Thursday 21 March 2019

Africa

My joint exhibition with Janice Cottier is called "Africa" and it opens on the 23rd March.
It is going to be very colourful. I have used African colours, patterns and designs sourced from my trip to Morocco a few years ago; from visits to the British Museum where I sketched and took pictures in the Africa section and also from the the studies I made of West African textiles during Part I City and Guilds and the Diploma in stitched textiles.
I decided that using the above sources as a starting point I would interpret the themes in a contemporary way using techniques such as slashing fabrics, nuno felting, painting and manipulating fabrics and fabric with photography.
I concentrated on the use of hand stitching with the above which I find very rewarding and relaxing to do. My favourite piece is a large picture of a Cape hunting dog which I made by needlefelting some of my plant dyed threads along with woollen threads made from rare breed sheep wools.
Below right is a small hanging of a South African flower made by couching threads on khadi paper and fine Indian cotton.