We've been so quiet...

Nothing from us for ages - you must have wondered where we were!

Our group was very scattered last year, with people coming and going, travelling, family commitments and so on. We decided not to meet at all for six months but we're meeting again and still making.

We have some lovely things to show you... so keep an eye out for future posts.

Meanwhile, here are some highlights of the nine years we met. Enjoy!

Foil experiment - Nola (2008)

Our very first day's activity:

Bring an object from nature, a picture and some theme words you might like to explore.

Don't get too hung up on this, we're not considering finished work, just to begin a design process.

Bring a sketchbook, and whatever other materials suit your way of working. This can be drawing materials, but also include magazine photos for collaging, yarns and fabrics for texture, stamps, camera, basically whatever materials interest you as part of the design process.

Bring some fabric scraps, yarns, ribbons, paper, etc - anything you might like to work with. It's assumed that resources will be shared, so don't bring your treasures!

I thought we might work through some short exercises on our object, picture and theme words. You can combine them or focus on one thing or several. You can use another person's object as the focus instead of your own. Really, it's whatever interests you on the day.

We experimented with puff paints, transparency transfers, painting fusible web, making fabric and Tyvek beads, foiling, making silk paper, simple printing and monoprinting.

Sunprinting - Beverley (2009)

We melted things with soldering irons, sunprinted with different media, made collages, learnt differnet types of book binding, and carved stamps.

We made charms for our friend Norma, and inserts for coffee mugs. We tried working with polymer clay and dyeing orizomegami. Helen taught us rug canvas work.

We grafitti'd fabric...

Huge piece of fabric with grafitti (2009)

and then divided it up and did things with it.

Prue's cushion

Helen's book cover

 

Nola's bag

Carol with bag in progress

That was one of our most fun activities! We did it again as an ATASDA Christmas Party activity later the same year and both times we made really distinctive fabric.


We dyed various kinds of silk, we practised our drawing and gradually our own skills and interests began to come to the fore.

Tricia's dyeing

Helen's rug canvas stitching and book making