Intangible histories

A visit to Armley Mills Industrial Museum in Leeds earlier this week was an absolute delight. We are hoping to work with the museum and artist David Bridges on a future project for our students.

I was so excited by the richness of sensory source material.
Layers of dust, grime and oil and the patina of age, touch and work.

Marks on a wall

Things with holes in

Leather, wood and pottery

Worn and river washed

From function to form

Holes for stitching into?

Patterns in the smoke

Pots by Jo Myerscough

Last weekend we visited Holmfirth to check out the Art Market. Alongside a stunning array of talented markers, I was delighted to discover beautiful ceramics by Jo Myerscough. Jo ceramic pots and then creates each unique pattern by putting them in a bonfire with plant material and other 'combustible materials' to create smoky patination. You can read more about her magical process here.

I was excited by the sympathies with patterning I create using eco printing and cyanotype. Seeing Jo's pots has made me consider the qualities I enjoy in this kind of patterning; individuality, timelessness, patina, detail, spontaneity, muted palettes...

Above are the two pots I brought home with me.

Yesterday's News

Since I discovered my appetite for mudlarking I have been delighted by the little treasures I have found on the edge of the river Aire, but last week I was amazed to come across these river washed fragments of newspaper. It always surprises me how fragile yet robust paper can be. These pieces had clearly been washed by the river for a long time, turning and shaping them like a piece of driftwood, I wonder how long they had been in the river? The date on this reduced copy of the Daily Express was November 1936!

Making Things

You might be excused for thinking I haven't been doing much lately... but you would be wrong! I have been quietly working away on a couple of ideas and it has felt great to be making again. But first in a little homage to Nancy Holt's Sun Tunnels I was playing about with my camera taking these shots of my waxed materials:

It also felt nice to be choosing my threads and playing with stitches, looking for just the right mark.

Scratching the Surface - Ephemeral Decay

Check out the street artist Alexanda Farto A.K.A Vhils. Hewn from plaster, brick and stone, he brings the soul of city walls alive. I find them beautiful and deeply moving.

I also recommend Street Sketchbook Journeys by Tristan Manco.

Finding patterns and the power of slow

I am a little bit obsessed with geometric patterns at the moment. Today while clearing rubbish from our garden I came across a strange combination of man-made pattern and organic textures. A roll of bubblewrap had been squashed in amongst old logs, timber, scrub and soil; slowly embossing surfaces and providing unnusual root runs. The power of slow.

... gives me a few ideas.

Sticker Project

It's was a relief this afternoon to submit the work I have done for the sticker project at Bradford College, having beavered away all this week. I have been making a series of six handmade textile and paper 'stickers' titled 'Enter the Woods' based on a found verse (I think from an old hymn). If anyone knows who wrote this please let me know.

I think God gave the woods to us,

That we might steal away,

Alone to those green solitudes,

From all the noise of day,

I think God gave the woods to us,

To teach our souls to pray.

Each sticker includes a line from the verse enclosed within a folded piece of plant dyed cloth. I have used fine silk and metallic fabrics in subtle colours that seemed to mimic the colours of weathered concrete, wood and metal. This work aims to entice the viewer to explore green spaces, escaping the noise and bustle of city life. I imagine the stickers positioned around the urban environment, to be found in an intimate encounter with an unexpected artwork.

Below are some photos I took to see how the stickers might look in situ.

The stickers will join a large number of self-adhesive mini artworks by fellow Bradford staff and students, in locations in Spain and England to coincide with the Bilbao Art Fair. Rather than exhibit work in a gallery or art fair the project seeks to explore alternative, temporary locations for art by placing stickers outside the gallery, in urban spaces, on walls, pavements and unexpected public places. If anyone manages to see one let me know!

You can look at more fabulous sticker inspiration here.