Unearthing the Staffordshire Hoard at Reading Arts Week

Our group were inspired by the discovery of the Staffordshire Hoard to make a series of pieces using any technique but all being presented on the same 'earthy' brown canvas. For me the excitement was about the thought of uncovering such a find, and my response was to create this felt piece Unearth. The series of pieces by all of us will be shown Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th June at Reading Arts Week at the New Directions Centre.

The Staffordshire Hoard

I, like many others, stood back in wonder when the first pictures of the Staffordshire Hoard were published in September 2009. This Anglo-Saxon treasure had been buried for centuries, the land had been farmed, but the treasure lay hidden till one day, 5th July 2009, it was unearthed again.

My facination is with the amazing craftmanship, how did they manage to create objects of such beauty, so very small and delicate yet radiant and strong. We met as a group a couple of days after the Hoard was reported in the newspapers, we all felt so inspired that we each created our own response to it.

Merete

Connected:disconnected - Part 2

My response to this theme was based around the idea of personality. I started with the idea of internal emotion and the external image and how the two are inescapably connected and yet so often are disconnected. However I became increasingly fascinated by repetition and how the internal and external varies the appearance of personality from day-to-day. I repeated 'doodles' using highly twisted handspun yarn and was interested by the element of uncontrollability and the way in which this influences how the figures can appear: bold, weak, bouncy, enthusiastic, fearful ...

The piece is contructed from two thick layers of wet felt. The figures are needle felted in place, and then stitched onto the background layer of felt.

Connected-Disconnected

One of our recent projects was called Connected-Disconnected. We each made three pieces on this theme. I worked through some ideas of how we connect and disconnect with people around us at different times in our lives. This exercise prompted me to return to felting, as in the very process of making felt the fibres connect and get all entwined.
Merete

photos from the Private View evening

Merete, Sandy and Jane

a look around

A special thanks to Eleanor - the curator. (in the red dress)

photos by Merete Hawkins

Private View

The Private View of the Ideas Bank Exhibit on Thursday evening went well. Not as many people as we thought might be there, but it was held at a difficult time of evening for people moving round Berkshire in the traffic.

Here is a photo of Jane discussing her piece.

We also had the privilege of hearing about the work of 2 of the other artists.
Vrinder Atwal and Mo Negm. In the centre of the room there were fabric and felt books with work by Annie Hamilton who has links with Lebanon. It would have been interesting to talk with her because of the textile connections, but she is visiting Lebanon at the moment. Shehnoor Ahmed also has work in the exhibition.

Some of Mo Negm's work

Vrinder Atwal's work

Shehnoor Ahmed's work

Annie Hamilton's work

The Ideas Bank 2010 exhibit continues at the Slough Museum in Berkshire throughout February. If you are in the area, do stop by. The museum is open between 11:00 am and 4:00 pm Wed - Sat.

Communication

I am often drawn to words. Coming from another English speaking country, I am fascinated by the differences in the words; how they are spelled, what they mean and so on. Words are formed of letters and then they themselves are formed together to create languages. I decided to focus on this aspect for my Zoom series beginning in the middle with Words, zooming out to Languages and then back in again to Letter.

A1 - Letter

A3 - Language

A5 - Words

Each piece has a definition included as part of the texture and visual image of the work.

"A Letter is an element in an alphabetic system."

"Language is a dynamic set of sensory symbols of communication and the elements used to manipulate them."

"A Word is a spoken or written unit of language that carries meaning."

 

I often use unusual materials to create the look I want to achieve. In this series, there are recycled materials, rusted fabrics, paper, paint, gel pen, along with cotton, silk and metallic fabrics.

 

Sandy