Newsletter January 2009
2009 promises to be an exciting year for us all here at DesignMatters. Laura and I have lots planned to keep you all inspired so do watch this space as is all unfolds during the coming months. The first exciting project that we can unveil news of is our brand new look website. We've had a website for more than 10 years now - doesn't time fly when you're having fun? We try hard to keep the site as up to date as possible and as most of you know, it's Laura's job to take care of that side of things.
Well, it's not that we get bored easily, but we've decided that the website needed a facelift! Laura's quietly been performing the surgery behind the scenes for many weeks now and we hope to have the new site fully functional and replacing this one in the next few weeks. We hope the new site will be more streamlined and easier to navigate. Don't worry though, we're keeping all of your favourite elements including the Student Galleries. Laura's working hard to make sure that our own galleries are up to date and including all of our recent work, much of which actually hasn't been shown on the website before. Look out for new paintings, quilts and pages from our sketchbooks. Along with the Galleries you'll soon find a bigger and better Online Store and one or two other surprises that we hope will keep you entertained. As they say, 'Watch this Space!' To be sure you don't miss a trick, sign up for our free e-newsletter service using the box above. We'll then email you to let you know about exhibitions, events and new additions to the website.
Online City & Guilds Courses
We know that some of you are concerned about changes you've heard are happening with City & Guilds' qualifications. The creative schemes have been re written into modular units of 30 hours learning each. Some units are mandatory and others open to choice. Students can accrue points with each completed module until they acquire enough points to gain a qualification. You will need to enquire at your local college to find out if they are offering the new schemes. Just to put everyone's minds at ease, the changes only relate to centres who receive government funding and will have no effect on independent centres like ours. We are continuing to offer our existing courses and registration is currently open for all subjects so, if your New Year resolution was to find some creative time for yourself, why not join the many students we have from all over the world? Take a look at the galleries of student work and especially the exhibition pages of our graduates. Those are the best places to discover the kind of work involved. There's also an FAQ page to help you decide what subject would suit you best. Don't hesitate to get in touch if you have questions.
Laura and I always have our ear to the ground and our eyes peeled for exciting opportunities and projects we'd like to get involved with. This month we'd like to share two with you and encourage you to participate:
The first is a project called Roses From the Heart™ which is the brainchild of an Australian artist, Christina Henri. Many of you may already know of the thousands of convict women who were sent from the UK and Ireland to Australia. Many of them had been tried for petty crimes but were none the less taken from their families and sent to the other side of the world with little means to make a new life. Most found themselves in terrible situations and were forced to make their money by any means they could, living their lives under a cloud of degradation and social condemnation. To commemorate and remember these women Christina has started the Roses From the Heart™ project. More than 25000 women were sent by boat to Australia and for each one, Christina (and her helpers around the world) are making a bonnet. Each bonnet is embroidered with a convict woman's name, the bonnet makers name and can be embroidered, printed or decorated in any way. So far Christina has incredibly gathered more than 12000 bonnets. When all of the bonnets have been made, they will be returned to the UK for a blessing ceremony and also to be exhibited in what will surely be a spine tingling installation.
Charles Henry Foyle Award for Stitched Textiles
The other event that we want to share with you this month is the Charles Henry Foyle Trust competition. Held annually at Redditch Needle Museum in the UK this award is now in its final year. The award is open to any student studying a textile course so all of our City & Guilds Patchwork and Quilting Students out there - you are eligible! The prize is definitely well worth winning. Not only will the 20 shortlisted finalists win a place on a workshop with Alice Kettle, they will also have their work exhibited at the Museum and the overall winner will receive a cash prize of £2000. There are also other smaller prizes to be won. We'd like to encourage all of you eligible to submit your work for this competition - you have to be in it to win it after all! All of the details and entry form can be found HERE. To enter all you have to do is send a CD containing 5 images of your current work. If you are shortlisted, you'll then be required to make a new piece of work for the exhibition based on the theme 'Freedom'. It is from these 20 new works that the finalist will be chosen. Best of luck! Entries must arrive by 20 February 2009 so there's plenty of time to get those photos on CD.
