Stitched Tree for ARCHITEXTURE

Stitched Trees

 
Over the last few months, I've been stitching trees.  As a member of York Embroiderers & Stitchers, who are a friendly group of stitch and textile enthusiasts of all levels of ability and experience, I am preparing for our ARCHITEXTURE exhibition later this year (27-29 June 2025 - save the date!).  As you can imagine from the exhibition title, there will be traditional and contemporary textile art on a theme of architecture alongside other 2D and 3D pieces. And some of those 3D pieces will be buildings, so I thought they might need a bit of greenery to go with them. ARCHITEXTURE is being held at the Tithe Barn in Nether Poppleton, York, YO26 6LF.  More details here.

Boro inspired trees - front

I made some tree canopy patterns of varying sizes and then cut out the tree shapes.  The fabric I used was dyed calico and backed with some iron-on vilene to stabilise the fabric for embroidery.  On the front I added some scraps of fabric in a boro patched style and then stitched them on using a variety of different stitches - running stitch, cross stitch, fly stitch, star stitch, seed stitch.  I used different types and weights of thread.  On the back of all of them I just used a running stitch, kantha style.

Boro inspired trees - back

The second set of trees I made began in the same way but on the front I did a stitch that was like an irregular darn...

"Darned" trees - front

On the back of these trees I chose a particular stitch and filled the space, sometimes varying the size of stitch and sometimes not...

"Darned" trees - back

I machine stitched the fronts to the backs although you could handstitch them, then stuffed them will toy filling, added a trunk and potted them with some yarn for soil.  

Do come along to our ARCHITEXTURE exhibition to see  all the YES members' fabulous work.

Another Brick in The Wall

My Stitched Brick

I'm a member of York Embroiderers & Stitchers, who are a friendly group of stitch and textile enthusiasts of all levels of ability and experience. Later this year we will be holding our ARCHITEXTURE exhibition at the Tithe Barn in Nether Poppleton, York, YO26 6LF from 27-29 June 2025 (save the date!). As you can imagine from the exhibition title, there will be traditional and contemporary textile art on a theme of architecture alongside other 2D and 3D pieces. More details here.

  

Nicky's dyed fabrics ready to be stitched into bricks

As part of that exhibition members are stitching "bricks" which will be constructed into "The Wall" for the exhibition. Each "brick" represents whatever gives the person who made it, strength and stability and together represents the group's values of friendship, diversity and support. The fabric the bricks are made from was dyed by our chair, Nicky Brunger, so that the colours would be harmonious.

Stitched brick - work in progress

Of course to make a wall all our bricks have to be the same size and orientation so the finished brick must measure 8 inches by 4 inches, be in a landscape orientation with a 0.5 inch border without stitching. The stitched area was therefore 7 inches by 3 inches.  

Stitched brick - work in progress

At first I marked the area to be stitched with pins but soon realised some tacking stitches would work better!

Stitched brick - work in progress

I used a variety of stitches such as french knots, detached chain stitch (lazy daisy), ordinary chain stitch, straight stitch, back stitch, star stitch, using colourful threads and yarns in a variety of sizes.

Stitched brick - work in progress

I should say that before I started stitching I had ironed on some stabiliser to provide a better base for stitching (also provided by YES). You can see that the back is quite chaotic!  

I then added some calico to the back, stitched it together with right sides facing and left a gap to turn it through and then handsewed the gap.  And here is the finished stitched brick ready to be added to The Wall...

Finished Piece

My brick is covered in stylised flowers and represents a colourful, joyful world from which I get my strength and stability.

I'm looking forward to seeing the finished wall. I hope you'll come along to ARCHITEXTURE to see it too!

Mire Lee - Open Wound at Tate Modern Turbine Hall, London

Mire Lee - Open Wound

 

The current installation in the Turbine Hall at Tate Modern is Mire Lee's Open Wound (on until 16 March 2025).  The Turbine Hall is seen as an industrial womb in this installation where various "skins" - fabric sculptures suspended on chains - emerge from a machine coated with a liquid that drips from the machine's tentacles. Then they are moved to racks to harden before being added to the rest of the "skins" populating the Turbine Hall.  The installation is supposed to evoke images from both the textile industry and mining whilst also referencing the Turbine Hall's industrial past.

