It's been a while, so long that it has become difficult to know where to start.
Updating this blog has become a bit of a chore and it can be difficult making time for it, especially since Google/Blogger took away the subscribe by e-mail function which adds an extra step of admin at my end for notifying followers. Saying that, I do want to get back into the habit of using this blog and will endeavour to update it more than once a year, but if you're keen to see regular updates of my work it's best to follow the gallery's social media pages. I'm "Hoxa Tapestry Gallery" on all platforms.
And now for a photo dump of pieces I created last year. After finishing my "echoes of the shore" tapestry I spent the summer researching and sketching which resulted in some large drawings and monotypes, some of which I forgot to photograph entirely before they set off to new homes.
Left: "Mirrored sky, Skaill beach"
Right: "Midsummer reflections II, Skaill beach"
Both artworks are oil monotypes with chalk pastel on paper.
Top left: "Bu Sands, Burray." Oil monotype and chalk pastel on paper.
Top right: "Blue horizon, Birsay." Oil monotype and chalk pastel on paper.
Bottom: "Seapink haze, Brough of Birsay." Oil pastel on paper.
After my Mum passed away in August last year I spent the first few weeks walking the Hoxa shoreline, seeking comfort in the familiarity of the landscape and sketching down on the rocks overlooking Scapa Flow below our gallery and house I grew up in. Orkney had stunning skies and light in August so I spent a lot of time in my sketchbook with pencils and watercolours, observing the combination and quality of light, expanse of sea and sky against the low, unbroken landscape. All my sketches were loose and immediate, capturing the effects of the constantly moving light.
"Fleeting light, Scapa Flow"
Size: approx. 1ft/30cm square
Handwoven tapestry. Materials: cotton, linen, rayon, wool; woven on 8 warps per inch.
*SOLD*
"Fleeting light, Scapa Flow" was inspired by one of my watercolours and was the first artwork I created after Mum's passing. I finished it in October and submitted it to the Pier Arts Centre's Annual Christmas Open Exhibition in Stromness, Orkney where it sold. My Dad helped with my outdoors photoshoot by being my glamorous hand model on the Hoxa shoreline. He did well to hold onto the artwork whilst being buffeted by strong wind!
As well as "Fleeting light, Scapa Flow" I created three smaller tapestries over the winter period.
"Attry weather"
Handwoven tapestry. Materials: cotton, linen, rayon, wool; woven on 8 warps per inch.
Size: 23cm square
*SOLD*
"Attry" is an Orkney word which describes wild, cold, rainy weather and it felt rather appropriate for this piece. At the time of weaving (late October/early November) Orkney had settled into winter weather with plenty of inky, rainy skies, wild winds and "white horses" on Scapa Flow.
"Attry weather" joined "Fleeting light, Scapa Flow" on my outdoor photoshoot with Dad. We took it to its place of inspiration, Hoxa Head, looking south to mainland Scotland.
"Stormy hues"
Handwoven tapestry. Materials; cotton, linen, rayon, wool; woven on 8 warps per inch.
Size: 23cm x 7cm
*SOLD*
I was my own glamorous hand model on this occasion, photographing this tiny artwork inspired by the view from the gallery's front door, overlooking Scapa Flow.
"Dister, Windwick"
size 18cm sq. (inc. painted wooden box frame)
materials: cotton, linen, rayon, wool; woven on 10 warps per inch.
*SOLD*
"Dister" is an Orkney weather word for a passing shower and Windwick is a location on the east coast of South Ronaldsay, Orkney. The inspiration for this piece was capturing the fleeting moment of intense tonal contrast and colour on the horizon before a shower passes and clears. I photographed the tapestry alongside the original acyrlic paint and oil pastel drawing from my sketchbook and some of the yarns used in the tapestry.
Usually my tapestries are woven on 8 warps per inch however for this piece I decided to work slightly finer at 10 warps per inch. Although I was happy with the previous smaller tapestries completed in October/November, I felt they could have benefitted from, or have been easier to weave, on a finer warp. The complication of working at a small scale is that you sometimes need to work finer in order to achieve the same level of detail and fluidity in shapes and blending as larger pieces. Basically, it's not necessarily easier or quicker to work smaller!
It has been interesting to look back at my work from last year within one post and reflect on my practice. So often I have a tendency to overthink and agonise whether my ideas and artwork are strong or relevant enough (analysis paralysis is very real) but last winter I just went with my gut and simply responded to the weather in my environment as that's what interested me most. I wasn't in the headspace for undertaking anything big, especially after finishing a large scale piece early on in the year, so it was fun to spend a few months making smaller, more immediate pieces which allowed me to play and experiment with techniques and ideas.
Speaking of undertaking big things, I have started something this year. Watch this space.... (or check out the gallery's social media if you're impatient!)
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