Warped exhibition by Prism Textiles
The Warped exhibition by Prism Textiles is now in full swing at the Art Pavilion in Mile End, London. At the private view last Wednesday evening Sumi Perera gave the opening speech, dressed in an outfit that most of us instantly coveted! Some of my stitching friends (Carol and Jane) turned up wearing shibori indigo […]
BA Spring School 2023
Every year (pandemics permitting) the Basketmakers’ Association organises Spring School, a residential session with five or six different basketry tutors. Members who sign up receive four full days’ tuition with the tutor of their choice. The tutors also give talks in the evening that everyone can attend, so you get to hear about the work […]
Teaching plaiting at Morley College
So my first term of teaching at Morley College is over – I made it! It was nerve wracking to start with, but it’s been extremely rewarding watching students who have never done any basketry taking obvious pleasure in developing their skills. An Ofsted inspection in the middle of the term added extra pressure to […]
Paper vessel workshop with Lucy Baxandall
Last weekend I was back at Morley College, but this time as a student rather than as a tutor. I was doing a two-day workshop on making paper vessels (3D papermaking) with Lucy Baxandall, a paper and book artist based in Northumberland. The first day we focused on cotton, using pulp and making sheets to […]
Making lime bast cordage
It was pretty windy in London earlier this week, resulting in quite a few branches ending up on roads and pavements. We have a lot of lime trees around us, and on walking past some fallen branches I noticed that on some of them the outer bark had split and separated, with layers of inner […]
Warped: Prism Textiles exhibition 2023
Where has this year gone? It’s March already and this is my first blog post of the year. I seem to have been busier than usual, as I’ve started teaching basketry evening classes at Morley College (more about this another time) and also I’ve been editing the March issue of the Basketmakers’ Association Journal. That’s […]
Mexican nativity scenes
Last week I returned from three weeks in Mexico – a wonderful trip filled with colour, crafts, and excellent food. I will write a bit more about some of this in the new year, but for now it seems seasonally appropriate to post a few photos of some of the extraordinary nativity scenes I saw […]
Tadek Beutlich at Morley Gallery
I first came across the work of Polish printmaker and weaver Tadek Beutlich (1922-2011) in Ditchling Museum several years ago. Beutlich lived in Ditchling for a while, where he ran a weaving studio. Then in 1974 he moved to Spain, where he ditched the looms and worked just using his hands (“off loom weaving”). The […]
Teaching basketry at Morley College: plaiting
I’m very excited to announce that from January 2023 I am going to be teaching basketry at evening classes at Morley College in south London. I started my textiles journey at Morley more than 10 years ago, so it’s great to be going back! The course is on Tuesday evenings, 6-9pm. In the first term […]
Maria Bartuszová at Tate Modern
Around five years ago I did some experiments with plaster and textiles, experimenting with pouring plaster into balloons or over felt vessels. You can read about it here on my previous blog. It never really went anywhere, but it meant I could definitely relate to the fragile, evocative work by Maria Bartuszová at Tate Modern. […]
