Mill - well worth a visit just outside Sedbergh in breathtakingly beautiful countryside.....hadn't fully appreciated it was a 4 hour round car journey though!
....Sun: visiting family, quick pop into Radiant Works...it was looking great...then off to rota duty at Saltaire which despite the rain was very busy right up until closing at 5 pm....packing away work and goodbyes to all 6HP artists after a swift glass of wine or 2 then back home ready to do it all again at HOST next weekend. 

Hope you can join us there!  In the meantime one or two images of the work that was featured at 6 Harold Place Saltaire for all those who were unable to visit.

On show.....

A picture of my work at Sheffield's Art in the Gardens.  The portrait on the top left sold - thank you to the purchaser - the rest of the work is now on show at Saltaire.

Another week.....

another opening night.  Tomorrow evening marks the start of the Saltaire ArtsTrail/Open Houses event.   Apologies to Paula Dunn the house owner for the very panicked last minute delivery of my work and many thanks also to her for the posted image on facebook showing me what it looks like on the wall.

The wonders of the internet!  

I do hope any readers out there will be able to make it to the Festival/Open Houses.  Saltaire at festival time is a wonderful place to be and if it rains there's plenty houses full of art to investigate.  I am hoping to be there a good chunk of both weekends so don't be shy and say hello.  

The before.......

and the after...

Calm and order out of chaos.

So far it has been beautiful sunshine, live music, luscious botanicals, summer pimms, fine art and of course amazing craft and design.  Tomorrow is the last day at Sheffield's Art in the Gardens.  Come and join us in the sunshine!  

Nudge, nudge.....

........is there anyone out there??  If so and you are interested in art and craft and are in the Sheffield area or within travelling distance this weekend, I and a group of members of the Hallam Group of the Society of Designer Craftsmen (well all women actually) will be proudly showing our work at the Art in the Gardens.  The weather man promises it is going to be a sunny weekend so a trip to the Botanical Gardens where it is all happening on Saturday or Sunday should not be missed.  I hope to be there at the opening on Friday night and during Sunday.  I shall be demonstrating my knitting technique and all are welcome.  Do mention this blog post if you see me there!  I am really intrigued to know whether it is read by anyone! 

Look forward to seeing you there!

Deadlines......

....are looming which is my cue to start working....I've chosen my subject matter, and tonight I shall be manically beading and knitting if I get some time.  Hope there is something good on the telly to bead along to.

A day off work.....

sketching.  Trying to find inspiration for new work. 

this is the orignal sketch.....but I always prefer close up crops....

not sure which one to go for yet.

Getting completely lost......

.....in Sheffield is not a good way to spend a Sunday morning!  I did eventually find Sue Lancaster's fabulous studio (so much space and light!) but was almost an hour late for my meeting with the Hallam Branch of the Society of Designer Craftmen (or should that be women?). 
It was good to meet everyone and we had a very productive meeting planning our inaugral exhibition at Art in the Gardens in Sheffield Botanical Gardens on the first weekend in September later this year.   The need to crack on and make new work is now really pressing but this is the only way I ever get round to doing any.  Regrettably I am not one of those people that plan and work methodically and have everything ready in time.  I need a looming deadline.  Trouble is I now have several.  So I have booked a day off work next week and intend to spend the whole day drawing.  So hopefully next week I should have some images to post.   In the meantime - here is one I did earlier!

He looks a little cross-eyed I think!

       

More news......

.......today whilst visiting the Holmfirth ArtWeek (which I would heartily recommend to anyone within travelling distance - art, open studios, fringe events, and a lovely town brim full with coffee shops, art and craft shops, home made ice cream and artists studios - what more could anyone want? it started today and it goes on till next weekend and its all in a good cause - Macmillan Cancer Support - last year they raised over £34,000!)......anyhow I pcked up a leaflet for the HOST Huddersfield Open Studios event in September on which a picture of my work is featured.  See if you can spot it! 

I have very kindly received an invite from the artists - Dionne Swift and Julie Ann Seaman - based at Radiant Studios to exhibit my work there as part of the HOST Open Studios event.  Check out the link for more details.   I am going to have to get my knitting needles out!

Great news.....

.....  I have been invited back to the Saltaire Arts Trail this year.    I feel really honoured as it was a selected artists only event this time.  The Artstrail is facing an exciting period of change.  In 2011 it will move from its slot in September where it has always been an integral part of the main Saltaire Festival to its own distinct slot in May as a stand alone Open Studios event. 
So this year as part of the Saltaire Festival the Artstrail will be a smaller event with only 11 houses opening.  The organisers have selected the artists that will be featured in the houses and I am really pleased to have been invited back to 6 Harold Place together with some fellow artists from previous years and some new and exciting ones too.  I hope you can make it down to see us and our work in the glorious setting of 6HP which Paula Dunn and her partner Nick have very generously agreed to open again this year.

As a taster check out the 6HP website where there are more images from previous events. 

More news to follow shortly......September is going to be a busy month!

Recently.....

.....I met up with the wonderful ladies from our Reveal Group.  We are slowly working towards our next exhibition which I shall post more about once we have a confirmed date.  In the meatime we had agreed to work on a book exchange where we would each choose and work in a book and then swop the books round each time we meet.  Unfortunately my choice of book and the work I had done in it were not something I was particularly proud of.  I felt that I didn't really connect or feel motivated to work in the book I had chosen.  Luckily a few of us felt reluctant to pass on our books at the last meeting so I had a reprieve and after months searching second hand bookshops for just the right book......I have found it.......right under my nose on one of our bookshelves.  It has been quietly waiting for years for me to just pick it up.  It's fab and I can't wait to start working in it.  I shall share a few pages once I have got going but here are some images of some of its pages before I start work in it.  It's going to be hard to do them justice!  

