Porte Royal Queen and the Medieval

Next weekend the Sentinelle project will be shown at Showcase in Melbourne at Jeff's Shed. I am looking forward to seeing them altogether again. Again those of you who are a part of the project I ask for a $20 ( or 15 Euros)per person contribution towards the cost of continuing to travel the exhibition- please email me and I will send you details of how you can do this.And thank you to those who already have contributed, it is much appreciated.

My friend Christine Moulin sent me this two page spread from the most recent Magic Patch which shows some of the Sentinelles and one of my Chartres Queens. I am thrilled that the Sentinelles are getting such coverage but there is nothing like experiencing them in the flesh!

You will see that the title of my blog post is Porte Royale Queen. And with that comes a launch really of what I am temporarily calling the Medieval Project. The feedback I have had from all those involved in the Sentinelle project has been so delightful and heart warming and then when I got asked what would the next project be that people can be involved with i was a bit flummoxed. So what to do? As my Sentinelle project involved not only the work of others but also my own work I had to think of a theme I wanted to work with for my own work as well as something which I could incorporate into printed panels.

After visiting the Cluny Museum and the lady and the Unicorn tapestries with Elizabeth Dubbelde and her husband( Berry Patchwork) I realised I had fallen in love with the imagery and the enigmatic symbolism of medieval times, and having studied history at university it allows both scope for creation and research. So my next project will be medieval in flavour. The first panels is one of the Queens  from the Porte Royale at Chartres Cathedral. She has the loveliest face and I wonder at her soft expression in stone ( it is almost Mona Lisa like that little curl/smile of the lips)- I also love the costume she is wearing.It is impossible to see her face straight on unless I hired a cherry picker and i am not sure what the cathedral authorities would think of that, though I would be willing to try it  for the cause of my art :-).

The intention is to make five panels inspired by Medieval times which will be officially launched at the Berry Patchwork Retreat at the end of August 2014 where the Sentinelles will also be shown. I will be there and then the intention is to exhibit the new Medieval panels in 2015( and hopefully more venues) You can off course buy the panels and not be a part of the project but I will call for participants later this year or early next year. By making five different panels but with a cohesive theme I am hoping to give more choice of course and there is nothing to stop you incorporating more than one panel should you be so inclined. I  also won't place restrictions on size however ask that you not create anything too big simply form a travelling logistics point of view.I will also be making a pdf workbook to which you can subscribe with research exercises, imagery and ideas if you like to get your teeth into something more.

Part of the reason  for being inspired by medieval times is of course the wonderful stitching that was done in those times and the sheer delight in decoration. So here is my interpretation of the Chartres Queen- I have tried to use colours from the period but then got a bit carried away. Anyway as I have realised with the sentinelle project there is all sorts of ways that you can let your imagination wander with these and mine is limited!

Below are some of the panels I have for sale. They have been hand printed from a linocut onto hand dyed cotton. The price of each panel is $15AUS plus postage ( which is usually around $3AUS per panel). I have more colours on hand and will be making more panels during the week and will have them available for Showcase in case you would prefer to see them in the flesh.

Email me if you would like to buy a panel or be involved with the project. I have not worked out the detail but  should you wish to exhibit there will be a $20 fee payable closer to exhibition time to cover travel and admin costs. I will work hard to make a new panel soon, just this week is fullon as I have to install the Sentinelles on Wednesday, CrossXPollination on Thursday and mind the Sentinelle exhibition Friday, Saturday and Sunday and do the demount.

Slowly Working

It is hard trying to find a working rhythm when you are not in your own home or studio space- nothing is where it should be and much of my stuff is packed away. I have to dye fabrics to build up a bit of a stash so that my imagination can roam a little. I do dye fabrics specifically for  pieces but sometimes it is good to have some other ideas spark out of the fabric itself or to take you in a slightly different directions.

I made a new linocut as well of the vase of poppies from my previous post and yesterday my daughter Celeste and I played around with photographing the little vase this time with rosehip cuttings from her garden and some herringbone ferns.

The fabric in the background is some fabric that I ice-dyed, the colour is not as vibrant as what I normally dye but then the ice melted very very slowly because the weather was so cold and we. Will i succumb to the craze? hm maybe a little- I like the effect when I actually tied the ice into the fabric- it reminds me a little of outback water holes., and it's circles yet again!

Sentinelles at Melbourne Quilt & Craft Fair

It has been a frustrating week without the internet so in the end  I have bought one of those USB sticks- unfortunately they have data limits , but yay I have internet.

The  Sentinelle project will be shown at The Melbourne  Craft & Quilt Fair on  June 26-29  2014. I will be there some of the time but also have a commitment to CrossXPollination which has been in the planning for a year as well.It looks as if it will go to other venues in Australia as well.

