Maiden Erlegh workshop pictures

Some lovely work produced by the GCSE art students at Maiden Erlegh school last week. Here are just a few pictures.

Transforming images with momigami techniques.

Embedding text with a silk paper making technique - the silk fibres are the cream that surrounds the found words, and this could also be stitched or painted.

Weaving fabrics and securing them to a background with Bondaweb.

Weaving with crisp packets and then fusing them with an iron. Also (in the background) creating texture with the iron on crisp packets and stitching into them.

Stitched image combined with words embedded in Angelina fibres. Love the glasses!

Mixing fabrics, texture and words with stitch.

Angelina experiments making tubes, beads and embossed designs.

Stitched image

Exploring peer pressure, through images applied to a primary school sweatshirt

3-d box constructed through strengthening paper with iron-on interfacing and Angelina fibre, then stitched.

Transforming photographs by layering with Angelina fibre

Work in progress! Thanks again for making me so welcome.

Thank you Maiden Erlegh

A big thank you to Maiden Erlegh School for making me so welcome on Friday - everyone worked so hard! The students have been researching issues that are important to them, and we explored how to incorporate text into mixed media/textiles. We used Angelina fibre, silk fibre, Bondaweb and iron-on interfacing as well as recycled fabrics and papers.

Pictures to follow ....

Invited to do another artist-in-residence day at Baylis Court

Haven't got a date fixed yet, but I am delighted to have been asked to return to Baylis Court School in Slough again for another workshop day to inspire their textile students. The theme is 'Recycle' and the students have been exploring artists such as Cas Holmes, Natalie Chanin and Alison Willoughby.
Right up my street ... I can't wait. It was a lovely experience last year and the girls were really enthusiatic. The school is a Specialist Arts College and received an Outstanding Ofsted report in 2008.

2011 - exploring structures

Pictures of Dublin

Here are pictures of Dublin ... a few more can be found at the end of the album to be found on my Make Something of it website

Thank you everyone who joined me for a fantastic couple of days, really inspiring to see what you all achieved in such a short space of time. And thank you for the positive feedback - it was great to feel that you got something out of the workshop and will be taking it on to more creations.


For a more leisurely approach to exploring your creativity with recycled fabrics - join me in Burgundy for a workshop retreat with the Really Big Dream Company from 6-12 May.

Recycled workshops at Knitting & Stitching Shows, London & Dublin

Phew, such a busy time! Just back from Dublin and with Alexandra Palace over too, I've had a great time and met lots of lovely ladies who joined me for my recycled notebook covers, and lettering applique workshops. I'll post some piccys as soon as I can.
Can't wait for Harrogate K&S ... I'll be there on 25th and 26th November, where I'm doing 6 workshops. Lucky there is no weight limit on suitcases on the train. I bearly scraped on my Dublin flight with 20.2kg with enough materials for 4 workshops.
 
Hope to see you there!

Having a Really Big Dream!

“Do you dream of making accessories for yourself or things for your home?

Would you like to express yourself in art textiles?
Do you want to create your own designs and discover or develop your creativity with textiles?

If ‘YES’ come and find inspiration and fresh ideas in beautiful Burgundy ....

I am teaming up with Janice at The Really Big Dream Company at her wonderful 18th Century farmhouse where we are offering week long residential craft retreats. The aim of the workshop is to loosen up and start creating – sewing, stitching and constructing - with recycled fabrics. Recycling builds creative skills offering endless possibilities and unexpected results. You will be encouraged to create things from recycled fabrics and old clothes (yes, it’s environmentally friendly) and make something more of your creativity. Find out more here.

Make something of it website

I'm very excited to have launched my new website: http://www.makesomethingofit.co.uk/

Its all about being creative with recycled fabrics - building confidence, being experimental and learning to upcycle. There are lots of pictures in the galleries, and I'm going to add an online shop soon.

