A couple of months ago DH and I took a trip up to Yorkshire (God's own county) to visit the village of Saltaire, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The village was built by Sir Titus Salt for the workers in his textile mill. Production at the factory has now ended and one of the main buildings now houses artworks by David Hockney and others and also various shopping outlets.
Salts Mill has a long association with David Hockney through his friendship with Jonathan Silver who saved the site from dereliction. Part of the reason for our visit to Salts Mill was to see the Hockney paintings as there is a plan for quilters living in Lincolnshire to make quilts inspired by Hockney's work. So, what did we see in Saltaire?
I don't know a huge amount about David Hockney's work and intend to do some research but there is quite a variety of styles in the work on show. The top piece is a folding screen and the piece below is made up of fax prints. I supose that appeals to me because of the wave structures in it.
This huge room would have been one of the mill workooms but now houses many of Hockney's works and many and varied artbooks.
This is part of another fax work and there are obvious connections with fabric.
These blinds which line one of the galleries were designed by Hockney too.
Saltaire village is not a museum, it is a normal community albeit in beautiful victorian buildings. The building above is the renovated part of the site containing the galleries, shops and restaurant.
This is typical of the houses in the village.
The unrenovated parts of the mill have wonderful decaying surfaces that fire the imagination.
The mill sits alongside the Leeds and Liverpool canal and there are plenty of opportunities to photograph reflections. Just watch out for all the cyclists!
I don't yet know how my Hockney inspired quilt is going to develop but I've got a lot of inspiration here and this week I get to go back for another visit with my pals Wendy and Tina. You know the ones!
My baby returned from its sojourn at the Festival of Quilts today.
Pinned to the back of it were the judge's comments:
I'm pleased with the comments on the whole but the bit I don't understand is the 'Quilting, Needs Attention'. Considering the fact that the winning quilt was a pojagi with no quilting in it, not even anything joining the two layers together, why did mine need quilting? I wonder if the felt support caused the issue? I am delighted though that both judges appreciated my design, colour, and surface design. I worked so hard at the printing and in pulling all the disparate elements together in the construction. If I'm honest the comments about it needing more quilting upset me and my initial response was to think I won't bother next year, after all this was entered as an Art Quilt and pojagi has been seen as being encouraged in former Quilt Shows, but I've got over that. BW was right in saying the thread colour was a detraction, I wasn't sure I had chosen the right colour when I was working it. Maybe a blue rather than a variegated yellow would have worked better. Just for information, the whole quilt (not including the felt support) was two layers held together by stitch.
I don't know whether I will make another pojagi, the work was immense, but I suspect I might as the effect is wonderful. I realised walking round the show that I didn't need to use the felt backing. Other quilts had been hung from tabs, off rods, from perpsex rods and from metal clamps.
This is part of Chloe Redfern's quilt, above.
I think the maker of the winning quilt may have had a similar issue with her hanging system but instead of finding a way to add a hanging sleeve on the back she made provison for a batten to pass through a turned pocket at the top of the piece.
I'm hoping to go to the Great Northern Quilt Show later this month and I shall be on the lookout for display methods.
Where was I? Oh yes, the exhibition quilts.
I was very intrigued by this little quilt above and the clever way the animal is integrated into the background. This quilt and the one below are by Elena Folomyeva, a Russian quilt artist who had her own gallery.
There are more of her quilts from the show here.
Ann Johnston has made many beautiful and detailed quilts of the Sierra Nevada.
Christine Chester 'Story of an Eastbourne Beach' appealed to me with its intricate surface detail.
These three quilts above are part of the 'Identity' theme explored by members of Art Textiles: Made in Britain and are by Ineke Berlyn.
This whole gallery had a wonderful feel to it and the work was inspiring and stimulating.
These beautiful embroidered panels are by Rosie James in the same gallery as Ineke and it was interesting to see the stitched figures overlaying the real figures moving through the gallery space. Other artists in the group included Hilary Beattie, Cas Holmes, Christine Restall, Jenny Rolfe and others.
These lovely textures are just details from work by Judith Mundwiler whose work I must explore further. Her website is written in German but I thought I would include the link.
There were so many beautiful quilts at the show this year and I was really pleased that I did at least manage to get there. I hope I have brought you a flavour of the show.
Despite the best efforts of mum with a suspected wrist fracture (apparently it isn't) and hubby with a painful leg (turns out to be cellulitis, we think) I did manage to get to Festival of Quilts for one day instead of the usual three that I aim for. I like to go for several days so that I don't exhaust myself trying to see everything, meet friends and shop all in one day. Since I had to be content with just one day this year I concentrated on seeing the exhibition stands, the art quilts and with meeting up with a few friends. Sadly I didn't get photos of everyone I met up with, silly girl.
I didn't rush there first but I did, of course, find my art quilt on display.
I was really pleased to see that the organisers had hung my piece on a high batten as it wouldn't have looked anything on the lower level. I'm not sure I had made the best decision about how I had assembled it with a felt support though. I saw several alternative hanging methods that didn't rely on a sleeve and batten and I think I will make a second blog post to remind me of some alternatives.
I stood watching the movement of my quilt for a while and I enjoyed the way the light filtered through it onto the felt behind. Maybe food for thought for a subsequent work. I am awaiting the judges' comments with a little trepidation as this is a bit different. However, the winning quilt for this sector was, in fact, a pojagi quilt!
This is 'Sunrise, Moonrise' by Mercè Gonzalez Desadamas from Spain and is made of hand-dyed organza. It is made of two layers of pojagi.
The winner of the Miniature Section is a fellow Contemporary Quilt group member Roberta Le Poidevin.
The quilt is titled 'Hundred Acres'.
I loved this beautiful vessel made by my friend, Gill Boyle, who lives locally to me. I particularly like the chunkiness and solidity of the figures and the sumptuous colours used. If, like me, you are curious enough to peak into the top of the jug you would find a slip of fabric preventing your view. That gave me pause for a quiet giggle, strange girl that I am.
Catherine Percival's 'Wool Garden is inspired by sketches of patterns on German salt-glaze pottery and Swedish folk embroidery.
Christine Heath 'Four Seasons' was very appealling with its layered and slashed construction.
Another friend, Sandra Wyman's entry in the Contemporary Quilt Group Dislocation challenge.
'Sunset Over The Cuillins' by Jennifer Lewis
This quilt is by my friend Maggi Birchenough and won her a Judge's Choice award. (Sorry, the colour is more rosey in reality). Maggi had done a course on Abstraction with Lisa Call and I have seen great developments in her work.
Jules McConnell 'Millstone'
Mike Wallace 'First Arrival', self-dyed wholecloth, printed, scraped and quilted.
Julia Gahagan 'Home Sweet Home' which is about A4 size and very sweet.
Another friend's work, Marion Robertson 'Greek Island Seas' which I love for its colour and surface texture, not to mention the addition of ceramic buttons.
Jean England 'The Monster' made from recycled silk ties.
Above and below, Sally Hutson 'Diaghilev Comes to the Party.'
Sally also has a blog.
This beautiful 'vessel' which won a judge's choice award is 'Splash' by Linda Turner
I met up with many friends and had lunch with several of them and I hope they will forgive me for the following photos which caught one or two of them unawares.
No names, no pack drill!
I will make another post of the exhibition pieces, these have mostly been competition pieces, but if you'd like to see more of the show this blog has a great post. See you soon!
