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.

 

some initial work from my Textile Mills project

I've enjoyed this project so far, I know it will be along time before I feel I have got everything I can from it.  I feel such a great affection for these mills and how they link us to the rich history of textiles here in Lancashire. These are my very first outcomes from the project, screen prints onto heavy cotton. Watch this space there will be more to come. I am especially focused on them as (fingers crossed re house sale) I may soon be leaving Lancashire, going home to Mid Wales, to another area reknowed for its historic textile production.

 

 

 

 

The process I used to create this printed cloth is as follows;

After looking at the photographs from my orignal research (shown in my blog post of Oct 25) over a period of several days, certain elements of my images start to make an imprint on me. For me it is the oft quoted 'dark satanic mills' essence of the buildings, their tall chimneys, with huge areas of bricks, all surrounded, whether still in use or not, by quite evil looking wire, chain link and barbed, rusted and twisted out of shape more often than not.

After first sketching the mills with indian ink, I ran the drawings through my thermofax machine with specialist plastic mesh over them. The carbon in the indian ink (any carbon media would work) then heats up on its way through and melts where it touches the mesh. I then frame the mesh 'negative' with duck tape creating my own mini screens which will stand up to many uses if treated kindly. I screen print with textile dyes which are then heat fixed.  

 

I'm mesmerised by the patterns in my crocheted scarves

Here I am, making woolly gifts for Christmas, I've just finished a couple of crocheted scarves, the purple one in Honeycomb stitch and the red one in Double Treble stitch, (sounds hard but very quick to learn). What I really like is the repetition of the patterns that these stitches make.........



 

 

 

 

the rolled up scarf showing the cream edging, I used cream because of the cream flecks within the wool itself

 

this one measures 2.6 metres long

 

 

 

  

 

 

this rolled up scarf measures 2.2 metres long, plenty for a double wrap around that cold neck

some of Preston's old Textile Mills today

I'm often looking up at buildings, admiring their structure, their architects and builders, wondering about the lives that have been lived inside their walls. Lately I've been a little obesessed with the old textile mills, Horrockses, Tulketh and others here in Preston but I've a feeling I shall be travelling further afield quite soon to try and capture more images but here is a small selection of some I took a couple of weeks ago.

I hope to soon visit a Textile Mill not far from Preston the Queen Street Mill in Burnley, Lancashire it is a working museum, and I shall be taking my camera with me!

Thier sheer size is so imposing and whilst some have been redesignated as Antique and furniture warehouses and factories others have become homes and offices. However the ones that really capturing my imagination and morphing into textile art and surface pattern are those that are bound and tethered in wire. They are captured in barbed wire, weldmesh and chain link like huge brick elephants held on the ground, prevented from going about their business. I've read recently (can't recall where) that 37,000 textile workers once worked in these mills.

Most of my raw fabric comes from Whaleys (Bradford) Ltd based in Bradford, where this nobel work is still carried on, I would encourage anyone who uses raw fabric to make their purchases from Whaleys too, and help keep whats left of our textile industry going and increase our GDP! Their goods are high quality, excellent value and the staff are helpful and friendly,
here is a link to Whaley's website  Please note that Whaleys mill is not featured in any of the images below....

Anyway watch this space and my website for the artwork that is being developed around the mills and their bindings of wire......

 

 

 

 

I've done a little more on the 'Becky Attenbourough Jacket'

Whilst trying to squeeze time in for working on my beautiful daughter Rebecca's recycled 'Becky Attenborough Jacket' is like trying to teach my little dog to sing, almost impossible, but all the better when it finally happens......
I've been able to get a bit more done but I'm not sure it's going to make her birthday, more like Christmas at this rate.

  

The back is a 'Tree of Life' piece, the tree has bark made up of strawberry and barbed wire fabrics (reminds me of her when she was a teenager), the owl has been included as she is quite wise and has been since a little mite. Plenty more to do on the tree but the photo shows where I'm going I think. 

 

I wanted a couple of medals for her, one is for her heroics in looking after her little brother. These were many and varied but one particular time springs to mind.... we were living in Zimbabwe for a time and John (her little brother) had a favourite pastime of catching lizards, on one notable occasion he thought (who knows how 9 year old boys brains work?) that it would be a good idea to kiss one, a largish one. Mistake. It caught hold of his lip and hung on through his screaming and running about. Despite tugging at it neither of them could dislodge it so Rebecca filled the bathroom sink and plunged her brother's head into it, luckily the lizard had to let go or drown so a wet John was saved. A babysitter was in attendance but Rebecca at the age of 10 was oh so much more sensible.