Mire Lee - Open Wound

The "skins" are drenched in a viscous liquid...

Mire Lee - Open Wound

Detail of a "skin"...

Mire Lee - Open Wound

Not sure whether this was the "skins" drying or being prepared to enter the machine...

Mire Lee - Open Wound

We are told Open Wound is supposed to remind us of a deserted construction site with "an atmosphere of futility and melancholy, where something has started to wither " whilst the "skins" are also supposed to "suggest an eerie solidarity".

Elsewhere in Tate Modern, I liked these by Petrit Halilaj.  These were large winged insects - moths - drawn to the lights.  He made these with his mother, Shkurte, using Kosovar fabrics and carpets. He wears them as costumes during performance pieces and often produces moth themed work. Apparently Halilaj used to chase moths around the house as a child.  His family home was destroyed in the Kosovo War (1998-99).  His work is bound up in memory and nostalgia... 

Petrit Halilaj - Do you realise there is a rainbow even if it's night!?

Petrit Halilaj - Do you realise there is a rainbow even if it's night!?

Petrit Halilaj - Do you realise there is a rainbow even if it's night!?

And the Catbus, which was part of Monster Chetwynd's installation - A Tax Haven Run By Women...

The Catbus is a character in Hayao Miyazaki's film, My Neighbour Totoro.  I wanted to climb aboard but it didn't look like that would be welcomed!

There's always something of interest at Tate Modern and apart from the special exhibitions, it's all free.  

Acaye Kerunen: Neena, Aan Uthii - PACE, London

Acaye Kerunen - Aleng 2 (I am Beautiful)

On a recent trip to London I took some time out to see the Acaye Kerunen exhibition: Neena, Aan Uthii (translated from Alur as - See me, I am here) at PACE (close to Regent St & Liberty's).  I first saw Acaye Kerunen's work at Unravel at Barbican, London - check it out here.  

Acaye Kerunen - Aleng 2 (I am Beautiful) detail

Acaye Kerunen is a Ugandan artist who works with local artisans to source natural materials from her country, which they dye, weave, braid and crochet.  She then turns them into sculptural assemblages.

Acaye Kerunen - Ouganda 2

The works represent the Ugandan environment as they can only be made from what grows.  The traditional work of women, rather than being made into everyday items, is presented as contemporary art.  The sculptures link human labour and the natural world and provide an alternative platform for traditional women's skills.

Acaye Kerunen - Ott Ker 2 (House of Reign) vessel & Yoo Leng (The Path is Clear) on wall

The passing down, through generations, of these artisanal skills suggests a collective memory is at work here.

Acaye Kerunen - The Reckoning

Acaye Kerunen - The Reckoning (detail)

Acaye Kerunen - Yoo Unen (The Path has Revealed Itself)

Made of such materials as bark cloth, raffia, banana fibre, sisal and palm leaves, dyed with natural dyes, they are very colourful and tactile...

Acaye Kerunen - Kaka Lengu (Place of Beauty)

I thought this was a great exhibition. It's on until Saturday 15 February.  It's not very large but well worth a visit.

Cordage & Structures with Alice Fox at West Dean College, Bloomsbury Campus, London

 

Alice Fox's Cordage Structures

I recently went on a short course at West Dean College's Bloomsbury Campus in London which is quite near Kings Cross Station (handy for me).  The workshop was led by textile artist, Alice Fox and we were taught to make cordage from repurposed materials.  Once we had made some cordage, we were also taught how to make some simple structures.  It was great fun although very time consuming.

Here is some of the cordage I made from recycled fabric, a plastic bag and some newspaper....

Cordage from fabric, newspaper and a plastic bag

I also made some cordage from tissue paper which is easier to make than cordage from newspaper...

