"I begin with an idea ... and then it becomes something else"
~ Picasso

Showing posts with label Exhibition. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Exhibition. Show all posts

Monday, 24 July 2017

St. Ives Textiles annual exhibition 2017

I am pleased to be taking part in the third annual textile exhibition in St. Ives.  It takes place during the first week of the St. Ives September Festival and will be held at Porthmeor Studios on the Back Road West in downalong St. Ives in Cornwall.  The studios are prestigious and a very old and important part of St. Ives art history.  It is a joy to be amongst so many important artists exhibiting and opening up their studios during the two week festival.

St. Ives Textiles' theme this year is "Kernow Inspirations" - taking our inspiration from anything and everything Cornish.  We are spoilt for choice.  Our group currently has nine textile artists and each one has taken a different aspect to explore in textiles and sketchbooks.  Interestingly, all of the themes come together as one very exciting body of work.

We have a website and a facebook page if you are interested in finding out more about the group, the artists and their work.  We sometimes host textile workshops to further explore new techniques.

My own particular take on our Cornish theme includes landscapes, the Cornish countryside, seaside and beach themes, beachcombing, rock pools and, always, St. Ives and Cornish cottages.  Other work includes Cornwall's beautiful gardens, in particular Trebah Gardens, Cornish hedgerows, tin mines, rocks and granite, nature found in the Cornish countryside, the St. Ives Textile industry known as Crysede, fishing boats, buoys, seagulls, lichen, stained glass in St. Ives church windows and St. Ives in general.

Hope you can come along and see our work.  My days stewarding are Monday 11th September and Saturday 16th September 2017.


St. Ives Textiles
"Kernow Inspirations" - an exhibition of textile art inspired by aspects of Cornwall
Porthmeor Studios, Back Road West, St. Ives, Cornwall, TR26 1NG
9 - 16 September 2017

Sunday, 19 February 2017

colours of the season and the tides of the sea

a fab day on Friday visiting some of my favourite places locally ...

at Godrevy ... the light is always amazing


this gorgeous rugged coastline and beautiful white sand beach
(owned by The National Trust) is one of my most favourite places ever

for quite a while I just sat on the headland to breathe in the salty sea breeze

I want more of these peaceful moments this year


the colours of the season in the winter landscape are very calming ...


I visited Sharon McSwiney's exhibition
at St. Ives Arts Club

"Colours of the Season"
11 - 17 February 2017


Sharon was exhibiting her gorgeous metallic wall hangings, pictures and jewellery
with her friend Alison Dupernex, a textile designer who creates beautiful knitwear

their work complements each other beautifully
and a lot of thought goes into ensuring their pieces reflect their chosen theme

"Colours of the Season"

these gorgeous seaweed pieces were my favourites
in particular the shapes, textures and colours in the patinas

Sharon offers workshops at her Garden Studio to make a wall hanging
like these or smaller pieces of jewellery / art cards
so I'd really like to try and do a workshop with her this year

(I've thrown a photo in here that I took the same day on Long Rock beach
the colours complement very well, I think)


below are some of Alison Dupernex's textiles
I adore the tones and textures


Alison's work picks out the colour palette I associate with the beach and the winter season
(my photo centre of pebbles taken the same day at Long Rock beach)


all of the work at the show was gorgeous and very inspiring
but sadly the exhibition is finished now

if you would like to see more of Sharon's and Alison's work you can visit their websites
and Sharon has a shop at The Drill Hall in St. Ives with a good selection of all that she produces
as well as her private Garden Studio where she offers one to one workshops

for another chance to see their work at St. Ives Arts Club
Sharon and Alison will be exhibiting again in October 2017



following the show, and some lunch at Porthmeor beach,
I headed over to Long Rock beach in search of more beach inspiration
(looking for interesting pebbles and tangles of seaweed / beach string)
to work with for the "Cornwall" theme for St. Ives Textiles

I'm spreading out my collections and sketchbook samples at home
trying to narrow down my focus a bit as I've been feeling
rather overwhelmed by the amount of inspiration all around me
Cornwall is a very large theme ... but I must decide very soon and knuckle down

meanwhile ...
I'm just enjoying time to walk on the winter beaches and breathe ...


St. Michael's Mount through seaweed


Sharon's lovely sketchbooks

colours of the season ... on a winter beach


lichen at Long Rock


St. Michael's Mount ... always visible on the horizon
and beautiful winter colours ...


finally ... here are my stencil prints from week 2 of The Surface Texture Workshop

following the prompts ...


