helen sill

Category: Whats happening now

  • PhD – it’s happening…

    After months (years!) of thinking, writing, questioning, rewriting, and wondering if all the pieces would come together, I’m very happy to share that my PhD proposal has been accepted.

    I’m not quite ready to reveal the details just yet, but this feels like thebeginning of an exciting new chapter—one that brings together many of the threads I’ve been following for years: making, research, textiles, stories, and the connections between people, places, and traditions.

    What started as curiosity, conversations, and a desire to learn more has gradually grown into something much bigger than I imagined. There is still a long road ahead, plenty more to discover, and many more questions than answers—but that’s exactly what makes the journey so exciting.

    For now, I’m taking a moment to appreciate this milestone and look forward to seeing where this next chapter leads.

  • Threads of Freedom

    A Journey into Stitch, Story, and Connection

    I was delighted to be awarded National Arts Council funding through an open call at Spring Arts and Heritage Centre for my project Threads of Freedom.

    Threads of Freedom is part of a national project Our Freedom: Then and Now, which explored ideas of freedom, identity, and the ways communities understand and experience freedom across different generations. Through this wider project, I began thinking more deeply about how textiles can hold personal and collective stories, and how traditional making practices can become a wayof exploring memory, heritage, and lived experience.

    At the heart of Threads of Freedom is my fascination with the stories held within handmade textiles. A stitch is never simply a mark on fabric; it carries the knowledge, experiences, and histories of the people whocreate it. I am interested in how embroidery, weaving, printing, and other textile practices can act as a form of communication—preservingmemories, expressing identity, and connecting us across time and place.

    The idea of freedom within this project is explored in many ways. It considers the freedom found in creativity and self-expression, and the ways textilepractices have enabled communities and individuals to preserve their voices and histories. For many makers, textiles are not just objects; they are a language through which stories can be shared.

    My own approach to traditional textiles is rooted in curiosity and respect. I often describe learning stitches as a process of translation rather thanreplication. Every technique has a history and a context shaped by thecommunities that developed it.

    Through research, making, conversations, and future collaborations, Threads of Freedom will provide a vehicle for the voices of many to come together in a local community art work.

    I don’t yet know exactly where this project will lead, and that uncertainty is part of the creative process. .

  • Gujarat here I come

    Gujarat here I come

    My Upcoming Journey to Gujarat: Research, Making, and Looking Towards a PhD

    For the past few months, I’ve been carefully planning my next research trip—a solo journey to Gujarat, India, where I’ll be spending just over three weeks immersed in some of the region’s extraordinary textile traditions. This isn’t simply a holiday or an opportunity to learn a new craft; it feels like an important step in the development of my artisticpractice and the direction I hope my research will take in the years ahead.

    Why Gujarat?

    My interest in Gujarat has grown steadily over several years. Its textile traditions have long fascinated me, not only because of their extraordinary beauty and technical skill, but because they tell stories of identity, place, memory, and cultural heritage. Here, craft isn’t something preserved behind museum glass—it continues to be lived, practised and passed from one generation to the next.

    As an artist, I’m increasingly interested in understanding these traditions through lived experience rather than simply reading about them. I want to spend time with the people who make, teach and preserve these crafts, learning through conversation, observationand making. It feels like the beginning of a body of research that sits between contemporary art, textiles, material culture and craft—research that I hope, one day, to formalise through a PhD.

    In many ways, this journey exists because a grant application didn’t goto plan. While I was naturally disappointed not to receive the funding, the process gave me something just as valuable: clarity. It confirmed that this was the direction I wanted my practice to take. As an independent artist, I don’t have institutional funding behind me, so opportunities like this require months of saving, careful planning and a fair amount of creativity. This trip represents a personal investment in my future practiceand in the questions I want to spend the next few years exploring.

    One of the places I’m most looking forward to returning to is the Gandhi Ashram. I first visited several years ago and, quite unexpectedly, it became one of the starting points for everything that has followed. During that visit, I met a woman who suggested I visit Raasleela, a design studio that celebrates traditional textiles and embroidery. I went along out of curiosity and immediatelyconnected with both the textiles and the ethos behind the work.

    Although I didn’t meet Hetal, the founder, during that first visit, we-stayed in touch by email. This time I’ll finally have the opportunity to meet her in person, learn more about her work, and spend time at the studio. Looking back, it’s interesting how a chance conversation at the Ashram quietly led me here. At the time I had no idea it would become part of a much bigger journey.

    Another highlight will be travelling to Ajrakpur, where I’ve been fortunate enough to arrange time learning with master printer and natural dyer Sufyian Khatri. Ajrakh is a tradition I’ve admired for many years. Beyond its extraordinary technical complexity, what fascinates me is the way generations of knowledge, patience and cultural understanding are embedded within every stage of the process. My intention isn’t simply to learn how Ajrakh is made, but to understand it within its wider cultural context and consider how I might thoughtfully respond to it through my own creative practice.