Tissue paper cordage

These are my newspaper pots...

Coiled and stitched newspaper pot

Looped newspaper pot

And these are my woven structures...

Flat woven fabric cordage

Woven pocket from fabric cordage

We also had a go at some random weaving which I did with some detritus from the beach...

Random weaving with synthetic rope from  the beach

I'm looking forward to making more!

Socks: The Art of Care and Repair - Celia Pym at NOW Gallery, Greenwich Peninsula, London

Celia Pym - John, Dad, Kent

 

Recently I went to see Celia Pym's "Socks: The Art of Care and Repair" at the NOW Gallery on Greenwich Peninsula in London.  This is Now gallery's 2024 Fashion Commission, focusing on sustainability through the act of mending and repair through darning.  I read online that over 21,000 million pairs of socks are made globally every year and also, globally, 92 million tonnes of textile waste goes to landfill.  Clothes are discarded on a whim, including socks perhaps with only a small hole which could easily be repaired.  Come to the NOW gallery and there are socks aplenty for you to have a go at mending, darning and stitching.  Learn a new skill or improve an old one and maybe that will inspire you to take "care" of your clothes and make your contribution to a more sustainable future.  Now Gallery certainly hope so!

Celia Pym - Family & Friends Mended Socks 2024

On display is a newly commissioned artwork, by Celia Pym, of socks from her friends and family that she has mended, visibly, in colours to suit their personality.  The patterns of wear thus stand out for us to see.  Celia's creative practice embraces damage and repair and the care that is involved in mending.  In fact Pym says "It is a small act of care to mend a hole in your sock, or the sock of someone you love. Mending is an action that changes the thing in front of you.  It doesn't erase the damage but makes the story of a sock, or any mended garment, more interesting. A spot of bright colour or a scar line that indicates an act of care."

Celia Pym -Family & Friends Mended Socks 2024 (detail)
Clockwise from top left - Hope, Mum, Kent (long); Bill, Friend, Gothenburg (blue); Karin, Friend, London (yellow); John, Dad, Kent; Takeshi, Friend, London (single sock); Jane, Friend, Derbyshire (navy); Agnes, Niece, Kent (grey) ; Jan Jan, Friend, London

Socks stitched by the Surrey Square Primary School Community

The exhibition doesn't just include Celia's sock mending.  What makes it even more interesting is that it includes 488 socks stitched by the Surrey Square Primary School Community in South East London using "warehouse waste" socks (socks with small imperfections that couldn't be sold). The socks came from J A Swift, a family run business in Hathern, Leicestershire established in 1895. Children, staff and families practised their sock darning and stitching in a series of 26 workshops that Pym organised between April and July 2024.  We are told that "The project encouraged resilience in being able to mend something; creativity to play with colour and yarn, and a feeling of care for yourself - for your clothes, the environment, and importantly, the clothes of other people."  

Yellow socks stitched by Year 2, green socks stitched by Year 3

I love this involvement of the community and passing on sewing skills to a new generation.  Many of the children didn't know what darning was, had never seen a needle and didn't know how to use one.  

Red socks stitched by Year 1, pink socks stitched by Reception, purple socks stitched by staff

The colours of the socks represent the year groups involved from the white of nursery children through to black of year 6 with the staff's purple socks distributed among them. 

White socks have been stitched by Nursery age children

There were pictures of beaming children proudly holding up their stitched socks and some of the artwork they had done for their stitched socks.  All the children and staff who had taken part were named.

Visitors' Mends

There were plenty of resources there to have a go at darning and stitching yourself and you could leave or take away your work.  I left mine.

My mend 

There are also a number of bookable events associated with the exhibition.  Take a look here. It's on until 9 March 2025, so you've got plenty of time to pop along!  It's a small but joyful exhibition. Do go if you can.