"redux"

layering newspaper and taped text and stencilling over the top
(will probably work more into this one before sticking in my sketchbook)


New York London Paris

"drama"

combining colours that "pop"
layering stencil prints over newspaper and taped text
the "pop" is gold metallic paint, heated to create texture, then gilded



"regular"

stencilling with gold leaf


might try cutting this one up


"enhance"

seaweed and mussel shells
printed using a hand made stencil with metallic paints heated and gilded
painting and filling in around the edges of the print



a negative taken from the earlier print ... on tissue paper


"smear"

dragging a ruler across the wet print for effect


"mark making"

scribing with a tool in white paint before layering with more stencil prints


"bling"


"texture and bling"

stencilling, burnishing with a spoon, then stencilling again with texture paste
enhancing with metallic paint then gilding for extra bling


"soft"

soft watery metallics in silver and gold with extra "bling"


well that's it for today
thank you for visiting and for all your very kind comments

I will be posting The Surface Treatment Workshop each Wednesday from now on
with textiles, catch ups and general updates on Saturdays

with love x

Thursday, 22 September 2016

a busy bustling time ...

just a couple of days left to visit the textiles exhibition at Porthmeor Studios
I will be there on both days with a little new work

Friday 23 September - 10am till 5pm
Saturday 24 September - 10am till 4pm

I've really enjoyed my time at the studio
meeting lots of lovely visitors, blog and facebook friends
and taking in the bustle of the St. Ives September Arts Festival

St. Ives Textiles, Porthmeor Studios, Back Road West, St. Ives, TR26 1NG

Tuesday, 20 September 2016

St. Ives in Textiles - textile art show - 17 to 24 September 2016

ST. IVES IN TEXTILES
17 - 24 September 2016

St. Ives Textiles
Porthmeor Studios, Back Road West, St. Ives, TR26 1NG

I'm pleased to be taking part in this exhibition and will be attending the show on these dates
if you would like to come and meet me there that would be lovely ...

Saturday 17 September
Wednesday 21 September
Friday 23 September
Saturday 24 September



we are a few days into the exhibition now
and have had some really lovely visitors to the show
so generous with their kind comments
please do come along if you are interested in textiles as an art
or would just like to browse the goodies
we also have sketchbooks / textile sample books to look at
we are open daily from 10am until 5pm (free entry)
Porthmeor Studios, Back Road West, St. Ives, TR26 1NG
look for the two blue doors ...
my next studio day is Wednesday 21st September ... look forward to seeing you x

Tuesday, 13 September 2016

new paintings on linen


just a few days now ...
to finish off work and get everything ready for the group show

"St. Ives in Textiles"

we are hanging the show on Friday 16th September
and have a small private view late afternoon on Friday

I have filled a sketchbook with samples relating to the St. Ives theme

17-24 September 2016
"St. Ives in Textiles" - Carolyn Saxby at St. Ives Textiles
Porthmeor Studios, Back Road West, St. Ives, Cornwall

Friday, 1 November 2013

sew … a needle pulling thread

a day at purple bay
a new textile piece created for the show which starts on Sunday
it called "a day at purple bay" and was inspired by a shell that my friend Julie found on the beach at Hayle Towans a while back ... 
(it sat in my box for a while waiting to go on just the right piece)

it also features waxed papers, silk, hand stitching and shells
and the piece comes framed ready to hang

I now have the dates when Jo and I will be attending the show which is open from 10.30 till 4.30 pm each day including Sundays.  We very much look forward to meeting you and sharing our work


SUNDAY 3 - Carolyn and Jo, MONDAY 4 - Carolyn and Jo, TUESDAY 5 - Carolyn
WEDNESDAY 6 - Carolyn, THURSDAY 7 - Jo, FRIDAY 8 - Jo, SATURDAY 9 - Carolyn
SUNDAY 10 - Jo, MONDAY 11 - Carolyn and Jo, TUESDAY 12 - Jo,
WEDNESDAY 13 and THURSDAY 14 - Carolyn, FRIDAY 15 - Jo
SATURDAY 16 - Carolyn and Jo - show ends 4.30pm

SEW ... A NEEDLE PULLING THREAD
St. Ives Arts Club, Westcotts Quay/The Warren
St. Ives, Cornwall, TR26 2DY

show runs from 3-16 November 2013
daily from 10.30 till 4.30

it would be lovely to see you!

