50/50 exhibition in Bath

A great exhibition to see if you can get to Bath before 3rd April. It is a joint exhibition by Matthew Harris (embroiderer) and partner Cleo Mussi (mosaic artist) at Victoria Art Gallery, Bridge Street (near Pultney Bridge). It was a virtual sell-out when I visited it on Saturday - I've never seen so many red spots!

A piece by Matthew Harris that I'm pleased to have had on my studio wall for a few years. It is unmounted and unframed but I've pinned it to the wall and placed an old frame around it - so you see, I did frame it Matt!

Greetings from Swansea on International Women's Day

It was a walk down memory lane for me on my recent visit to Swansea where I was born and brought up. Fellow 'Wonderful Welsh Women', besides my mother and myself of course, were actresses Catherine Zeta Jones and Joanna Page, opera singer Katherine Jenkins, para-athlete Tammy Grey-Thompson, authors, academics and other women of note. Their images, biographies and news clippings adorned the display boards. Iris Martin, my mother, was included for her contribution to the cultural life of Swansea and Wales in general with her design and embroidery teaching and work in churches, cathedrals and large public buildings. My work was included as 'daughter of Iris' and you can see a sample piece from 'Tread Softly' in the glass case behind me in this photo. It was lovely to meet up with Gwen Soomre (Distant Stitch student) and Jackie (ex Distant Stitch student) who came from Cardiff for the day to meet me; also Margaret, chair of the Swansea Embroiderers' Guild.
A bonus was a quick visit to the wonderful fresh produce Swansea Market to buy lava bread (seaweed) and Welsh cakes.

If you live in the South West

MAPPING THE FUTURE:WHERE ARE YOU NOW?
This year's annual conference, organised by 'Textile Forum South West' is being held at Somerset College on 26th March 2011. There are four exciting speakers, an excellent buffet lunch and a super book stall. I can email you the booking form and details or you can visit the website http://www.tfsw.org/. I shall be there so will be pleased to meet you if you are interested in joining me for the day.

A lovely exhibition at in the Lutyens Gallery at Hestercombe Gardens by Viv White, textile artist and Distant Stitch tutor, featuring themes of 'the garden of Eden' and flora and fauna with fun chickens, swooping starlings, elegant herons in exciting combinations of print, paper and stitch. Visit the magical Gertrude Jekyll designed gardens and the newly discovered valley as an extra bonus. The gallery is in a converted stable block, which explains the interesting wooden screen in the photo of Viv below. This exhibition finishes on Sunday 8th March.

Happy Saint David's Day to all my Welsh friends and students

Yes, this is me, a new hair colour and new glasses! A whole weekend of drawing at Hawkwood College in the Cotswolds, with my wonderful colleagues in the Textile Study Group and Audrey Walker as tutor. Time to think about ideas towards the TSG's new exhibition at the Knitting and Stitching Shows this autumn; photos for the catalogue by the end of May - so you can see that we all have tight deadlines to work to.

Drawings of edges of cloth fragments using pens, masking fluid and inks. Watch out for further developments of the lovely curved edge, top right below in future postings.

Pages from my sketchbook with small prints taken from fragments of cloth - positive and negative in my search for the 'unexpected'.

Ruth and Bobby in conversation.

Drawings line the walls in a thoughtfully active studio at Hawkwood College set in the lovely Cotswold countryside.