There was a good turnout to help set up the exhibition which opens on Tuesday 29 March 2016 at the National Needlework Archives, The Old Chapel Textile Centre, Main Street, Greenham Business Park, Newbury. RG19 6HW.  The exhibition is open til Thursday 28 April 2016, Tuesdays to Thursdays 10am until 4pm. For information about the venue see the National Needlework Archive's website.

Sandy Snowden took a small selection of 'Worn Threads' work to the Birch Hill Easter Fair, held at the community centre where the group meets. She did a great job of widening knowledge of textile art, our group and what we get up to.

There was lots going on at the fair: face painting, Easter egg hunt, cakes, home-made Easter eggs, and so on. The event supported the Bracknell Town Council's Mayor's chosen Charity - Bracknell Home-Start Bracknell Town Council Mayor’s chosen charity.

A busy day yesterday installing our new exhibition 'Worn threads' at the Lady Sew and Sew warehouse exhibition space in Henley on Thames. 

The exhibition is open from Thursday 4th February to Monday 22nd February 2016, weekdays 10am until 4pm. For information about the venue see www.ladysewandsew.co.uk

For those people wanting to send photos to Sandy please find below instructions on how to use wetransfer.com:

You will need to know which folder on your pc contains the photo you want to transfer. 
1. To open https://www.wetransfer.com/ in another window, click here .
2. The website may offer for you to "Get WeTransfer Plus", in which case, click the "skip" button.
3. The website will ask you to accept the Terms and Conditions, click "I agree".
4. The website will show a box looking like this:

5. Click "+ Add files"  - this will open a window for you to find the folder that contains your photo.  Find the correct folder and then select by the photoby double clicking on the photo.
6. Click "+Friends email" and enter Sandy's email address. 
7. Click "+Your email" and enter your email address. 
8. Add a message with your name and the title of your piece of work (to make life easier for Sandy).
9. Click "Transfer" and you're done.

I was fortunate enough to visit New Zealand earlier this year and was inspired by a piupiu skirt I saw in the Te Papa Tongarewa (Museum of New Zealand). 

A piupiu is a skirt-like garment made of flax strands that hang from a waistband. The leaves of the New Zealand flax are first stripped back to the fibre in regular sections, leaving sections of unstripped leaf in between. The loose fibres are then twisted together by a spinning action. These strands are boiled and dried so they whiten and roll into tubes. Then they are dyed black, only the exposed fibre takes the dye, creating a striped black and white effect. Finally, the strands are attached to a woven waistband.

I was also inspired by the fabulous scenery at Doubtful Sound.  The photo doesn't do justice to the fantastic greens and the silvery waterfalls.

I made some fabric beads by rolling a triangular piece of fabric around a knitting needle and heating with a heat gun.  I used the same technique on large flower shaped sequins and then strung them together:

I made several different sizes of these hanging strands and put them together to make a necklace.  I had to insert spacer fabric beads to get them to hang properly.

Any suggestions on the best way to display this are most welcome.

TVCT’s challenge for Exhibition in 2016

Key points to note for entering a piece for exhibition.

·        Create a piece inspired by a garment, which can be an item of clothing, shoes or handbags.  The piece can be a wall piece or 3D.

·        Wall pieces must be designed to be hung on the wooden coat hangers (top or trousers), provided by TVCT. Maximum overall width is 3 hangers. 3D pieces will be placed on plinths. Please discuss with us your ideas for displaying 3D. Pieces must be finished to exhibition standard.

·        Please provide a photo of your ‘inspirational garment’ on or before the meeting on 21st November 2015. 

·        Entry is restricted to members who attend meetings.

·        A completed Submission Form and entry fee of £10 need to be brought to the meeting on 21st November 2015. Cheques payable to TVCT.

·        The final deadline for finished work is the meeting on 23rd January 2016 (no postal submissions).

·        A label showing the maker’s name and address and the work’s title needs to be attached to the back of the piece. The hanger/s need to be included with the work.

·        The work will be transported several times, (possibly in the rain) - from the TVCT meeting, for selection, to exhibiting venues and back. Please provide suitable named, and reusable packaging materials.

·        We cannot guarantee to hang work that is difficult or impractical to display. The venues may also limit us on the number of pieces we can display. If your work is not hung we will return your entry fee.

