'A Colourful Life' with Helen Hallows

Friday 7th February - 'A Colourful Life'

This month's talk is by Helen Hallows, a mixed media artist best known for her landscape and nature based artwork. Helen was a heat artist on Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year 2017. Her colourful collaged pieces are naive and colourful, and tell stories of the journeys we have made and those we are yet to embark upon. 

Before becoming an artist and selling through galleries, Helen was a textile designer for embroidered fashion and homeware, although her training is in Woven Textiles (Loughborough College of Art and Design). Her designs were sold to international clients for a diverse range of products - stationery, greetings cards, bedding, children clothes and quilts. 

Helen now works mostly in paper, but she still uses stitch in her collaged pieces as well as enjoying the process of slow stitch, which she shares in some of her workshops. Her work is multi-layered and includes paint, collage and stitch. She creates papers in her studio with different paint and mark making techniques and combines these with found papers to create pieces that are rich in detail. 

Helen sells her work through galleries, at art fairs and events, and it has been licensed internationally. Limited edition prints, cards and her range of inspiring sketchbooks are available from Helen’s website:  https://www.helenhallows.com

There are two places available on Helen's workshop on Saturday 8th February: 'Draw to Stitch'.  For further details, please contact:  leamingtondistrictdaysch@gmail.com

Helen’s workshops aim to empower and enable learners to be able to tackle each stage of the design and make process from inspiration, to mark making, abstracting, designing and making. No more relying on photos on your phone! Helen’s style of teaching is very focused on the individual, and meeting them at whatever stage they are at on their creative journey.

oOo  oOo  oOo

Coming in March ...

Friday 6^th March

Talk by Harriet Riddell – Street Stitching around the World

Saturday 7^thMarch

Workshop with Hanny Newton – Creative Embellishments

At the moment, there are places available on this workshop - if you are interested, do contact: leamingtondistrictdaysch@gmail.com as soon as possible.

    

     

JETS meet 8th January / Art in the Park follow-up

Our thriving group of Junior Embroiderers has had a break over Christmas and New Year, and will be getting back together again this Saturday, 8th January.

They will kick off the year by finishing their DeDenne pieces, workbook covers, badges and stitch sample books.  Phew! that's quite a bit to be getting on with, but if their past enthusiasm is anything to go by, they will be raring to go.

There will be more details about later sessions in due course.

--oOOo--

Meanwhile, here's a follow-up to the 'townscape' stitching activity launched at Art in the Park last year.  Branch 'volunteers' completed the pieces that were started by visitors to our stand, adding a few more details and extra stitches, and assembled them into an impressive collage:

The blue fabric that runs throughout represents the river, since "Water" was the theme for the 2019 festival.

Black and White

The theme for our January members' day was 'black and white'.  

As always, Gill, one of our programme secretaries, had done a fantastic job putting together a display of members' work, together with pictures and books to provide inspiration. 

 

Our Treasurer, Dorothy, gave a short demonstration of blackwork 

(that's also her lovely piece - top).

The day was well attended, including one or two new members along for their first meeting, and everyone spent a really enjoyable day on a wide variety of pieces.  It was a great opportunity to work out ideas and create starter pieces for future work ...

2021 Activities

January 

• Saturday 9th: Members' Day - co-create on Zoom

'Take a Book'

February

• Friday 5th, 7 pm: Zoom talk: Sue Hotchkis, 

'The Role of Photography in my Work'

• Saturday 6th: Zoom co-create - 'Take a Photograph'

Happy New Year!

Wishing everyone a happy and creative 2020!  

We are getting started this Saturday, 4th January, when our Members' Day will focus on black and white.  This will run from 10.00 till 4.00 at St Marys Church Hall.  Entrance: £5 

  

There will be lots of samples and inspiration available, and we have two short demonstrations on techniques to explore. You could also take inspiration from previous tutors such as Jayne Emerson, Rosie James and Deborah Collum. 

Please bring along anything you have already done in black and/or white 

The day will suit both hand and machine stitching, and is suitable for all levels – from beginners to the more experienced.
 If you prefer, you could bring along some ongoing work. 

Lunchtime will be another of our lovely bring and share lunches 

Recommended Requirements list

• Bring any pictures you may have collected as inspiration to use throughout the day. 
• General sewing kit, threads, scissors, needles. 
• Sewing machine, extension lead & selection of machine threads - if bringing machine 
• Hoop - optional.

• A selection of black/white fabric

• Bondaweb (if you think you may require it)

• Lunch
• A small spotlight if you have one (our lights are not very bright!) 
• Large scraps bag will be available, plus the embroidery threads for all to use.