Putting horrible vegetables to good use.

Well, I haven't had so much fun since nursery school, experimenting with potato and broccoli shapes tonight and fabric paints.

I'd much rather print with broccoli 'trees' than eat them,  and a little gold emulsion wall paint added a special bit of sparkle to my potato flower petals.  This could be really addictive, but time available is so short at the moment.

Make Do and Create Chair Upholstery

Fabric and Textiles are lots of fun. There are no limits to how we can change our environment with a bit of time and effort.

I found this lovely Sheridan bedding last year.  In blue and white,   Antique French wallpaper was the design inspiration for Bowood, a beautifully hand-painted toile of flowers, foliage and even a pair of songbirds.   I've scanned the fabric and printed images of sections of the design onto photo paper to use in picture frames above my bed.  Instant vintage class for not a lot of money.

Question - what do you do when your tatty old brown chair spoils your lovely new blue bedroom?
Answer - find a staple gun, experiment with a paper pattern and reupholster the chair in matching fabric.  I'm really pleased with the result.  Next time I might try buttoning the upholstery.

A visit to London; The Victoria and Albert and Tate Britain...

Recently I've been to London with my art class to visit the Tate Britain and The V&A, we had great fun exploring the galleries, finding exciting works and historic items. The rooms were nearly as inspiring as the items on display as the mosaic floors, sweeping staircases and dome glass roofs made you feel like you were in a great cathedral/palace at the same time.

The V&A really inspired me and I could have spent all day there looking at our British ancestors' homes and artifacts; there were a huge range of floral items including dresses, fabrics, plates, chairs and wall paintings.

This dress was one of the highlights of my day, as soon as I saw it I wanted to wear it!

I found this veil in the wedding displays, I think the delicate lace flowers and foliage make this a very beautiful piece

Believe it or not this dress was made for a twelve year old to wear, the exquisit fabrics used to make this dress allowed it to shimmer in the candle light. Imagine trying to get through a doorway in it though!

The dress above is from Korea, it reminded me of my work last year on patchquilts and my trousseau boxes. The fan had a similar impact upon me as I am currently doing studies of pansy's.

This piece was in the Iznik section, I loved the flowing shapes and bright coloured flowers.

This is the first work in the Tate Britain that caught my eye, the pastel colours, soft flowers and the floaty shapes of the girls dresses inspired me enough to sit down and draw it for two hours!

When I found this image it instantly amused me because of the fact that the ballerina is in a position completely opposite to what we imagine a ballerina to look like

The detailing on this painting inspired me due to the complexity of the patterns used, the beading, lace ruffle and perfect stitches make you wonder how long someone spent making such a striking dress!

Machine Knitting Masterclass

My first experiment with machine knitting - a lilac cardigan in five parts, 20 minutes to knit each, three days to sew it together - now I need an overlocker......

Thank goodness for my Grandmother and her lifelong wool obsession.

Open Doors: Textile Stores at St Fagans National History Museum

Thursday 6th September, 2pm - 3pm - luckily, after enrolling at school for Year 13 in the morning, I still  an opportunity to visit the Museum's textile storeroom with curator Elen Phillips as part of the Open Doors: European Heritage Day.

Elen took a small group of visitors behind the scenes to look at a selection of the textile artifacts which are held in the museum.  After walking through room after room of racking and containers, we had a chance to discuss a few items in detail. 

Did you know that it's been a welsh tradition to hide shoes and other personal items in chimneys, perhaps thought to bring good luck to the household?  Or that women used to wear large material pockets hidden in their clothing? (Hence the crime of Pocket picking, lots of interesting glimpses into past lives at the Old Bailey Court records see http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/ )

The clothing was amazing, you should see the whale bone and steel corsets and under garments. 

The museum never throws away  any textile - items are passed between different museums, lesser important items may be offered to theatrical costumiers or colleges for study.

The highlight of the tour for me was the opening of a random drawer, to reveal this beautiful eighteenth century dress. with incredible hand embellishment and embroidery.

 

I spent a week in the Glamorgan Archives/Public Records Office in 2010 learning a little about the importance of document and paper conservation and now I've gained a further valuable insight into past times and the work which is in progress to maintain our textile heritage. 

Blue diamonds and cupcakes...

Today I finished a new raglan sleeve cardigan that I started as a distraction from my exam revision 3 months ago. The fronts are decorated with a a diamond lace pattern and its main body is a plain stocking stitch, my favourite part is the cupcake buttons which really make this cardi (I have a thing for cupcakes and they don't even have to be on the plate).

