What Do I Need To Do To Make It OK? - Pump House Gallery, London

Celia Pym - First One's the Best

Recently on a flying visit to London I popped into the Pump House Gallery in Battersea Park to see "What Do I Need To Do To Make It OK?"  It's an exhibition about "damage and repair, disease and medicine and the healing and restoration of landscapes, bodies, minds and objects through stitch and other media".  Some of the work on show follows ...

Celia Pym - I Think I Will

Celia Pym has used darning as a tool for understanding mending both in garments and bodies.  In the "First One's the Best" she continually practised her darning technique recording differences as she became fluent with the process.

Freddie Robbins - Basketcase

Freddie Robbins - I'm So Bloody Sad

Freddie Robbins through knitting, crochet and sculpture explores her preoccupation with sadness, pain, fear and anxiety.  (You may remember her Knitted Homes of Crime which were part of WOW - the Contemporary Art of Knit & Stitch exhibition at Rheged in 2012 where Celia Pym was also exhibiting)

Dorothy Caldwell - Comfort of Fog

Dorothy Caldwell - History of Stone

Dorothy Caldwell describes her work as "a map of land and memory".  In the wild landscapes of the Artic and Australia she has looked for traces of current and past civilisations and records these through techniques of patching, mending and darning.  I have written about Dorothy's work before - you can find it here. 

Saidhbhin Gibson - Comfort & Joy

Saidhbin Gibson - Huddle 2D (print)

Saidhbhin Gibson is concerned about humanity's impact on the environment.  Her work interacts with nature often through stitch as in the crocheted addition to the thrush's nest in Comfort & Joy.  There is ambiguity in her work as to what makes things better - art or nature.

Karina Thompson - 60 beats a Minute

Karina Thompson - The Leper's Skull

Karina Thompson's work looks at the physical aspects of disease through heart scans e.g. the machine embroidered "60 beats a Minute" and scans of historical bones from medical archives such as "The Leper's Skull".

If you're in London this exhibition is well worth a look.  It's on till 1 November 2015. 

"Beauty is the First Test - Contemporary Craft & Mathematics" was also on at the Pump House Gallery. You can read about it here.

Just in @ the Ropewalk, Barton upon Humber

There has been a new Hippystitch delivery to the Ropewalk in Barton upon Humber this week ...

Liberty print fabric necklaces, button bracelets and button brooch

People & Places brooches + map pouches

Vintage button brooches

Knitted wire bird brooches

Spotty button brooches

Coin brooches

Colourful button brooches

Vintage Mother of Peartl bracelets & brooches

Ceramic button brooches

Lace button brooches

Small domino brooches

Large domino brooches

and more so go take a look.  There's always something good to see at the Ropewalk.

A Workshop with Wonderful Weaselworks, York

A sample of work by Helen Young (Wonderful Weaselworks)

This weekend I joined members of City of York Embroiderers' Guild for a workshop run by Helen Young of Wonderful Weaselworks.  If you managed to get along to the Guild's Embroidery for All Exhibition at the Guildhall in York this summer you will have seen some of Helen's fabulous work on display.  Helen is a talented embroiderer and quiltmaker who runs workshops and sells vintage & recycled craft materials.

Dark Side of the Moon - Helen Young (Wonderful Weaselworks)

Part of a series inspired by images under a microscope - Helen Young (Wonderful Weaselworks)

Detail of work - Helen Young (Wonderful Weaselworks)

Helen started by inspiring us with her work and enticing us with her fabric, threads & buttons ...

Buttons, fabric, threads, cords and yarns

and there were lots of interesting books and more samples to inspire us too ...

Details from samples - Helen Young (Wonderful Weaselworks)

Helen then showed us how to get started and encouraged us to begin ...

Heken's example of how to begin ...

 

and here was what I came up with - as yet unfinished ...

My work - unfinished!

I had to leave at lunchtime but it was a lovely morning and I can't wait to see how everyone else's turned out.

If you fancy booking Helen to give a talk or run a workshop for your group, you can contact her on:

wonderfulweaselworks@gmail.com

Workshop with Priscilla Jones @ Made in Whitley Bay

Priscilla Jones - Spoons

Priscilla Jones - Tea Cup & Jug

Priscilla Jones - Flower

I have been intrigued by the work of Priscilla Jones since I first saw it at Farfield Mill in Sedburgh several years ago.  By magic (I think it was actually Twitter) I came across a workshop that Priscilla was doing that I could go to and had spaces!  It was at Made in Whitley Bay, a delightful cafe, gift shop and workshop venue run by the lovely & talented Jeannie Gallon.

Priscilla Jones

Priscilla has a degree in embroidery from Manchester Metropolitan University and creates amazing stitched 2D & 3D mixed media pieces.  Her work explores the concepts of identity, memory and nostalgia. 

Examples of Priscilla's Work

Priscilla was showing us how to make 3D wirework pieces using wire, fabric, wax, paint, thread, stitch & buttons.  After a demonstration we began to build up our wire structures ...

Wirework underway for Mandy, Anne & Shirley

and after a break for a delicious lunch ...

Delicious lunch prepared by Jeannie

went on to add fabric, wax, paint and decorate our pieces ...

Waxing and decorating - Jeannie, Mandy, Shirley & Anne

Finally they were finished - just in time for a show & tell:

Jeannie's Flower

Anne's Dish

Shirley's Jug & Flower

Mandy's Mermaid

My teacup, saucer & spoon

My spoon

It was a thoroughly fabulous day and I can certainly recommend a course with Priscilla or a course at Made.  I can't wait to make some more pieces!

And by the way - Jeannie has lots of lovely things to buy at Made including things she makes herself.  I snapped up these while I was there ...

Needlcase & Pin Cushion made by Jeannie Gallon

They were going to be a present but I might have to keep them for myself. 

New in @Hippystitch

Here's just a few pics of the new things that will be available at my next events.  The first supporting SASH is later this week!

New Liberty print necklaces...

New Liberty print fabric necklaces

and lots of new button brooches...

wooden button brooches

lace print ceramic button brooches

striped ceramic button brooches

blue & white ceramic button brooches

Raku button brooches

and some embroidered notebook kits...

embroidered notebook kits

so you can make something like this ...

Notebooks made by those at one of my embroidered notebook workshops

There will also be the usual Hippystitch goodies. Take a look in the gallery for some ideas.  If there's something you are specifically interested in then do get in touch