A fabulous show - part the second!

 
 Two of Tracey's stitched colour samples.

Well the show was less busy than previous years but that is hardly surprising considering we had so much snow.  Many thanks to all of you who braved the weather, it was wonderful to see you.

It was a bit of an emotional few days with the knowledge that I wouldn't being seeing 'my girls' for while. Their course has now finished and we are recruiting for the next course which starts at the end of May. I know I will see them again, just not so regularly. I know you are not supposed to get attached to your students - but you can't help it when you have been together for just under a year.
 
 One of Tracey's experiments with the Classic Pelmet Vilene.

 One of Shaun's stitched print samples.

 Heidi created a brilliant wall piece to illustrate her interest in D and T. 
The piece had sections that moved and lit up. It is a very exciting piece.

Sally created so much work she could have filled the ten metre stand by her self. It was difficult to choose what to hang.

 
 One of Sally's transfer print samples decorated with simple stitch.
 
 
 The girls dismantling their exhibition.

 It is amazing how fast an exhibition comes down compared to how long it takes to put up. All the agonising over the 'colour run' and spaces in between. The girls created a huge amount of work. I could only choose a small percentage of their work to hang. I think it gave everyone an idea of what the course was about. experimentaltextiles.com
*

 The free workshops that I.C.H.F. shows offer are always popular. I am very grateful to all the tutors who delivered workshops for me in the Vilene Workshop. There will be something similar at Excel on the 4 -7 April - very soon - Gulp!

 
 Jo Leatherland and her workshop partner delivering their workshop showing visitors how to create applique shapes with Bondaweb and also how to foil it.
 
 
 Jayne Routley showed her classes how to needle felt into the Classic Pelmet Vilene to create a scene with a firm background.

*

There were many fabulous textile artists, exhibitions and displays at the show, far too many to show on here. It is the biggest and most exciting show of my year.
 Susan Chapman was at the show with some of her work and her final year students were exhibiting around the corner. you see what Susan is up to here - www.susanchapman.com

 The divine Dionne Swift was there with her new work and was offering small workshops on her stand as well. 

 
  . . and of course the best provider of all delights was there - Art Van Go.
Bobby's husband Martin is reclining on the floor . . . 

It was great to see them all. Bobby Britnell was demonstrating her stunning drawing and mark making skill on their stand. www.bobbybritnell.co.uk
Bobby runs workshops from her home in Shropshire and team teaches with Ruth Issett on their wonderful mark and colour workshops.

I will be at the Art Van Go studios in May. My two day workshop 'Interpretaion and Inspiration' is running on the 14th and 15th. I love this course, it involves basic design techniques and is great fun. It will be fabulous to spend some time with Viv and Kevin, I don't get to see them nearly enough. www.artvango.co.uk/workshops/

We are all used to seeing stunning work on the college stands but this year we also had a school from Wales exhibiting. I used to catch up with this talented pair when we did the show at Cardiff but as I.C.H.F. no longer hold a  show there we have not seen them for a while.

 The Rumney High School stand.

The work on the stand was by 15 - 16 year olds and was quite remarkable. A great testament to the hard work and dedication to these two outstanding teachers.
 
 One of the beautiful, textured exhibits.
 
 Another cacophony of deliciousness.

I do hope we see these wonderful teachers again - and yes - I forgot your names - it's the medication I'm on. Sorry girls, I should have written them down!!! It was so good to see you again.

*

so . . . .  it's been a busy old week. I now need to get up to date with orders for nid-noi.com and start to prepare for the new show at Excel. I love that exhibition centre, it's great being by the river.
AND - my house is a tip, Jayne and I unloaded the van into it at great speed and now I can't move for STUFF!!! - no change there then!!!

It was wonderful to see all my friends and customers . . and blog readers. Thank you all for taking the trouble to stop by for a chat. 

