Artist in Residence - Earl Spencer Primary School - Hearts Yr 6

Topic for Year 6 - The Heart

My prototype - love working with felt!

In session 1 every pupil painted a wax resist A3 heart

Here is a selection

Then everyone made their paper pattern pieces and 

cut out the backs, fronts and details for the felt hearts

In session two we pinned, sewed and stuffed our

hearts. During the making I had the works of 

Frida Kahlo and Lucy Sparrow in mind

Visible Mending

Artist Carol Parker last year during the Transported Art ACE Creative People and Place Engagement Phase. 

I later spent a happy morning with Carol and Amy Lee at their self funded Pop-Up Shop Art on the High Street in Spalding which had no connection with Transported Art. 

Carol also has a shed (more than one I believe!) on an allotment and put out a call for artists / craftivists to visibly mend a postcard to be included in an exhibition in one of the sheds. With all those intersections I couldn't resist!

There is still time to add your work to the mix! Find out more here and there is a fab Pinterest board with all the postcards on display for your delight! This was another great project which was a joy to take part in - inclusive and embracing! It also got me back into my garden workspace which feels so good! Roll on Spring!

Floating Columns

The final part of my Back To Books New Vistas / Wider Horizons involvement was to create the Floating Columns installation. The idea was inspired by the concrete columns in the Chamber Foyer and each column was the same diameter as the originals. After cutting all the strips of fabric I had to take all the drawings, make a selection and create stencils for screen prints. In this I received invaluable help from Andy Eathorne & Sarah Stringer and was able to make the photo stencils and print the fabric in the print room at Tresham College. It was a mammoth task and I would not have got it done without help from the students and Lubelia Watkin-Wynn.

Each tube was made from nine strips of fabric, each seam was sewn twice for strength and neatness and as there was no heating in my studio I had to bring everything home to sew in the living room - maximum thread everywhere! 

After all the tubes had been constructed each one had to have a metal hoop sewn in by hand - many thanks Kate Dyer, who joined me back in the studio on the Saturday before installation to help with this time consuming task.

Even though the project took many more days than I was paid for I felt pleased with the end result, especially when I saw people moving in and around them during the Private View. If there is no further call for them in their current incarnation I may add more to them - images from other palces, in other colours, overlaid and over printed, after the exhibition is finished. Then they could be installed in other places and have an extended lifespan.

Floating Columns