'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 !!

'She Dreamt of Growing Antique Lace'

 

This is a very personal piece based on a poem written by my very talented cousin the writer Geraldine Moorkens Byrne.
It is a poem she wrote about my crazy love for antique lace, the woman knows me !

It is part of the 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 2020, but going ahead September 2021.

My first challenge was how to draw myself . . . fun. I used light flat felt as base and drew guide markings, then it was hand stitching in many shades of thread.

I wanted to depict the dream of growing the lace.

I stitched layers to form a bulb shape and then painted extra detail of colour with watercolours.

The hands were tricky !!

The background was silk noil I had dyed with flowers and leaves.

I tried various ideas for hair but because it was a dreaming figure I ended up going very detailed.

I mixed thick knitting yarn with thread and ribbon and of course lots and lots of antique lace.

Finally I wanted to include the poem that started it all, printed on cotton.

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 .  .  .  .  .  .  .