Hello Jill and the Welsh duo . . . . 
x x x x x


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts

Extreme Surfaces for Stitch - West Dean College July 17 - 20

Image
Mary's beautiful composition of painted Bondaweb, newspaper, foils, gilding flake and jewel dots - and seaweed! Every now and then in your teaching life you come across a 'super' group. 'Super' in the the way they work together, share their materials and experience and of course they produce some fabulous work. It is particularly unusual to find this on a three day course - it is something I would associate with much longer course. Nine students who have never met before with the widest divide of experience and age from 17 to much older, experience ranged from very little through City and guilds up to degrees and a PHD in textiles based subjects. "Where sheep may safely graze . . "  The view outside the workshop door - sigh . . . it is so beautiful. Of course, being at West Dean College  www.westdean.org.uk helped, what with stunning surroundings, space to work and wonderful food it would be difficult to find anywhere else more suited t...
Read more

Zap, Pow, Slash and Burn! Foredown Tower part the first

Image
  Layered Tyvek and polyester organza. We had a great day to day at Foredo wn Tower. I t was the f irst day of a two day workshop - Zap, Pow, Slash an d Burn! This workshop gives stud ents a chance to play with all the zappable products that I work with namely, Tyvek, Vilene Spunbond and polyester organza.    The group painting their Tyvek . There were nine in the group and although it was pouring with rain outside and blowing a hooley, we were almost snug and warm inside.    Working with a heat gun, an inch away f rom the surface of your work and holding the heat gun at a slight angle.   The group ha ppily using their heat guns.   The following images are all three layers of heavy (75gm) Tyvel layered with polyester organza and then stitched together on a sewing machine . The samples were then zapped with a heat gun. This exercise helps the stude nt learn contr ol - by moving the heat gun away from and towards the work,...
Read more

Hot Textiles at The Bridge, Brighton. 6th and 7th September

Image
  A scrumptious sample of textured and foiled Tyvek. I am finally catching up with myself, have been in rather a headless chicken mode for the past few weeks - things are bit calmer now. I have a few days in between each teaching session now right up to when the shows start next month. As long as I keep moving I will be fine. So . . . I have a new teaching venue in Brighton, just 10 minutes up the road from me, I can't believe how close it is - such a treat. I have booked some more workshops for next summer and once I have decided what I will be teaching, I will let you all know the dates and workshop information. The Bridge Community Education Centre is light and airy place with plenty of well equipped rooms and a fabulous cafe with scrummy food. There is a huge car park and the Centre is close to Falmer station and is also on many bus routes. www.thebridgebrighton.com   We had a group of seven fabulous girls. This is the Art Room. I was teaching a ...
Read more

The Full Works - 2 day workshop, Solihull Embroiderers Guild 17th & 18th July

Image
 3 layers of 75gm Tyvek layered with polyester organza. The Full Works is my basic workshop learning how to use heat tools. We work with Tyvek, Lutradur/Vilene Spunbond and painted Bondaweb.  Solihull Embroiderers Guild is a great group. Good fun and well organised. Have a look at their website. All Guilds can do with new members, if you fancy joining, you won't be disappointed. www.facebook.com/SolihullEmbroiderersGuild   and the website - www.embroiderersguild.com We started off painting up all the products which took a couple of hours. It is important for students to know how to paint up all the products if they want to do this kind of work at home. When working with heat distressable materials, it is important not to paint them too thickly or the paint will form a barrier.    Painting up the products.  Painting Bondaweb. Lutradur/Vilene Spunbond. We started off playng with the Tyvek, laying it between 2 sheets of baking parc...
Read more

More prettys at Bobbys

Image
We have had the first day of my new course Print, Paint, Stitch and Play! and things seem to have gone well so far. I love teaching in Bobby's studio, it is purpose built with plenty of space, power and water. We had a fab day painting Bondaweb and colourwashing newspaper. The group then worked through my tearing and layering process and this is what they have produced so far. They have already started stitching into the papers and tomorrow we will be printing onto them. We had a discussion tonight about how to spell Prettys or Pretties. Apparently the latter is correct but I like the former so that is the word I am going to use - I have no doubt a certain gentleman in the Portsmouth area will now be sitting with his head in his hands and shaking his head saying No! NO! As part of this process you need to be able to describe a piece you have layered up with gilding flake, sequins, glitter and all the other gorgeous sparkly bits we are using. So I have started c...
Read more