    I’m also hoping to catch up with Adam Khatri, whom I haven’t seen since my last visit in 2018, making this part of the journey feel a little like returning as well as discovering.

    Whenever I learn traditional stitch, I don’t see myself as reproducing it exactly. I often describe what I teach as a translation rather than a replication. Every stitch belongs to a particular place, community and history. Understanding that context feels just as important as learning the technique itself, and I hope this trip will deepen that understanding.

    I’ll begin my journey in Ahmedabad, a city I’m looking forward tospending more time in. Alongside returning to Gandhi Ashram and visiting Raasleela, I’m hoping to spend time at the Calico Museumof Textiles, revisit the ISKCON Temple and, if the weather allows, explore some of Gujarat’s remarkable stepwells. I’m also planning to do what has served me well on previous trips—befriend a localauto-rickshaw driver. In my experience, they’re often the bestguides to the places no guidebook ever mentions.

    From there, I’ll travel through Kutch, returning to one of my favouriteplaces from my previous visit: the Living and Learning Design Centre (LLDC). I left inspired the last time I was there and I’m looking forward to seeing it again with fresh eyes. I’ve also arranged several embroidery workshops where I hope to learn more about how knowledge is passed between generations of artisans. I’m especially excited about the possibility of encountering Rabari and Ahir embroidery, and meeting both Pabiben Rabari and Geetaben Rabari—two women whose work I’ve admired for some time.

    I’ve also sent a rather hopeful message to Lisa Hall at Madame Hall Design Studio in Bhuj and, perhaps a little cheekily, invited myself over for a cup of chai. Whether that comes to anything or not, I’ve learnt that-some of the best experiences while travelling begin with simply asking.

    While textiles are at the heart of this journey, I’m equally interested in the everyday culture that surrounds them. Food has always felt like another way of understanding a place, so I’m looking forward to trying a traditional Gujarati thali and discovering dishes I’ve neverencountered before. Like textile traditions, recipes are passed from one generation to the next, carrying stories of family, community and place.

    If I’m fortunate, my visit will also coincide with local festivals and celebrations. Beyond the colour and spectacle, I’m interested in seeing how music, dance, food and craft come together in everyday life. I have a feeling that some of the most memorable moments from this trip will be the ones I haven’t planned at all.

    Three weeks is only a brief moment within traditions that have evolved over centuries, and I know I’ll only scratch the surface. Rather than expecting answers, I’m approaching this experience with curiosity, openness and a willingness to listen. I hope it raises new questions, challenges my assumptions and influences the wayI think about making, research and storytelling through textiles.

    More than anything, I see this journey as an investment in my future as both an artist and a researcher. I hope it becomes one of many research trips that gradually build into a sustained body of workand, in time, provide the foundations for doctoral research.

    As I leave for Gujarat, I know I won’t come home with all the answers. What I hope to bring back are new questions, new relationships anda deeper understanding of the traditions that continue to shape my practice. If this journey marks the beginning of a larger body of research, I’m excited to see where it leads.

    NB why was I originally drawn to Gujarat in 2018?Gujarat is recognised as one of India’s richest regions for embroidery traditions because of the extraordinary diversity of its communities, its long history as a centre of international trade and the continuity of its craft practices. Rather than representing a single embroidery style, Gujarat encompasses numerous distinct traditions, each reflecting the cultural identity, history and environment of the communitiesthat produce them. This combination of cultural diversity, historicalexchange and living craft knowledge makes Gujarat a particularlysignificant location for studying stitch as both a textile practice and a form of embodied cultural heritage.

  • And she’s back…..

    .. ……a bit like Sex in the City ( and just like that) but not as glamorous…….Well where have I been…. 5 years in a paragraph….deciding what to do next…. Covid happened, my parents died , my cat died, I started practising mindfulness and doing more yoga and swimming again , I bought a chalet in cornwall, finished my Masters Degree started selling my work at the Barn Emporium and jacked in my teaching job to start my PhD …..still teaching loads of stitch classes , talking about textiles and experimenting with my practice and drawing…. Currently applying for research grants which is a little bit soul destroying but also your knowledge base widens.. ….so good in the long run …though the set backs are tricky to deal with. Countries I have been to post Covid ….France , India, Uzbekistan, Turkey, America, Costa Rica……The Scilly Isles, Istanbul and Nagaland are happening soon…..so there you have it 5 years……..gone in a

    Baza.. the only one……

    X

  • Lost in Space

    Hello dear reader.. well yes I was for a bit….but I’m back- excited and invigorated, ready for the New Year.  Having help from my marvellous power neighbour ™ I’m back into WordPress and hopefully on the case with Instagram mycathasniceboots and facebook ….whoo hoo and ready to blog away.  Here’s a brief overview of the last 7 months. I know you’ve been missing me! (Hello Worthing Embroiderers. I know at least one of you missed me..mentioning no names..Jill!!)

