Lasting Impressions update

Lasting Impressions: Cloth Taxonomies, 2017. Hannah Lamb & Claire Wellesley-Smith (photo Hannah Lamb)

Over the last two years I have been working with friend and fellow artist Claire Wellesley-Smith on Lasting Impressions, an artwork commissioned by Saltaire Inspired. During Saltaire Arts Trail in May 2016 and 2017 we created a performative and participatory work in the spinning room at Salts Mill, which aimed to capture a record of the clothes worn by visitors, start discussions about cloth and archive these responses through making.

Given the wealth of responses and the discussions provoked by the work it seemed fitting to capture all of this in a publication. Our Lasting Impressions artists' book will be launched at this years' Saltaire Arts Trail, 5th - 7th May at my Open Studio. Join us at the Butterfly Rooms, Gordon Terrace as we present elements of the project.

If you can't make it along we will be announcing how you can buy a copy after the event.

Thinking on...

Catching my breath after an incredibly busy week, now seems a good time to pause briefly and reflect on Lasting Impressions. If anything I feel like the experience was slightly unreal. Both the fact that we were given this incredible opportunity and that it happened at all seem like some strange fantasy; did that really just happen? The chance to make a work in the incredible top floor, Spinning Room at Salts Mill was just wonderful and, I expect, once in a lifetime.

©Carolyn Mendelsohn 2016

©Carolyn Mendelsohn 2016

 We had no way of knowing what response we would get from visitors and participants. We were so pleased that people seemed to not only 'get it', but that they really engaged with the work. From the 300+ people of all ages, genders and backgrounds who took part, we had some really thoughtful responses and generous comments. It was also great to see so many of our friends and supporters, thank you!

©Carolyn Mendelsohn 2016

©Carolyn Mendelsohn 2016

©Carolyn Mendelsohn 2016

©Carolyn Mendelsohn 2016

Claire and I have some work to do towards the next stage of the project, and in the short term a lot of porcelain tiles to fire. Keep a look out here and on my other social media for details about what happens next to Lasting Impressions.

Some people to thank for their help and support for Lasting Impressions:

Saltaire Inspired

Arts Council England

Salts Mill

Bradford School of Art

Carolyn Mendelsohn - photographer

Phil Jackson - photographer

and my dear friend Claire Wellesley-Smith xx

Preparations

Claire Wellesley-Smith and I have been busy this week preparing hundreds of small porcelain tiles ready for visitors to Saltaire Arts Trail to leave a 'Lasting Impression'. This weekend, during a series of performances we are inviting people to leave a trace of the clothes they are wearing. In exchange we will be offering visitors the gift of a stitch.

Come and see us in the amazing Roof Space at Salts Mill 28 - 30 May 2016.

Performances each day (28-30 May) between:
11am & 12 noon  |  1pm & 2pm  |  3pm & 4pm

The Spinning Room

It's a long time since I wrote a post here, mainly because I have been busy planning projects and writing proposals. That doesn't always make for fascinating reading but today one if those projects started to feel much more real.

I am really lucky this year to be creating a new work called 'Lasting Impressions' in partnership with my friend Claire Wellesley-Smith for Saltaire Arts Trail. With the support of Saltaire Inspired and Arts Council England we have been commissioned to make a performative work for the duration of the event (28-30 May 2016). We are very fortunate to be using the wonderful Spinning Room at Salts Mill and today we had our first planning visit.

At 168 metres long it is a truly amazing space with an atmosphere all of it's own. It makes it all the more special that it isn't usually open to the public. This will be an exciting, if slightly daunting project. I will be sharing more here and on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook over the coming weeks.

Workshops for 2016

2015 has been a busy year for exhibitions, teaching and workshops; so busy of late that I haven't been very present here on my blog. At the moment I am enjoying a little bit of a rest while I plan for the coming year. If you are interested in joining me for a workshop in 2016 there are now several new dates listed on my website.

While I rest

A few photos from the weekend, from which I am gradually recovering. Thank you to everyone who visited the Butterfly Rooms during Saltaire Arts Trail, we had the most amazing feedback from visitors.

The last image is of the little artist editions I made to go with the Linear Mapping installation. I have a few left at £8.50 plus P&P so please leave a comment if you are interested.

This time last year...

This time last year I was part way through my project called 'Linear Mapping'. The project involved recording or mapping a series of short walks in the local countryside and also some in my native Chilterns. I was reflecting on this yesterday while I was out walking. Since then my walking habits have changed a bit, with a dog to take with me on my journeys. We don't always want to stop and 'sniff around' in the same spots but are learning some give and take. Being out walking at different times has given me some wonderful encounters with nature. Yesterday while I was taking photos of bluebells we were both startled by a pair of deer thundering past us just a few feet away.

