My post yesterday provoked a few comments one of which came Virginia Burnett pointing out that people think textiles should be functional. I agree this is a commonly held belief but it is one that comes from a single cultural viewpoint even if it is a dominant one! We live …
The Macclesfield Silk Museum looks to house an interesting collection of approximately 4000 items which includes items large and small from 26 jacquard handlooms to silk covered buttons. The collection is described as containing silk machinery, equipment, tools, textiles and costume but the items that caught my eye is the …
Many quilters ask why is it that textiles can not get the same price as paintings or the ‘fine arts’. Why are they valued as lesser items because they are textiles? This is an important question because so many textile artists battle to earn even a part time living from …
Carolyn Ellertson has collected aprons for over 40 years. In Up Close and Personal with Vintage Aprons Carolyn shares her collection, her memories and situates these textiles with a cultural context. I have found no other medium which covers a broader section of the needle arts for a longer period …
Textile artist Renee Harris uses needle and thread as a graphic medium illustrating her narrative imagery on felt. I find these images paticularly mysterious hinting at stories I am yet to understand. My feeling about the embroidery I use in my work is that it is a true drawing tool …
There are many resources online that give you the basics of how to draw. This tutorial on Measuring the Human Form from the Wet Canvas site covers proportion and placing a human figure in perspective.
The Dragonfly website houses a huge gallery of photos of dragonflies. Since dragonflies are a favourite motif for crazy quilters these images can be used as visual source material for anyone interested in creating dragonflies in thread. They are not difficult to interpret in a textile medium as I did …
