Tales and Textiles Exhibition

The Material Girls current Exhibition is now open.  Tales and Textiles at Craft Arena, Billericay, Essex, - poster in righthand margin.

Because I've been asked, I will give the background information to my work on display.

Tales and Textiles is the theme.  Each Member of the group chose a style of decorative textile pertinent to a country, alongside which they found a Tale to compliment.  This may have been a myth, legend, poem, song, something passed on via verbal history.  The ideas and inspiration make for a diverse approach.

For my work, I chose English Samplers, I saw many examples of Sampler through the ages, inc to the present day.  To me, Samplers record a moment in time, not just the sewing skills, but names, ages, dates, family history, and with many constructed by young girls, it didn't seem a big step to associate the rhyme 'Monday's Child' - known as a fortune telling verse.

I found in my research variations of the same stitch patterns over many years.  Blocks of stitches, patterns, motifs.  To fit in with my personal way of working, I used a paper base to set out blocks and filled each with a variety of stitches.  Monday's Child in its entirety was printed onto specialist inkjet watercolour paper, and the words from each day were also stitched into the blocks.  The colour of each day's Sampler was driven by further research finding that days are associated with particular colours and meanings.

Update of pieces as of 14th January 2015

Here are my pieces, with the title Exemplum, Latin for example.

Exemplum 1

(Monday = White = Purity, Wholesomeness)

Exemplum 2 - SOLD

(Tuesday = Red pink = Sacrifice)

Exemplum 3 - SOLD

(Wednesday = Green = Renewal, Wealth)

Exemplum 4

(Thursday = Violet = Creativity)

Exemplum 5

(Friday = Blue = Nobility, Tranquility)

Exemplum 6 - SOLD

(Saturday = Dark Blue  = Power)

Exemplum 7

(Sunday = Orange = Adventure, Change)

Each of the group were also asked to make a 'book' - in the broadest of terms.  I chose to continue the moment in time record, making a book of the year I was born.  It has a page for every day, month divisions and a gold page for my birthday.  I'll give you a clue, it was a Leap Year, and the book is entitled "Thursday's Child".  So 379 pages individually added in coptic stitch, it measures approx 65cms wide, making it very flexible to display.

There are some mini stitched canvases for sale, as part of The Material Girls shop.  Monday's Child is printed on the background, with a coloured heart motif, a symbol to mean, love, friendship.  Each comes with its own display easel (not shown in this image) and option to add a day of the week to the canvas.

10cm sq  Mini Canvas

Pink and White - SOLD

As the Exhibition has now finished, contact me direct for information on pieces.

All of the items can currently be seen at the Exhibition, any sales transactions to be dealt with via Craft Arena, as such I will not personally know of availability of any pieces.
Do look at The Material Girls blog for photos from the Exhibition.  You will find huge talent and variation in interpretation of the theme, well worth a look, and may be, an ideal Christmas present?