Craftspace insite 2015

Flower pounding created at the insite festival by a member of the public.People were able to engage in activities new to them and enjoyed sitting talking and expressing their artistic abilities.
I met a collection of lovely people who wanted to sit, chat and take anything from a few minutes to an hour out of their day to engage in activities.I found this experience very rewarding.

My inspiration for Craftspace INSITE 2015 developed from research into William Withering 1741-1799 and his connections to Birmingham and the Lunar society. An English botanist,geologist,chemist and physician,
William discovered digitalis during his botanical study of the foxglove.
His use of the microscope and inventions of field microscopes has inspired this work. The slides used during the nineteenth century are represented in my art installation in Birmingham Cathedral Square. 
The above shows development work created for the commission. 

I decided to use linen fabric as a ground for my designs. The natural fibers react well with discharge paste and bleach out areas of print.

Botanical prints created by flower pounding add subtle colour to the highlighted areas.

 

Experimental mark making and stitch using a combination of inks, natural dye stains using chard. 

Developing my ideas for Craftspace this week. Spent a couple of hours walking round the grounds of Oakwell Hall,Birstall photographing flora

collecting fallen leaves to create interesting prints.
http://www.friendsofoakwellhall.org.uk/