Discharge Screen Printing

Discharge printed through silk screen

fabric layed out ready for printing 

discharge and gold powders mixed

Gold discharge paste

black textile printing ink

printed fabrics

Ironin discharge paste makes the colour leave the discharge fabric

after fabric has been irond discharge and discharged dye paste

Sketch Book this week

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Trying to get my head in gear for the new project at college. We have been asked to a respond to a building that has a lot of history with it. It's currently a family home but has been many other things and as a concequence has lots and lots of stories surrounding it. This is the first project I have done as a student for 18 years. It's pretty over whelming. I have had a zillion ideas some wayout there and others pretty pedestrian. from an instillation where the spectator had to be bound and gagged while watching images and being bombarded with noise to a simple rug.

I thought at first I may do this in Asian style felt ( can never remember the name of the technique) but then thought it may be best done n an already existing textile. I want it to be a bit less obvious when finished this the starting point if I decide it's worth it. Next week will be the start of test peices.

 Anyway I have eventually decided to work on the transient nature of home. The icons and relics we carry with us, the trappings of 'home', the comforts etc. Nice wide theme to explore.
 I have an idea for a structure surrounded by layers of 'wallpaper' memories, stories, glimpses of home, etc inspired fabric.

Textural pieces of felt inspired by the textures found in and around the house.around the sides forming the 'walls' of our memories. When we think of things we often pinpoint images. 

I'm going to explore this a bit more to see how it will work out. i will be deffinately using felt maiking techniques but also some mixed media and print making.                           

                                                      

Great textured wall paper

Story Book Mural for the Kindergarten Corridor at St Winifrieds School, Wibsey, Bradford



Horton hears a Who, The Gruffalo, Jolly Pocket Postman, Q Pootle 5,
Three Baby Owls, Harry's Bucket full of Dinosaurs

I was asked to do a storybook mural for the kindergarten corridor.  The idea being that it will encourage the children to read. So I decided to use characters from well know books and not so well used phrases. This I hope will encourage them to go and investigate the books for themselves.

Winnie Witch, We're going on a bear hunt, Percy the Park Keeper, The Snowman, The Three Billy Goats Gruff

Story Book Detail

There was a lot of wall and only two and half days to do it so I used the words to link the characters.

Story Book Detail

I wanted to convey the idea that books bring characters to life, so I used the idea of them stepping out from between the pages of the book to illustrate this.

We're going on a Bear Hunt

Percy the Park Keeper and The Troll flying over
the moon from the Three Billy Goats Gruff

I hope they enjoy it as much as I did painting it.
I used Dayler and Rowney Acrylics over the contractors Eggshell Emulsion.

Workshop at wilderness

Bracelets

Summer has been manic! After going to craft camp we stayed down south for while and then went off to Wilderness in Oxfordshire to be part of the Greencrafts crew. I did lots and lots of workhops there and had a great time and met some lovely people too. Here's some of the things they made.........

Joint project

Funny little man

soap and flower
Em also writes a lovely blog
http://daffodilsandsnowdrops.blogspot.com/

Needle felted man to Oz

Butterfly Girls

Latitude and Craft Camp

Went off to Latitude Festival curtesey of Angel Gardens had a super time and did no work at all! Hoorah! Sam provides a lovely space for Children at various festivals throughout the summer. I have been part of it sometimes but this time we went as guests and hung around, danced to bands, talked scribble with the crew, ate food and generally had a fabulous time until the rain got better of us and we went home! We all had a great time and felt relaxed and happy after our little trip to the wilds of Suffolk. even thought eh Sat Nav managed to send us 60 miles out of our way on the way there, oh deep joy...moving on!
 After only a couple of days back I set off to make baskets, at Pyrites Craft Camp in Gloustershire, but ended up spending the week making a funky leather skelt (probably a made up word) but as you can see from the pics it's a cross between a belt and a skirt!
The Camp works on a first come first served basis at tutor selection time and by the time I got to the tutor after sorting out that my som had the workshop her wanted the class was full. So after chuntering a bucket full  I swiftly got over it and decided to go with Jeanie leather worker extraodinaire. Master of hippy flaps and dangley things, she was just the teacher I needed!

The Making of the Skelt
I made the pattern my self basically by holding paper against my body and drawing on it.
Deciding on contrasting leather I think it was chrome tanned - my memory is a bit rubbish (should have written it down)
I had a Fabulous time and a great laugh. Met some fab people who made some great stuff see for your self..

View from the tent towards Nailsworth

View from the Tent towards Nailsworth

Jeanies Leather Class's Wrok

Kids Nature Weaves

Wood instraments

Green wood work ladles, bowls and spoons

Slubed Glass Bowls

Baskets and other willow stuff

Greenwood chairs

Burned wood bowls and other Green wood stuff

Stone work

More Leather

Casting

Woven hangngs made with bent hazel frames

Felt Making at Glastonbury

I came back from Glastonbury a couple of weeks ago - which was lots of fun and very muddy! I run drop in feltmaking workshops in The Green Crafts Field .  It's an inspiring place to be. There are all sorts of crafts people there running workshops and doing demo's in all sorts of materials, I can only say check out the website! It's a really inspiring place to work in. This was my pitch, although I love my workshop space it's a big bell tent and tarp but it needs more felty things so I decided to start a collaborative project while I was there aswell as running the regular drop in work shops..

We make all sorts of small things in the workhops like flowers, bracelets, pictures and broaches using both wet and needle felt. I meet some lovely people, who produce some amazing results!

Collaborative Project
I decided a needle felted Green Man to go in front of the stall would be a good crowd pleaser! I've got an old sofa cushion back and stuffed it with raw fleece then started to sculpt a face using uswashed jacob fleece. While I was doing a demo, I had it sat on my knee while I was yabbering on and stabbing away with my needles. Some people passing by thought I was stabbing a cat! Weird but true. Anyway I still haven't finished him, but I'm going to craft camp next week and then to the seaside the week after that. So I am going to take him with me ( in the little red car with everything else, including large bell tent and 12 year old boy) and try and work on him while I am away.
Here is a sneak preview, I am liking  the overall effect of the randomness of Jacob wool and his eyes. The irises I have made using hand dyed wool in various shades of blue, purple and green. I was testing the way I wanted to do the leaves when I took this photo. They are made using 100's merino and silk over muslin, dying it using various colour combinations of colourcraft and  Landscape dyes, so the leaves are not so regimented.
Right! That's it for now, off to build a willow structure in our party field for a wedding now!

Bohemian Flower and Lattice Scarf Workshop

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I Had a wonderful day yesterday teaching a flower and scarf making workshop.
We used 100's merino wool and silk mix from world of wool.
I spent the day before dyeing lots of silk chiffon and the merino/silk mix and got a bit carried away! (photos to follow). Dyeing is fun and very distracting it's easy to loose an hour or two. Anyway back to the workshop...we used the mix because this makes really beautiful flowers and scarves that are strong and light and comfortable to wear in the summer.
I knew three of the students as they have been on other workshops I have run, some were from The Real Craft Centre and two are in the same region of the IFA as me although I had never met them before,
anyway we had a good giggle! Everyone made lots of lovely flowers and scarves, it was a super day!

The Evidence