It's been awhile

Life has been full and very busy this summer so apologies for not keeping up with the news.
I was happy to be invited to have a solo exhibition during July August and September at the Minerva Gallery in Llanidloes, Wales and it was super to see my Arctic and Beyond work all in one place.
The whole body of work began with my trip to Arctic Canada in 1998 to visit the Inuit seamstresses in Baker Lake.  Seeing this textile did take me back to a wonderful inspirational trip. It created and interest in ice, snow, and glaciers that I continue to constantly revive.

I was also very pleased to have a solo exhibition at Midsomer Quilting, a wonderful shop, and gallery space in Chilcompton in Somerset.  Worth a visit if you are in this part of the country.  It also gave me an opportunity to see again some favourite pieces from the past.... some from the 'Within 4 Walls' series, and work done based on endangered trees and forests.  It is always good to see the work done in the past to appreciate how one's work has evolved over the years.  These are two pieces I hadn't seen for several years and they brought back wonderful memories.  On the left a Scottish/Canadian piece and the right 'Remembering Cabot' from a visit to St. John's Nfld. to the Cabot Quilters group many years ago.

I can't forget the Festival of Quilts and I was busy there for several days, judging and helping on the Art Textiles Made in Britain stand.  Our show was called 'Identity' and was very well received (if I do say so myself)  I may have shared these photos, but here they are again.

You can see Louise Baldwin, Pauline Brown and Jenny Rolfe at the desk.  A promising first venture for the group.  My work in black and white inspired by an arctic walk and the sound of cracking ice.

The Latest news...
Taking a holiday in France in September was a chance to relax before the Somerset Open Studios.
I took part (with a painter, printmaker friend Vera Sheaf) in my home gallery/studio space for two weeks.  It was my first venture and it was very interesting to meet non textile people.  All of the work on show was new, smaller framed pieces based on the flooding earlier this year on the Somerset Levels.  This is a theme that is developing into a larger body of work.  Many of the smaller piece were developed from collographs that were manipulated, painted and finally transferred onto cloth for machine stitching.

You can see more of the work from the Open Studio on www.asomertonstudio.blogspot.co.uk

The above pieces were also at the South West Textile Group exhibition of 'Pathways' at the Ilminster Art Centre for most of this month.

That brings me up to current work.... 

Watch this space.. 

More developements from the Somerset Level floods are being done now.

Thanks for reading and will try and organise my blog time better in the future.

The Levels

What a winter we have had so far!   You may have heard about the flooding in many parts of the UK. - Somerset, Gloucestershire, the Thames valley and Surrey.  Somerton, where I live is on high ground, so no problems, but we are not far from 'the Somerset levels' where there has been terrific flooding since Christmas.  Acres and acres of farmland are still underwater, some villages are cut off and it will take months (of reasonable spring weather ) for life to completely get back to normal. On the sunny days we have had, I have tried to capture the beauty of these flooded fields, while always remembering the damage that has been done.

Working in black and white and neutral tones, I have been doing a great deal of sketching and mark making in graphite, ink and pencil, trying to capture the feeling of the landscape.  I can see many of these  images being taken further onto cloth with stitch.  A whole new body of work, I think. 

Watch this space
 

What's new -
My Design Essential course will begin March 1 at Midsomer Quilting and I hope to keep you posted on some of the progress during the next couple of months.  I have a great group of gals - we shall see.

South West Textile group have an exhibition space "Footsteps in Time" at the Fashion Embroidery and Stitch Show, March 20-23 at the NEC in Birmingham - a wonderful show worth visiting.

Hope you are all well and safe, wherever you are... seems the weather has been creating havoc everywhere since Christmas.

 Thanks for reading and will try and keep you posted more regularly in the future.

 

 

Season's Greetings

 So, why has it taken me so long to write another entry??  Well.... no excuse, except to say life has been busy and full of good things.
Seems to me the last time I wrote we were off to Yorkshire for a holiday.  It was great and it seems so long ago I won't bore you with all the wonderful photos of the Dales.  I did get my piece for the Studio 21 'Chinese Whispers' finished and we had a super exhibition in October.
Here are some of the photos from South Hill Park...  Watch this space - we are seeking more venues in the UK at the moment.  Our website for more information is   http://www.studio21textileart.co.uk/

 

  My 'Design Essentials' course is now happening! 

