just remembering the Harrogate Knitting and Stitch show….

Well it was wonderful being a the Knitting and Stitch Show, with so many great memories of my time there.  I exhibited as a member of the Textile Bursary Group, with 10 of us at the show and the time spent on the stand with others from the group was very much enjoyed. My beautiful niece Bethany also came along to assist and we couldn't have managed without her!

Around 40,000 people came through the show over the four days and as a Textile Artist and Designer it is a very positive experience having so many people come up to you and compliment you on your work. 

It was also great to meet many of the other exhibitors from the other stands with such a wide range of working practices and supplies. A wonderful experience, meeting so many like minded people.

I love this picture of someone looking at my work, thank you for letting me share it.

These are the pieces I took, from the series “Conversations”, sourced from my observations around the activity of drinking tea and the human interaction that often accompanies it.  My mixed media processes for these pieces were inspired by Blackwork embroidery, surprisingly not just black, which I researched through a study visit to the wonderful Gawthorpe Textile Collection in Padiham, Lancashire.

“Connected” originally a charcoal sketch, digitally printed onto cotton, embroidered with cotton and embellished with plaited silk cords and brass pins.

“Conversations Past” mixed media piece made as a reference to the older stronger women in our family, although often overlooked by todays cultural slant towards youth I felt the need to acknowledge their hidden strengths. Comprising of derelict teacups, sewn into organza with and fused with heat.

“Voices   a page from my art journal /sketchbook referencing the hum of conversation in a tea shop, linen, acrylic paint, ink, thread and organza.

Tea-towels; the “Cups” design created by drawing and carving small blocks, working with acrylic paint into my art journal and then manipulating the page on Photoshop and digitally printed onto cotton.   “Random Conversations 1 & 2”  were created after haunting tea shops and collecting conversations, then collaging them onto 00 sized paper with ink, acrylic paint and torn strips of paper, photographed from above with the aid of a stepladder and then digitally printed onto cotton.

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