A Travelling Companion

With this year's Travelling Books each being on a theme I realised that I would not have the opportunity to continue to explore "Marks and Lines" each month, but work on a different theme. My book won't get back to me again for fifteen months. I might loose the impetuous to explore the theme by then.

My solution was to create a "Travelling Companion ", my own book which I can add to and work on whenever I feel so moved. 

I want to start with as minimalist as I can. I am using these images to kick start the stitching.

My own "Ice" background for the CQ Elements Exhibition, now touring.

Experiment for the "Ice" background 

I thought that I would try to extend my own practice by stepping outside my comfort zone right from the beginning.

I have taken some linen ecru fabric and applied acrylic paint to convey some embryonic directional marks that I can then work on with appliqué and stitch.

Now I just need to settle down and work out what it is that I want to convey.

London Exhibition

I was made aware this morning of an exhibition in London that devotees of African imagery and pattern might be interested in.

The exhibition is of early pen and ink works, delicate watercolours, acrylics, jewellery and Adire textiles by the Nigerian artist Chief Nike Davies-Okundaye.

Davies-Okundaye trained in Adire, a traditional indigo-dyed cloth worn by women in south-western Nigeria, and featuring hand-painted patterns of birds, shells, and geckos. She is credited with the contemporary revival of this once fading textile and batik industry.

Nike Davies-Okundaye - The Power of One Woman - Featuring photographs by Joanna Lipper is on show at the Gallery of African Art GAFRA in London, until 6 February 2016.

These images of the paintings are what fired my imagination.

A new spin on Travelling Books

As we are starting our third year of Travelling books we have tinkered with the format a bit. Everyone will be using an eight inch Pink Pig sketchbook to work in. All participants have been asked to choose a theme for their book and to set the book up with source material for others to use to inspire them to produce a piece of stitchery. There was a little apprehension at the beginning as members were anxious about how they would cope. A workshop at the November meeting gave people ideas and strategies so I think everyone went away happy that they could set up their book.

Everyone will therefore make a piece of embroidery on every theme over fifteen months. We are publishing the list of themes at the start of the process so that who need to make more than one in a month because they'd be away can do so. The themes are varied and challenging but it will be fascinating to see the full collection on a theme by the end of the process.

The older I get the more interested I become in simple stitchery , texture and colour. I have chosen "Marks and Lines" as my theme and set my book us with a collection of textiles illustrating the possibilities.

My own first piece is very simple. I wanted to use only materials that I already had and wanted to use "my" colours. My go to palette is "Autumn ". Interestingly I wear them too!

A New Year....... Looking back at Travelling Books

During 2015 I again took part in our Guild's Travelling Book challenge. I have posted some of my pieces that went into other people's books so thought I would share some of the lovely pieces that I am now the proud owner of now that my book has been returned!

Lorraine's first attempts at this interesting Indian stitch was really interesting, so nice to get the instruction on how to do it too.

I was so thrilled to receive Wendy' stunning stitchery and imagination. Her work is quite beautiful and she often exhibits in the part of the world.

Alyssa is the owner of an amazing photographic book which illustrates the huge variety of different tree barks from around the world. Her piece is just lovely!

I really enjoyed making a very abstract piece based on a painting of seaweeds.

I also enjoyed learning to create masses of bullion knots.

I've again learned a great deal from doing this challenge and look forward to what we will do in 2016.