Foreign bodies and other nonsense.

I have returned home from Experimental Textiles weekend 8 and there is a a body in my living room!
Now, I walk past many manikins at the IDC as an interested corridor commuter, past the dressmaking and millinery equipment to the safety of our little space that is filled with painty sinks, brushes, newspaper and rummage bags and think ‘phew, now I am home’.
But this week I have been challenged to think about displaying my feathery piece, and a manikin was suggested. Have you ever heard of the fear of the blank page? Well, I have the fear of the blank body…looking at a manikin is a daunting prospect. I’m not sure which way to develop things but it’s there as one option as I try to decide.
It feels as though I’m at my limits, it’s hard but it’s not a bad thing. I’m going to work on the canvas idea as that’s what was in my head, to see how I feel about it – as it happens that, too, will be an image of a blank body but I’m not so daunted by that one. Perhaps I’m just at the crossroads where painting and textiles meet? As Kim said, this course has been designed not help people finish something, but about providing a start.
Actually, I like this idea now that I think about it. Experimental Textiles started with the Journey exercise and I’m standing at a crossroads ready for another one and a better sense of where I want to go. This piece will reflect as much about me and my journey as it will about my mum and hers.

Now, speaking of foreign bodies, remember the Thing?
Well a couple of weeks ago Kate made this…

It has been christened ‘It’. Isn’t It beautiful? I think they may become friends at the show.
Since then, Alison showed us her textile creations and with much falling about with laughter and nonsense, they were christened ‘This’ ‘That’ and ‘The Other’ ( a very small piece hiding elsewhere)!

They are all amazing – the stitch that covers the surfaces is breathtaking. I have learnt so much from doing something that has evolved through play, and just engaging in the process. These pieces are so interesting because of the way people have worked. All of them started off as knitting.

We began the weekend discussing our work and the work of other artists which was a great time to learn and to be inspired, and just to finish, we all had a go at the Pretties and Background method of layering up papers with Bondaweb. Nice playtime.

Next Experimental Textiles weekend we will be finishing and sorting so I probably won’t post until the show. I’m absolutely sure I shall feel like a foreign body there! It’s going to be good, and scary, and hard, and wonderful, and exciting….and maybe a little bit sad.
It’s been a ball. Thanks for sharing in my little blog journey so far xx