West Dean - Layered Textiles - Hot Techniques for jewelled surfaces - part 2

Image
  3 A4 sheets of painted Tyvek layered with polyester organza. this was then machine stitched together and then zapped with a heat gun to reveal different layers of colour and to create texture. The second day of a three day course - we have covered most of the basic techniques now and the students will be combining their own layers and stitching into them tomorrow.  There are seven in the group and it is another good group - textile ladies do seem to be good fun in general. I rarely get someone who moans. These are two Bondaweb pieces that I missed yesterday We worked with Tyvek for most of the day, starting with 'kissing, stroking and caressing' single sheets and moving on to layering Tyvek with polyester organza and zapping back. I don't know if you can have too much of a good thing but here are all the layered samples - front and back - Maggie's front and back Jean's front and back   Janet's front and back...
Read more

Sussex Quilters - Tinkering with Tyvek workshop 5th June

Image
A stunning corsage - one of the best I have seen on a workshop.    I had a great day today teaching at Southwick Community Centre for the Sussex Quilters. The workshop was 'Tinkering with Tyvek'. As usual for my workshops this was a process based day. I think it is important to know what the the materials will do before you can decide to make anything. First thing, we spent an hour painting both sides of several sheets of A4  heavy Tyvek and fabric weight Tyvek. Dull but necessary, it is very important not to paint the Tyvek with thick paint. If you do, the paint will form a barrier and the Tyvek won't react to heat. We then had a play with ironing Tyvek shapes between baking parchment, learning the 'Kiss, Stroke and Caress' way of lightly heating the Tyvek till it shrinks and puckers. We then moved on to layering 4 sheets of A4 Tyvek with polyester organza and machine stitching them together ready for zapping back - a bit like cheeky reverse ...
Read more

West Dean - Layered Textiles - Hot techniques for jewelled surfaces part 3

Image
  Painted and foiled Bondaweb with painted, textured and foiled Tyvek The final day at West Dean was a day of layering and stitch, a great treat. Having the extra day made such a difference, to the work and to the group. All the students bar one were beginners in the Hot Textiles field and they all produced some brilliant work. We worked through all the basic Hot Textiles processes as you will see in the previous posts. The students were left with various piles of heat treated fabrics which I asked them to create some kind of composition - here are the resulting samples -   Layers of transfer printed CS800 Vilene Spunbond zapped with a heat gun and decorated with frayed organza and embossing powder.   Transfer printed CS800 Vilene Spunbond zapped with a heat gun decorated with a Tyvek motif.      Polyester organza decorated with painted Bondaweb, zapped with a heat gun and decorated with textured Tyvek  P...
Read more

Registering your interest in my online teaching . . .

Image
It's almost here! I have been getting a lot of requests for me to teach online over the past 2 years. From all over the world. This combined with me wanting to stay at home in Ireland more and slow down a bit has decided me - it is going to happen. Starting in May. I am currently building a database and everyone who is on the database will be the first to hear what is happening and when. They will also receive the Sonas Studio newsletter (you can opt out). My house in Ireland is called Sonas - it means happiness and well being in Irish. I chose it because it sounded just  . . right. This year I will be concentrating on my one/two day workshops that will translate well to online workshops. For example -Tinkering with Tyvek, A New Starting Point and Transforming Transfers will be online from May to July. This all very new to me and I will be having IT help from my good friend Jayne. If you have been to the show at the NEC in March you will have seen her there. She he...
Read more

Hot Textiles - North Kent Embroiderers Guild June 27th - and feed dogs!!!

Image
Newspaper decorated with painted Bondweb, silk fibres, glitter and transfer foil. On Saturday I drove over to Meopham in Kent to teach one of my last one day workshops. The workshop was Hot Textiles, working with Bondaweb, Tyvek and Lutrdur/Vilene Spunbond. As some of you will know, I no longer take bookings for one day workshops, you can never get enough done. This workshop was booked 18 months ago.  Having given a lecture to this group the previous Saturday in Gravesend, I knew I was in for a good day with plenty of fun and laughter.  We started off painting up the Tyvek, Bondaweb and Lutradur/Vilene Spunbond. When working with materials that distress with heat, it is important to know how to apply colour to them, most importantly, how thinly to apply the colour. If the paint is applied too thickly, the paint will form a barrier and form a resist to the heat.   The group painting up their products. The Tyvek is always the first to dry - so we we ...
Read more