Monday, 28 October 2013

sew … a needle pulling thread

an exhibition of mixed media and textiles
in St. Ives, Cornwall
3-16 November 2013
SEW ... A NEEDLE PULLING THREAD
St. Ives Arts Club, Westcotts Quay/The Warren
St. Ives, Cornwall, TR26 2DY

3-16 November 2013

Jo and I have been working very long hours to bring together a selection of our textile art and mixed media works for exhibition.  We will be offering a range of textiles, wall art, wearable art, cards and gifts for you to enjoy

In addition, Jo will have a wide selection of textile goodies from her mobile shop "Textile Treasures" and I have been putting together some creative textile packs which include yarns, threads and fabrics as well as samples of my melted fabrics, painted bondaweb and my special hand made beads

There will be a great many hearts from me too and a few snowflakes hanging on wintry branches and our show will display a mix of autumn and winter inspired pieces alongside work inspired by the many elements of our home town of St. Ives.  Jo and I will be there to talk "textiles" and share a bit about our work.  Jo will have one of her weaving looms ... and will be happy to demonstrate how it works

Please come ...
the show runs for two weeks and we both hope to see you
if you can make it down to this beautiful part of Cornwall

Thursday, 15 March 2012

work from our exhibition "inspired to stitch"

what would we do for conversation ...
if it wasn't for the weather!

after such a lovely day on Saturday
the last few days have been thick with fog and Cornish mizzle

from one pier to the other you can hardly see the lighthouse

on Monday I was at the exhibition with Jo and
during the afternoon I took a little break and went for a walk

it was really quite chilly as I watched a couple of doggies
playing in a shallow pool of water at the bottom of the pier
and admired the markings on the pier wall

a heavy mist hangs over the cottage rooftops
taken through the library window

so perhaps a bit of colour will brighten things up!

on request ... here are "a few" photos of my work
currently on display in St. Ives Library
until 31st March

firstly my St. Ives seaside quilt
which most of you will have seen before (yawn ... sorry!)
but has never been on display in St. Ives until now

"St. Ives seaside art quilt"
it measures one metre square and is made from hand dyed silk (back and front) with applique cottages, reverse applique cobbles, machine stitching, hand stitching, shells and beads as well as melted sheer fabrics and plastic which generally appear in my work. The seaweed was made from melted chiffon, plastic and also folded/scrunched silk but there is also some real dried seaweed sewn on there

"the blue sky was merry"
a framed stitched collage
a scene I created inspired by the harbour at high tide
textures were created by machine stitching into layers of fabrics, wool tops, scrim and melted sheer fabrics. On top I like to add french knots, beads and little shells to encourage you to look into the scene

happily ... "the blue sky was merry"

I've created lots of new postcards to add to my collection
featuring combinations of Cornish seaside scenes
mixed with different aspects of textiles that I enjoy

this one features lovely tones of blue/mauve found on mussell shells
a still life I made with mussel shells and seaweed
St. Ives harbour, a stormy beach scene at Godrevy
and natural dyeing with red cabbage dye ... yum!

"mussel blue" - postcard

"storm over Porthminster beach, St. Ives bay"
a framed art print

"forget me not"
a framed mixed media collage
mixed media collage - calico, waxed paper, waxed fabrics
real pressed flowers, silk, lace, some stitches and a button

inspired by the colours in my art print
and because I love wild flowers and
the randomness of an unorganised garden

just as well as I have no time for gardening
this is my garden

"forget me not"

this new postcard represents my love of beachcombing
and the inspiration I find from just being on the beach
it features a monoprint, the harbour, some beach finds
beach streams (painted bondaweb) and some
lovely colourful houses I photographed at Dartmouth

"beachcombing" - postcard

"St. Ives cottages, cobbles and lichen"
a framed art print

"lichen"
a framed stitched piece
hand dyed cotton, silk and chiffon
textures created by folding and melting
with free motion stitch, french knots and a few beads


"the sea and the wind"
a framed stitched collage
a nestle of quirky cottages on a windswept beach
the sea is rough sending up spray and surf

mixed media - cotton, folded fabrics, hand stitching , scrim
shimmery melted sheers, shells, beads and text

"the sea and the wind are roaring now"