Once a month or thereabouts, I get together with the most amazing group of women. We settle in with a cup of coffee and talk about what we have been doing, ask for advice or just chat about the month that’s past and of course, we have a challenge! Each meeting the hostess gets to chose 'the word'. There are no rules about what you do with the word…some of us draw, some embroider, but there are always diverse and unexpected ideas inspired by a word you thought you knew
Last months word was 'scroll', and other than the buttons on the computer screen that 'scroll' the page down (hardly an exciting source of inspiration!), not much came to mind. Last month was also Linda, Laura and my big adventure to London! And while wandering, quite lost but not minding much, around the
British Museum I came across a scroll created using pigments on vellum. It’s a talismanic scroll made by the people of the Ethiopian northern highlands and is meant to protect and heal the sick, each scroll is unique to the person they are made for …they are the exact
height of that person! The scroll includes secret names and prayers as well as various symbols and drawings to help protect the owner. What a great idea!
So here’s my scroll, rather than names and prayers, I made my actual height but barely 4” wide scroll using all the wonderful bits and pieces I gathered during those 3 days in London- bits of maps, admission tickets, a few calendar pages and some embellishments. I had a great time putting it together, stitching some of our routes into the maps, adding beads for a bit of rain and adding my own secret wish- to travel with friends again, soon!
Marie's been making dolls all her life but recently we've seen this passion almost take her over and with wonderful results! Marie's added several of her recent cloth dolls to her website www.marieroper.co.uk and we know you'll enjoy taking a look. Although the dolls you'll find there aren't for sale, Marie is happy to design and create a doll especially for you so do email her to chat about your requirements. The dolls make the ideal gift for someone special and considering the huge amount of work that goes into each one, we think they are remarkably affordable.
As you may already know one of our patchwork tutors, Maureen, offers a comprehensive quilting, basting and finishing service using her Gammill longarm machine. If you've spent the winter months creating a pieced or applique top but can't face the hours and hours of quilting on your domestic machine then the edge to edge pantograph and free motion quilting that Maureen offers could be just what you need. Why not make it your New Year's
Maureen has recently added to her range of pantograph designs with new patterns such as PaisleyStudy shown above. She's sure to have a design to suit your quilt.
Maureen can also baste your quilt ready for you to hand or machine quilt - perfect if you don't have the room to lay out the quilt on the floor, or just can't face crawling around on your hands and knees! For more information just visit her website www.quiltingplace.com or email maureen@quiltingplace.com Maureen is always happy to chat about your individual quilting requirements.
Just as with previous Issues this one is packed full of colourful inspiration and information to help get those creative juices flowing. Issue 03 contents include screenprinting, indigo dyeing, image transfer, drawing and felted knitting plus lots more. If you are new to thr3fold journal and would like to find out more about the whole philosophy, or if you are already converted and
All three journals are stocked here in DesignMatters Store, or you can purchase from the thr3fold website. Copies are also available from our selected stockists and you can find out if there is one near you HERE. If you own a art/craft/book shop and would be interested in stocking thr3fold then do get in touch.
thr3fold Exhibition
Last month we announced that the current thr3fold exhibition thr3fold-Unfolded would be heading to Sweden for its next outing. Since then, we've sadly heard news that the gallery we were visiting has been forced to close. Obviously we're very disappointed and we know from your emails that there were lots of you out there looking forward to seeing the work. On a happier note we can report that we are working hard on thr3fold Issue 04 which will be available in a few months time. There will also be a new exhibition of work that will begin a tour later in 2009.
See you again next month!
Well we hope you've enjoyed this month's update on all that we're doing here at DesignMatters. If you'd like more information about any of the features please don't hesitate to email. Don't forget a mini version of this newsletter will automatically pop into your Inbox each month if you subscribe so you'll never miss an update!
Best wishes,
Linda
