Table Top Textiles @Hot Bed Press

Another six week evening class got under way last week and I have some photos of the last course to inspire new participants.

Metamorphosis @ Cow lane

Cow Lane Gallery space is a very atmospheric room, moody lighting, exposed beams, huge supporting pillars and all the architectural hallmarks of a building with a past. The room is partially divided in two and we hung many of Kiran’s textile hangings in the space while Alison’s framed ceramic pieces adorned the walls.

We had a Private View on Monday 10^th September and the exhibition ran until the following Monday. Many thanks to all our visitors, it was great to meet some new people and see some familiar faces. Thanks are also due to all at Cow Lane & Hot Bed Press & our respective families for making the exhibition possible.

I hope the Private View photos above and the following shots capture the atmosphere of the exhibition.

Exhibition

Table-top Textiles @ Hot Bed Press

6 Evenings Course
Starting: Wednesday 11th July 2012
Ending: Wednesday 15th August 2012
From: 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm

The course will provide the opportunity for participants to learn the basics of dying fabric and using dye stuffs to print onto fabric. We will use procion dyes to provide some background colour and move on to using the liquid dye to produce mono prints by painting designs onto silk screens. The dye can be used to transfer painted designs onto fabric.

We will look at using heat transfer dyes, and over the course of the six weeks work towards developing a design in repeat which is similar to techniques used for printing fashion and furnishing fabrics.

Participants can take home a swatch book of samples of all the techniques covered, information on where to source equipment and resources and a finished artefact which may be a bag, scarf, keepsake purse or similar item.
 

Check for updates as the start date approaches and if you can't make it to the course sessions, watch this space for pictures of the evenings as they happen.

Devore Print Workshop

I am running a Devore print workshop at Hot Bed Press in Salford.

Saturday 17th - Sunday 18th March.

Devore is the process of applying a print paste which devours certain fibres, it is used to create textured velvet scarves amongst other applications. Come along and discover some of the secrets of textile surface texture.

The workshop will explore different techniques of applying devore paste to a variety of fabrics including block printing, hand painting and using pre-prepared screens and paper stencils.
Saturday will be a day of exploring fabrics and techniques and on Sunday ideas can be resolved to produce an artisan silk or velvet scarf.
The essence of the workshop will be experimenting with the techniques along with an introduction to dyeing fabric to compliment the devore print. These processes can be pursued by individuals with some basic equipment and ingredients.
Participants will take home a finished scarf and may also want to bring along some old jeans to explore applying 'that distressed look'.

For more information follow the link below

http://www.hotbedpress.org/courses/

Two examples of devore print. The top fabric is polyester viscose mix, the devore paste burns out the viscose leaving a thin layer of polyester warp and weft. The bottom sample is a silk viscose velvet, here the paste burns away the viscose velvet pile leaving the silk backing.

Waterside Open

I am pleased to announce I have had a piece of work selected for the Waterside Open Exhibition, held at the Waterside Gallery, Sale. The work selected is a new piece from the Sail Collection.

The exhibtioin is free and open to the public 11th Feb - 21st April 2012.

http://www.watersideartscentre.co.uk/open/default.asp

Interiors UK

I was invited to go to The Interiors UK show at the NEC in Birmingham with students from Stockport College. Always good to see what is happening in the larger textilee world! The most interesting corner was the area curated by Designer's Block, they have an interesting blog too...follow the link below...

http://www.verydesignersblock.com

They had adapted a corner of the trade show to feel like a creative village, with a 'pub', seating areas and interior products with a luxurious hand crafted touch. A great launch pad!

Seasons Greetings

I hope all have had an agreeable festive season, a Merry Christmas and a good start to the New Year!
Below is this years Christmas Card design, more may be sent out electronically this year as I have been held up getting Christmas creative projects off the ground!

I had a fabulous Christmas with friends and family. One of my favorite presents was this paintbrush necklace made by Zinkwhite. See their website for other interesting up-cycled wearables and decorative objects.

http://zincwhite.co.uk/index.html

I started the year creatively with a visit to the 'Lost in Lace' Exhibition at Birmingham Art Gallery. The exhibition explores 'new' notions of lace, its physical composition of thread and negative spaces, it's social associations and the way line and aperture together describe space. One of the most striking works in the exhibition was the translucent wall of silicone 'tiles' by Ai Matsumoto, see link below.

http://lostinlace.org.uk/artists/ai-matsumoto

I am off to experiment further with devore on denim, the results of the first round of tests resulted in two exciting 'canvases', pictures to follow shortly.