Mary Sleigh

I’ve been interested in our needlework heritage for many years and have been inspired to make pieces based on research on things like this wonderful little needlework mending kit.

Ideas and inspiration come at the most unexpected times and this is one of them.

I was working and exchanging ideas with a heritage volunteer group and one day, Frances, one of our members brought this to show us. It has set me thinking……

Frances remembers some household linen having a patch worked with one of these and you can see that one has been torn out.

It’s such a simple and great idea! I’ve never seen one of these little kits before. Perhaps there are other ideas like this one. I’d love to hear about them if you have one or something similar.

I’m busy making work for a joint exhibition called Making Time with my friend and fellow artist, Jan Miller. I was very inspired by my day with Native Hands which I’ve told you about and some ideas from that day are feeding into some new work. I just loved the stitched bark containers and have been developing some ideas using leather which I use quite a lot in my own work. The creative process is always so exciting when some cross pollination happens! It’s also very helpful to exchange ideas with like-minded people especially when I’ve been working on my own. Jan and I have met and also had several long phone conversations about our project and it has been very energising and encouraging especially when you reach that blank wall and need to talk.

I felt the same buzz yesterday when I went to a seminar at The National Centre for Craft & Design all about sustainability in our art practice and also saw the wonderful current exhibition Growing, celebrating their 10th anniversary.

Here’s a link to see more  http://nationalcraftanddesign.org.uk

If you missed this in Nottingham you’ll have to go to Southampton! This is a stunning exhibition using and transforming paper in all sorts of ways.

It’s showing at the Djanogly Gallery, Nottingham until Sunday June 9th and then  Southampton SeaCity Museum from 11th October 2013 – 12th January 2014.

www.lakesidearts.org.uk

A Hausa robe, an Adinkra cloth and a raffia dance skirt were the inspiration for the workshop with members of the Guild. The eyelets on the robe are a lovely starting point, all massed together to create a wonderful surface.

Detail of Hausa robe

Catherine Ward’s sample of the eyelet stitch

Everyone tried various ideas based on the joining stitch on the raffia cloth and decorative seams on the Adinkra cloth.

Samples from the Adinkra seam, joining stitch and eyelets

Mary Atkinson

Jenny Robson

Rosemary Brownlee

Penny Marsden

Pat Lewis

Laura Cryer

Kathryn Clay

Eva Hulley

Jenny Robson

Mice made by Elizabeth Bowen

Aren’t these Brambly Hedge mice just beautiful. They were made by a friend and colleague – exquisitely worked by hand with attention to every little detail.

Here are the bride and groom – Poppy Eyebright and Dusty Dogwood.

Wilfred Toadflax with his catapult and Primrose Woodmouse with her Teddy bear

I heard about The Foundling Museum and Threads of Feeling during the afternoon at the ERTF conference  in November where I was giving a talk. Janette Bright, who contributed much as a museum volunteer inspired me and I decided that I must visit the museum on my next visit to London. It is a special place full of poignant memories and human stories.
Here are some thoughts from the catalogue, Threads of Feeling written by John Styles to accompany the exhibition.

‘When  mothers left babies at London’s Foundling Hospital in the mid 18th. century, the hospital often retained a small token as a means of identification, usually a piece of fabric. These swatches of fabric now form Britain’s largest collection of everyday textiles from 18th. century……… The enthralling stories the fabrics tell about textiles, fashion, women’s skills, infant clothing and maternal emotion are the material of Threads of Feeling.‘

‘To a modern audience it can seem odd that the mothers of the Foundling babies used cloth to express the most tender human feelings. Of course, many of them, probably most, were illiterate…. The language of ribbons and hearts, by contrast, was accessible to all.’
There are two publications which are well worth owning. You can find out more on the website:  www.foundlingmuseum.org.uk

I took part in a conference which had a world-wide theme, organised by the ERTF.  My presentation was called Identity & Adornment and included images and items from my collection from many regions in Africa and India. Here are a few of the images below and as you can see we really did cross continents.

A young Himba girl from Namibia shows her distinctive hair style.

Bead work from Africa – this time it’s bead work worn by a Maasai woman in Tanzania.

Petronella was wearing a traditional Herero style dress and head dress at work in the  Ethnographic Museum in Windhoek, Namibia.

This wonderful chest ornament is constructed using the familiar beads and buttons so distinctive of the Xhosa people. It would be worn by a man.

Now to India……

Isn’t this a wonderful jacket worn by the headman in Wakro, a Miju Mishmi village in Arunachal Pradesh?

These are traditional costumes worn by the Ao people at the Hornbill Festival in Nagaland. You can read more about the festival on my post in December 2010.

This young girl was part of a dancing group, all dressed in traditional costumes, who performed in Bikaner in Rajasthan, It was a magical evening magical – watching her dance while balancing several pots, all lit up in flames.

Later, an ERTF member gave us  a presentation of Danish embroideries and included many anecdotes which made it more personal.  After lunch  Katie Chaplin gave a demonstration showing how to dress a mannequin with a full ceremonial Kimono.The kimono itself was beautiful and it was a revelation to see how many layers and folds were involved.

We had time to discuss and exchange ideas and it was a wonderful opportunity for everyone to ask questions, buy supplies, as well as meet up with like-minded people. You’ll find more information about ERTF on their website http://ertf.org.uk

I was delighted to find out about The Foundling Museum and will write about it in the next post.

What a treat to spend a few days with friends in Chicago. Not only is it such a vibrant place with beautiful buildings old and new, but there is public art all round the city. I was thrilled to find one of Jaume Plensa’s sculptures just round the corner from where we were staying. This is one of the series of sculptures.

The Heart of Trees

We also visited Racine Art Museum and saw stunning work by Rosita Johanson, the late Canadian artist.

Rosita Johanson

This is just one of the collection at the Racine Art Museum, all colourful embroidered narratives, using applique, hand and machine embroidery.

Carol Rand’s work in progress using the stitches

The third workshop was in Peterborough and was called Piecing & Patching African Style. I had brought some examples of traditional stitching from my own collection and we used these as a starting point to spark off ideas. But first the students had to learn  how to do the stitches! There were lots of ways in which we developed the traditional stitches and started to put pieces together, most of which are featured in my book Exploring African  Themes in fabric & stitch.

Mary Anne Hammond (above) and Seanagh Murdoch (below) experimented with combining patterned and plain fabrics using the new stitches.Here’s Lyn Prichard’s work in progress.Several students included found objects and buttons.

Deb Blackmore wanted to include some old buttons from her collection

Tracy Jaikaran used both sides of her fabric

The group from Peterborough provided the most wonderful lunch each day which was the icing on the cake, quite literally! It was the final workshop of a wonderful trip to Canada.