TIME FOR CHANGE

I have been thrown a bit by the new layout but I shall do my best.  The work is a diptych inspired by the need for change.  I have used a decontructed Union Jack for the background, reflecting the chaotic state of the nation.  The figures were made in fabric from my own sketches & then scanned onto the background.
The captions on the placards refers to the so-called 'pasty tax' & arose from an article in the paper when a lady from Helston stated that she was thinking of putting these words in her pasty shop window.  (For non-UK members the 'pasty tax' was the name given to our government's decision to put VAT on hot pasties which had been exempt previously.  This appears to have hit the renowned Cornish pasty particularly hard).

The 2 pieces together are A3, printed onto computer transfer paper & quilted.

A FRAGMENT

Hurrah! I seem to be in good company in the lateness stakes. After much huffing, puffing & searching, here is my offering. It is based on sketches of parts of my favourite cathedral of all which is Durham. It is also influenced by some work I had been doing on distressed banners & flags.

It has painted & dyed muslin over printed fabrics & the squares are from computer porinted flags of my own design. (There is too much art work to show this). It is bound with twisted 'cords' of muslin overstitched to the edge. Free machining completes the piece.

I have my idea organised for the next round, I think, so there should be a prompter response!

THE STATE WE'RE IN

Better late than never with the added problem that the piece, like topsy, grew and grew.
The idea came from various sources as outlined in a previous post as well as being a continuation of a current theme.
My overall idea, was, and still is, the view through a wealthy person's window as exemplified by the lively coloured blocks whose random nature refers to the way bankers have gambled with our future. The view through has a background which is a laminated composite of part of a gravestone and poppies together with a poppy petal. I did this because Armistice Day this year was a once in a century 11,11,11,11 and I wanted to reference this with drawn crosses. The figures were used for further works and I liked them so they were put in here too. They represent my feelings about this summer's riots in our cities and this pervades the whole work. It is cheating a bit because it is really outside/outside but there is artistic licence. Anyway, a wealthy individual mght well have these 'wallpaper' blocks on his/her wall.
It is a long time since I used bought fabrics in a work to any degree but time constraints and a previous competition requirement brought me back to them. I thoroughly enjoyed choosing the myriad of colours and tones required for the random blocks but, as usual, struggled to find enough even from my enormous collection. I got addicted to the process of making these.
The colouring of the figures was experimental as I wanted to try out various watersoluble media on fabric which I worked on at our local art club practical evening. The group are nearly all conventional painters and were both bewildered and intrigued by what I was doing.
All in all, I am pleased with this although I did have my doubts at times. It still needs embellishing, quilting and finishing but I need to think about this.
May I suggest that members state the size of their work as this is quite important to our appreciation and visualising of it? Otherwise, we have no reference point. This piece is about 40in. wide by 20in. high. I did say it grew and grew. A full view and a close-up are shown below.

THE STATE WE'RE IN!

I am beginning to wonder why, as soon as I join something, everyone starts leaving! I hope that the group is not going to fail through lack of members.

I can post my 'work in progress' in the next day or so when it is more presentable as that appears to be an option.

When will we be getting the next Challenge as things are building up for me too?

PROTEST - A WORKING TITLE

This projected work had its origins in the almost unbelievable events of this August. It will become part of a series on this theme. I was horrified, as everybody was, by the destruction and looting which took place but I was equally angry at the draconian sentences passed on people who hadn't really done that much. It is influenced also by Ralph McTell's greatest song 'The Streets of London' and this will probably feature in the future.
The following pictures represent only 'pegs to hang my hat on' at the moment. I have several possibilties for the window element. The picture below is from a series taken at the de la Warr Pavilion, Bexhill.
I am influenced as well by the fact that Armistice Day occurs during the course of this Challenge. I know that dates are meaningless when looked at as curiosities but it is interesting that in this year it will be 11,11,11,11. This will not occur again for a century. I hope to use this as my background as I think about Kipling's lines which I shall paraphrase as 'was it for this they died.
I am experimenting with a combination of photographs taken in my local churchyard and poppy pictures. I am thinking of overlaying them and probably laminating the result.
These are some of the ingredients. I must collect the rest and make the recipe.

Newcomer

Hello

I am a late arrival so I am only joining the Challenge now. I have watched from the sidelines as the first Challenge took place and it has my admiration.
I have dabbled in textiles for as long as I can remember going from family interests such as knitting and crochet to tatting, embroidery, patchwork and quilting to mixed media - with a little bit of painting thrown in!
My other passion are gardening and cookery but usually I cannot wait to get into a textile piece.
My heart is in the north east of England but work and marriage put me in suburbia. One day the wanderer might return!

Jenny