    May saw me return from my travels round Egypt with the teenager…we got on remarkably well… if there’s Wi-Fi she’s happy.  It was great taking her somewhere that was so different and see that awe and wonder on her face as we hit the bazaars. The best bit was landing in Cairo and the hustle and bustle of everyone going everywhere. She was brave enough to go inside the Great Pyramid. I stuck to the smaller ones and the crypts in the Valley of the Kings cos I am wuss!  Don’t think she’ll ever forgive me for making her sleep on a felucca and get eaten alive by mozzies….

    June

    Paris with the teenager was amazing…goodness she’s lucky…  Found a lovely gallery I hadn’t been to before musee orangerie.  Built specially for Monet’s Water Lily pictures.   Spent a lot of time just being…. and drawing from the amazing art collection they have down stairs..and also outside in the gardens.  Highlight for the teenager was a macaron walking tour of St Germaine with Johnny…recommended!!!! Look him up on trip advisor.

    Also went to the Quilt Show in Birminghan to meet some of the lovely ladies form my last trip with Colourlicious.  It was so fab to catch up with them and also to look round the show which is always a goodie.

    July:  saw the arrival of the  lovely Ashwin from Gujarat Journies.  Making him be a tourist for a change we went to see the Overlord Embroidery (Haven’t see it already..go!!) in Southsea, Stone Henge and Roche Court…. not all on the same day! I AM SORRY ABOUT THE RAIN!!!!!

    Roche Court Gallery

    August saw us decamp en famile to the wonderful Widemouth Bay… I practised some very poor clippy matting to keep me occupied…I need a session with Glen from Stroud. North Cornwall is truly inspirational..did tons of drawing. Desperately saving up for a holiday chalet there….need to start buying lottery tickets, need to start buying lottery tickets, need to start buying lottery tickets….Visited the wonderful Tintagel Castle 

    which had just reopened after much work on a new bridge and me and the nearly teenager went looking for dragons. Taking him on a lion hunt in the summer…watch this space.  (LOST MY CAR KEYS!!!!) (PANIC)(FOUND MY CAR KEYS!) (PANIC OVER!!) Also spoke to the lovely ladies from the WI down there who had a wonderful selection of their handiwork on display next to the old post office and yes I did buy!!!

    October: saw a couple of visits to the, fantastic as usual, Knit and Stitch at Ally Pally ..too many great things there to mention here but if you check out libertine-vale   also on instagram  you can GET a good flavour.  As usual I was too busy gabbing and looking to take photos.   I was also extremely privileged to be part of the Artist in Action Team with Art Van Go.  THANK YOU TO ALL WHO STOPPED BY TO SAY HELLO. And thank you Viv and Kev for making me part of the team…..I got to meet one of my idols Gina Ferrari!!!

    September: Re-joined my Master’s Degree which is currently keeping me away from making and on the research trail…looking at how stitches top up your Waah..though for obvious reasons won’t be calling it that in the final draft..Academia 1 point,  Helen 0 points

    I also managed open studios and to exhibit work in South Sea with CAPUG and gave a talk to the undergraduate textile students at Chichester University about my Travels in Gujarat and some of the complexities of Guajarati textiles. I am a novice… ..there is sooooo much out there to learn about… fortunately  my good friend Gautam from Gujarat Journies is only a WhatsApp away and keeps me  right. I also talk to my Gujarat buddy Sarah Homfray who is heading out to Delhi in a few days’ time. Wish I was going with you Sarah..have fun!  Sarah is a fabulous teacher AND THE PLACE IS AWE INSPIRING if you are going you will have an amazing time.

    CAPUG exhibition Southsea
    Part of my Gujarati stash…

    November: Making lots of these at the mo..not sure where I’m going but they are influenced by my travels in Gujarat and the things I saw there and build on Doll Face…

    December : It was Xmas, silly…but ….I did manage to squeeze in a trip to Hampton Court to see the Lost Dress of Elizabeth and a jaunt to London to the Tate Modern

    Eilifur Olasson

    ..oh and invited the neighbours round fir a bit of a stitching session

    Scissor cases..my own design!!!
    Making new stuff from an old charity shop quilt….

    January: Gearing up to let people know all about my  amazing trip to Rajasthan which I am hosting with Colourlicious THERE ARE STILL SPACES PEOPLE!!!!…..come with me!! and a summer in South Africa….. more of which later in the year.

    Looking forward to seeing the Material Girls on the 23rd January  to regale them about my travels in Gujarat. Taking my wonderful stash of Gujarati textiles to share with them.  Until later adios amigos….

