WOS Secret Studio Sale

To provide a little cheer, how about visiting ...

 Secret Studio Sale

We may not be able to enjoy the sociable jostle of fellow bargain-hunters in a village hall, but we’re determined to bring you the same fun atmosphere (including CAKE!) in our very first Secret Studio Sale Online Instagram Event – for one day only – 

on Saturday 27th February.

We’ll showcase 25 WOS artists offering test pieces, end of ranges, old stock, less than perfect art – in fact, all sorts of stuff they’ve been hoarding, at reduced prices. Snap up a lovely painting, pottery, piece of jewellery, textile or glass for a great price. You’re happy because you’ve got a bargain, our artists are happy because they’re clearing the decks for new work! 

How do you see the art and buy? Follow @secretstudiosale on Instagram or Facebook . You need to follow any participating artists that interest you directly on Instagram because... on the day you can only buy direct from the artist on Instagram.

 

All Stitched Up?

As an Embroiderers' Guild member, you will have read in your Notice of General Meeting that the Guild has decided it will no longer support the regions and branches. They will ‘redeploy the Guild’s financial resources’, that is to say they will take over the money branches have historically collected for promoting stitch to a large proportion of the Guild’s members, and use it to prevent the Guild from becoming insolvent. 

All this was done without any consultation with branches. The resignation of the CEO was the first indication something was happening, closely followed by the calling of a General Meeting.  Last week the branch accounts held in Unity Trust Bank were frozen by the Trustees of the Guild and so branches are unable to honour the contracts they have made with speakers and tutors in their current programmes. 

Invitations have been sent out to a Zoom meeting on Saturday 27th February to discuss how this branch can adapt to the situation, and the committee hope as many members as possible will attend.  If you have not received this, please contact: anneprior@btinternet.com .

Meanwhile, a petition has been organised urging the Guild to negotiate with the branches rather than take precipitate action.  You can find the petition at 

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/closure-of-all-local-embroiderers-guild-branches

'Take a Photograph' and interpret it in stitch

This month's stitching 'challenge' was inspired by Sue Hotchkiss' talk on how she uses photography in her work.  Members were asked simply to base their stitching on details in a photograph they had taken, interpreted in any way they liked.  As you can see, the results were as always very varied and imaginative.

Sue had briefly demonstrated the technique of paper lamination, and some members decided to have a go at that.

Diane took a photo of seaweed, laminated it onto organza, then stitched it as if it was a flat piece.  To add texture, she then used some iron-on shirring fabric, which made it shrink and bubble to create convincing seaweed texture:

Susanna said she was very much out of her comfort zone with this challenge, but really enjoyed it nevertheless. She was inspired by some online pictures of cell structures, and used them to create an abstract piece. 

"Sue Hotchkiss encourages us to look beyond the ordinary and see the beauty in urban landscapes, I was particularly inspired by a picture she shared of rust - the colours were simply stunning, definitely a rival for all the sunrises I have been watching.

"I found the course liberating, having always stuck to close representational work, it was freeing to simply allow the piece to evolve - stitching in circles created a bobbling effect and the felt seems to grow peaks and troughs. I found that close stitched ares became the valleys and areas left unstitched became hills and mountains. It was also liberating to focus on colour combinations and enjoy the movement of one shade to another. The time passed so quickly and it is an exercise I will revisit often."

  

Cheryl used this distinctively marked stone as the starting point for her machine stitched piece on beautifully colour-matched fabric:

Gill's photo of the patterns made by tyre tracks on newly painted road markings inspired her machine stitched piece.  She says the piece is stitched mainly from the back with perlé thread in the bobbin as an experiment, and she changed the colours. The fabric is silk and the raspberry coloured lines were stitched on soluble fabric, cut out and appliquéd.

A photo of some rusty metal found on a beach inspired Sue to create lots of colour and texture:

It's been fabulous to have the chance to see these lovely pieces again, and many thanks to all who have shared their creativity with us.  Please keep sending your photos to: leamingtondistrictitrep@embroiderersguild.co.uk

First Lady chooses embroidered outfit for inaugural concert

For the virtual concert on the evening of the new US President's Inauguration, First Lady, Dr Jill Biden, wore a custom-made ivory coat and matching embroidered dress by Uruguayan American designer, Gabriela Hearst.

According to the designer, "The message of Unity is the main inspiration for the creation of the Ensemble." Flowers, representing every state and territory of the United States, are embroidered on the cashmere coat and on the dress, which is constructed in silk wool cady and silk organza.

More photos and a full description of the stunning outfit can be seen on the designer's website: https://www.gabrielahearst.com/blogs/stories/dr-jill-biden-inaugural-evening-dress

and on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gabrielahearst/

It has also been covered by the New York Post:

https://nypost.com/2021/01/21/jill-bidens-inauguration-concert-outfit-had-hidden-message/ 

Coming up ... Talk by Susan Hotchkis, and Saturday Stitching Session

We will be joined on Friday 5th February (via Zoom)   

by tutor Susan Hotchkis for a talk on 

‘The role of photography in my work’

Susan lives in the Highlands of Scotland, and has exhibited her work nationally and internationally.  She uses print techniques and machine stitch to create two- and three-dimensional abstract wall pieces, saturated with colour and stitch, to highlight the beauty found in the processes of ageing and decay.

Susan will also discuss some of the many processes she uses in her work, such as breakdown printing and paper lamination.                    

www.suehotchkis.com

Taking up the theme of photography, we will have a stitch at home session on

Saturday 6th February: ‘Take a photograph'

Suitable for hand or machine stitchers and for all levels of experience.

You may be inspired in some way by the tutor's talk or by using a photograph of your own - it could be something like the close-up marks on a stone, piles of seaweed on a beach, the patterns in tree bark, etc. You can interpret the photograph realistically or in an abstract way. You could have a colour play day and maybe use the photograph but with very bright and bold colours. Anything goes!

There will be a Zoom show-and-tell session at 2pm, so we can share our ‘started pieces’.

Members already registered for Zoom will automatically receive an invitation by the end of Wednesday 3rd February 2021. 

If you have never registered for Zoom and would like to attend, please contact anneprior@btinternet.com by Tuesday 2nd February.

Any members not joining in the Zoom session are still encouraged to take part by sending a photo of your sample piece to leamingtondistrictitrep@embroiderersguild.co.uk, so that it can be included in the branch blog article.

We are NOT expecting finished pieces, but it's a great opportunity to learn something from your own experiment or from seeing what others do.