Look out for my next cardigan, heaven knows what buttons i'll come up with!

Braiding in the Rain or "Stop String Being Boring".

Wednesday 15th August - "Braids from The Past: As long as people have made string, they have plied, knotted and braided it to make it longer, stronger or just more decorative! Join this workshop to learn some ancient skills that you can use at home. 2 different sessions.  Braids from prehistory: Ply Stone Age cord, make a Bronze Age plait and braid the leather bracelet found on an Iron Age bog body. 2pm - 4pm: More fun with two: Make a Viking whipcord and an Early Medieval loop braid fit for a queen - but make sure you bring a friend!"

What an invite - well, you never know when a bog body bracelet will be needed, so in pouring summer rain, my grandmother, mother and I wandered off this week to a St Fagan's to find the workshop.

By the time we tracked down Louise Mumford, Conservator, Department of Archaeology (National Museum of Wales), we were drenched, not good as my Mum melts in the rain. The good news was that we had Louise all to ourselves for a master class in braids and textiles.

I was able to make a twisted ply cord from nettle stems and flax and braided a leather bracelet which has loads of possibilities for other textile projects.  Louise gave a fascinating overview of ancient textiles, tablet weaving, fingerloop braids, japanese kumihimo braids, American native indian finger weaving and was also able to show us artifacts used in bronze and iron ages to create textiles.

I'm going to put my name down as a volunteer for the museum and find out how I can help show techniques to visitors in future.

Elephant rampages at St Fagans...

TOP NEWS! There was chaos earlier as a large elephant rampaged through the grounds of St Fagans historic castle and gardens.... Fearing the worst we watched him walk past the glass houses and narrowly missing the herbaceaous borders as he went to munch on a nearby tree.

Only kidding, here's my latest knitted toy animal made from an Alan Dart pattern... The picture backgrounds here are the start of my final a-level textile research for projects when I go back to school. Looks like I'll be working on more flowers :0)

Does this make me a Spinster? (The Wheel goes so fast the photos are blurred...)

After seeing the Woollen Mill on Friday,  today I've put to use a dusty old spinning wheel which has been hiding in the corner of our dining room, and have been trying my hand at traditional yarn making.  This has been fun to do.  I'm not sure if I like the uneven texture and slubs - this will depend on the end product.

St Fagans Museum Woollen Mill - oldest working Spinning Jack

I love exploring St Fagan's Folk Museum and always find something new to look at.  Today, the Woollen Mill was spinning.  As Dewi Jones explained to us, the only thing he doen't do is shear the sheep!  I love the blends and patterns of colours produced by the traditional production methods.

The following is taken from the Museum's web site:-

This building is typical of the many small factories which were found throughout Wales where farmers brought their wool to be processed into cloth for their own use. The mill was built in 1760, but was extended to accommodate new machinery in the 19th century and continued in production until 1947. It was moved to the museum in 1949.
All the processes of wool production are undertaken under one roof, from dyeing the fleece to finishing the fabric. There are two handlooms, dating from the mid-18th century, which were converted to flying shuttle shortly afterwards. The spinning jack, probably the only one in its kind still working, was made by John Davies of Llanbrynmair in about 1830 and the carding engines were purchased second-hand at the same time from a mill in Yorkshire. The internal water wheel, which powers all of the machinery, is located on the ground floor, next to the hammers of the fulling stocks.
The mill continues to produce traditional shoulder shawls and Welsh carthenni or blankets, which are often to be seen stretched on the tenter frame outside. The water that is used to power the water wheel is pumped from the pool below, built in 1904 as a swimming pool for the Earl of Plymouth and his family.

A little inspiration goes a long way...

Earlier this week I was looking at fashion videos on youtube and stumbled apon a channel that did marble nails. The technique seemed so simple that I decided to try it out myself- 2 hours later and I had myself a pair to show.

If you'd like to try it out yourself here's the video I used:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9A_9FH7e-A

Art open day...

21^st June – Bishop of Llandaff Church in Wales High School – A’ Level Art Exhibition 2012.  All my efforts for the past year have been proudly displayed for public critical acclaim! My Pineapple endeavours have finally seen the light of day.  I hope everyone enjoyed them. Well done to everyone else who took art and textiles this year, I loved seeing the variety and range of works that have been created.

Bath Spa University...

