St Cuthbert's Flowers: everything else

Apologies for not having posted anything in ages, but I'm back now.  Even if I wasn't blogging I was sewing, and have finished the St Cuthbert's Flowers panel.  As I've kept you waiting far too long already I won't drag it out any further - this post will cover the rest of the project to completion.

So, last time I'd got as far as the outline of the flowers and leaves in buttonhole stitch.  The next step was to fill them in.  First the leaves, in split stitch:

And then the flowers, in split stitch for the petals and French knots for the centres:

They don't look like much like that, but that's not the finished item - they're cut out and applied to a background of red cotton velvet.  Flowers first this time:

Then the leaves:

The white tacking stitches show the centre of the background fabric, to allow me to get the cut out pieces aligned correctly.

They're rather fluffy round the edges like that, from the by now rather frayed linen, so I edged them in couched gold thread, tucking the fluffy bits in as I went:

Much neater!

I then added stalks, also in couched gold:

The gold threads are couched using the same shade of green as the leaves, to tie it together.

With the tacking stitches removed (or most of them - there's one left in the centre that I missed, though I did spot it later and took it out):

The client specified the finished piece needed to be 54cm x 54cm (21" x 21"), to fit an existing frame.  As it wasn't to be a panel to be hung on its own, I stretched it over a piece of mount board I cut to size, rather than anything stiffer.

Pinned and the corners mitred:

Then the back laced:

Finished!

Even though it's to go in a frame, I also covered the back, using a gold brocade, though unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of that.  It won't be seen, but it finished it off far more nicely than leaving the lacing exposed.

It's now with the client, who seemed very pleased, which is always nice!

St Cuthbert's Flowers

I've been commissioned to make a panel featuring a small posy of flowers from St Cuthbert's Banner.  The client has asked for three wood avens and their leaves, to be made in the same materials and techniques as the Banner itself.

So, here I've made a transfer of the flowers and leaves, and ironed it onto some fine linen.  I've then gone round the edge of the leaves in small buttonhole stitch in Madeira stranded cotton 1410:

Then the flower sepals, also in 1410, and the petals in 0104:

It's just like old times!

The Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Recently, I went on an Art Fund trip to the Hepworth Gallery in Wakefield, Yorkshire, and the near-by Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP).

I'm afraid it didn't occur to me to take photos of the buildings there, which is a shame as they're very nice, but you're going to have to do without. Also, photography wasn't permitted at the exhibition in their indoor gallery, which was also a shame as it was terrific. Called Fabric-ation, by Yinka Shonibare, it's interesting and thought-provoking, and great fun at the same time, and his use of fabric is wonderful.

Part of it was outside and so photographable, though:

Time was very tight and I had to rush round without seeing everything, so this is just a quick overview of what did see.  Next time I go, I'd like to spend a whole day there - it certainly warrants it.

In the beautiful setting of the the formal garden was an exhibition of work by Hans Josephsohn:

Joan Miro:

Molecule Man 1+1+1, by Jonathan Borofsky:

The Family of Man, by Barbara Hepworth, which I loved - it's very serene, somehow:

Buddha, by Niki de Saint Phalle, which I didn't like at all. It looks like a cyclops dressed as a Mexican wrestler:

Nelly, Mark di Suvero:

I don't know, I couldn't find a label:

Damski Czepek, Ursula von Rydingsvard - it looks like a lace bonnet:

Seated Figures, Magdalena Abakanowicz:

Sitting, Sophie Ryder:

Another unknown:

Promenade, Anthony Caro:

Possibly another Caro, I'm not sure:

Invasion, Michael Zwingmann - it looks very like those plastic-wrapped bales of hay you see in fields!

123454321, Sol LeWitt

There was then a game of Hunt the Gormley. According to the map, I was in the right area, but where was it?  Look up!

One and Other, Antony Gormley:

Tread Pad Pair 1, James Capper:

Part of Bee Library, though I missed the artist's name:

Definitely not sculpture!