Linear Mapping is on my mind a lot at the moment as I will be showing the work during Saltaire Arts Trail in a few weeks. To accompany this I am currently in the process of putting together an artist's edition, that documents the project. I am enjoying the process of bringing all the different strands together and finishing the process of documentation. With any luck these editions should be ready in time for the trail... not long now!

New Workshops for 2015

I have been putting the finishing touches to my workshops for spring / summer 2015. You can now find all the details on my website.

The year starts with Scrap Magic and Repair & Disrepair workshops. These workshops take different approaches to working with scraps and secondhand materials. Cut, slash, stitch and manipulate to create a whole variety of surfaces.

This year I will be teaching a variety of workshops from my studio in Saltaire, West Yorkshire. These include stitch, mixed media and cyanotype techniques. For the first time I will be teaching a two-day Inspiration from Historical Textiles course, taking ideas from antique textile and using hand stitch and cyanotype to create original art pieces.

The ever popular Cyanotype Essentials workshop runs on 25th April and for those who have already learnt the essentials there will be a Cyanotype Experimental Day (16th May) to extend your ideas and individual projects.

Open studio this weekend

Why not pop in for a cuppa and a chat, 12 - 4pm this weekend.

Find me on the top floor of The Butterfly Rooms

73 Bingley Road, Saltaire BD18 4SB

Click here for directions

Sunprints and showers

...at the studio yesterday with Fran, Sue and Pip. An ideal day to be creative indoors.

Cloth & Memory 2

I was lucky enough to be invited to the opening of Cloth & Memory 2 an exhibition of international textile artists at Salts Mill yesterday. The artists were invited to respond to the rich history of the mill and in particular the spinning room at the top of the mill, a space not normally open to the public. The exhibition is shown in the same space; 168 metres long the room was described as the largest in the world in 1853.

Walking in I wasn't sure whether to look at the room or the artworks; both were fascinating, revealing more the longer I looked. I found myself drawn to details and surfaces, sensory tactile elements in the building and in the works. Intimate responses to time and place.

Yoriko Yoneyama

Hannah Leighton-Boyce

Katsura Takasuka

Caroline Bartlett

Diana Harrison

The exhibition deserves time to view and I feel as though I want to look quietly when there is no one there. I will return when it is quiet to take my time.

Cloth & Memory 2

18th August - 3rd November 2013

at Salts Mill, Saltaire, West Yorkshire

There are also many special events to coincide with the exhibition.

A backward glance...

 ... for those of you who didn't make it to my studio, a few photos. You can also read a post about Saltaire Arts Trail by Hannah Nunn here.

More stitching in Saltaire

Thank you to everyone who joined us to stitch, doodle and chat. I hope you all had a great weekend.

I still have a few bits to finish stitching and then will let you know when and where you can see the finished piece.

A window for Saltaire Arts Trail

If you are passing the Butterfly Rooms have a look and tell me what you think of my first ever window display.

In search of the sun

Not much sun but still making sun prints.

Some beautiful weeds discovered on the streets of Saltaire.

New Year, New Workshops...

This week I have been trying to get organised and notice I have spaces available for some workshops coming up very soon. So I have been tinkering about making samples and preparing materials. If you fancy coming along to any workshops please drop me a line.

19th January 2013, 10am-4pm
Scrap Magic £60
Do you have bags full of beautiful scraps you can’t bear to part with, but are too small for your projects? This one day workshop teaches you creative ways to up-cycle all those wonderful morsels. Using a selection of machine embroidery and mixed-media textile processes you will create samples to take home and inspire your future projects. Please note participants will need to bring their own sewing machine and be familiar with how to use it. Please contact Hannah for more details.

26th - 27th January 2013, 10am-4pm
Cyanotype Weekend £120
Learn the complete process of making cyanotype prints, from mixing chemicals and preparing substrates to finished prints on a variety of surfaces including textile. There will be opportunities for experimentation and developing a more personalised body of work.
You will take home a collection of finished prints on a variety of materials including paper and textile.

For more information or to book a place please get in touch:
Email: hannahjlamb@hotmail.com
Tel: 01274568021

Contemporary Botanical Embroidery

Observing, drawing, making marks, stitching... thanks to Jasmin, Sara, Sharon and Cath for joining me this afternoon, it was lovely to have your company.

... hope you enjoyed the cake too.