June Workshop - Elizabeth Shorrock - Mini Books

While I was busy enjoying Regional Day, other members of Halifax Branch were busy making millions of tiny foldy books. 
Anne Brooke has sent me some photos of their prodigious output so that the rest of us can all marvel and wish we had been there too! 

Firstly there is this tricky shot of the class hard at work

And these are some of the miniature works of art they produced

Late Addition : 
Because Margaret had to leave the workshop early as she was going to see War Horse at the Alhambra in Bradford, her friend made her this beautiful book and box out of War Horse flyers - see how cleverly she has positioned the horse's eye! 

Regional Day - More Success for Halifax Members!

While lots of our members were enjoying the Elizabeth Shorrock workshop at the Maurice Jagger Centre, I was representing the Branch at Regional Day and was happy to accept prizes on behalf of two of our talented members. 

Janice Townend won the Maggie Judges Memorial Award for "A Flower Beginning with 'D'" with her representation of a dandelion. Along with the kudos of winning, Janice gets to keep the tiny but expensive Moorcroft vase for a year! 

Margaret Walton repeated last year's success by winning third place in the Coats Anchor Award on the theme of "Anchors Aweigh", and received a box of threads donated by Coats Anchor.
(I've accidentally chopped the anchor off the bottom of the photo though!) 

Not to be outdone, I had my own success and won a prize in the very popular Bag Raffle!

There were also two excellent and amusing speakers, traders including Unravel -  Empress Mills - Colourcraft - Viking Loom, and the Embroiderers' Guild Bookshop; and a buffet lunch - all for £22. Why not come along next year and see what you're missing? 

NB That £22 doesn't include what you spend with the traders! 

June Meeting - Elizabeth Shorrock + Members' Challenge - WWI Postcards

June's meeting brought another inspirational speaker, Elizabeth Shorrock, who started off as an artist working in textiles before turning to bookmaking. A retired teacher, Elizabeth is now busy making a living from her art, exhibiting widely and working to commission. 
Here are samples of her brilliant work. 

Many of Elizabeth's books are made from maps which she sources at second-hand book fairs and market stalls. In this way she is able to match the maps to customers' requests for specific areas to be included. 

She tries to find double sided maps, however sometimes she dyes the back of one-sided maps, using greens and browns to complement the colours of the maps.

She also uses atlas pages which are more colourful (and double-sided) but is restricted by their size. Her map books have matching boxes. 

Tiny books can also be made from sheet music 

The "bookshelves" below are made from print trays, and the books made from books to match the commission, eg from a birdwatcher, or a gardener

An example of another type of keepsake book, displaying family photos - 

a great birthday, wedding or christening present

After finishing her talk, Elizabeth had the tough job of judging our annual Members' Challenge, which this year was to make a World War One postcard. 

Here are all of the entries - I suspect that there may be a few more to come, in time for our exhibition in September! 

In First place, and winning £30, this lovely traditional example by Sue Tebbutt

In Second Place, and winning £20, this more contemporary (double-sided) version by Janice Townened

In Third Place, winning £10, this machine-embroidered poppy field by Jane Beck

And the other lovely entries : 

Well done to all those who entered!

May Workshop - Nancy Miller

Our May workshop saw members arriving at the Maurice Jagger Centre laden down with all those workshop staples that seem like a good idea at the time but which we quickly forget how to use! So we were in for a day of slashing, cutting, burning, heating (and a bit of stitching!) with the excellent tutelage of Nancy Miller, assisted by Margaret Walton, our Programme Secretary. 
Margaret and Nancy used to teach textiles at Crossley Heath School in Halifax, so we were in good hands, and they were full of useful hints and tips. 

These images show how strips of old knitwear can be used to good effect 

to frame pieces of embellished work

We split into small groups, each exploring different media, for example Expandaprint / puff paste; Tyvek; and fabrics which reacted when heated. 
Here are some of our interesting results. 

We all had a go at layering pre-printed images (a bit like soft decoupage) and then adding different pieces of fabric to give depth to our work.

As you can see, the images turned out differently but were all lovely. 

Offcuts of curtaining such as this can be picked up very cheaply as remnants. 

Here is fabric which has been heated with a heat gun; fabric which has been bleached; and a close up of fabric which has had Expandaprint  applied through sequin waste, and then been heated. 

This is a selection of fabric which has been bleached, and fabric which has been tied around marbles and then microwaved to set the distortion.

More samples of bleached fabric, some heated Tyvek, and two very different tulips, one mainly cut away, and the other appliquéd.

A flower made from fabric which has been cut into petal shapes and then distressed with a heat gun

A piece of organza which has been embellished with fibres, 

using a felting needle

A piece of organza which has been embellished with appliqué and stitch

Examples of fabric which has been heated with a heat gun; bleached; tied round marbles; and some Tyvek beads, made by wrapping Tyvek round a skewer with wire and then heating with a heat gun.

And finally, a piece of Nancy's artwork to show 

what we were working towards…

May Meeting - "Eleanor and the Four Kings" by Wyn Ingham

At our May meeting we were lucky enough to have our Chair, Wyn Ingham, give her fascinating talk about Eleanor of Aquitaine. You could have heard a pin drop as we sat enthralled, learning about this very modern woman who lived from about 1122 - 1204. Born into a noble family, on the death of her father she became probably the richest woman in the world, however her fortune was settled on her heirs, and untouchable by whoever she married. Nonetheless, competition was fierce and she was married at 14 to the Dauphin, soon to become Louis VII of France. 

It was not a happy union - no son was forthcoming, although Eleanor had two daughters with him, and eventually they divorced, allowing Eleanor to marry Henry II of England with whom she had several children, including Richard the Lionheart and King John (of Magna Carta fame). Henry had some "issues" with Eleanor which led to him keeping her prisoner for many years - in fact for one whole year no-one knew where she was - but she was freed by King Richard following Henry's death. 

I've vastly truncated this story so that it isn't spoiled for those of you who have not yet heard Wyn's talk, however I will tell you that after her eventful life, Eleanor died at the age of (about) 82 whilst peacefully living as a nun at Fontevraud Abbey in the Loire Valley. She was buried there alongside Henry and their tombs can still be seen - Eleanor is depicted reading a book to show that she was an educated woman. 

Wyn then showed us several pieces of work that she had completed using the buildings connected with Eleanor for inspiration. 

This is a large piece depicting a column with its carved stone capital.

Another large panel with a silk paper background and beaded roundels

Detail of the above panel

Beautiful painted and beaded silk panel

Any groups who would like to hear Wyn's full illustrated talk can contact her at winniewoo@btinternet.com.