Seventy One Steps, David Nash

Uptight Motives 1, 2 and 3, by Henry Moore (with added sheep):

The YSP has a large collection of Moore's work, but I'd run out of time so these were all I had the chance to see.  Definitely a reason for going back.

And finally, a farewell view over the lake to the magnificent Emley Moor tower:

The Hepworth Gallery, Wakefield

On Friday, I went on an Art Fund trip to the Hepworth Gallery in Wakefield and the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. I hadn't been to either of them before and thoroughly enjoyed both, though I could have done with more time for a better look round.  I saw all I could in the time available, though!

Hepworth Wakefield

While the Hepworth Gallery concentrates on the work of Barbara Hepworth (you probably guessed that bit), it also has far more than I'd expected by other artists, which was a bonus. A couple of large spaces were dedicated to an exhibition by Haroon Mirza; part of this consisted of works borrowed from the gallery's collection and arranged:

Haroon Mirza installation from the front

And from the back

I have to say, I think incorporating a piece by Henry Moore into your own work is cheating a bit.  I preferred his work that didn't borrow quite so heavily from others:

Haroon Mirza light installation

There were also major exhibitions on William Scott and Post-War British sculpture and painting, but neither of them allowed photography, I'm afraid. You're just going to have to take my word that they're well worth seeing.

Some other items, on loan from York Art Gallery, could be photographed, such as this wonderful painting by John Piper:

Stair Hole, Lulworth, by John Piper

Onto the Hepworth pieces. There were some limited restrictions on photography, but most items were fair game.  I wasn't very good at taking a note of what's what, though, but just try and appreciate them as a whole.

Smaller sculptures:

Prints:

Larger works:

The magnificent Winged Figure:

Winged Figure, Barbara Hepworth

You don't get any sense of scale in the photo, but it's absolutely huge; this is a full-size aluminium model for a piece on the exterior of the John Lewis building in London.

And all together:

One of the most interesting galleries covers how Hepworth worked, with her tools and equipment:

It showed how she would carve blocks of plaster to give the forms she wanted and which could then be cast in bronze, or working with metal mesh, which would then be covered with hessian and plaster:

This piece was intended to show how bronze pieces were then given an oxidised finish, but I just liked the colours:

Next time: the Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

100% silk velvet: the results

A quick update on the kitchen: it's coming along well and is on schedule, though the mess is still indescribable.  The messy, building phase should be finished at the end of this week, happily, though there's still a fair amount of work to do after that.

But back to silk velvet.  So far, I have found three suppliers of pure silk velvet, across three continents.

Firstly, Oh So Elegant in Australia.  I ordered a small amount of fabric from there for a test piece a while ago, and it was very nice indeed, though quite a light weight - more a dressmaking fabric than upholstery weight, but still good for smaller items.  They were very nice to deal with, too, and sent my order promptly.  Their velvet is currently Aus $100 a metre.

Next, Delectable Mountain Cloth in America.  This firm was recommended by several people, but I have to admit to being a little disappointed.  I contacted them to ask if they supplied silk velvet; they confirmed that they did, in an upholstery weight, but didn't keep it in stock and would need to order it in, at around US $200-$400 a yard (they weren't more specific).  So far so good, but when I asked for further information - how wide is it?  Can I order swatches? - I didn't get any response at all.  I've chased a couple of times, but they're still to get back to me.  Disappointing.

Finally, back to Europe, and Prelle in France.  Prelle are manufacturers, not just suppliers, though they do sell directly too.  They produce both silk and silk/wool blend velvets, in quite a heavy weight; the silk velvet is £274.60 per metre (I suspect that's converted from Euros), and the silk/wool is £280.  They're very nice to deal with, extremely helpful, and supplied quite large swatches at no cost very quickly.  There is a downside, however, in that their velvets are only 64 cm (25") in width, which may not be suitable for larger items, and means that it's even more expensive than it looks.

This is all the information I have so far, but if anyone knows of any other suppliers, I'd be very happy to add them to the list.