South East Open Studios 2013

June has arrived so it must be time for Open Studios!  This year I'm sharing my textile studio with ceramicist and painter Sheila Parish, who specialises in Japanese and Chinese art.  The event started well with 24 visitors over the first weekend, so if you haven't yet been but fancy learning a bit more about our respective work, then you'd be very welcome to join us for a cup of tea whilst we demonstrate and chat about what we do!

Remaining open dates are:

Friday 14, Saturday 15, Sunday 16, Monday 17, Friday 21, Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 June, all 1100-1700.

If you’d like to make a day of it and are particularly interested in textiles, there are several other studios close by who are also open on the above days showing textile art, jewellery and silk painting amongst other things.  Visit the South East Open Studios website: www.seos-art.org for more details.  Also look at the article in this week's Oxted County Border News (page 10).

I’ll be demonstrating feltmaking throughout Open Studios, so if this whets your appetite to have a go yourself, I offer a range of 1-day felting courses where you can get creative and make finished items like bags, jewellery, journal notebooks and scarves.   If you’d like to learn more or book a place (£55 per person), just email me for a leaflet. I’m also running taster workshops during Open Studios, to make either a bead bracelet or a brooch.  So if you would like to learn more or book a place on Sunday 16 or Sunday 23 June 2012 (0930-1100, £15 per person), please get in touch.

Afghanistan Inspiration: 2010-2013

Back in April 2010 I posted about a challenge I'd got involved with for European artists to create an art piece around small embroideries stitched by women in Afghanistan, which would then travel around either the UK or Europe as part of a bigger exhibition (raising money for the Afghan women in the process).  For the past 3 years my felted piece has been travelling around Europe, and it finally came back to the UK into an exhibition at the Creative Stitches and Hobbycrafts show at the ExCeL in London last week.  So I decided to go along and see if I could remember what it looked like!  Here are a couple of pictures, I thought this small exhibition looked really good.  There's also a new challenge, in reverse this time, for European artists to start off an art piece, which then goes to women in Afghanistan to complete.  Time's a bit short for me at the moment to get involved, but watch this space...(and click on the one earth textiles link if you're interested in getting involved)!

Tandridge Handicraft Society Exhibition - Update

Well despite the snow on Saturday, the 3 days of the Tandridge Handicraft Society exhibition were well attended.  I went along to the preview evening and was amazed by the variety and expertise of craft on show by the 60 society members, from a modern take on lacemaking to intricate beading, patchwork and quilting, jewellery, knitted cupcakes...and there was even some felt!  Here are a couple of photos, including the society's group wallhanging of embroidered fruit, along with my felt dress and other items.  I'm running a workshop for the society in November, so will be meeting up with them again soon.

Exhibiting with Tandridge Handicraft Society, March 2013

Well it's already March, and apart from the odd commission and some presents for friends, I've been gearing up for an exhibition this week in Oxted organised by the Tandridge Handicraft Society.  They hold an exhibition every 2 years, and I was invited to join them, having given a felting demonstration to the group a couple of years ago, plus I'm organising a Christmas felting workshops for them this November.  I didn't have time to make all new items, but decided to exhibit a felt dress I made for my college course and a couple of other items.  I still wanted to make something new though, so made a bejewelled necklace to go with the dress.  Of course, it took me much longer to finish than I anticipated, what with making 63 felt beads of different sizes and then stitching them all together with crystal beads...you can just imagine!  Anyway, I enjoyed making it and it makes quite a statement piece.  So if you're interested in coming along to see it, along with all the other work on display, the exhibition is taking place at the United Reformed Church, Bluehouse Lane in Oxted, Surrey, from Thursday 21-Saturday 23 March, 1000-1600, with free entry.  Hope to see you there!

Festive Fun!

As it's nearly Christmas, I thought I'd share the results of my last workshop of 2012 from a couple of weeks ago, to make Chistmassy felt and decorations. My 3 talented ladies first made a heavily embellished, wet-felted piece of flat felt, using all the Christmas shine (sparkly yarms, angelina and silk fibres) they could find.  Whilst it was drying, they made long icicle ornaments to hang from the tree.  Then once the flat felt was dry,they made bunting and placemats from it as decorations for Christmas.  Here are the results of their handiwork!  And Merry Christmas to all!

Oxted Christmas Art & Craft Fair - 24 November 2012

I and 8 other local artists who are involved in the annual Open Studios event each June held a Christmas Art & Craft Fair on Saturday, in a room above Oxted library.  It was an awful day weather-wise, and we weren't quite sure what turn-out we'd get, but in the end the event was really well attended.  Plenty of interest from visitors, and the endless tea and home-made cakes kept us all going!  Thanks to everyone who came to see what we were up to, I think we're inspired to give it another go next year so watch this space!  Photos here of my stall loaded up with goodies, plus a great panoramic photo of the whole room by photographer Sarah, one of the artists involved (see her website in my links).

All about the bags...

After not making a felt bag for ages, in the last month I've ended up making nothing but bags!  In September I attended a feltmaking workshop with US artist and tutor Ruth Walker, who has developed an interesting way of making felt bags using a large ball and Norwegian fleece.  So I spent two days making two different bags, which was hard work but very enjoyable - here are some during and after photos of the brown bag I made.  I then ran two bag workshops last week to make felt bags - shoulder bags one day and clutch bags the next, using a flat plastic template rather than a ball.  Here are the participants and their very successful finished bags!  So now I'm all fired up to have another go with the ball when I next get a spare day!