    PS Sarah hope you are enjoying the hot climates and having fun teaching on your big boat.  Thank you for the fab felt making post-Christmas… See you soon xxx
    —

    Always stitching something
    Picture

  • Brexit the reason for my exit….

    shhhhhhhh

    Oh my oh my  this has got nothing to do with Brexit..and,  I haven’t been so caught up in Brexit  that I haven’t been able to blog. No dear reader I’m just a bit rubbish at social media.  So what have I been up to since December – well here’s an over view…

    Art Conference

    January: spent  trying to keep my instagram up to date!  Still digesting all the lovely things from my travels in Gujarat taking me quite a time and I was also busy with deadlines for University.  I arranged and ran a lovely arts day called Gujarat Journey at a local school last month and also talked about my work at a teacher’s Art Conference at Southampton Art Gallery.

    Rajasthan here I come!!

    Can’t wait ( but I have to) for my next trip to India this time I am going to Rajasthan in October 2020 and will be hosting a trip with the wonderful Colourlicious. …do come with me if you can I know it’s going to be fantastic! I know it’s along ways off but places do book up fast so have a look now!

    January:   off to Newcastle and a whistle tour of all the Baltic had to offer. Sadly not too much appealed to me which is such a shame as it’s a great gallery space… it all seemed a bit dated.  Ended up explaining what a rave was and clubbing to the teenager.  There’s some great stuff on a the mo tho.  On the plus side I did replace my angel of the north key ring which was looking decidedly tatty …….well there wasn’t much of it left actually….

    Can you tell why I like this?

    .

    Lovely Kantha from the ladies at Liss in Stitches

    February /March:  Ran a kantha evening at Liss in Stiches and talked about what I had learned on my travels and the history of kantha quilting. I am indebted to Dorothy Tucker for letting me know about this amazing book. Kantha Recycled and Embroidered Textiles of Bengal

    Its fab..get it before it goes from  being expensive to extremely expensive!  Mainly images and it is really beautiful.

    I am continuing to research for my master’s paper and trying to decide what to hone my research on..I really want it to provide a firm basis for my PhD..,.ever onward…..you have to aim high…and I just love being a student.

    March: A trip up to see the Embroiders Guild at the NEC Fashion and Embroidery Show where I got to see my heart and medal for 100 Hearts with lots of other lovely work.  It was good to see some of the graduate show case too as I was in India for the Knit and Stitch last Year…..and of course look at all the other lovely things on offer..I needle felted a bee and leant about traditional scandi stitching on linen.. hard!!!! No backing calico!!!  And linen thread…what’s all that about!!!!  Hard! Hard! Hard!!!! Their designs are so beautiful tho.  My friend bought a fluff remover……the less said about that the better…..mentioning no names ..Helena!!!!…and she drank Guinness….

    100 Hearts in Memory of George Patrick Martin…middle – yellow and blue with pompoms.

    Next it was time to take my turn stewarding at Ramster Hall where I was very pleased to be exhibiting for the first time. 

    The grounds and the tea room are excellent too…-  loved being a part of it.

    April: Last month I decided to take the wayward teenager to Egypt..sorry Megs!! We had the most amazing journey.  I cant begin to tell you about how fantastic and incredble  all the amazing art we saw was.  We travlled from Cairo to Abu Simbel just North of the Sudanese border.  I came across these guys and the ancient art of  Khayamiya………..check it out ..fascinating or what???/!!!!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvrMJHaXBBk

    I had a lovely chat with one of the stall holders in Luxor who made pieces for the Coptic Christian church there.  I bought one teeny piece…..although I would have loved some of the larger pieces – they are truly magnificent.  The video of how they make them is intriguing!!

    Also bought some ‘secrets of the desert’ essential oil…supposed to drive men wild.  I’ll let you know!!!

    I drew a lot – not as much as I would have liked -but the most interesting thing I did was when I spent a day on a felucca…won’t talk about the night on the felucca  and it was nothing to do with ‘secrets of the desert’or maybe it was? Lets just say Helen nul points   mosquitoes 1099’……ok back to drawing…..as we were sedentary while the boat moved I drew lots of people and used my camera to fill in the details of the poses….a really interesting exercise!!!

    Here are some of my images…..

    I am now stitching them.  Currently working on a piece about community and using examples from my draw every day book…….. which is still going strong… very proud of that Sarah H thank you!!

    Gearing up for a workshop on boxes with the Phoenix Juniors Stitch group and the Beltaine festival at the weekend…….more drawing……. before heading off to Paris next month to look at some art with my teenager…….oh and probably sample a few macaroons and a croissant or two.  .  Also, due to an arts council commission ………which I sadly didn’t get… are you supposed to share your failures.. well I do ’cos I think you learn from them… told you I am  no good at the social media game…….….I am revisiting old work.  Phew that’s it!!! Up to date!!  Just got to load it all now.  Fingers crossed!!!!

