Mixed media creative workshop ...

 Hi everyone, 

This week we have had snow in Shropshire so no lessons for me. However, it is the third year I have signed up for an online mixed media sewing course. 

 

It is led by a well known textile artist & is broken down in to daily activities which makes it manageable. I browsed one of Gwen Hedley's books I own for inspiration & made two air drying clay blocks which I thought I might use to print with but did not use them in the end. 

The first day is using watered down acrylic paint to mark 2 cloths - one with dense marks in two colours, the other with less marks to create the contrast in the same colours. 

The next day the two cloths are cut up - deconstructed - then pieced together to form a new pattern using existing marks to make connections between the sections. 

They are then enhanced with stiches using various weights of threads etc. 

Because I did this workshop last year, I had an idea of the process & choose green & gold / brown paints as my two colours. However,  I was once again not too happy with how the paints came out so late evening did another cloth with just the gold marks (the colour I thought came out least well). 

While the paints were out, I did a different cloth with green & blues that I will use later. 

I decided to go with the gold & greens as a challenge to see if I could stitch my way to something I liked. I love hand stitching so it is hardly a hardship & I have lots of threads to choose from in my stash. 

I decided to put the cut up sections together in a long scroll shape as I have a wooden thread reel that came from a mill.

Some connections were easy across the fabrics, other sections will need a lot of stitching to look cohesive but it is workable. 

This is my progress with the last day tomorrow when we will look at backing it. My stitching will continue for a while longer & that is fine because it is very relaxing to just choose some threads & stitch away. 

The light in the conservatory is perfect for stitching (even if it is a little chilly this time of the year.) The red needle threader was in great demand to get the embroidery thread through the eye of the needle. 

Who else uses one of these basic (but essential) needle threaders? 

There is no rush to finish within the 5 course days so it is very relaxing to go where the stitching takes me. The stiches I am using are very basic ones that need little thought so the process can flow:

Satin, running & back stitch (normal & detached), seed stitch (my favourite) french knots, & whipped running stich. 

Thank you for stopping by, do you have a project? I love how artists share their skill & knowledge to inspire us to try something different ... 

 Dee 💕