Research for Barnaby Exhibition

In researching new work for my exhibition in June, titled a Cut for Silk Town, I have recently been to the Silk Museum several times including a visit to their preserved working weaving shed - Paradise Mill. I have been lucky enough ti get to see behind the scenes at the Silk Museum visiting their archive for a morning a week or so ago.

This is a snap shot of Paradise Mill

The following photos are taken from sample books in the archive of the Silk Museum Macclesfield. Some samples of woven silks and some printed, some print records were kept on paper, 

called a 'strike off' this would be done as the silk was expensive to test out designs on so they would be printed first on paper, and these samples made useful records of what a company had printed and for whom.

20:20 2013

This Years 20:20 Print Exchange organised by HBP was bigger & better than ever. Below is my submission. Click on the link to the flicker site & browse through the other 580 prints!

Hot Bed Press 20:20 Print Exchange 2013

This years print is developed from the same collection of drawings as last years, an evening spent on a hillside above the village of Hayfield in the Peak District. I did much more mark making inspired by those original drawings and did further experiments in producing an edition, which as a textile;e artist is still an unfamiliar concept. The method this year was developed from the process I use to print a repeating pattern, see the photos below. There are two layers to create depth & they are hemmed together top & bottom. This edition has inspired a pair of larger landscapes and a series of modified 20:20 prints which will be catalogued here.

In preparation for this I spent a day doing some screen print sketches some of which are below.

Repeat Pattern Workshop at Hot Bed Press

Back in November I did a workshop At HBP with fellow tutor Mandy Tolley. Everyone created a repeat pattern, put images on screen and printed from these onto cloth. During the workshop we assisted in transforming the printed fabric into beautiful vintage inspired tote bags and luxurious cushions to take home.

20:20 entry Hot bed Press Print exchange

The challenge was to produce an edition of 25 prints for a print exchange organised by HBP. As a textile printer the idea of an edition is not generally part of my practice, but I was intrigued by the principal & it was interesting to explore this aspect of paper printing tradition through my own process of moving between drawing & paper based experiments translated into fabric pieces. I am interested in series and groups of work and to try and produce 25 identical images was a new experience for me.

I wanted to start with some fresh imagery, I had been captivated by a particular view I had come across recently mountain biking in the Peak district, a valley opening out from behind a corner, where you could see the cultivated lower slopes give way to the tousled moorland. I went back to this hillside one evening, did some drawing & took some photos & back in my studio did some drawing on collaged paper surfaces, attempting to create some interesting marks to print.

I was keen to do a two or three colour separation so I built up several layers to the image to try out.

The way I decided to approach the paper fabric transition was to screen print disperse dyes onto paper and heat press this onto fabric. My work generally involves layers and translucent fabrics.

I tried using a vinyl cutter to scratch one layer – a scrawly gestural scribbled detail, but this couldn't be resolved in the time I had, for the number of images I had to produce, so this layer was also screen printed. This time onto paper to act as a backing for the flimsy layer of fabric and main image… ( for another print it may be interesting to flip these around so the detail is where you would expect it – on top!)

There was several rounds of colour testing as disperse dyes appear darker & duller on paper, & more vibrant when you print them in the heat transfer press.

The rest was just the mechanics of screen printing the two layers on paper, & the third layer on a backing sheet. It was time consuming to prepare the paper & fabric to size; I left the fabric edges raw for lightness & handle, which meant trying to fray them all the same & evenly.

Once heat transfer printed onto fabric each piece was ironed on to the backing layer of paper with a strip of bonderweb, signed, numbered & sent off to Hot Bed for the swap & touring exhibition. 

Above are colour variations in the Artist Proofs, the more orange print on the left was heat pressed for longer than the other two, and there was some variation across the prints caused by uneven pressure in the press, all parts of fine tuning the image.

A scan of the final print and the rest of the 20:20 colection from 2012 can be seen by folllowing the link below

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hot_bed_press/8208642423/in/photostream

Watch this space for this year's contribution.

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