June meeting

At our meeting this month we continued to work on pieces for the Milton Keynes Literary Festival exhibition to be held in September.
We also shared some of the work produced while the group was in France recently and discussed future events and activities.
Most importantly the meeting took the decision, in discussion for a while, to change its name. The group is now called "Art to Stitch".
For the time being you will continue to access the blog at wbctgroup.blogspot

Here are some images of the work in construction for the Festival Exhibition.

Textile Retreat in France

A group of members have just returned from a week in the French countryside. A chance to bond, explore french local towns, enjoy the local food and wine and work on mini artist's concertina books and challenge ourselves to really look at our environment.

Visiting local towns and enjoying the local food.

Working on concertina books guided by Sally.

First attempts.

Sally set us a photographic challenge each day on a theme. The  themes were:
Close up
Gates
Circles
Squares
Looking Through
Here are a few of the close up images

May meeting

May’s meeting saw the group working on their inspirations for the Milton Keynes Literary Festival to be held in September 2018.

The variety of approaches was really interesting. Hand stitch is featuring widely!

The next meeting will be on the 3rd Monday in June, June 18th.

Our theme for the Literary Festival in September

Through Jill's good offices we have been invited to exhibit at Milton Keynes Literary Festival in September 2018.

The quote is taken from a novel called The Maker of Heavenly Trousers by Daniele Vare. I have never read the book but apparently it is a tragic romance set in the mysterious but turbulent backdrop of Peking in the early 20th century. It explores inter-racial themes and ideas and concepts of other worlds far from our own. The title comes from a derelict door sign that the European hero of the book saves from a scrap heap. 

 

“The verb 'to darn' is explained in my pocket dictionary as follows: 'To mend by imitating the texture of the stuff, with thread and needle.' But this definition does not correspond to the work accomplished by good Chinese housewives. When they mend a sock, they do not try 'to imitate the texture of the stuff'. Their art makes no attempt at concealment: it even takes a certain pride in revealing itself.” 
― Daniele Varè, The Maker of Heavenly Trousers

Some thoughts I had on this are : perfection and decay , boro and rags, make do and mend, antique pieces of precious heirloom work, lines and grids, hidden secrets, broken things, darning and repairs. ----- lots of ideas I am sure you will come up with to make a wonderful A3 sized piece. I think we can use the passage that is very much about traditional needlework to challenge our viewers ideas about 'quilters' and inform them about contemporary textiles, - they might be shocked at what we come up with !

 

We will have the quote on display alongside this work. If I can get hold of the book that can go on show as well. 

 

Remember this is just for the pieces that we will work on together at our next session. The main body of the Literary Festival exhibition will be made up of work that we already have.

 

So for our session on the 9th April please bring along your ideas and materials to design and make a A3 sized piece based on the above quote. 

Update

We are still here! 

Apologies for the absence, work has been continuing and the group has continued to attract new members.

Regular updates will now be added.