    Ps Great talk at uni by the Caravan Gallery check them out they have work at Mottisfont…and managed to catch Pete Codling a t Portsmouth Cathedral…….beautiful huge drawings….there until June

    PPs looking forward to visiting the Emsworth and Chichester Art Trial later this month…….Pat are you ready????

    PPPS Doing some work on a community art project at a hospital……..

    BYEEEEE!!!!! Off to stitch!!!!  I’ve realised why I don’t blog…no time!!!!!!!

    PPPPS Sarah can I still come and see you……I’m sorry that you cancelled your computer lesson…my bad…totes x

      • Short and Sweet but I’m Back : India and Exhibtion

         

        Well my time at Chichester as Artist in Residence has now passed and I’ve just spent the most amazing (nearly a ) month in India travelling round Gujerat  with a sneaky trip to Delhi and Agra at the end…...I would have blogged from India….but I need a new phone ..the old one does not just cut the mustard…..I did instagram though      http://mycathas niceboots .  It’s on my business plan now ( thank you Sarah Homfray)… need new phone..…yes dear reader I do now indeed have one –  a business plan that is ..and I’ve nearly got a new phone…..just tryng to narrow it down.. (boring!!) ….so much more interesting arty things to do….

        2018/19 is the year when I’m going to get all media savvy and sorted!!  I’ve had my first proper PR session with my private advisor (aka the Mad canadian  — who also kindly dropped me at heathrow last month for my BIG ADVENTURE….) Watch this space….don’t hold your breath though!!

        I’ll also be holding my first workshop of the year in Petersfield in January……watch this space also for details.

        My Gujerat trip with colourlicious was amazing – beyond all expectations  and I’ll be bloggin’ more about it in my  next few posts…. I have some very exciting news!!

        But for now I’m concentrating on my MA exhibtion at the Otter Gallery FINAL ELEMEMT https://www.chi.ac.uk/about-us/otter-gallery/current-exhibitions which opens next week.. all welcome!  Private View is on Thursday 6 til 8pm… I would attach the picture of the invite but I cant work out how to convert the ruddy pdf to a doc you can ruddy read..aaargh!!!!! Click this boring looking lookin link and you’ll see the lovley invite.     A5 pv

        Heres  a sneaky peak of my fantastic trip……….i have alot of very beautiful phots to share..i;’ also be going to do some show and tell if anyone is interested!!!!

        and that is it for now..off for a crit at uni…..

        PS look forard to seeing you later this month Sarah for your talk at Liss in Stitches

         

      • slip sliding away

         

        as summer slides away and culminates in my artist in residency exhibition  – it opens on the 15t hSeptember… it’s going to now take me teeny bit it longer to put together the finishing touches… as at the start of the week I managed to slip slide away and do a cartwheel down a flight of stairs.  No mean feat when you are 39 and three quarters (sic – for the sake of the new reader I decided a while back to stop aging before I got to 40 – very sensible advice in my opinion feel free to magpie).  No broken bones fortunately just bruised and battered… I feel extremely lucky….I think the crystals I bought in Totnes over the summer must be doing their thing.  Did you know crystals, according to my 10 year old, keep you self-centred???  Hmmm…he’s possibly right!buddha crstals

        Fortunately, until said fall from grace, I had been very busy getting things finished for final assembly of my work at the theatre next week so my enforced hiatus shouldn’t be too much of a setback…. so I will pop pills like there’s no tomorrow for a couple of days and then get back on track…time and tide and all that jazz…and pull everything together at the weekend.

        It was quite tricky deciding which route to go for the final installation.  As you might imagine the theatre has provided me with a plethora of stimuli……. I spent most of August sorting out what to do and what to use, what to take forward and what to shelve. The end result is my take on a celebration of ‘Festival 18’.  My main aim was tell a story through my art work and reflect the theatre, its’ environment and its’ people now – as well as acknowledging its’ wealth of history.  You can let me know if I’ve succeeded!!!  It’s quite tricky working to produce something that lives up to other people’s expectations but I am hoping my artistic response will please….however, as an artist, it really is about putting yourself out there and I find that its best to just do what you love so whatever the feedback, I have had a blast, enjoyed the creative process, the meeting people, the close experience of theatre, the looking beyond and the digging deep – I feel satisfied with the outcome and am excited to see my pieces in situ.  They will be there until mid October.

        CFT_TheMeeting_Portrait.jpgOver the summer I did another morning stitching at the theatre and went to see ‘The Meeting’ by Charlotte Jones -met her briefly at the directors talk for the play where audience members were encouraged to take part in my ‘Everyone is an Artist’ project. There will be piece to celebrate the outcome of this in the exhibition…I hope you managed a label…if not you could add to it when it is at the theatre from the 15th September.