Bath  Spa University Open Day 9^th June 2012.  Very inspiring talk by the Head of Bath School of Art and Design, Pradeep Sharma BA (Cantab) MA (Cantab)MA – he explained that art students are particularly brave, in his opinion, as their work only exists to be displayed  for all to see, open to critical discussion and interpretation.  The web has removed the old fashioned idea of the artist working alone in a garret as all work can be published immediately.  It is a direct result of Mr Sharmas’ comments that I present my web pages – please let me know what you think and if you like this, please share this with your friends.

These lions with knitted crowns at the entrance to the university highly amused me!

Work experience...

June 2012 – Work experience week.  Wow – I’ve just spent a week in textile heaven at Marigold Theatrical Costumiers http://www.marigoldcostumes.co.uk  where they supply clothes for stage, television and fancy dress. With 95,000 costumes in stock,  I was thrown into the deep end with real professionals.  On day one making these Stomachers for a production of  Les Miserables. First lesson learnt was to hang your scissors around your neck on a ribbon or they get lost for ever (critical when you can only use left handed scissors).  The week went really quickly, and I’ve discovered that Marigold hold a vintage textiles and haberdashery sale every Saturday 11 – 1pm, so no shortage of  wonderful fabrics for recycling and remaking in future – some of it acquired from the BBC’s costume making department.  Thank you to Sue, Laura and all the staff in Marigold for making my stay so memorable.

Felting experiments...

I was given a book on needle felted animals for my birthday this year – here are my first attempts.  I’ve spiked my leg and broken the needle, but haven’t been put off yet.

Mouseys...

Exams are over, I’m free…..  For a bit of fun, I’ve knitted this cute grey mouse.  Mum wouldn’t let me sew the eyes on until the mouse was finished – I didn’t realise soft toys had feelings.

My pet pineapple...

Finally artistic inspiration and breakthrough comes in the shape of a pineapple.  I have lived, breathed, and then ate pineapple in the lead up to the exam.  I loved photographing and enlarging different sections of the fruit to allow the true beauty of the pineapple to be revealed. Pineapples are everywhere  in our community, and represent a symbol of ‘Welcome’. I have explored mixed media, using my photographs as the base to develop textile work,  beadwork, weaving, shibbori, devore, felt work, machine and hand embroidery, knitting, crochet, and my latest love, machine embellishing which creates such a rich, jewel effect in vibrant colours.  This is definitely something I want to explore further in my textile work. 

I am yet to get my results but hope I have done well due to all the work I did on this piece through out my easter holidays.

Look out for my cupcake logo for Lucy Annis Wood .   in these pics, capital A for the Cake, W for the fondant icing and L for the cake case look out Vivienne Westwood and Coco Chanel.

Funny thing is that as each piece came together, it ended up being named   - Look out for “Kitchen Sink Pineapple and  “Crushed Pineapple” “Inside Outside”

The art A-level maze...

AS Level 2012 exam study.  Lots and lots of false starts with this project – having chosen ‘Contextual Influences’, I got waylaid by logos and meanings, branding and marketing which the exam question  seemed to be asking for.  Still trying to lean towards jewellery – this piece is ‘From cocoa powder to final article’ in knitting, embellished with angellina fibres and embroidery, topped with a half eaten felt Bournville biscuit ring.

Yet another cardi...

This is my latest cardigan, knitted as part of an individual investigation for my Welsh Baccalaureate qualification to improve my knitting skills.  This caused a stir in school as I spent spare time in the school library and common areas making my cardigan.  There was so much interest that a group of friends joined me at lunchtimes and  formed a knitting club with the blessing of our Textile teacher.

AS level 2011 Art endorsed Textiles – lots of work early this year into wedding trousseau inspired by the idea of Victorian bridal bottom drawers.  I’ve explored patchwork, knitting with coloured twine (and yes, making a 3d basket to hold all my artistic creations), jewellery making, laser cutting cutlery shapes, hand and machine embroidery to represent ‘something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue’. A stylised embroidered letter, with only the words “Dearest, remember, perfect dress, proud, always , loving Mam” surprised me with the emotions which it created in viewers, the first time I saw people engage with my art.

Drawing birds in Cardiff Museum with a tormenting brother – at least they didn’t fly out of the glass cages.

The finished result...

This is a close-up of some of the jewellery I made for my trousseau box, they were all made out of modelling clay, plastic pegs from a back draw and wire.