These pages remind me of some of my early textile work. I'm really looking forward to how they will inspire future work!

Up and running......

.....the Knit Happens exhibition is now open in Scarborough as part of the North Yorkshire Open Studios event.  Three of my pieces are there including this one....

(can't post images for some reason ...will try and add later....success at last!  I hate posting without an image)

The exhibition is on throughout most of June (not weekends).  For details check out the links in the post below.  The Open Studios are running over 2 weekends 11th - 13th June and 19th - 20th June throughout North Yorkshire and are well worth a visit too.
I've also heard this weekend that I shall be exhibiting/demonstrating at the Creative Stitches event run by ICHF in Glasgow next year..... a great opportunity and a chance to check out all the Charles Rennie Mackintosh sites.  I'm already thoroughly looking forward to it.  I've also been invited to give a few more talks to various Embroidery Guilds details of which I shall post on my website shortly.  Perhaps even a summer school but more of that another day.
There is so much to visit these next few months around Yorkshire I only hope I can fit it all in!  This Sunday - 6th June - and next - the 13th - is the Holmfirth Art Market.  My jewellery teacher, Julie Seaman, is there the 2nd weekend.  The flyer for the market is very inspiring so that's a definite on the calender.
The Hebden Bridge Open studios are on 2nd - 4th July and another must see.
I would also really like to see the New Designers textiles, ceramics and jewellery degree shows event 1st to 4th July too but that one's down in London so not so easy to get to.  

Today I posted......

.....a large parcel containing three of my portrait hangings through to the Woodend Creative Workspace in Scarborough where they will be part of the "Knit Happens" exhibition which in turn is part of the North Yorkshire Open Studios Event.  The exhibition runs from 1st to 25th June 2010  11am to 5pm Monday to Friday, and it's free to visit.  The exhibition is curated by Elizabeth Gaston of Leeds University and the pieces on show were chosen to challenge the view of kniting as a domestic craft.  If you are in the area check it out.   

The Woodend Creative Workspace itself used to be the summer home of Edith Sitwell and has recently been refurbished and is a dedicated venue for creative and cultural businesses with a dedicated gallery space in the former Sitwell Conservatory and one of the original family staterooms from which you can see Scarborough's Valley Gardens and beyond that the sea.
I'm hoping to be able to visit myself because it looks like a wonderful place and I can never resist a trip to the seaside!

Strange to think......

.....that my work has flown half way round the world (luckily before the ash cloud hit us!) and is right at this moment on display in Victoria, Australia.  With the wonders of technology I have already been sent (thank you Beverley) a photo Jan Beaney and Jean Littlejohn who opened the exhibition this weekend.  You can just see my work in the background.    More images to follow soon.

Just made it......

.....in time not to miss posting at all here in March.  Just a quick visit to post an image of the postcard publicity for the Fabricate 2010 exhibition I have the honour to be part of in Australia next month.  It was such a thrill to be invited to exhibit and now to know my work has travelled half way round the world to be in some very illustrious company is amazing.  I don't envy the organisers all the hard work they have had to get the whole thing organised and the work that it will now take to prepare the exhibit but I do envy them being able to see it all in place.  I'm hoping to receive some images in due course and if permitted will post them when I do.  Good luck with the exhibition ladies!

So exciting!

Oops another gap......

.....without posting.  Oh dear!  The day job has taken over (not complaining...just a fact) and there has been so little time to add to this space but voila a quick snapshot list of what's been occurring.....

1 A wonderful day with the Reveal group, hearing what everyone has been doing and co-ordinating our plans to seek out exhibition space.  I am really appreciative of being part of this great group which came out of the advanced textile course we all did at Bankfield Museum with Hilary Bower over a year ago now.  Thank you ladies for all your support, enthusiasm and energetic commitment to our group.  Rumour has it we may have secured an exhibition opportunity......more about that another day.  The image supporting this post is a shot of Hilary opening our exhibition at Bankfield in 2008.

2. An expression of interest from a body that promotes art in public places.......though not sure whether this will get off the ground as since my reply its all gone strangely quiet.  Does that happen to you sometimes? 

3. Several requests to give talks and workshops to various Embroiderer's Guilds in 2010/2011 and even 2012!.....which is all very exciting.

4.  The possibility of a demonstrator spot at one of the Creative Stitches events next year....thinking very seriously about that one.

5.  On a more personal level I've been doing a jewellery workshop with Julie Seaman who is a fabulous tutor.  It has been great fun and I'm learning a lot of new techniques.  So many things I want to do......just need 48 hours in every day!  Next month I am down to do a workshop with Fiona Rutherford.  More about that later. 

6.  Finished working on the pieces for Fabricate 10.  Just the paperwork and packaging and posting outstanding ...my least favourite bit I have to admit. 

Oh dear ....................

.....the title of the last post seems very apt for this blog as a whole recently!!
A very, very slow start to the blog indeed.  I shall try and be a little more active here in future.

The Society of Designer Craftmen Show at the Mall went very well this year.  It was great to meet up with designers familiar and new.  I had to miss the opening night which was a great shame but apparently it was a successful and lively evening and show as a whole.

It is full on now making work for the Fabricate Show in Australia in April.  I am working on a couple of smaller butterfly hangings and will send a couple of portrait pieces.   
I recently had a butterfly piece shadow framed......

.....but it is really difficult to get a good photo of it that shows the cast shadows.  One of these days I shall be able to afford a professional photoshoot!

I've also finished a couple of new framed faces and had them framed in the same way.  Sorry again for the poor quality photo. 

I use a local framer - Northedge Gallery - and they always do a fantastic job.  They have a good (if small) print gallery with an excellent selection of limited and open edition prints.  I always come away with a few cards to add to my stash.