"Intrinsic"

Here is a sneak preview of some of the works I will be showing at "Craft in the Bay" "Intrinsic" show, starting on Friday 8th May. I am excited to be launching some new works "Patchwork monogram brooches", made with vintage fabrics.

And here are some of the other works I will be showing/selling in the exhibition.

Exhibiting makers: Hannah-May Chapman, Joanne Haywood, Yu-Ping Lin, Mandy Nash, Kathryn Partington, Julie Usel, Liz Willis

Tour venues:

Craft in the Bay, Cardiff: 8th May – 5th July, 2015

Nicola Hurst Gallery, Plymouth: 10th July – 30th August, 2015

Craft Centre and Design Gallery, Leeds: 5th September – 17th October, 2015

Cursley and Bond, Folkestone: 7th November, 2015 – 17th January, 2016

Aspex Gallery, Portsmouth: 16th March – 11th May, 2016

New for spring...

A new addition to my work are these juniper studs in 9ct yellow gold. A classic Joanne Haywood design from around 2003, with an oxidiesed silver surface, you can now get them in plain stirling silver or gold.

I have a few more new pieces to share with you next week...in the run up to my exhibition at Craft in The Bay, "Intrinsic".

Wild garlic forage...

Just for fun I am sharing some photos I took at the weekend from the local woodland. Last year, by chance I found an amazing carpet of wild garlic, so I returned this year again to forage for some more. The first few photos show the journey over to the secret stash.

And then here is a detail of the woodland floor covered in the wild garlic, the treasure being washed, a bowl of emerald green pesto and the final Tagliatelle dish.

Wild garlic is also known as 'bear's garlic', 'devil's garlic', 'gypsy's onions' and 'stinking Jenny'

Pennant for Pacific Flight: Amelia Earhart

Just looking at this textiles again. Images I took in the National Air and Space Museum, Washington, DC. It was given to Amelia Earhart by the SWG (Society of Women Geographers) on her solo, nonstop flight from Honolulu to Oakland in 1935. It's made with linen and cotton.

"With that flight Earhart became the first person to fly solo and nonstop from Hawaii to the U.S. mainland. It was her first major flight that neither a man nor a woman had accomplished. It cemented her place as the most famous female aviator in the world."

Spotlight on: Maria Savva

I would like to share with you some works by Maria Savva, who is currently showing her jewellery at Gill Wing gallery. Maria is an Alumni of the City and Guilds course at City Lit. Her work features etching techniques which are often influenced by her interest in textiles. To see more about her work and forthcoming events visit her Facebook Page.

LV21 Making More: First Outing!

"Make do and Mend: Christmas on the home front", at the Royal Engineers Museum in Kent was the setting for the first outing of the LV21 "Making More" brooches, we have been developing over the last year.

I visited the 1940's Christmas event last year as part of my research for the LV21/Arts Council commission, so it was fitting I would return again this year as a finale to the first stage of the project.

The stand looked amazing and was staged over three tables, one selling the brooches made by the cohort, one showing demonstrations and offering the chance for visitors to make their own and the third showing a display of vintage haberdashery treasures, from books, to darning mushrooms, buttons and stocking threads.

We had lots of interest from visitors and it was great to hear feedback on what we had been working on so hard on over the last 12 months. It was also a chance to celebrate with the makers I have been working with and reflect on how far we had come as a group. It has been a real pleasure working with these ladies and seeing their making skills develop. Alongside that it's also been great to see them progress in their own creative work outside of the project.

Thank you Paivi, Sarah, Sue, Rebecca, Nicola and everyone else who has been involved in the project along the way.