 It will be about understanding good design and composition for stitched textiles.

The classes will run from 1 March in 5 sessions (with homework) Although not a vocational course it will be a comprehensive guide to good composition for art quilts and stitched textiles.  We will be exploring the elements and principles of design. This will include ideas such as consolidating themes, working in series, the essentials of line, shape, form, colour, texture, abstraction through a series of collage exercises with some art practise, print and digital imagery.  For each session there will be a complete set of notes, demonstrations and exercises to follow and there will be some homework.

5 classes will run every 2 weeks on Saturdays
1st , 15th  and 29th March, and the 12th and 26th of April.  2014.  9.30am to 4pm 

at Midsomer Quilting, Norton Green Garden Centre, Chilcompton, Bath, BA3 4RR.   

Please contact me soon for fees if you are interested. Places are limited as booking has begun

sandrameech@gmail.com 

I do appreciate that it might be a distance for many, but Midsomer Quilting, where I am hiring the workshop, does have a list of accomodation nearby.     http://www.midsomerq.com

That is all for now, Christmas is coming and it is a busy time for everyone.  

Have a great holiday and I wish you and your family all the very best in 2014.

Thanks for reading......

Summer

Summer Update

I've been busy working in my new studio and quite excited with some new developments.  While sorting through old portfolios I came across some large paintings on paper that might find their way into some new work.  It is surprising that over the last 15 years, I have revisited my love of blues and whites with textures in many different series of work.  Most have been ice/Arctic inspired, but more recently I have been addressing global warming and sound.  The Meltdown work you can see in the New Work part of this blog.

Although working at this time more in black and white, with limited colour, I am sure these images might find their way into some new pieces.   Once I have a good jpg of any surface art, there are so many possibilities.
Lately, I have been exploring sound and silence with some pieces that are being developed for a new exhibition by Studio 21 called Chinese Whispers 14-27 October at South Hill Park near Bracknell, Berkshire.  http://www.studio21textileart.co.uk/  for details.
Some of the work is a collaboration with other members work, but primarily my work will follow sound 'marks' and inspiration from sound waves.  I begin by working in paper with line, paint and imagery to resolve the composition on a small scale, then look at creating surfaces that will be eventually machine stitched.  Here are some explorations so far.
Watch this space......

 Stay tuned also for news of a SALE of quilting materials, books, embroidery cottons and threads at my home in Somerton, Somerset on the 2nd November.  I have so much material accumulated over the years, it is the time to take stock (or eliminated some of it)...  More information to come.

We're off to the Yorkshire Dales soon for a week (probably in the rain) .... some walking, site seeing
(to Bradford for the Hockney and 'Cloth and Memory' exhibitions), some reading....and hopefully creative time for sketching and sewing.

Thanks for reading.............

High Summer

We have a lavender hedge now...it's been a hive of activity (excuse the pun)

Well it has been too long since I last wrote - still unpacking boxes and making my Studio a working space.  It will be fine but just so many things to find a home for.
We are still discovering wonderful places to visit in Somerset...  Porlock Weir, Dunster, and discovering new roads and footpaths in Exmoor.  I especially liked the isolation of Porlock Weir, the huge stretch of pebble beach....great textures and subtle colour (and a good pub).

 I really could show so many photos from the National Trust gardens we have been exploring in the last few months as well....  Barrington Court, Tintunhull, Montacute House to name a few.  But I won't. We all love to take pictures and I have just spent the last 2 days trying to sort the hundreds..or should I say thousands I have.  It is compulsive to just keep taking pictures.... I love it.!!!

Festival of Quilts was wonderful last week and I was pleased to be part of
Annabel Rainbow and Laura Kemshall's exhibition 'Through our Hands' with a great group of textile artists. The piece on the left is called 'Pathways' and it first was exhibited with Quilt Art a few years ago, but not seen much in the UK.  Still one of my favourite images of endangered forests.

