A fantastic opportunity for stitchers in Alberta

Pretty Deadly and Random Precision

'Pretty Deadly'  Embroidered Blooms, Acrylic, wire,toy soldiers,,metal,resin,glass on wood base.

All images courtesy of Michael Brennand-Wood

I learnt that Michael Brennand-Wood would be coming to Canada to give a lecture and workshops at Maiwa in Vancouver.  Unfortunately he didn't have Calgary on his travel plans.... so with encouragement from my friend Sian I sent off an email and am now very pleased to announce that Michael Brennand-Wood will present a futher workshop and lecture to be given under the auspices of the Alberta College of Art and Design, Calgary.

So to recap:
What - Lecture and Workshop with Michael Brennand-Wood
When - Lecture - Monday September 12 : 5:30-6:30, Workshop - Tuesday September 13
Where - Lecture - Standford Perrot Lecture Theatre, Workshop ACAD Studios
Contact - To register call extended studies department ACAD 1 403 284 7640

All are welcome, all levels... for more information email ioftheneedle@me.com or call extended studies department.  Be quick spaces are filling up very quickly!!!

For more background on Michael's work see his website  and for an interview with Michael go here.  If you are interested in further workshops and Master-classes and to get on the Kreative Momentum email list contact ioftheneedle@me.com

This doesn't define me

When is work worth showing?
I watched a program on the BBC recently - if you have a link to Britain you might still be able to watch it... or a clip of it .  It was a day in the life profile of Tracey Emin.
I was quite uplifted by hearing her views and seeing more of her art as she got ready for a show.
I decided then that I ought not to navel gaze quite so much about my work and, as I put it this morning, "I will not deliberate over every stitch, bead and title but be more spontaneous in my work."


They say that if you use the word 'try' it implies failure... well it took me several weeks of deliberation to decide if I would take part in "Collaboration" Contextural's end of residency show.  For a start it wasn't collaboration as in "the action of working with someone to produce or create something" sense, as only one pair of collaborators had emerged (as far as I know) and I also questioned if my work from the residency warrants a showing.


Finally I decided that it is worth showing in the ACAD setting - with a proviso that I give it an Emin-type of, in-your-face, title to help it to be understood and say what exhibiting the work is supposed to show in an accompanying statement.  So here it is, roughly photographed on the dining room floor.

"and this doesn't define me"

I am showing these 4 pieces at ACAD merely to hint at what is possible with disperse dye and minimal stitch.   These pieces show a few experiments with  disperse dye that I worked on at ACAD during June.  I will take and already have taken the process further using 3D surfaces and a variety of fabrics. If you work with disperse dye please do post images on the Flickr Group Disperse Dye
Once one has done a City and Guilds one has to work hard at not 'having to' put layers and layers of stitch in everything one creates.  So I took pleasure in creating the piece in the middle which is surface decoration only-no stitch;  there was some thread involved though, in the method of dyeing! and that gives a clue to the collaborative process.
Drop by ACAD room 371 from Aug 21 to Sept 3 if you want to see more collaboration and probably more meaningful work.
I could navel gaze about that last phrase but, you know, I am just not going to!
PUBLISH POST-return

ioftheneedle has a face

I edited my profile!
I might even get around to editing my edited profile at some point and do a bit of cropping... Thanks, daughter who took the photo.
I will soon have a face on facebook too  and that, no doubt, will lead to tagging and so on and so forth.

Nudibranchs on iPhone... two of my loves in one place!

Congratulations to Gary and David on the launch of their new iPhone App.  This is one must have I must have....

Go to http://www.nudibranch.com.au/ to see their website.  Thanks again fellas for all your hard work and inspiration.  I lifted this from their website too...

THE BRANCHER’S PSALM

The Nudibranch is my passion; I shall always want more.

They maketh me to dive in clean and dirty waters: They leadeth me beside intertidal pools.

They restoreth my soul: They leadeth me into the realm of academics for its name sake.

Yea, though I swim through the gutters of sharks and eels I fear no nudibranch: they are found there: my twin tanks and dive reel comfort me.

They preparest a photographic feast before me in the presence of my dive buddy: they anointest my gloves with slime; my specimen bottle runneth over.

Surely the need for the next species and controversy of identification shall follow me all the dives of my life and I will branch in the seas forever.

David Mullins 2008
(My apologies to King David)

My apologies to Kind David and anyone who might take this, not in the way it was meant, and be offended.

Live Wire between UK and Canadian Textile artist

Just checked into an email from Jan in England and found a couple of links that might be interesting to record here. This season is a busy time in England for textile artists as shows abound around the country.Thanks Jan for sharing - looks like you had a great time at the shows.
www.tags.org.uk
www.easttextile.co.uk/blog/index.html
www.easttextile.co.uk/index.html
Whilst surfing around these sites I found the work of Yvonne Pedretti.

Immediately I hoped to be in touch with this talented artist.  However it appears from the web that Yvonne passed away recently.  She left  a wonderful legacy that we can enjoy - her creative spirit, though sadly we will never meet.
The one below is mine from city and guilds days:-

I have worked with fibre optics before and perhaps seeing Yvonne's work now and my current project plans will encourage me to take my glass and plastic line work further.  Thank you Yvonne.