Bronagh - A Robin Red Breast Doll

 Bronagh is an embroidered Robin doll, made with just embroidery and no paint - I am finding I like them better that way.

The embroidery represents a stylised plumage of the European Robin and she is dressed in a Winter fabric that is definitely not festive.  All these dolls are just ten inches tall and are dressed in fabric to compliment their plumage! Her face, breast and wings are heavily hand embroidered both front and back.  She has coordinating skirts and knickers with a lovely lace petticoat.  She has tiny leather shoes, stripy legs and her outfit is finished with organza ribbon with tiny button detail.  To set her outfit off she sports a tiny embroidered lavender sachet in tonal colours.  She is gently stuffed with lavender in her stuffing to make for a pretty scent and a brass ring to her back so she can hang.

Bronagh sold this morning and is off to Rufford this afternoon to her new home.  I am making more of these English bird dolls and hope to have some on Etsy soon.  They are a joy to make and I really enjoy making something so dainty, they sit so well in your hand. Being an unashamed heffalump myself I do find I like delicate in my work.  I hope you like her.

Tuesday Talent - Mark Hearld

I saw a collection of inspirations and art work by Mark Hearld in York.  I love his work, particularly his prints and wanted to share them.

Mark is a British artist who studied at Glasgow School of Art and then an MA in Natural History Illustration at the Royal Academy. He is heavily influenced by the flora and fauna of the countryside.  I am drawn to his bird prints but he works in all kinds of media from straightforward illustrative work to linocuts, even designing a range of fabrics and wall papers for St Jude's Prints.

I think it is the colours that I find so appealing but take a look at his other works.  You can find his prints at 'www.art-angels.co.uk/cat/mark-hearld' and his fabric and wallpapers at 'www.stjudesfabrics.co.uk/collections/mark-hearld'.  He still has a collection at The Lumber Room at York City Art Gallery - some of his work is there but it is a curatorial collection of objects - really interesting.

Ardith in fabric from The V&A Collection

 Ardith is an Anglo Saxon name which means 'a good war' if there is such a thing.  It also has a Hebrew meaning of 'field of flowers' which is somewhat gentler.  My great great grandma was Lytia Lavinia and her sister was Anna Ardith that's how I know of it - it think it is a pretty name for my blue eyed dainty girl.  She is an English rose with blue eyes, blond hair and pink cheeks, her pattern is an Ida Doll and she stands just twelve inches tall.

However it is her fabric that I want to tell you about.  It is from the collection by The V&A back in 2012, when they did a limited edition run of printed cottons taken from their collection. All based on English fabrics from the 1750's onward.

 

The fabric to my left is taken from a patchwork coverlet composed of block-printed cottons of the 1780s and 1790s, this shell print is actually from 1797.
The fabric below is Seed Head (blue) fabric design from a patchwork coverlet of printed cotton and linen with appliqué and embroidery, England, 1802-1830.

I have dressed Ardith in this fabric and made a few pincushions and needlecases from the tiny bits left over.  I think knowing the fabric is taken from such a source makes it extra special to use and I am seeking out more patterns from this elusive fabric series for further dolls and bird dolls. Happy hunting for me as I like rumaging to find bits and bobs. Look out this collection there are some lovely colours & prints and it is a great quality to work with, such an interesting heritage.

Tuesday Talent - Suzanne Breakwell

 I first saw Suzanne's work in an exhibition called Animal Tales showing at The Gallery in the Bay in Cardiff.  The work is both fine and original, the detail is quite enchanting.  Loving everything birdy I found myself drawn to her work.

She is an English artist/maker based in Brighton with a background in model making for film and set decoration. She works essentially in paper using wire, paper mache, pages from books and cotton rag papers.  She uses ink to paint the cotton rag papers & printed paper to add vibrancy to her sculpture. The birds look like they could just fly away.  I like also the attention to scale within each sculpture, the birds are proportional to their life sizes and each is finished so beautifully.

She exhibits regularly and you can buy from her website at 'www.suzannebreakwell.com'.  The website contains galleries of her lovely work and insight into her process - it is well worth a look. For a complete list of her stockists take a glance at the exhibition page on the website.

Tuesday Talent - Sophie Standing

Sophie Standing is a British born embroiderer that now lives in Africa.  All her work is created with embroidery thread and fine quality fabrics - she favours Liberty Tana Lawn and Kaffe Fassett.