"pebbles"
a framed art print

"the sky was cloudless and bright"
mixed media stitched collage in a box frame
mixed media
my own photograph of St. Ives harbour stitched to calico
with linen, cotton, vintage knitted piece, limpet shells
lace, rafia, cloves, hand stitching
and some machine stitching

inspired by the brightness of a winter day in St. Ives


a new postcard inspired by snow and snowflakes
little cottages by the sea in winter
and a mini tag book I made for Tag Tuesday

"St. Ives snowy cottages" - postcard

a new postcard inspired by Cornish mizzle
and the beauty of St. Ives in winter
even on a grey day

"a misty day in St. Ives" - postcard

"moonlit waters"
framed mixed media stitched collage
mixed media
melted chiffon, silk, mulberry bark, scrim
free motion machine embroidery
hand stitching, pearl seed beads

water effects created with melted acetate
over pre-printed fabric with moon shapes

I used my most valuable piece of vintage lace on this one
so will not be sad if it does not sell ;o)


"pebble textures"
a framed art print

"the shoreline"
framed mixed media collage - stitch and wax
I think this is my most favourite one

mixed media
melted acetate, silver paper, waxed paper, torn chiffon
a fabric pre-printed with a pebble design, scrim
and melted plastic on a lace background

it features the little Alfred Wallis style cottages that I love
a piece of flat slate pebble with text and beads

"the shoreline"

"thrupenny purple"
a framed mixed media stitched collage

fabric, paper, lace, silk, stitch, melted sheer fabrics
beads, sequins and a and a vintage purple stamp
featuring our beautiful Diamond Queen


"recycle bird"
mixed media collage in a box frame
"hear a bird sing"
mixed media collage - paper and stitch
with pressed berries
"autumn landscape"
you may have seen this one in progress
on Love Stitching Red and on flickr

a hand stitched piece
on cotton background fabric dyed by my friend Chris Gray

there is a little hilltop cottage
beyond an embroidered woodland
of machine embroidred trees
and lazy daisy stitched autumn leaves

the landscape layers are hand stitched hand dyed silk
with fly stitch umbel shaped seed heads



"indigo light of the storm"

just a small piece I added to the bottom of our exhibition poster
melted chiffons on hand dyed silk and scrim

I dyed the silk and scrim with blackberries
and decorated with beads and
bits from my sewing box such as hooks and eyes

"seaweed"
framed mixed media waxed paper collage
I enjoyed creating this piece
especially layering the mix of papers

I used a mix of waxed mulberry paper, hand painted papers
waxed tissue paper and shiny silver papers
with sheer fabrics and plastic which I love to melt
free motion machine stitching
and a real piece of seaweed


a new postcard
it features one of my stitched hearts
some rust and peeling paint (recurring theme)
a photo I took of cottages at Dartmouth with rust texture added
rusty ropes and fishing nets, tie dye and rust patterns

"inspiring rust" - postcard
the last of my new postcards inspired by sunny days
my paint palette, Mousehole, details from my stitched hearts
and one of my watercolour paintings

"turquoise waters" - postcardif you are interested in any of these pieces
they will be available for sale in my shop after 1st April 2012


INSPIRED TO STITCH
1 - 31 March 2012
St. Ives Library, Gabriel Street, St. Ives, Cornwall
Jo and I each have a wall in the exhibition
you can just make out my other art quilt hanging there
the white, silver and red "St. Ives Seaside Cottages"


my work is on the long wall opposite the windows
so it was hard to photograph the work
without getting lots of reflections in the glass

some people like to be able to touch textile work
others like work to be protected and dust free

I chose to frame most of my pieces under glass
because it can always be removed later ... according to taste

obviously the art quilts are not under glass

"meet the artists"

during the month Jo and I have spent some time
at the exhibition and it's been lovely to meet lots of new people

It's an opportunity to talk textiles and about the inspiration behind our work, share techniques and offer a selection of other textile goodies that we cannot otherwise leave unattended at the exhibition ... art cards and prints, textile art hearts, beaded mermaid scarves, pin cushions, beads and textile inspiration packs

I also brought along my stuffies that appeared
in the magazine "Cloth Paper Scissors"

and at my next "meet" I will have my sketchbooks
from The Sketchbook Project 2011 and 2012

Jo will next be in the Library (upstairs)
Tuesday 20th March 2012
from 12 - 5 pm

this is some of Jo's beautiful work


and I will next be in the Library (upstairs)
Tuesday 27th March 2012
from 2 - 5 pm

hope to see you ♥