Julie Arkell Workshop at Hope & Elvis - Part 2 - Show & Tell

Somebody's Hero & the Savage Beast

Our workshop at Hope & Elvis, with the lovely textile & mixed media artist, Julie Arkell, finished at the end of day 4.  After all Julie's help and guidance we were ready to show our creations.  I made "Somebody's Hero and the Savage Beast" together with the bird and the tree. Here's a selection of what was made by everyone else...

Annette

Barbara F

Barbara

Carole

Jane

Jolene

Katie

Kim

Mandy

Rachel

Sarah

 

Simona

Trina

Vanessa

What a fab course and weren't everyone's creations great!  It was amazing to see the variety and the different approaches everyone took.  Read more about the workshop here.

Thanks, Julie!  And thanks to Hope & Elvis (especially Mandy who was making sure we had everything we needed).  Can't wait to make some more!

Julie's exhibition "Away, Away" is still on at the Harley Gallery until 8 January 2017.  Do go and see it if you get the chance

Julie Arkell Workshop at Hope & Elvis - Part 1

Julie Arkell

I have been enjoying a number of workshops at Hope & Elvis this year but the highlight was definitely the Julie Arkell workshop.  I love Julie's work.  Julie is a textile and mixed media artist who creates whimsical folk art inspired scenes.  Her creations are made from papier-mâché and have knitted and handstitched garments or features and are embellished with handstitched phrases.  She also makes textile brooches...
 

Julie Arkell brooches

Julie's exhibition, "Away, Away", is currently on at the Harley Gallery, very close to the Hope & Elvis workshop.   So, we started our first day with a visit to the exhibition.  You can read about the exhibition here.

I am lucky enough to have been on one of Julie's courses before at Loop in London.  You can read about it here.   There we were dressing one of her creatures.  On this course we were making them too! 

Raw materials for the papier-mâché creatures

My first figure begins to take shape

Branching out into other figures

  
All round the room lots of creatures were emerging...
 

And by the end of the day we had lots of creatures drying out following a first layer of papier-mâché...

To give our creations more time to dry out we went to visit the Hemswell Antiques Centre on our second day which was quite a treat!  There we searched for treasure for our creatures from books with interesting papers for the final surface, to fabrics, to ephemera.  We all had a great time. 

 

End of day 2

By the end of day two we had our final layer of papier-mâché on the creatures ready for them to dry overnight.

Day 3 was painting day.  It was time to add some features and begin making clothes. 

Somebody's Hero

One of the great things about Hope & Elvis is that everything is provided so there were lots of materials to choose from...

and there's always something fascinating around the place that you haven't spotted before...

Some of the talented makers in our midst were kind enough to bring in a selection of their work to share with us...

Annette Emms - Tiny shoes and other lovely pieces

Simona Hill's Needle Lace

We worked hard and by the close of day 4 it was time for show & tell but I think I'll leave that for another day ...

York Makers Christmas Fair - Saturday 3 December 2016

It's getting very exciting because on Saturday it's the York Makers Christmas Fair which is always a lovely event! So, I thought I'd give you a little reminder that it's on and show you a few new things that I've been making this week...

 

Liberty print fabric necklaces

Ceramic button brooches

Colourful hairclips - always a good stocking filler

especially in Christmas colours!

in fact there's quite a few Christmassy things...

Cards, tags, robin brooches (wire & woolly) and hairclips

and, also, a selection of favourites.  Of course there'll be lots more to see.  You'll find - Lucy Monkman Illustration, What's to be Done with Her, By Helen, Wonderful Weaselworks, Greenhart and Kind, Joanna Wakefield Jewellery, Kate Semple Design Illustration, Petra Bradley Prints, West Plum Studio, James Neath, Skullduggery Ceramics, NC Avenue, Elly Jules, Lin Taylor Art, Feathertop, The Cutii Company, Rosalind Dando, Catherine Boyne Whitelegg Pottery, Lesia Davidson, Sugarley Love, Lovingly Crafted by Lauren, Emma Bracegirdle Textiles, Walter & May and importantly Clements Hall will have their lovely cafe too!

