A quick shopping blog .. just to let those of you who have asked when the stencils would be back in stock .. well they are and in the online shop. I've got a few new ones as well which I'm looking forward to playing with and seeing what they do. I've also got some gorgeous new appliglue colours to try on quilt tops - I'll let you know about those too. If any of you have found that your link to the website has gone all peculiar .. well, it's not you .. the site provider had a bit of a dippy fit a couple of weeks ago. It's all sorted now and if you go the website (www.hilarybeattie.co.uk) and then re-save as a favourite .. the link will be fine. Very annoying but also rather re-assuring that even those who are supposed to know what they are doing make a mess of it sometimes!

At the weekend I gave a talk at Patchwork People in Milton Keynes. They are a lovely and large group of quilters .. who were very kind to me - giving me cake and not complaining when my talk inevitably strayed off plan! On the way down there, I met up with Steph Redfern to collect quilts from her and we took the chance to indulge in an afternoon enjoying the dahlias at Baddesley Clinton (and lovely food). Here are a few of the hundreds of images I took .. what a sight those dahlias are. I just need so many more hours in the day to do all the things I want to do ...

 

 

 

The border was swarming with butterflies and bees - such a happy sight

 

 

 

Steph and I were also talking about a new exhibition we are preparing for a joint gallery called 'Sanctuary' .. this will be in 2015 and we will tell you more about it as it gets nearer .. but I couldn't help but notice this little bovvy at the end of the border .. a sanctuary if ever I saw one

 

and the old sock herself .. pondering things

 

Talk again soon - Hilary x

 

open studios ... lots of fun had and work done!

 

Sorry to have taken nearly a week to get these images on here .. time seems to have become a very movable and unpredictable element around here. Anyway - still less than a week, so I think that is not too bad. Steph and I had a brilliant time at the Bramble Patch, running our Open Studio. Actually, 'running' sounds somewhat more organised than we really were .. we basically turned up with shed loads of stuff (and I do mean that - an awful lot) and did what we normally do, but in front of lots of keen and interested people, instead of as the two hermits we normally are. Here we are getting organised early am on day three I think. I'm guessing by the amount of mess. I am trying to get a bit of order in the chaos, before making more chaos ... 

 

 

Steph was busy making happy piles of thermofax screens on the floor. She did this each morning, with the hope of organising herself into working through the piles and seeing what was in them. This plan never lasted beyond the first half hour and the inevitable distraction of something interesting from the wrong pile getting involved. What I found very sweet was that this evidence did not put her off one scrap. Each morning .. more piles and the trusty hope that THIS would be the day. Got to like that kind of unsquashable optimism. I think here she is actually heading for the coffee and biscuits, with two eyeballs apparently watching behind ...

 

 

 

 and just in case any of you are wondering whether I was tidier at Annes' place than at home ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

NO - apparently not. Anne took this well within her stride .. didn't turn a hair

 

Now - what did we do. Well I was working with my bulrushes theme and made various materials for future designs and work over the three days. I made some rubbing plates, using card and appliglue, some stamps and some stencils (stencil cutter decided that this would be the day it didn't fancy working properly - but that is just so predictable, I took no notice. Here are some rubbings (Neocolour 1 crayons, washed over with procion dye), on paper and fabric

 

 

 

 

Some stencils (setacolour opaque fabric paint, washed over with procion dye) on fabric and paper

 

 

 



 

 

 

and some stamps (again, setacolour opaque paint and procion dyes)

 

 

 

Hopefully you can see how all these will work together

 

One nice thing about working alongside another artist, is the overflow of ideas. I noticed Steph layering gesso on to paper as a background and asked if I could snitch a bit to try in the background of some printing .. I love the result:

 

 

My love affair with thermofax continues and here are a variety of cloths made with a variety of screens. Some are from photos, some from drawings and handwritten journal entries and one is derived from a photo of the original bulrush quilt shown last time

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This next is a real mishmash of techniques, done during a lively 'what does this do' question and answer session. Lots going on, but I can see many potentially usable highlights .. waiting for me to decide which to use

