Under the Surface

I am delighted to have two of my textile pieces in MADE IN IRELAND exhibition at the National Design and Craft Gallery in Kilkenny.

With work by over 100 makers from all over Ireland I am very proud to be included.

The exhibition is on until end January 2022 with further venues to follow.

Big thank you to curators  @hilarymorleyvisualartist, Mary Gallagher @blue_egg_gallery, @stephen.o.connell and all the team at @dccireland and @ndcgallery for all their hard work and expertise to create such a beautiful strong collection.

My two pieces are on theme ‘Under the Surface’ , because what goes on underground is as fascinating as above !

Here is a small blog post about making one of the embroideries,‘Under the Surface (Garden)’ textile art embroidery wrapped on 30cm x 30cm canvas.

I started out with a rough sketch of layout for above and below surface.

I then dyed silk with flowers, leaves and rust to get a base for earth.

I stitched over felt stone shapes and included scrim and frayed fabric to add texture.

I wanted bright strong flowers to contrast with the roots beneath.

So I choose deep reds and purples and strong centers of bullion stitch. 

To link the story of above and below I embroidered a bluebird pulling up worms.

I love hand stitching because it gives me so much control of movement.

I stitched the bird separately and then carefully cut close and restitched into place.

For the worms  . . . I added some antique nails (salvage from Spanish church c1750 )

Underground is a fascinating place, full of interacting roots and hidden treasures.

I love the structure of bulbs and rooting that seem to dance under the surface.

I used some natural mulberry bark as it has so much fiber and texture.

To give some colour I dyed with tea and a little rust, then teased it out to form the network of roots.

Flower bulbs are amazing things and I tried to show some of their layers with

different fabrics and frayed tulle. I used watercolour pencils to shade the bulb.

My duo of ‘Under the Surface’ textile art on canvas hang in the ‘Made in Ireland’ exhibition until end January 2022 and then on to further venues 

INSTAGRAM: @marymoorkens

'Elements of Nature'

 

‘Elements of Nature’ is my largest textile piece in international exhibition Texnet2 at Carrefour Européen du Patchwork 2021 and also the largest piece I have ever tackled!

It is 80cm x 150cm and I dread to think how many hand stitches over the months of making. Many times I asked myself what had I started . . . but it was still a total joy to make and I loved every minute.

‘Elements of Nature’ is the four elements - Fire Earth Air Water

The background is vintage cotton and silk noil that I dyed naturally with flowers, leaves and some rust.

I added antique lace top and bottom to bring some history and lots of texture and because I always find a way to include lace ! To make it easier to handle and as it was stitched on my lap I made the decision to work on it in four parts. So after carefully stitching my full background in place I took out a big sharp scissors and cut in quarters to be carefully rejoined later !!

For the element Air I stitched two birds.

A Bluebird for the lightness of air and blue of the sky and a Dark bird for the strength of the wind.

I drew the basic outlines and then filled and layered with thread.

Hand stitching is a slow process but I love the control I have to build up the shades.

I stitched the birds separately and then added to the background.

For the element Earth I choose to stitch one of my favourites, seedpods.

I stitched lots of bullion stitches and french knots to give very dense detail.

I cut small circles of silk for detailed colour flashes . . . and a little more antique lace!

The stems of the seedpods are overlapping sari silk strips and dyed scrim and couching stitch on top of that. Lots of detail.

Also included in the Earth element are some mushrooms.

More of my dyed silk and again I stitched separately to add to background later.

The mushrooms needed to have a small bath in watercolour to give them shading.

First time I painted a mushroom ! (And I added antique lace of course.)

For the element Fire I stitched fireflies.

I researched these tiny creatures - they are very magical.

These are my versions of them and my two birds were given the task to catch some in a jar!

The jar is made with antique netting that was part of an Edwardian wedding dress.

For the element of Water I stitched two fish in a little pond.

Lots of antique netting to soften the blue of the water as it was standing out too strongly.

Their pond is surrounded by deeply dyed silk noil and I added naturally dyed prints taken from leaves.

Yes there was a lot of dye pot days before I ever started stitching this large piece !

The many different sections were finally linking together  . . . and I used one needle for it all.