        The Company in The Meeting at Chichester Festival Theatre. Credit: Directed by Natalie Abrahami Designed by Vicki Mortimer Photo by Helen Maybanks.Jim Findley as Elder James Rickman in The Meeting at Chichester Festival Theatre. Credit: Directed by Natalie Abrahami Designed by Vicki Mortimer Photo by Helen Maybanks.Laurie Davidson as Nathaniel and Gerald Kyd as Adam in The Meeting at Chichester Festival Theatre. Credit: Directed by Natalie Abrahami Designed by Vicki Mortimer Photo by Helen Maybanks.Gerald Kyd as Adam in The Meeting at Chichester Festival Theatre. Credit: Directed by Natalie Abrahami Designed by Vicki Mortimer Photo by Helen Maybanks.

        ‘The Meeting’ raised several issues……the role of pacifism when the nation is at war, outsider influence and how people cope with and react to disability.  A play about language, silence and outsiders coming into the circle – I found it compelling, moving and thought provoking. I did a bit of stitching during the performance and through the interval to feel fully involved (!).  The chairs from the production really spoke to me and I loved the way they were used in the play….and I am really lucky in being able to borrow them for a bit and use them in an art installation near you from the 15th September.  It was tricky to decide what to do with them and how much to add and how much to leave them alone to tell their own story.

        The idea of the protagonist, an army deserter, coming in to disrupt the circle was the crux of the play, and he was welcomed in to the inner circle. I saw similarities in my coming into the theatre as an outsider, although, I hasten to add, I am not an army deserter nor have I  been disruptive in quite the same way (but ( definately feel accepted by the circle.)   However I do hope that I make people look at things from a different angle as that is what I see is my job as an artist!

        There were going to be screen prints too but I had a bit of a mishap with the screens…..the less said about that the better…moving swiftly on….they (the chairs) relate nicely to the wall pieces which I have stitched and printed using material printed with leaves collected from Oakland’s Park where the theatre stands, imagery drawn from the 2018 brochure and materials given to me by the lovely ladies in the wardrobe department.

        Nicola Hancock

        Wall  pieces were taken to the framers last Friday and will be on display (and on sale – ever hopeful!) at the theatre next week.  Life atthe moment  seems to be treating me torahter a lot of incidents at the mo and my  trip to the framers was an interesting foray in itself… what started out as an excellent concise meeting of minds turned into a two hour ordeal when my 10 year old managed to lock my car keys in the car!!! Don’t ask!!! Ah the joys of multi-tasking… thanks go to the mad Canadian who came to my rescue!!!! However every cloud -which is totally my motto in life – if we hadn’t been stranded I wouldn’t have wandered in the studio of the very talented artist Nicola Hancock who also develops and manages the Chichester Art Trail.  I really got a lot from my unintentional visit and it wasn’t just the tea, shelter and my 10 year old occupied terrorizing her lovely dog!  I felt inspired looking at Nicola’s eclectic mix of work. It really was beautiful, interesting and drew me in.  Can’t wait to get my pictures back…and get on with making more diverse work myself.

        In between times or should I say liminal places(?)

        Rewind to July and, stop press….all work for the theatre was put on hold when the Embroiderers’ Guild invited me to stitch a medal and a heart for their celebration ‘100 hearts war stories’

        They will go on display at the 2018 knitting & stitching shows and the NEC in 2019.   Research for the project involved me finding out lots of new facts about my maternal grandfather who incidentally inspired one of my very first large textile works… ‘my past in the present’. George Patrick Martin served in the army for the duration of WW1, fought at the Somme and Passchendaele and hence was an old contemptible

        Article about Grandad
        Grandad Martin in France -front row 2nd form right
        Some of the medals he was awarded

        My research resulted in the production of a medal in memory of him and a heart in memory of his sweetheart, my future Grandma Abigail – whom I never met as she died before I was born.  He was 19 when he signed up to go to France.  Hard to contemplate what he must have endured and what all those young men and women must have gone through.  Although it is important to celebrate and commemorate it is also really important to acknowledge the futileness and awful devastation of war.  I think it will be a thought provoking exhibition and am proud to be a small part of it.

        EG stuff in the bag I schlepped around galleries in London including the Saatchi…lovely….and Frida Kahlo at V and A.   Amazing. However I didn’t really like looking at all her personal stuff… it felt wrong, a bit voyeuristic to be looking at all her private things.  I loved her paintings and her wardrobe …inspiring. Perhaps it would have been different if I’d seen them at the Blue House – because I really enjoyed snooping around Agatha Christie’s summer abode, Greenaway, in the summer. May be it is all about place?  Or maybe I just fancy a trip to Mexico next?

        I also managed to squeeze in an exhibition an Ox Market Gallery in August with my fellow MA students. Great experience with some great feedback.  Thank you to everyone who supported us….

        ox market
        blurry picture of some of the exhibition

        So……..you’re not supposed to start a sentence with ‘so’ you know ‘cos it’s not grammatically correct. Did you know that? When you know, you realize how much it is done…or maybe its just me? Something to think about….anyway… there will be three parts to my final exhibition…did I tell you I do like working in threes…? Yes indeed – like a triptych, with a difference. A screen, some chairs and a series of framed wall hung works…… installed in the Foyer of the Festival Theatre from the 15th September….just in case I haven’t said that enough!