Why not pop in and do some Christmas shopping - 10am to 4pm on Saturday 3 December 2016 at Clements Hall, Nunthorpe Road, York, YO23 1BW.  (You can find a map here.)  

Hope to see you there!

Craft-y-Crawl - Sunday 27 November 2016

It's that time of year when thoughts turn to Christmas shopping - well, there is only about a month to go! So I thought I'd tell you about an event I'm involved in that could solve all your Christmas shopping worries.  On Sunday 27 November 2016 from 12 to 4pm in the South Bank area of York, a Craft-y-Crawl has been organised by Planet South Bank.  
 

Wooden brooches - Hippystitch

Felt necklaces - Hippystitch

Makers will be exhibiting and selling crafts of all types in their own homes. It's a great way to explore the wealth of creative talent in the South Bank area of York, support independent businesses, makers and hobby groups and get your Christmas gift shopping done. You're sure to find unique pieces - and meet some lovely locals! 
 

Ceramic brooches - Hippystitch

On Wentworth Road you will find Hippystitch and Lucy Monkman with jewellery, cards & stationery. Then you can pop next door and see Sue Dennis, Ruth & Meredith with cards, cushions & accessories. In fact why not do the whole trail.  You can find a map here and a full list of participants here.

Christmas Cards - Lucy Monkman

Bookmarks - Lucy Monkman

Maps and leaflets with the trail details and participating addresses are also available from Sainsburys, Pextons, Millie's and Frankie and Johnny’s on Bishopthorpe Road, York and from The Golden Ball in Bishophill.  

Pocket mirrors - Lucy Monkman

Do come along we'd love to see you!

"Away, Away" - Julie Arkell at the Harley Gallery

Tiny Pond - Julie Arkell

    
Julie Arkell currently has an exhibition at the Harley Gallery.  This is a rare treat so if you can get to see it, don't hesitate! Julie is a textile and mixed media artist who creates whimsical folk art inspired scenes.  Her creations are made from papier-mâché and have knitted and handstitched garments or features and are embellished with handstitched phrases.

Comfort List - Julie Arkell

Away - Julie Arkell

Ponds - Julie Arkell

The Pond Looks Deep - Julie Arkell

"Away, Away" has grown from her exhibition "Away" which was shown at the Ruthin Craft Centre in 2014 for which Julie made 100 creatures.  Julie says that since then her collection of nature books has grown, mentioning "Pond Life", "British Birds' Eggs and Nests" & "Woodland Trees".   You can see the influences of these in her work - some of her characters now have their own ponds and fantastically some of the trees and characters have knitted shadows and there is even a knitted strip of land.  There are birds' eggs, books and twigs - all sorts of "collections"

What's hidden behind... - Julie Arkell

Trees - Julie Arkell

A strip of land - Julie Arkell

A Shadow for Myself - Julie Arkell

On Fragile Ground - Julie Arkell

Large Knitted Crow Shadows - Julie Arkell

The shapes of the large knitted crow shadows were made from tracings of actual shadows from some of Julie's crow figures.

Birds' Eggs Illustration - Julie Arkell

Twigs & Books - Julie Arkell

Matchbox collections - Julie Arkell

The bird that refused to fly - Julie Arkell

It is impossible to not be fascinated by her vignettes and to wonder about their stories.

Owls - Julie Arkell

Long live the glorious crow - Julie Arkell

Saints - Julie Arkell

Becoming Jane Eyre - Julie Arkell

I wish I'd been kinder - Julie Arkell

Houses have secrets - Julie Arkell

Julie's brooches displayed in Hotel D'Angleterre

The Harley Gallery is situated on the Welbeck Estate in Nottinghamshire.  There is ample car parking and a cafe close by. 

Note: It is also handy for Hope & Elvis, where Louise Presley curates a fantastic range ot textile and mixed media workshops, run by leading artists and makers.

This exhibition is on until 8 January 2017.  Go see!