Mister Finch - The Wish Post at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park

In case you missed the recent Mister Finch exhibiton - The Wish Post - at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park here's a taster...

Mister Finch - Dashery Bunny

Mister Finch - Toadstools

Mister Finch - Hedgehogs

Mister Finch - Bundle Hedgehog

Mister Finch - Whistle Swan

Mister Finch - Squirrels

Mister Finch - Badgers

Mister Finch - Hobnail Badger

Mister Finch - Pitch Mole

Mister Finch - Rats

Mister Finch - Moss Rat

Mister Finch - Fernsby Fox

Mister Finch - Birdle Toadstool Hare

Mister Finch - Moth

Mister Finch, a Leeds based textile artist, has constructed this hand sewn menagerie inspired by British folklore, the Bretton Estate and Yorkshire wildlife.  Made from vintage tapesteries, antique silverware, discarded wire and more, Finch's gothic kingdom of woodland creatures collect other animals wishes which are breathed into envelopes and posted into toadstool postboxes.  In true fairytale fashion, one night each year their wishes are carried away on the wind and come true in the Wish Post festival.

A Day with Jane Bevan at Hope & Elvis

My assemblages

I have recently spent a fantastic day at Hope & Elvis on a workshop with Jane Bevan.  Jane is an artist who uses natural and found materials such as thorns, twigs and bark. Employing the techniques of tying, stitching, twining, coiling and binding to her materials, Jane makes small sculptures and vessels.

Work by Jane Bevan

We started the day looking at Jane's work for inspiration...

Work by Jane Bevan

We then went for a walk and collected some materials to use.  These are some of mine...

There were all sorts of fab natural materials provided for us to use too...

And a great selection of threads...

And then we set to work.  Here are some pics of work made by other workshop participants...

And you can see what I made at the start of this blogpost. And this too...

It was a lovely day.  Thanks Jane!  

Hope & Elvis is a great place to go for a workshop.  There are great tutors, loads of materials to use, a friendly atmosphere (thanks to Louise Asher, who owns Hope & Elvis) and fabulous lunches provided by Magie Hollingworth (which are a highlight in themselves!) Check them out!

Lancashire Open Exhibition 2018

Huddled on the Beach - digital print, stitch & poetry - Sally Stone

 
There's still time to visit the Lancashire Open Exhibition 2018.  It is showing at Chapel Gallery, Ormskirk until 19 September 2018.  My piece "Huddled on the Beach" is part of the exhibition.  Using mixed media incorporating digital printing, hand stitching and one of my poems, it forms the start of a new body of work.  The exhibition has taken over lots of different spaces in the gallery so make sure you take them all in.   

Chapel Gallery, Ormskirk

Here is a taster of other artists exhibiting their work...
 

Carole Dawber - Mere Sands Wood

Jane Fairhurst - Fetishes for Uncertain Times

David Stanley - Red Marsh

Dawn Summerlin - Perceptive Fragility - Female

Deborah Butler - Coastal Path

Janice Tasker - In the Garden

Lucy Wray - Boxing Hares (detail)

Steve Talbot - Standard Willow

Sue Bradbury - Pink Flamingos (detail)

Elaine Fox - Making Space

Alan Edwards - Is it safe?

And lots more.  

Su Blackwell - The Clock Tower (Ormskirk Clockmakers & Watchmakers)

Also, don't forget to take a look at Su Blackwell's work.  Su, an artist who works predominantly in the realm of paper, was commissioned in 2017, as part of A Festival of Tales, to produce a piece inspired by Ormskirk & its history.  Once you've seen her paper clock tower, you can pop round the corner and take a look at the real thing!

Liz Cooksey at Creative Thread Workshops

Examples - Liz Cooksey

The most recent workshop I attended was taken by Liz Cooksey as part of the Creative Thread Workshops programme organised by Linda Robinson in Garstang, Lancashire.  Liz is a textile artist producing mixed media framed and 3D pieces inspired by the natural environment.  Working with wire, crochet, paper, textiles and stitch, Liz creates beautiful natural forms.

Examples of Liz Cooksey's work

Liz Cooksey

Liz Cooksey - 3D Flowers & Leaves

Liz Cooksey - Detail with Hare

Liz Cooksey - detail

To start, we were given a pack of wire forms and could choose fabric, paper and threads from Liz's stash...

Starting point

Fabrics & threads to choose from

Liz had lots of examples of her work and the elements that they were made from for us to look at.  Her instructions were clear and we were soon busy making our own elements.

Examples - Liz Cooksey

Examples - Liz Cooksey

Examples - Liz Cooksey

We spent the morning and some of the afternoon making these elements.  Here's what I came up with...

My elements

It was then time to select the elements we wanted to use in our final piece.  Linda provided some excellent cake for us to munch while deciding and Liz gave us various options for putting them together.  Here's mine...

My Finished Piece

It was great to see everyone's pieces at the end of the day.  They all turned out to be wonderful...

Workshop participants work

Workshop participants work

Thanks to Liz for a great workshop and Linda for the fab cake!

Wyre Aqueduct & Lancaster Canal

Garstang is a pretty little place with some pleasant walks along the River Wyre and the Lancaster Canal.  Being a bit of a bridge fanatic I wandered along to have a look at the aqueduct.  Altogether it was a lovely day!