Clocking Off... but not just yet

The impending demolition of the Top Store at Sunny Bank Mill has been delayed, meaning that you still have time to visit and see the Clocking Off exhibition. Here are a few more photos I took during the exhibition opening.

Be sure to phone ahead before making a special visit http://sunnybankmills.co.uk/gallery/

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

Unpacking - repacking

It's been a busy few months for me, both in the studio and out and about. I haven't had a lot of time to think. Today I spent some time packing and re-packing artwork, which provided a little time to reflect on the projects I have been doing and where they are taking me. A talk I gave last week also gave me a chance to think about my creative practice and the many changes of direction I have followed.

Just at the moment I really feel like I am getting somewhere with finding ways to express my ideas. Of course there are lots of things I want to develop, but I do feel like the 'visual language' I am working with feels right.

There have been a few ambitious projects I have pursued that have worked out well, and shown me that I can work on a big scale (when before I thought I couldn't). I have also enjoyed working on installation pieces, which seems to satisfy an urge to arrange things in a space. I have also learnt a lot about myself, which feels like the whole point of making art, perhaps?

 

Linear Mapping

Earlier this month I travelled down to Buckinghamshire, to hang my installation work 'Linear Mapping' at One Church Street Gallery, Great Missenden. The work, created over a period of several months in West Yorkshire and Buckinghamshire, comprises a series of 'threads' or strands. Each thread represents a short walk I made in the countryside around my home near Bingley, or near where I grew up in Great Missenden. I was delighted to be one of the five artists selected to create installations for the Pinpoint II exhibition, particularly as the gallery is so close to 'home'.

Below you can see some details of 'Linear Mapping', with the work of fellow artist Gizella Warburton on the wall and plinths behind. As I was hanging the work I loved to see the relationship between my own work and the other work in the gallery - the lines in Gizella's work in particular. In fact until I started to hang the work at the gallery I had no idea how it would look as I hadn't had a suitable space to test it. In general I was pleasantly surprised with the weight and light of the piece and I think it is something I would like to develop further.

The other exhibiting artists are: Clare Barber, Sarah Burgess, Robert Moon, Gizella K Warbuton.

Pinpoint runs until 28th February 2015 at One Church Street Gallery, Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, HP16 0AX, England. Open Thurs - Sat 11am - 4pm. Tel: 01494 868151

Final draft

As promised here are a few photos of the final installation of 'Draft' for the Pick & Mix exhibition. You can find more images on my Facebook page and more details about the exhibition here.

Exhibition runs until 18th February 2015 at The Dye House Gallery, Bradford College, BD7 1AY

Revising and rethinking

My work for Pick & Mix has caused me worries this week. After agonising over the shade of red used for the cross stitching I came to a realisation that it was all wrong. I was unhappy with the red, unsure about the presentation and disappointed with the look of the whole thing. I think also I have been worried about whether this piece is truly representative of my own practice.

I was pretty miserable about the project and felt like throwing in the towel. However I took a step back to reflect and consider my options. One idea that had been floating in the back of my mind was to use the stitched paper as a negative for a cyanotype print. So I did some very quick sampling and was really happy with the results.

I feel the quality of mark achieved is delicate and ghostly; a mere trace. It looks much more interesting and develops the original weave drafts and lifting plans I was studying into something that is a more personal response. By taking the designs through another process they become increasingly vague and unreadable; one of the points of the work is to portray the disappearance of specialist technical knowledge.

So now the shade of red no longer matters but I still have so much work to do.

Rhythms and patterns

Over the last couple of weeks I have been trying to settle into new rhythms and patterns in my life. We have a lovely new addition to the household in the form of a four year-old greyhound called Henry. For all of us adjusting to new routines and ways of doing things has been a challenge. For one thing walking is becoming more frequent but has a different focus. Henry made his first visit to the studio yesterday and enjoyed the scenic view (below).

