Tribute to Grenfell - Art Quilt

I finally get to show you my art quilt "Tribute to Grenfell" which is on display until 27th October in the "Stitched and Bound" exhibition at the Zig Zag Gallery in Kalamunda.

On the evening of 14th June 2017 the world watched in horrified fascination as 72 people lost their lives in the Grenfell Tower fire. Eyewitness testimony described the terror as flames raced up the 24 storey building. This emotional, depressing piece is a tribute to those who lost their lives.

This piece was made with felt and organza and quilted with eyewitness testimony, machine-stitch lettering. The piece was then melted and burnt just like the building.

Exhibition - Peregrinations of a Citizen Botanist

Peregrinations of a Citizen Botanist is currently showing at Mundaring Arts Centre. It's a great little exhibition of eco-dyed and embroidered textiles, dolls, mixed media and native flora. The picture above shows the botanist in his eco-dyed clothes. The exhibition contains miniature items collected and owned by the botanist arranged in drawers and boxes like a cabinet of curiosities or an attic of long forgotten treasures. One of the nicest things about the exhibition is that the audience are encouraged to interact with the work by moving and turning the models and boxes. It was crowded for the "What on Earth" open day when I visited so the photos are not great. Go and take a look at it in real life if you get a chance.

Let it sit - Gelli® and Pastels

Jane Davenport has just released this new video using the Gelli Arts® gel plate and pastels.

In her video she explains that she lets the paper sit on the plate for 6-10 minutes before lifting off the print. Normally I would lift the paper straight away to avoid it sticking to the plate so I was intrigued by this and decide to test it out. I have been having terrible trouble with getting all of my pastels to life off the plate without leaving half of them behind. Turns out that Jane's advice is great - just let it sit! I also found that rubbing the paper gently rather than hard worked well too.

Here are my prints drawn from magazine and book images using Copic markers and PanPastels.

This one was made using one of Jane's face stencils.