A new direction

In July I attended the inspiring Distant Stitch Summer School with Jan Beaney and Jean Littlejohn. This proved quite a pivotal weekend for various reasons.

I was very impressed by the standard of the work of the other students, especially in the little "exhibition room" downstairs. My own, supposedly diploma-level work, looked pathetic in comparison. My personal tutorial with Siân only served to reinforce this and it was left that I should reconsider my commitment to the Diploma course.

My initial reaction was to give up but over the summer I realised that I missed the design and stitching, especially after the privilege of sharing the teaching and ideas of Jan and Jean. I tried to get back into the Diploma but it all seemed pointless and in the end things got so bad that I got out my cross stitch sampler to finish it (which I never did!)

However, after speaking again to Siân, it has been agreed that I will transfer to the Certificate course. I had previously done the Certificate over 2 years at a local class but I always felt I was being rushed and would have liked to go into some things more deeply. Also, the Distant Stitch course will be structured in a completely different way and I know that Siân will be a more challenging task master, so I am quite happy. My aim has always been to learn and develop within a structured framework and  this appears to be the answer.

My mind is already buzzing with ideas on crosses and stars and I have already taken lots of pictures - all I need now is some of that elusive time to actually do something with them.

Sidetracked

I have got a bit behind with my Diploma course work but I do have a good excuse - my entry for the CQGB 2016 "On the Edge" Challenge, which I'm pleased to say has been accepted for exhibition!

"Piper on the Edge"

It is intended to show how much of our cultural heritage is at risk and uses a view of the Whitby Abbey ruins and a window from Ely Cathedral (sound familiar?). The background fabrics are my own hand-dyes in a dark and dramatic colour scheme reminiscent (I hope!) of John Piper's wonderful work. It measures 1 m x 60 cm.

Module 2, Chapter 1

Opus Anglicanum

The subject matter of this chapter could have been tailor-made for me and I realise that I have gone a bit overboard! To be honest, I could have easily produced double this amount but I appreciate that that would have been a bit disproportionate and I need to draw a line and get on.

Most of this work was produced prior to an opportunistic visit to the V&A and that shed a slightly different light on my thoughts. Studying images, however well produced, can never prepare you for the impact of seeing these pieces in real life. All the pieces on display at the V&A, with one exception, were very familiar to me but I was still in awe. The sheer size of the copes and the delicacy and consistency of the stitching would be stunning even with the modern day benefits of daylight lamps, computer aided design etc.

As documented in my study, my visit to the V&A also led to the discovery of a piece which most of the scholars/authors on the subject seem to ignore: the Marnhull Orphrey. The stitching has been verified as being carried out in the early 14th century but the original garment to which it was attached has been lost and it has been used on other items since then. However, to me it was the most beautiful of all the pieces of Opus Anglicanum which I have seen.

Rather stupidly, I decided to present my study in a special notebook which does not fit on a standard A4 scanner. As a result I had to get it scanned in by my husband on an A3 machine. He was unable to adjust the dpi of the scanned in image so I am a little disappointed with the quality but am sure that it will suffice. As my study has been scanned in as a pdf document I am unable to reproduce it here. However, the following is a link to it on my Dropbox account:

file:///Users/wendywingham/Dropbox/copier@livis.co.uk_20160202_182612.pdf

Looking ahead, my visit to the V&A also gave me some ideas for possible future projects. I have always loved the Mediaeval period and was reminded of two of my favourite items from that period, reliquary boxes and diptychs/triptychs. Indeed one of my most favourite ever pieces is the Wilton Diptych in the National Gallery.

The Wilton Diptych

Reliquary box (Spanish) at the V&A