some of the Textile Art I will be taking to the Harrogate Knitting & Stitch Show this November....

.. this mixed media piece was created from derelict teacups, fused into organza with heat and tied with thin but tough wire and made as a reference to the wonderful, older and through adversity  stronger women in our family, although often overlooked by todays cultural slant towards youth and who I 

felt the need to acknowledge their hidden qualities and strengths.

to me it seemed as these smashed cups had some stories to tell....

more crockery, this time sawn apart from a loved aunts house, I wanted to see what the  fragments would look like if more uniformly cut but decided they were not as interesting

for one of the many samples I embedded the pieces into clay, the tags represent teabags and the conversations that accompanied them. I did not choose to further sample along these lines but find that 'embedding' with a slight reveal of itthe item now seems to often pop up in my work

this is one of the pieces I'll be taking along to the Knitting & Stitch show this November in Harrogate, come along and say hello!

 http://www.twistedthread.com/pages/exhibitions/viewExhibition.aspx?id=45

Gwyneth Depport - Artist in Residence for the Heritage Open Day at the National Trust property Gawthorpe Hall

I'm very much looking forward to being able to show some of my work at Gawthorpe Hall in Padiham, Lancashire on Saturday September 14th. Hope to see you there! http://www.gawthorpetextiles.org.uk

It was at the hall that I first was introduced to the wonderful textile collection amassed by a forward thinking Miss Rachel Kay-Shuttleworth and I have returned on several occasions, once on a study visit to get a closer look a the Blackwork held in the collection.

One of my first surprises was that Blackwork was not just black but that other colours were used on occasion and I have seen red, blue green and pink amongst others.

My attendance will be to show some of my work that has been influenced by the Blackwork and I have to say that it still does, I enjoy  mixing elements of Blackwork with other styles of working but especially enjoy the monochrome effect! Here is a small taster.....

just running through some of my machine stitches then getting carried away with it, especially loving the reverse of the fabric when the whirring had stopped......

this was a 'captured' image, made by placing a chair onto a  double OO piece of paper then spray painting it for its shadow, the chair survived but is now also Blackwork in its own right!

this is a motif I designed after experimenting with my absorption with the  roses on tea cups digitally printed onto cotton

I collect vintage textiles...........

I collect vintage textiles, mainly embroidered table and tray cloths or crocheted items, these photos are of one of my favourite pieces, a fairly small crocheted blanket, just 1m x1.5m. It appears to be made from real wool and I found it in one of my local charity shops.

I love the repeat pattern of the granny squares, the jewel like colours and black 'joining' yarn that have been used. When I'm handling a piece, I have different thoughts going through my mind, were the yarns left over from a multitude of projects for someones precious family as they were growing up? Where was the crocheter sat when they were making this, with other people or quietly on their own? What was the original purpose of their piece, could it have been a gift?

Whatever the case I can only believe that it was made with love.

 

'To the Letter' exhibition at the Platform Gallery in Clitheroe, Lancashire....

The Platform Gallery is a well respected gallery situated in lovely Clitheroe, Lancashire and I'm very pleased to say that one of my 'Conversation' pieces 'Cloak' is currently hanging in the Platform Gallery's 'To the Letter' exhibition with some other amazing artists who employ the use of lettering and word in the their work. The exhibition will run until April 13th.

'Cloak' relates to how we often are in conversation with someone, who may even be quite precious to us and yet whilst we are seemingly light heartedly chatting there is something much more serious, perhaps even life changing that we would like to, but daren't discuss; the hidden conversation.

 

 

For this piece I recycled a cotton jacket, screen printing, with screens created on my thermofax machine and using acrylic paint.