I have thought long and hard about asking this as the project started out as a fun thing and I thought it would not take off in the way that it has. But everywhere they have been seen they have raised a "wow" level , beyond  what I was expecting and so the word has gone out that they should be seen in more and more and more places. Judy Newman from Expertise recently contacted me after opening the suitcase containing all the sentinelles-with a wow- these should be seen in other Australian venues. I am happy for this to happen as I am sure most participants will be, but it brings with it the fact there are costs involved. I do try and cover the costs by negotiating with venues as best as I can- but it costs to cross oceans( and they will be shown in france later this year and early 2015). I take them as luggage as I feel that is more secure than post and well it takes space away from my own work as well. There is things like signage( which I will formalise now that other venues are involved), pins for hanging all sorts of incidental costs like tape for adhering signage. I will set up a dedicated Facebook page or blog ( not decided which yet) for all the ladies. So i ask that participants  help contribute to the costs of moving this exhibition around and that it is displayed in the best way possible. Therefore I would be  so grateful to those in the exhibition if you could contribute $20 AUS or 15 Euros ( outside of Australia) towards the ongoing touring of this exhibition.Please let me know if you can.

This was the "Sentinelle" spread that appeared int eh most recent Les Nouvelles Patchwork et creation textiles. I only have a digital copy at present. Please let me know if it is yours and I will  make sure I add your names into this post!

I must admit I am missing all things french already- like this....Australia your cheese is ridiculously expensive!

On my  last day in France I visited Verdun in order to  contemplate a moment of remembering, all those that lost their lives and to hope and send thoughts to the universe to stop carnages of human life ( sometimes this feels like a prayer in vain) I came upon a delightful little Museum devoted to the Romanesque and medieval.The patina of colour on this  Madonna is just delightful and so much brighter than you might anticipate- she dates form the  fourteenth century.

I have been doing a little stitching for my work for Crossing Oceans a touring exhibition curated by Jane Rollason- my theme will be olive trees.I have used the olive tree linocut I made whilst in france and have printed hand dyed fabric and also  printed one which I have appliqued.It is progressing slower than I had hoped as my mother lives in  the half dark in the evening and does not like lights brighter than a candle flame ( or so it seems- or maybe  I am developing sympathy with medieval women)- it's the backdrop for the vase of poppies.

And then there are poppies. Last week when my daughter and I  were out and about in Fitzroy so I could buy some more lino and she some more paper we couldn't resist these poppies.

And  a big thrill - the cover and back of Les Nouvelles Patchwork et Creation textiles- the magazine of France Patchwork with an article about my work and also a how to article. I love that it is one of my favourite subjects at the moment- poppies!The ones on the right I photographed on my last day in France

CrossXPollination 2014

I have been back  for over a week and feel in a kind of stasis as i have not found anywhere to live really. Of course I am welcome at my mothers, and she has not been too well so perhaps it was meant to be, but it does mean the internet is a challenge as she has none and to get one of those usb connectors is not very successful as the signal is very weak where she lives . My mobile bails out all the time.

But one thing I did want to share and alert you about is that CrossXPollination is on again this year. I shall be teaching the Travellers Blanket three saturdays running- so we will dye the background and spend time stitching and telling stories. There are other great workshops on offer if you are not travel blanket inclined.There will also be terrific exhibitions with all sorts of wonderful textile works by various  well known textile artists, including the  convict bonnets from Tasmania. So please come and join us. Last years event was an energising and terrific event that succeeded beyond our wildest hopes

                                        

Join us 

CrossXpollinatioN 2014  - Love, Loss & What I Wore

Last year we had an “Oh Wow!” reaction to the theatre-lit exhibition in our enormous Civic Hall – a quirky mix of farmer’s armour, floating art garments, evocative quilts and more.

This year our Civic Hall will again host a collection of exhibitions including works by Catherine O’Leary, Dijanne Cevaal and Ilka White, wearable art around the theme “Love, Loss & What I Wore” and a touching and beautiful installation of convict bonnets. Other activities include:

·         A program of inventive workshops by great tutors (scanned pamphlet attached);

·         “Love, Loss & What I Wore”, wearable art exhibition at Colac Otway Performing Arts Centre 28 June – 13 July 2014;

·         “Made with Love”, exhibition of textile and fibre works of excellence at Red Rock Regional Theatre & Gallery, 28 June – 13 July 2014 (10-5 weekends only);

·         An exhibition of contemporary needlepoint by Jessie Dean in the COPACC Foyer;

·         Artist talks and networking suppers at Red Rock Regional Theatre & Gallery, 5 and 12 July;

·         WAM Wearable Art Market in the foyer of Colac Otway Performing Arts Centre 28 June 2014

·         Plus loads more…

Check for updates, more information or book workshops at www.copacc.com.au, check out details on Facebook or call us on 52329418.

   Kind Regards,

   Carole Redlich

   For the CrossXpollination team