 

 

Steph had also bought some gorgeous watercolour paper .. which inspired a different, more contained style of printing for me. These pieces will be used as is I think with perhaps a little added collage and stitch. Here are a couple:

 

 

 

I also did some printing with a silk screen, using masking tape as a resist, aiming for sort of grassy watery rushy looking things. This one uses dyes though the screen first, then paints and finally dyes washed over. Typically I couldn't keep to watery colours and added red - but I love this piece anyway

 

 

 

Frequently when I am working, I feel the need to photograph my screens/stamps/stencils etc.  as they get covered in paint and look gorgeous. I know this seemed strange - but here are just a few of the ones I took during the open studio:

stamps:

 

 

 

 

 

and thermofax screens

 

 

 

 

 

How gorgeous are those? Well worth a bit of paint on the  camera. I would then print these up on paper and /or fabric too, to add to my pile of materials for this theme. I love these last ones so much, that I think I might get Laura (Kemshall - Fingerprint) to print them up fro me on fabric, as large as we can get and use them as whole cloth backgrounds. This would be new for me and a treat. It is my birthday next week  and I have been thinking what I would like. These seem a good plan. I think they would be a really interesting addition to the exhibition that all these are destined for at the NEC next Spring.

 

Finally - (I know - a lot of photos again .. but I didn't want to miss something someone might have seen during the days and want to check progress on) - here are a couple of collages I made on the backgrounds I talked about last time. I have the third one to make and then  will get them stitched and finished. These are the left and the right piece .. middle to come

 



 

 

 

 

Thank you for visiting and getting to the bottom of the post!! and thank you too to all those who came along to the Bramble Patch - it was great to have it so busy - talk soon - Hilary x

 

Open Studios at the Bramble Patch, Weedon - the PLAN

Well - OK - I haven't got a very detailed one .. although Steph has done a spread sheet for us. But I have had 'thoughts' and 'ideas' about what might be fun to share with anyone who comes along. I know both Steph and I are often asked about how we get from initial inspiration to a finished piece of work, and I think we are both going to be working through that process in some way during our three days at the Bramble Patch. Sorry if you are doing nothing of the sort Steph - you will obviously have to now.  So - I am planning  some new work for an exhibition I have next March, called the Shape of Nature and would like this to be a continuation of some pieces I have already made. I've decided to start with this boy 'Bulrushes' (another thought provoking name from me)

This was an early quilt for me, but I still love those shapes and I also found a lovely pile of sketches I had done from some photos of bulrushes .. which included this sheet:

 

These are aimed at being either separate mounted works, or possibly triptychs. Another group I have just joined has a challenge where we are making pieces in squares - so I thought I would go for these square designs, both for practice and a bit of possible multi-tasking, as the theme for that group happens to be Nature .. handy! I could do them on plain backgrounds as in the original quilt ,, but I fancied a bit of detail in the background. I also fancied a moon as in  my latest Orientation pieces .. 'Many Moon's ... I do find that ideas feed into one another. So I have collaged down these three backgrounds:

 

Left:

 

 

Centre:

 

and Right:

 

 These don't look very exciting yet - but hopefully they will. I've started quilting the backgrounds and will then be adding applique layers on top: 

 

 

The original is in a very subdued palette - especially for me, and I fancy using a rather more fauvist approach to colour on these ones - and (finally getting to the point) that is what I will be doing as part of the open studios. Using my sketches, I will be cutting and applying the applique to these pieces ready to stitch.

 

I'm also planning some different work, still with the bulrush theme, so will be cutting some stencils, making some stamps and also using thermofax screens to create some fabrics and papers to inspire further work. I'll hopefully also get a chance to start using these to build some new designs and collages. Can't wait actually - Annes wet room is such a gorgeous place to work. So if you can manage it - do pop in to see us .. lots of room, lovely shop and free coffee and bsicuits .. what's not to like?? - hope to see you there  - Hilary x