Surprisingly her delicate work is not small, a piece can be up to 1.5m and contain 3000 metres of thread. She favours all kinds of wildlife - I must admit to being drawn to her birds but her large mammals are terrific, such colour.

She works to commission and you can find more information at 'sophiestandingart.com' and she has a strong presence of Pinterest.

I am just blown away with her detail, colour choice & the way she uses fabric to create light and shade in her thread paintings.  Should you be so inspired there is a link on her site to purchase prints of her wonderful animals.  I think her work is joyful as well as beautiful, I shared a cup of tea with a lovely lady from South Africa at the Quilt Show in Birmingham, she showed me Sophie's work on her phone and I just had to share.

Elwine - A Refined Blue Tit Lady

Elwine is a refined version of my original Edlyn Blue Tit.  I felt that I hadn't got the feather pattern just right and wanted to adjust the colours.  So Elwine has more yellow fly stitch and less green chain stitch.  I have also sloped her black feather pattern slightly down to help with her profile.

Elwine is, as are all these passerine dolls, tiny. Standing just eight inches tall I am trying to give the effect of delicacy of form whilst maintaining my favoured doll style.  She is, as the photos show, heavily embroidered both on her body and her wings.  Her fabric choices were made to compliment her plumage colours to give the overall effect of a pretty lady blue tit.  She is stitched front and back, her dress is finished with organza ribbon & tiny buttons and she has a ring to her back so that she can hang.

I love my birds, be it the little treasures in the garden or my regular friends at Martin Mere but I do so enjoy making these little ladies.  Edlyn has gone off to a new home in Mawdesley and Elwine is now up for adoption.  I have several more robins to make for customers and my commissions include a little boy herring gull for October - with yellow leather legs, which should be fun,  I hope you like Elwine and my very best wishes for a great weekend. 

 

Detail of Elwine's embroidery

Edlyn and Elwine 

More yellow and less green for a better balance.

A Grand Day Out - Quilt Festival 2016

 If you want a really great day out and you have any interest at all in quilts or textile arts you want to visit the Quilt Festival at the NEC this weekend.

We have just had a great day buying lots of special fabrics from all over and seeing work that will take your breath away.  There are quilts of all kinds, from traditional patchwork to stunning art quilts.  All amazing and artists from all over Europe, a real treat. There is even a display of period quilts from Kaffe Fassett's collection.

If you are after fabric there is no where better to visit, the stalls seem endless and the variety mesmerising, there are also loads of workshops available.  But its the quilts themselves that are worth the visit.  Of all the work I saw it was the pieces by Cas Holmes that have stayed with me, sadly I cannot show any pictures but her work can be seen at 'casholmestextiles.co.uk'.

It all makes for a really grand day out.

Tuesday Talent - Nancy Nicholson

 Nancy Nicholson is well loved in my family, my Aunty Irene likes to work her embroidery kits and my Mum collects her cards.  I just really enjoy her colours and stitch craft.

Nancy specialised in textiles for her masters degree but originally trained in graphic design. The combination shows in her elegant work, strong lines and colours coupled with excellent stitch use.

She sells her beautiful stationary and embroidery kits from her shop on the website 'nancynicholson.co.uk' and her Etsy shop.  Her blog is at 'nancynicholson.blogspot.co.uk'.  She keeps her blog up to date and it is full of all kinds of different embroidery and craft ideas with free patterns to boot.  She has a strong Pinterest presence with her colours and folk art style being really appealing.  For me, her birds are really striking, I love the stitch use and get alot from looking at her designs for inspiration.  However, if birds are really not your thing she has eccentric tea pots and a very cheeky cat - there are also downloadable designs on Etsy for different craft projects.

Have a look at her world and you will appreciate her unique design style and wonderful colour use.

Tuesday Talent - Geninne Zlatkis

Whilst being all about birds at the moment I was wandering around Pinterest and found this amazing lady from New Mexico.  Her name is Geninne Zlatkis and her work is stunning.  There are many different aspects to her work but mostly she makes and sells illustrative prints.  They can be found on her Etsy shop at 'Geninne' and on her website 'genninesart.com',  However looking around the web you can find some lovely work particularly her embroidery and collage.

I think it is the clarity of her work that I enjoy so much.  She has a great line and really attractive colourways.  You could imagine any of her birds just flying away. Her colourful world is a feather filled place of joy & wonder which I will be enjoying for quite a while.