        And so dear reader my time at the theatre is nearly over…I really am lost for words – which is why I am an artist and let my work do the talking for me.  The immersive experience has been inspiring and interesting for my artistic development and has taken me down a different path… on this occasion responding to the cft environment and its people and interpreting this institution at a particular moment in time.  A huge thank you to everyone who has supported me in my time there, especially Jess and Richard and Charlotte, I will quite miss being there….I will however definitely be visiting the theatre more often in future!!!  I really want to see Copenhagen and Flowers for Mrs Harris.

        Ever onwards….my next exhibition will be at the Otter Gallery in October and once the Chichester Festival Theatre work is hung I will be concentrating on that.  This will sadly be the last exhibition at the Otter Gallery as it will close its doors and metamorphosise into  a computer suite…ahh the onward march of technology….marvelous…. we artists need to keep on fighting to get art out there and claim spaces.

        Next I’m off on a research trip to India to explore the textiles of Gujarat…. I’ve managed to squeeze in a quick trip to the Tahj Mahal on the way home too……well when in Rome….or should I say Agra….

        Signing off

        PS Sarah – Hope Edinburgh exhibiton goes well..the pics look fab!! wish i could have come with!

      • trees in the AiR (Artist in Residence)

         

        See the source image
        Tania Kovats        Tree

        Well how about this for an opener….its pretty inspirational…the first permanent art exhibit at the Natural History Museum. The backstory is fab. Kovats was inspired by Darwin’s drawing to explain his theory of evolution, and it seems that as well as the theatre featuring large in my life at the moment, so are TREES (Did I mention I’ve just taken on an allotment? We’re going for an orchard – evidently you need 5 trees minimum. Take a look at this link later)

        GRAYSON
        sketch book  – my tree connections

        It’s just over a month since I’ve been doing my bit as Artist in Residence at Chichester Festival Theatre and I wanted to share some of my thoughts so far, as well as the imagery I have been collecting to reflect my time here.

        The deadline is approaching to producing a plan of work for my exhibition at the theatre in the autumn. I have started to pull things together and make decisions on what to take forward, and what to leave behind in the file marked ‘pieces of work that were never realised!'(YES, that’s quite a big file if you’re an artist!….but the research and the drawings are great to do!)

        I can’t get away from the trees surrounding the theatre and the impact that the theatre has on its’ environment. I have been reading about the tree of life, the tree of the world – Yggdrasil – in Norse mythology (thank you Gary Goodman) – and an amazing article about trees and their connection to each other (thank you Him in doors). I really want the book Are Trees Sentient by Peter Wohlleben now!

        See the source image
        Yggdrasil

        So I am taking a LEAP (sorry Richard!) and going with TREES as a place to start to depict the theatre. Apart from the environmental situation of the theatre, right on the edge of Oaklands Park, and the fact that the building looks like a big concrete tree (it does trust me), I see the theatre and it’s community as a tree.

        theatre = tree

        yggdrasil

        See the source image
        Can I talk to the trees?

        Also I can’t help being influenced by my work with school children for ‘Thread Bearing Witness’ and ‘Finding a voice through ‘The Tree of Life” by G Hughes. Looking back, trees have been used on stage at Chichester rather a lot… trees it seems are everywhere. I even went to see a dress rehearsal of The Chalk Garden – and yes you guessed it… trees are there too……by the way don’t go down the rabbit hole there’s a lot of stuff about all of this  on the internet!!  I’ve been there and managed to pull myself out..it wasn’t easy.  You have been warned!!!

        PAST PRODUCTIONS

        Entertaining Angels
        A Month in the Country
        A Month in the Country
        UNCLE VANYA
        The Norman Conquests
        Way Upstream

        Rather than explain in words here are some drawings from my sketch book which will hopefully help explain my thought processes…..

        So basically CFT, I see you and your community as a tree.

        The roots are the past. The trunk the strengths and things you are good at. The branches the people that are involved with the theatre. The leaves… well I’ll stop there you get the drift.

        I’ve also been looking at ‘tribes’ of the theatre and how I might depict them. I’m looking at them as beetles at the moment – don’t ask – but it’s in a good way and I do tenuous links.

        and from wiki….

        Theatre or theater[1] is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers, typically actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music, and dance. Elements of art, such as painted scenery and stagecraft such as lighting are used to enhance the physicality, presence and immediacy of the experience.[2] The specific place of the performance is also named by the word “theatre” as derived from the Ancient Greek θέατρον (théatron, “a place for viewing”), itself from θεάομαι (theáomai, “to see”, “to watch”, “to observe”)

        this could also represent what goes on behind the face of the theatre..it is about so much more than the shows..