The needle and I deserve a rest !

'Lost Glove'

Another piece as part of the international exhibition called Texnet2 in EPM (Carrefour Européen du Patchwork) in 2021

This was made to be part of the October section of our Texnet2 exhibition calendar.

For me October in Ireland has a ‘rusty’ feel and I decided to depict it as a lost glove.

I imagined an antique glove lost by a lady . . . perhaps in a park . . perhaps during a romantic rendezvous !

The abandoned glove is left to be taken over by nature and eventually to become part of the landscape.

I bought some antique gloves and I dyed them using flowers, leaves and lots of rust sprinkles !

The background layers are silk, vintage linen and cotton which all got a dip and steam in natural dye.

I added lots of delicious antique lace for more history and to add to the story.

Then I hand stitched fossils and started adding deep rustic looking flowers intertwining themselves through the glove. Lots of chunky bullion stitches and french knots.

The lady who dropped the glove has her secrets safely hidden forever !!

Texnet2 International Exhibition

Introducing two pieces that I made for an international exhibition called Texnet2.

I am delighted to be part of this wonderful project which is a collaboration of 21 international textile artists.

We are artists from Europe, United States, Canada and Australia and have interacted, discussed, planned and inspired each other via a facebook group since 2018 under the guidance of Juliette Eckel.

The result of our project Texnet2, a collection of 377 textiles works.

It was a joy to work on as well as so wonderful to get to know fellow textile artists who I have never actually met !  

The pandemic canceled our chance to exhibit in EPM (Carrefour Européen du Patchwork) in September 2020, perhaps it will be kinder in 2021.

The first piece called ‘Say Rabbit for Luck’ is a very special lady.

Our family have always followed the tradition of saying ‘rabbit’ on the first of the month.

It was always the challenge to be the first to say it on the day and grab the luck.

When I was young I thought it was only our family until I realised this tradition is widespread with people saying  ‘rabbit’  ‘white rabbit’  or  ‘pinch punch’.

It was made with naturally dyed silk, lots of antique lace and hand stitching.

Layers of fabric I dyed with flowers and leaves and antique lace for texture.

Dandelions are embroidered to add to the luck and wishes.

I gave bunny a blush watercolour bath before hand stitching and adding a lace collar.

The piece is 32 cm square.

‘Wish Nest’ is the second textile piece I made for the Texnet2 exhibition.

It is a 15 x 32 cm piece and features a bluebird of happiness building a nest of words.

I dyed the background silk noil with flowers and leaves and then hand stitched the bluebird.

The nest is a mix of dyed silk ribbon and ripped fabric with an antique lace soft centre.

The words and wishes are printed on cotton and stitched and woven through the nest.

In all made 11 different medium size pieces for this exhibition and then one very large piece 

80cm x 150cm that I stitched throughout lockdown in Dublin. 

It is the largest embroidery I have made and hope to share images soon .  .  .  .  .  .  .

‘I am my inner stitch . . . the needle dreams my journey’

August 2020

The Irish Guild of Embroiderers exhibition in the Lexicon called ‘2020’ celebrating 20 year Anniversary of the guild.

One little needle and lots and lots of thread and the journey begins.

I celebrate the magic of embroidery that creates worlds just by moving that needle in and out of cloth.

I have learnt to trust it and go where it takes me.

My flowers and creatures are not accurate species, they appear on fabric with their own personalities mixed with mine.

I love the wildness of free stitching that can be unpredictable, satisfying, therapeutic and totally addictive.

All of the elements I love are in this piece, naturally dyed fabric, antique lace, vintage textiles and very slow hand stitching. 

First I made the flowers, a little alien and imagined. Then some seed pods . . . even more dreamed up !

I always like to add a few mushrooms, they are part of fairy tales and magic and I love their stalks and textures.You can really have fun texturing a mushroom !

I prefer to stitch birds on a separate fabric and they cut out very close to the stitching and add to background. I find it is easier to position and also can give a slight three dimensional feel.

When the birds had taken their perches I added the needles they hold and linked them all together with a thread to form my stitch journey.

Antique lace is a big part of my textile embroidery and it is the texture and history I always add to my work. For me it brings the story together.