·        Your work will need to be collected from the TVCT meeting on 21st May 2016. If you are unable to collect your work on this date in person, you must make prior arrangements for the return of your work.

·        You will need make your own insurance arrangement.


Further information is available here.

Entry forms are available by contacting us.  

For our next group exhibition, we will be making work inspired by a garment. This can be any item of clothing or shoes.

The finished items will be displayed with photograph of the garment that inspired the work. 

Examples of how the piece can be interpreted:

• Use a garment – cut up a garment and make something new.
• Recreate a garment – 3-d or reinterpret it in 2-d with different fabrics or different techniques.
• The garment may be recognisable or no longer recognisable in the finished piece, depending on the ideas and techniques used.
• Use a garment (or a photograph of a garment) as inspiration – for memories, concepts or ideas (garments associated with occasions, memories or people).

 
Outcomes - we are hoping to have:

• 2-d and 3-d pieces of work
• Using a variety of techniques
• Worked in a variety of scales

 
The final twist – hanging! We will utilise an interesting hanging scheme to make people intrigued by the theme, to draw them in and to make our exhibition stand out from the crowd. 

Our initial ideas are that;

• Wall based pieces will be hung from hangers, coat or skirt,
• Work can be hung in a space,
• Small 3-d work will be on plinths.

 
Finished pieces need to be handed in at the January 2016 meeting. This is the deadline.  

Entry forms will be available at the May 2015 meeting.  Further information is available by contacting us

In-house challenge sharing session

In September 2014 Carol Wilkes and Sandy Snowden introduced an in-house challenge for members; the theme was ‘Scale – Nature’. The idea was to think about nature in its broadest sense and also in relation to scale. This had encouraged much exploration and development of ideas. The purpose of the challenge is personal development only, but the work can of course become part of a series of work that may be used in a different context. Today the members were given an opportunity to show their work so far and share their thoughts behind it.

There was a great variety of approaches to exploring nature, from direct prints and marks made on cloth outside to looking at microscopic images of cell structure, of birds, the movement of the body, the changing seasons and many more. People worked in a variety of techniques, printing in many several different ways, dyeing, layering, applique, slashing, embroidery, trapping, crocheting and more!

Introduction of Exhibition Challenge 2016

The Thames Valley Contemporary Textiles Challenge for exhibition in 2016 was introduced to the members by Marion Robertson. The concept was developed by Jane Glennie before she stepped down as exhibition officer; this is her innovative idea for the next exhibition:

We would like you to make a piece of work inspired by a garment. This can be any item of clothing or shoes. You must submit a photograph of the specific garment. It may be a photograph of the garment before it is cut up to create your piece or may be a photograph that shows the garment e.g. a wedding dress, soldier’s uniform etc. However, whether it is old or new, currently existing or not, you must be able to link your piece to a specific garment. The piece can be 2-d or 3-d, use a variety of techniques and work in a variety of scales. The final twist is the hanging, all pieces will be displayed on coat hangers to give visual coherence to the exhibition. Small 3-d work will be on plinths, possibly incorporating mini hangers or other garment related items, such as shoe boxed.

Workshop

In the afternoon, Kate Crossley ran a workshop called Acid Etching on Fabric; this is a technique she uses regularly in her own work. Kate demonstrated layering of different fibres to create a mixed fibre cloth, followed by the application of Devore paste; this was heated and dissolved some fibres. All members had the opportunity to make their own sample.

Happy New Year! Hope you are getting off to a good start. Did you get any art or sewing related presents? Or perhaps inspiration for work to make in the coming year?

As you know, our next meeting is the 17th of January. I am looking forward to seeing the work you have been doing for the In-House Challenge Scale: Nature. Even if it is a work in progress for you, do bring it along. This is about encouraging your journey, not judging the artwork or techniques.

In the afternoon, Kate Crossley will be doing a workshop involving Fabric Etching. 

We will also be presenting the theme for making work for our Exhibition for 2016. As you know, we are hoping to put in a proposal to exhibit at the Spring Knitting And Stitching Show again. If you have ideas for other venues, please let our Exhibitions Officer - Marion Robertson know.

If you have other work you would like to display in the Gallery, do bring that along. And of course some money to spend at the 'Been There, Done That' table!

Do you have a friend who might enjoy the day, do bring them along.
Looking forward to seeing you,
Sandy