Stitchy Wednesday at the art gallery

On a chilly Wednesday I trekked over to Leeds art gallery for another once a month session of something stitchy. This time we were making - well, I'm not sure what you'd call them - but they involved lots of beads and sequins.

About a dozen of us gathered in the Drawing Room, which was looking very festive with its mini Christmas tree and carols playing in the background. The sessions are always themed around an exhibit or artist at the gallery itself or another local gallery/museum. This time it was about an artist that'd been exhibiting at the Hepworth gallery in Wakefield. Igshaan Adams wasn't a name I knew, but he's a South African artist and makes tapestries and textile based structures. According to Wikipedia, 'Adams creates large-scale tapestries, wall and floor installations made of plastic, fabric, textile and other everyday materials such as washcloths and garden fencing.' His work is informed by his childhood, family and the community he was raised in.

We were given a metal ring, like a bangle, and were to decorate it using whatever we chose among the bits & pieces spread out on the tables. Adams has created pieces using lots of beads, so our creations would be part Igshaan Adams inspired and part Christmas mini wreaths!

What's always fun to see is how different people interpret a theme. Look at the variation in textile pieces/mini wreaths that we made.

Some of them look like sea creatures. Others are more like dream catchers.

This was mine. I went for a frosty blue and silver theme, and seem to have thrown half of Claire's Accessories stock at it, haven't I? Making this reminded me of the beaded stars I've made in the past. Wire stars with beads strung on thinner wire wound around them.

Pretty, don't you think?

Speaking of pretty, the tree's up. I might've used an excessive number of baubles. And frosted apples. Glittery stars. Birds with gaudy feathers. Plus there's a vintage angel at the top of the tree, a sequinned unicorn just below her, a sparkly reindeer nearby ...

Hope your week's going well, and you've not already demolished all the Christmas chocolates and mince pies. You haven't ... have you?

Comments

Sari scraps, PVA, a couple of books and a necklace

I'm typing this as snow's falling, and has been steadily all day. It's not settling to any great extent, though I bet by tomorrow morning the paths will be slippery with ice. Which always makes me paranoid about falling over and at the very least looking undignified, but at worst breaking a bone or twisting an ankle. Oh well, it's ideal weather to stay inside and craft, isn't it? I finally got around to listing packs of sari scraps on Etsy this morning. I only made up six bundles as I've no clue whether they'll sell or if I've set a reasonable enough price point. Time will tell. This is a link to the listing, if you're interested. This vaguely pink fabric isn't from one of my Etsy packs. It's from a bit of experimenting I was doing yesterday. I'd seen a post on Instagram showing how a DIY version of batik could be done without using hot wax. The Instagrammer used PVA instead, and I wanted to try this out....

In praise of wool

Just a quick post today. I'm offering you a short but peaceful break from the overwhelmingness (is that a word?) of Christmas. By now you've probably eaten your bodyweight in sweets//roast potatoes/pigs in blankets/cake/After Eights ... whatever your festive indulgences are. You're under-exericsed, over-stimulated, feeling broke and possibly guilty about an argument with a relative or friend you've never entirely got on with. So, here's something to take your mind off all that. I've two videos to refresh and revive, and they both concern wool. Interesting fact. Well, I found it interesting. About 1% - yup, one per cent - of the world's textiles are made of wool. Out of curiosity, I also googled how much is made of cotton. That's higher, but it's only about 24% and that's heading downward instead of up. Synthetic fibres are the bulk of all textile manufacture. Anyway, back to woolly wonders. My firs...

Abstractuary ... no, I hadn't heard of it either

Goodbye January, the month that feels like it's stretched out to be extra-long, the month we have to plough through to get to February and real signs of Spring. You may know, if you've wandered by this blog before, that I'm beavering away at Ann Wood's 100 day stitchbook challenge. That's still going strong. Three pages done and I've started page four. But I've also stumbled across another monthly challenge, and this one originated with Tori Chatfield, a.k.a. Kool Kooky Kreatures. You can find her on YouTube and Facebook, and she runs something called Abstractuary. Tori's produced a list of prompts for each day in February, and the idea is that you produce something arty or crafty based on those prompts. You can stitch or paint or collage or use whatever kind of materials you want. I won't commit to following these prompts every single day of Feb, but I'm certainly going to use several of them. Tori's also produced a Pinterest...

rubykittyruby

Search This Blog