update from Amanda

The exhibition is in progress, so while we wait to hear the responses of visitors, work continues on our current projects. My Stitching the Legend pieces are in the 'thinking' process. Who knows how long this will take - while I meditate on the work so far and make decisions about the next step my fashion icon outlines stare at me from the wall of the room where I work waiting for inspiration to hit.

Until I have further news here are a couple of photos of the fabric collage that I made to accompany the dress in the current exhibition. Photographs of my model have been transfered onto composted cotton, applique has been added and the resulting quilted piece stretched around a frame. The colours are muted yet earthy, the message is gentle but potent - 'Respect the Planet' - Let's take care of this wonderful, unique place we call earth.

more Cavan exhibition photos from Jan

Finally back looking at the pictures I took on the current exhibition in the County Cavan Museum in Ballyjamesduff I thought I'd share the following from the exhibition. When we were in Ballyduggan, County Down in March of 2010 one exercise we all did was to do a self-portrait as a single line drawing which was quite entertaining and both Frances and Amanda managed to get their drawing moved to a composted fabric and included in the exhibition as seen here:

Here are two of Esters rock pieces; one with the rocks as separate pieces incorporated into the wall hanging and one that was one piece of fabric that with the use of just threads she created the same effect - most amazing when you sit and really enjoy the work done:

The final series of Will Tell pieces that I did were done with the original design (using only arrows - palms depending on how you see it) that incorporated fabrics from the Escheresque series and while not as striking as the red/yellow series has a unique quality with the different fabrics and threads used in the quilting of these A4 pieces:

Cavan county museum exhbition starts

Well finally we've gathered all our pieces and have hung the exhibition at the Cavan County Museum from the 1st of September 2010 through the 30th of September 2010! I'll be adding pictures over the next week or so of the pieces but thought I'd start tonight with a shot of each of our primary walls (except I forgot to take one of mine). Amanda had her pieces centre around the bull rushes that we see during our residence week in Ballyduggan. She used techniques like dress making using stamped fabric and fabric painting/stitching them as a wall piece; all of which have been done on composted fabric.




Ester has included a few larger quilts so we have one wall that contains all her rock wall hangings that each contain their own unique style. I hadn't realized that some of them were created from one piece of fabric and the stitching was what defined the rocks vs the ones that had individual stones (of various sizes and fabrics). In the next few days I'll add along some of the bigger quilts which include fabric from her son's early shirts along with detailed pictures of the rock series.




Frances has continued on with the Making it New theme to include a series of watercolour techniques for the 4 seasons of the year along with heartfelt depiction of the disasters that have hit the waters of the world with the Valdez oil spill off the coast of Alaska in 1989 and more recently the Gulf Oil spill caused by a catastrophic uncapped oil well in the Gulf of Mexico.

Finally my favorite project involved taking a quilt I had started in 1973 when I started a Grandmothers Garden pattern (long before I knew what quilting really involved) made of scraps of fabric my 4 sisters and I used to make clothing in our teens. I have since taken it apart and put it back together and loved the memories as I worked. For anyone actually attending the exhibition you'll see almost all my entries are hexagons (the framed piece includes hexagons that are only 5/8" big) and hopefully I've outgrown that phase at this point!

here comes the Exxon Valdez

At last! The piece is finished and titled 'Here Comes the Exxon Valdez.' It is a warning to us all of the havoc brought on by the greed of oil companies, by our own thoughtless use of petrol and by moronic statements such as those from Sarah Palin, "Drill, baby, drill." And, to my delight, the quilt placed second in the wall quilt category at the recent Tinahely Quilt Show.

Ester: stitching the legend

When faced with the challenge of creating new work based on the theme of 'Stitching the Legend' I begin by looking at what is on my doorstep.

I moved to Co. Galway in 2005 and by coincidence our new family home is not far from Tuam where my mother grew up. The front of my house looks towards a hill called Knockma, of which I knew very little.

Local folklore says it is a fairy hill, and that Finvarra, king of the Connacht Fairies and Queen Maeve of Connacht are buried there.

Archaeologists believe it was a significant ceremonial area dating from Neolithic times. There are four stone cairns at the summit and there may be passage tombs. Several new tombs and the remains of a hill fort were also found on a nearby ridge.

One of Galway's 'tribes', the Kirwan family, built its base at Castlehacket, at the foot of Knockma in the 18th century. It seems that the monuments at Knockma were 'remodelled' around that time and that other field monuments nearby were destroyed, without excavation, by farming. Today, local quarrying poses a further threat to this landscape.

I often walk on Knockma, where there is now a signposted 'Golden Mile' walk. This photo shows the view from the summit looking back towards my home. There is something magical about this landscape where the surrounding plains stretch towards Loch Corrib and the Maam Turk mountains in Connemara.

june update from Amanda

It's the start of another creative season for The Textile Art Forum. Our new theme is Stitching the Legend. As usual, each of us will interpret the theme in our individual way, exploring concepts that catch our imaginations and spark creativity.

For myself the theme keeps me in my beginnings as a clothing designer and I plan to explore images from the work of three legendary fashion design icons: Schiaparelli, Dior and Quant. Their distinctive design silhouttes are the starting point for my work this season.

Each of the Forum members has a piece of matching tea-dyed cotton, a reel of metallic thread and an 18" canvas to make a signature piece which describes the flavour of this year's theme. These are my first pictures - my idea in the raw - paper-doll like figures dance across the cloth, capturing the essence of their era with a connecting timeline linking them together. There isn't any stitch on this yet, but there will be soon...

update from Frances

During the residential retreat in February at Ballydugan I played around with this wall quilt, using my hand-dyed fabrics and a sort of cathedral windows and bargello combination. Then it sat on the shelf. When the April oil spill occurred in the Gulf of Mexico, I knew that I needed to finish this piece and dedicate it to the lost sea creatures, to the birds of the air, to those who lost their lives on the oil rigs and to those whose lives will be forever altered due to this rape of the environment. I also wanted to raise awareness of the greed that propels companies such as Shell, BP, Exxon, etc. The quilt's body is almost finished with the quilting process (lots of lumps and rumples to sort out), and I am now experimenting with black and white organza to use as symbols for the oil gushing without stop, killing without end. Titles: "Drill, Baby, Drill" as a reminder of the moronic Sarah Palin and her disregard for the environment; "Here Comes the Exxon Valdez" as a memory of the attack on the ice columns of Alaska; "Coming your way from BP" as a statement that what the oil companies have wrought can never replace the nature they have shredded. Sadly, there are too many titles.