In my studio I am also learning to work differently. The work for the 'Pick & Mix' exhibition is making very slow progress and I am finding the counted cross stitch tedious and fiddly, especially given that I am stitching on tracing paper. I am not used to working in such a constrained way, within grids and to a pre-ordained pattern but perhaps the discipline will be good for me. I may just have to break free at some point though.

Openings

Today is the start of the the 62 Group's Ebb & Flow exhibition in Grimsby. However the Official Opening event will take place on Saturday, with June Hill opening the exhibition. I am really looking forward to seeing the final hanging of the exhibition at both venues, especially at Grimsby Minster, which will host some really massive pieces of textile art.

There will be work by some big names, including Audrey Walker MBE, Tilleke Schwarz, Rachael Howard and Heather Belcher, to name but a few. It feels slightly surreal to be exhibiting alongside these artists... how did that happen?

It would be lovely to see you there at the opening on Saturday 13th September 2014.


The exhibition is spread over 2 venues:
From 3.30 pm at the Fishing Heritage Centre
From 5.00 pm at Grimsby Minster

The exhibition runs 9th September to 2nd November, and is accompanied by two other textile related exhibitions.
FREE ENTRY


You can find more information about Ebb & Flow exhibition and special events here.

I have just sent out a newsletter to my subscribers, which you can read here.

A kind of gentle presence

Thanks to Joe from Textileartist.org for interviewing me for a this article.

A week of darkness

Perhaps that is a little melodramatic, but it feels as though I hardly saw daylight last week. It was my first time visiting Lithuania and our time was divided between the capital Vilnius and the second city Kaunas. The country seems a mixture of beautiful historic buildings, crumbling soviet brutalism and a new era of western inspired commercial buildings. On the whole I found it beautiful and would love to see the old town areas of both cities during daylight to truly appreciate them.

My visit was on college business with my colleague Andrea, delivering five days of training to fashion and textile companies and academics. Determined to see something of the country while were there we tried to spend as much time as possible in the evenings (when not preparing work for the following day) walking about to see the sights.

All that darkness had some benefits. Lithuanians are justifiably proud of their historic buildings and they are beautifully illuminated at night. We also came across this stunning installation in Vilnius. Made up of thousands of votive candles, the installation stretched across the square in front of the cathedral. The installation is a sad reminder of the loss of lives from car accidents in Lithuania, one for each person killed each year for over 20 years. The entire work created a gigantic bar chart. It made us a little nervous being driven to Kaunas early the next day.

Small things

This time last week I was visiting the private view of 'Pinpoint' at One Church Street Gallery; an exhibition of small works inspired by or using a sustained approach to textiles. I was delighted to have my two mixed media patched pieces selected for the exhibition and found it fascinating to see how other artists had approached the brief. Works in all different media and using a wide range of processes all conformed to a size restriction of 20cm x 20cm x 20cm. I found the focused scale provided an intensity to the works despite many having a limited palette of colour, process and form. Somehow there was a heightened sensory quality to many of the works. If you are in the area do pop in and let me know what you think.

You can see more images from the exhibition on Flickr here.

... and a review by exhibiting artist Gwen Hedley here.

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.

Spinning the web

Well I have spent a good deal of tinker time on this but finally I have managed (fingers crossed) to put my online shop together. You can now buy my cyanotype weed postcards online. I am hoping all the web magic works okay so please let me know if you spot anything odd.

If you pop over to my website you may also spot I have a couple of new workshops listed. There are five places on each so it's first come first served.

In the Wilds

A couple of weeks ago I visited a great little shop in Leeds called Colours May Vary. It has some fantastic design-led books, periodicals and just nice things. I couldn't help but make a purchase of this gorgeous book by artist Nigel Peake.

Finished mending

It is a tricky piece to photograph, but I thought it was worthwhile showing how 'Visible Mending' looks as a finished work. You can see this and all the other artwork in the exhibition at the War Exhibition until 22nd February 2013 at the Yorkshire Craft Centre, Bradford College.