Greenwich - clockwise from top left:
Yinka Shonibare - Nelson's Ship in a Bottle outside the National Maritime Museum; the Royal Obervatory & Flamsteed House, Greenwich Park; Trinity Hospital Almshouses; the Old Royal Naval College

There isn't a cafe in the NOW Gallery but there are plenty nearby.  The nearest tube station is North Greenwich on the Jubilee line.  There's plenty to do in the vicinity.  There's an art trail round Greenwich Peninsula with over 17 pieces of art. After taking a look, we walked to Greenwich along the Thames footpath. Much of Greenwich is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with the Old Royal Naval College, the National Maritime Museum, the Royal Observatory and the ship - Cutty Sark to name a few significant sites.

Greenwich Peninsula - clockwise from top left:
Damien Hirst - Demon with Bowl; IFS Cloud Cable Car; Richard Wilson - Slice of Reality; Uber Boat ride.

Later we got a Uber Boat by Thames Clippers back and took the IFS Cloud Cable Car across the river.  It made a great day out.

Monet and London - Views of the Thames at The Courtauld, London

Monet - Charing Cross Bridge. Smoke in the Fog; Impression

The Courtauld Gallery in London is currently showing "Monet and London - Views of the Thames" until 19 January 2025.  These are views of the Thames painted mostly from Monet's balcony at The Savoy Hotel beginning in 1899.  They focus on the three sites of Charing Cross Bridge, Waterloo Bridge and the Houses of Parliament. He was fascinated by the mix of fog and sunlight, combined with the smoke from London's industry and how it affected the light, colours and clarity of the views.

Monet - Charing Cross Bridge. Fog on the Thames

Monet - The Houses of Parliament. Effect of Fog, London

Monet - The Houses of Parliament, Sunset

Monet completed 37 paintings of views of the Thames which were exhibited in Paris in 1904 to great critical acclaim and commercial success, confirming his reputation as France's leading artist.  He wanted to exhibit the series in London in 1905 but it never happened.  This exhibition reunites 21 of those works in London as Monet had hoped to do all those years ago.

Many of the paintings are largely in pink and purple shades and some are quite yellow.  As we no longer have the smogs of yesteryear we can't know how true to life they are but they certainly have plenty of atmosphere. To see the same views in different atmospheric conditions is really interesting...

Monet - Waterloo Bridge, Effect of Sunlight in the Fog

Monet - Waterloo Bridge, Overcast Weather

Monet - Waterloo Bridge, Sunlight Effect

As well as the Monet exhibition the Courtauld also has a permanent collection you can visit.  Here are some of my favourites. I love the angularity of Cezanne's painting of Lake Annecy...

Cezanne - Lac d'Annecy

and everything about The Card Players...

Cezanne - The Card Players

The texture in Van Gogh's painting and Frank Auerbach's make you want to run your fingers over the painted surface (but, of course, you can't!)...

Van Gogh - Peach Trees in Blossom (detail)

Frank Auerbach - Rebuilding the Cinema Leicester Square (detail)

Duncan Grant was apparently inspired by Cezanne - perhaps that's why I like this piece...

Duncan Grant - Still life - The Dinner Table

I'm drawn to the shape and colours of this painting, painted during the Second World War, offering a different view of the world but reminding us of the time with the poppies in the vase on the table... 

Ivon Hitchens - Balcony View, Iping Church

This is Lanyon's depiction of Halsetown, a village near St Ives in Cornwall.  Lanyon flew gliders.  Infact he died after a gliding accident.  I wonder if his view from above informs this abstract work...

Peter Lanyon - Halsetown

The Courtauld has an impressive staircase (lifts are also available)...

The Courtauld - Staircase

The Courtauld Gallery is part of Somerset House.  There are a number of cafes there including the Art Cafe at the Courtauld.  There are also lockers, toilets and a shop.  If you want to see the Monet exhibition, book well in advance as it is very popular.  Covent Garden, Charing Cross, Embankment and Temple Tube Stations are all quite close.  The Monet exhibition is in two rooms but there is also the permanent collection that you might like to visit while you're there.