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Handmade in Manchester : Arty Places #9 2012
Exhibition: Jennifer Collier
During a recent stay in Manchester
(England),
I visited some “arty places. I was pleasantly surprised to find a small exhibit
of the amazing work of textile artist, Jennifer Collier in the Museum of Science and Industry. Jennifer, who worked
at the museum for two years under the Setting Up Scheme run by the Arts Council
England North West, describes her technique “I create innovative textiles from
natural and found materials such as leaves, petals fruit and tea bags …. The
main technique I have developed is the fusing of fruit between layers of organza.
This can be done with apples, strawberries, figs, pears, kiwis and cherry
tomatoes.”
Of course there were other really interesting and engaging
displays at this museum, including having your photo taken and becoming part of
the electronic installation.
Museum of Science and Industry
The Manchester Craft and Design Centre, in the Victorian
market buildings, was such a vibrant creative place and its architecture of
course was part of the charm. Each artist was housed in a working studio/shopfront - there was such a gentle energy about this place.
Manchester Craft and Design Centre
Here is a video which shows more of the work at the Manchester Craft and Design Centre ...
A visit to the People’s History Museum is not only a wonderful
social history lesson and appreciation of the contribution of working men and
women and their families, but it has an amazing collection of handmade and handpainted trade union and working associations' banners.
women's movement banner
close up of banner above
close up of embroidery on a children's association banner
The museum has now established a conservation studio, in an effort to preserve these colourful, banners . Formerly a hydraulic pumping station, the museum tell the story of the history of democracy in Britain and about ordinary people’s lives at home, work and leisure over the last 200 years. It was really interesting
to learn more about the fight for the women’s voting rights, especially from an ordinary housewife's 's viewpoint. Hannah Mitchell’s
kitchen is reproduced in the museum, with genuine pieces belonging to her.
In Hannah Mitchell's kitchen
She belonged
to the Women’s Social and Political Union and was arrested on one of her
protests in London,
but her fine was paid promptly by her husband so she could return home to look
after the family. Sustained by the belief in the cause for women, Hannah said “No
cause can be won between dinner and tea and most of us who are married have to
work with one hand tied behind us, so to speak”.
..... I feel very fortunate to live in times and in a country when creative activities are a choice not a chore and freedom of speech is a "given" ....
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This week I've been working on fish and sticks .... The sticks are the message stick art dolls which were very popular, attracting some attention and a few orders at the Wise Women exhibition. Each of the message stick dolls are from the Wise Women series, each with her own personality and message of wisdom, handwritten on a handmade timber tag. I gather the sticks during my walks around my neighbourhood and the tags are made from special bits of timber, some collected by me or my husband or from off cuts gifted to us from another doll making friend whose husband makes bagpipes. These dolls start off very simply with a wrap around a stick, in the general shape of a body. 'Naked" message stick dolls - strips of wadding wrapped around found sticks. Then I usually wrap other layers of fabric, wool, and/or fibres, over which I do some simple embroidery. I sculpt or mould small face masks for these dolls. I really like using "sari ribbon" as w...
Some days are just your lucky days - today I was very fortunate and privileged to open the first ever Australian exhibition "Fragments" by UK Fibre Artist Sue Hotchkis . Here is a little about the techniques of this amazing textile artist from her own website ... Working intuitively with print and stitch, marks, textures and colours are exaggerated, intensified to reveal the detail and complexity within the images. Materials are deconstructed using modern methods, ripped, burnt and dyed. Time is invested in their reconstruction; pieces can take from a week to several months to create. Whilst being aesthetically pleasing the work can also act as a metaphor for deterioration and ruin, associated with urban decay and ultimately death and loss. They evolve organically, built up with layers of print, cloth, paper, and stitch into three-dimensional abstract forms that hover between object and image; to create a unique, visual and tactile lan...
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During a recent stay in 
You had a truly enlightening day. Blessings!
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