I was also pleased to be selected for the Fine Art Quilt Masters at Festival.

The 'Last Silence' (above) is a very small piece of work which is a starting point for larger work in the future.  It is always a shame that the artist statement is not available (except if you have the program in your hand).  This piece was inspired by sound... or the lack of sound when I walked onto the frozen Baker Lake in Arctic Canada many years ago.  At the time I heard 'nothing' - no birds,planes overhead, ...nothing except for the occasional sound of cracking ice.  I was able to find the ice-crack sound waves and replicate them as a dimensional textile piece.  The other marks represent the tinitus that I hear now .... no complete silence for me ever again.  More work on this theme is being planned for the Studio 21 exhibition in October at South Hill Park, Bracknell.  I will be adding it to my latest news soon.

On the left is another new stitched textile inspired by winter flood images and marks from last winter on the levels in Somerset.
Coming to live in a different part of the country did inspire a lot of new photographs this winter and I loved the subtle colours of the trees.  It is called "LevelSlice' (far left with detail)  Marks on paper were made and combined with black and white images, then heat transferred onto cloth (it is 30cm x 1.2M) with the colour added with machine threads.

Well that's what has been keeping me busy lately.  I must try and post more frequently....
Off to the Yorkshire Dales soon..... more photos no doubt... and some sketching too.

Thanks for reading... until next time...

 

  NEW COVER - OLD BOOK

Just to let you know that my book Creative Quilts...Inspiration Texture and Stitch published in hardback in 2006, with a red embellished cover (see below) has been reprinted now in softcover.  The quilt that Batsford used is from my 'Near North" series and it looks clean and fresh..... BUT it may confuse many who think it is a brand new publication.  All the pages inside are the same as before.
 
For those of you who have not seen this book, it covers embroidery embellishment techniques, surface design and ways to explore creativity in contemporary textile art.  Like my other books it includes mini workshops and design classes to try.  It is illustrated with my own art quilts and textiles as well as work from many other stitch textile professionals.   So, pass on the word that this is the original Creative Quilts book with a 'new look' soft cover.

Time has passed since my last blog - I've been busy with new work and a trip to Canada and the States.  More news coming soon.  

Thanks for reading.

Alive and well and living in Somerton

It has been too long... apologies!!.  

Settling in nicely to life in Somerset and love our new home.  I still have boxes to unpack but have been managing to get really inspired by the landscape in this part of England.  So historic as well !!,  Very near to the ancient seat of Avalon... King Arthur and all, - Glastonbury and the 'tor', and Wells Cathedral - on the doorstep.  The Somerset levels are also very near.... a perfect blend of history, nature and the rural idyll of the west country.

Many of these wide landscapes and big skies have inspired some current work in black and white. The colours are so subtle in winter, yet the shapes of trees are  magnificent. Converting images to black and white is often the first thing I do with photos.  It is possible then to really see shapes and detail in black and white.  Too much colour for me sometimes gets in the way.

I am excited by a combination of mark-making and photo images, and this piece reminded me of the floods in many of the areas of Somerset and beyond this winter.  

Other Textile news....
After a little break from any work for the last couple of months, I am inspired and busy creating new pieces.  A recent exhibition called Chinese Whispers by Studio 21 at a stitch textile show in Birmingham at the NEC, gave me a chance to do a piece based on sound and ice.  Using some images and marks made to sound, I researched the sound waves of ice breaking and combined the shapes together to create this small piece called "The Last Silence".  I am excited about more pieces on this theme and the Studio 21 will be having a large exhibition in October at South Hill Park, Bracknell.  We are planning some workshops, and events during that time.  Watch this space for more news.

Finally, a wonderful view of the Murmuration of starlings a few weeks ago.  Just before dawn when they all flock to an area on the Somerset Levels to roost, you can see the moving patterns in the sky of thousands of birds.... the most wondeful sight.

Until next time.....                   Thanks for reading