  

 

Another badge is one for her love of cats, this is for one cat in particular, her beloved Oscar.
Rebecca also adores the colour purple so had to include a little splash of it for her.....

the Turing's Textiles Workshop

First of all a BIG Thank You to everyone who attended the 'Turing's Textile Workshop' at Manchester Museum on Saturday 8th September, what a fabulous day!

 

 

 

a close up of Anna Bunney's multi media piece

 

This contemporary embroidery/mixed media workshop started with a thorough introduction to the Alan Turing exhibition by its Curator Alice Nichols.

AlanTuring's life and work was fascinating and I urge you to visit the exhibition at the Manchester Museum to see for yourself!

 

Christine Green layered up fabric and used wording and  a lot of stitch in her piece

 

What follows below is a description of the days efforts and photographs of the delegates pieces.

Its great to see the outcome of working without rules....

Natasha Hirst's reference to that poisoned apple

 it was also good to see the combination of tradtional and contemporary methods

Anne Phillips quilting skills appeared in her piece

 

 

We quickly got down to work. One of the creative processes I frequently use myself is what I have termed ‘Shorthand Drawing’.  The idea is to very quickly capture the essence of your subject or a small section of it by swiftly drawing just a few lines and in fact the best initial outcomes are those which have been captured in less than a minute of drawing. Next step; choosing up to 3-5 more views of the subject or even other subjects entirely.   This ‘Shorthand Drawing’ works best with the source in front of you but can still work well from photographs.

Yvonne Hunt's 'Shorthand Drawing' with the beginnings of her piece below

 

We went straight into this process before spending anytime looking at my work as I felt it was quite important for all of the delegates to allow their own styles to come through without being influenced by any of the artwork I had brought along to the workshop, although I did take everyone through some of my work once the ‘Shorthand Drawing’ session had taken place.

Miriam Ward produced two pieces

Miriam's reference to Alan Turing's tweed jacket

 

The next part of the process was for each student to take their favourite elements from each of their drawings and combine them into one, and it is this combination that they then translated into stitch, using layered fabric both new and recycled.

Hannah Pauly's clever use of a of a lool-a-like Petrie dish

Several delegates chose to work into paper

conceptually and visually strong - Deborah Irelands piece

Prior to the workshop each student had been emailed a list of what they should bring from their ‘stash’, this could not be too specific as for this sort of unfettered exploration you cannot predetermine what it is that you will use. What was suggested was whatever was to hand; scraps of cloth new and old, yarn, old photographs, found objects, old jewellery and art work and anything else thought pertinent. Also a working art and textile toolkit, scissors, needles, pens, paper etc.

Angela Carr's 'stash'

The day soon flew by and some of the students left with a bit more to do which is far better than rushing such a relaxing pastime.

a detail from Angela Carr's work

 

What is really amazing about this way of working is that even if everyone had used the same elements from the exhibition to draw from the outcomes would still have been entirely different from each other.

Lucie Clucas's 'Revealing Secrets'

 

The source chosen was quite varied, with students making their own selections. Some of these being patterns from the cow’s hides, leopards spots, moths wings and ammonites but also details from the written information boards, mathematical equations, Alan Turing’s tweed jacket, the poisoned apple and others.

Pam Coates merged several elements which I found took my eyes all around the piece, try it yourself, shut your eyes and when opening them  looking toward this let them decide where they are going

 

I was very impressed with all of the pieces produced and interested in the thoughts behind each of the choices made by everyone.

a wonderfully textured piece

 

Layering fabric created interest especially where top layers were cut through as in Liz's piece below

 

 

 

isn't it amazing how simple stitches and fraying edges can create so much interest

 

 

including photographs as Maria Foster has done lets you peer into the past.....

 

 

Again thanks to everyone who came, you made it what it was! Also special thanks to Anna Bunney, Curator of Public Programmes and Alice Nichols, Exhibition Curator too, it was all the more enjoyable for your input!

I will be doing delivering more workshops both at Manchester Museum and other venues, you can email me through my website if you would like more details or have any questions.www.gwynethdepport.com