Fashion fixers day

Great fun at Fashion fixers at South Hill Park. Some really creative work by the students - using heat transfer printing (top) with the other Jane to transform a lacy underslip, and building up an exciting mix of colours and textures (above).

My skirt  - made from a man's knitted cotton pullover, with box pleat and frilled edge. Very pleased with how this turned out, with the raspberry pink polkadot underskirt.

A quick and easy denim bag to go with it.

The full outfit, with a recycled t-shirt scarf. Needs a bit more work to make the scarf more exciting - some printing would be great because the edge didn't go as wavy because the t-shirt wasn't quite stretchy enough. And some customising of the Betty Boop t-shirt. But the glitter print of Betty's dress is a perfect match for the raspberry scarf and polka dot voile of the skirt - so I love it.
And now its over to the Fashion Fixers for more work before the show on 16th April and the pop-up shop coming soon in Bracknell.

Fashion fixers

Looking forward to supporting the Fashion Fixers event which is happening next weekend (26/27th March) for young people with the Missed Out youth forum at South Hill Park in Bracknell. The weekend is billed as 'The Apprentice meets Scrapheap Challenge' while upcycling fashion to raise money for the 125 Project from the Kerith Centre, a charity set up to build a dormitory for young girls in Zambia to keep them safe while they finish their education away from home.

Structure workshop - Baylis Court School

I'm getting ready to be 'Artist in Residence' for a day at Baylis Court School in Slough. I am excited to be working with two groups of GCSE level Art and Textile students, looking at lots of techniques and ideas for their project theme 'Structures'. We are going to work with the embellisher machines, Bondaweb fusing, weaving and stitching, and look at all the ways in which these techniques can be combined using fibre and fabric scraps.
I've been working on a few new samples.

Upcycling workshops at Leighton Park School

A rather nerve-wracking and snowy journey started my day at Leighton Park School in Reading. But as soon as I had arrived, unpacked my stuff and thawed out over a cup of tea with the textiles teacher, Jo, I had a fantastic day from start to finish.

The school collected a huge variety of old clothes, old bags, belts and bits and bobs. And then the students arrived and were excited to get started. We looked at samples and ideas and then launched straight in. We made a lacy cloche hat from old tops, bags from old dresses and skirts, a mini-puffball skirt from a fitted sheet and chopped and restyled blouses and dresses into funky new creations.

The day was divided into two groups, with the older students and sixth-form in the morning, and the younger ones down to year 7 in the afternoon.

A nautical fitted-sheet being transformed into a puff-ball mini.

Works in progress - Chopping and changing a dress (above) and a funky bag (below)

Everyone enjoyed themselves, were keen to do more upcycling, and to add more finishing touches to their pieces when they got home. The only down-note was that the snowy weather meant that the Fair Trade fashion show planned for the parents and the students in the evening had to be cancelled. However, it will be rescheduled for January, and the extra time will mean even more unique, fabulous 'upcycled' creations for the students to model.

Salvage - workshop-tastic

Great fun had by all... The Discard/salvage workshop went really well. A great group with a mix of ages and experience produced some interesting experiments and intriguing results. We waded through my HUGE heap of salvaged clothes and fabrics, did some painting, some needle-felting/embellishing and some stitching.

Getting ready for RISC

Plans for the exhibition are coming together... I visited the space on Tuesday and am excited about how my pieces will look. The picture doesn't really do the Cafe justice but I have got ideas on how I will hang things. Work will be going up on Monday 10th May, and will be there until early June. http://www.risc.org.uk/

Discard:salvage at RISC - Reading

Tuesday 11 May until Friday 4th June: I am exhibiting some pieces at the Global Cafe at the Reading International Solidarity Centre (RISC)
Sunday 16 May - I am running a workshop - exploring the ideas of recycling and upcycling textiles to create art. From 10am to 3pm, cost £5.
More information here or contact Shenoor at RISC  on 0118 958 6692