        I want to try to capture the performance and storytelling part of theatre in my work. When you stop and think about it, it’s all a bit weird: sitting in auditorium, looking at people on a platform who are pretending to be other people, and trying to make you believe that they are not themselves, and that they have an important story to tell. Which (when it is good), transports you to another world and makes a personal and emotional connection to you. This, dear reader, is what I hope to weave into my artwork. There are many things to decide – the exhibition is pencilled for September!

        I’ve  been experimenting with eco printing (thank you Caroline Bell!) to create backgrounds to screen print on to.  Next stop is collecting leaves from Oaklands Park and onion skins from the  kitchens here to print on some cloth which I will then stitch into….  I am also giving thought to how I can create a community tree…it’s a work in progress so watch this space….there will be some community events in July where you can have the opportunity to come along and contribute to the art work..haven’t finalised the format yet…….just playing around with ideas…..watch this space

        sketch book community tree

        “Everyone is an artist.”

        reminds me a bit of  Allen Ruppersburg the never ending book

        Ruppersberg the Never Ending Book

         

         

         

         

        one in..one out

         I’ve also been continuing to wander unfettered around the theatre….so sort of observing the ‘theatre as theatre’ really….. I am so lucky to have all this access…I love being a fly on the wall…wandering is so cool..It was fascinating watching the dynamics of a ‘change over’ in shows yesterday.

        The Chalk Garden leaves and the set up begins for Me and My Girl. I watched a bit of rehearsal, missed the meet and greet as I was running around Southsea visiting cathedrals and mosques for… don’t ask that’s another life and caught a bit of a Youth Theatre workshop…fabulous!

        I have also been admiring the amazing costumes for The Country Wife which I hope to see next week (as well as a back stage tour for the production. Thank you Jess).  You would not believe how busy the whole place is – perhaps I should be using ants instead of beetles. I think I am going to have to use artistic license tho ‘cos the beetles are more fun to draw!

        Oh and I managed to make these in the prop department ….

        look as good as the real thing……but are calorie and latex free

        Other news up and coming exhibition..I will be exhibiting at  the oxmarket  gallery from the 13th of August for two weeks..watch this space……..

        red tree helen sill
        red tree helen sill mono print

        PS  FINALLY last but not least ..The University of Chichester plans to close the Otter Gallery this autumn – where I am currently undertaking my Masters Degree in Fine Art. This is Chichester’s only free public art gallery with a permanent collection. Is this the thin end of the wedge for the future of fine art in Chichester?  Current planned exhibitions by Masters Fine Art students are shelved  – so I’m a bit sad about that to say the least. More info at  https://ottergallery.wordpress.com/     

        If you wish to sign a  petition that has been set up to try to stop its closure and at least look at alternative plans for a permanent  gallery space… please go to  Save the Otter Gallery petition by clicking this link

        and that is about it….off to make some more scones……..

        PPS I’ve just bought my ticket for Frida..at the V and A……can’t wait.    Well I can but you know what I mean!

        PPPS So sad our road trip to Edinburgh is off Sarah but so pleased about your  Canada exhibition!

      • Brace your self…it’s all about the residency!

        braces wardrobe
        ready for Present Laughter…..the costumes are gorgeous..many things custom made

        Couldn’t resist!  Continuing to be incredibly  pleased (understatement) to be selected as  Emerging Artist in Residence for Chichester Festival Theatre  (CFT) and I am currently going for totally immersing myself in the life of the theatre. One of the benefits of the residency is the close access I get to buildings and personnel and the community touched by the theatre and I am planning to use this experience to create work that will be exhibited at CFT in the autumn to celebrate its’ Festival 2018 season.

        So what’s has been happening so far? Learning about CFT Day one: I arrived (on the teenager going on 30 year olds 15th birthday) – paying close attention to all the beautiful trees that surround it in wonderful Oakland’s Park – and

        Image result for oaklands park chichester

         

        and of course

        Chichester Festival Theatre_1295C. Photo by Philip Vile
        thrust stage inside….

        the striking Post War 60s building. (Interesting fact 1.  All the money to build CFT was raised by members of the public..you see crowd funding is not new…Interesting fact 2. – CFT was the first thrust stage to be built in the UK in 450 years…..what’s even more interesting is I now actually know what a thrust stage is – go on google it …you know you want to!)

        First I met with the deputy head of the Learning, Education and Participation (LEAP) Department that creates a year-round programme of practical workshops, talks, tours, performances as well as running the largest Youth Theatre in the country. Its four main areas of contact are children and young people, families, community and education.  I’m trying to build up a holistic picture of the theatre and it’s community and the influence it has.  I am also interested in how it makes contact and interacts with the outside world.

        industrial ironing
        in wardrobe…this is actually an iron..it is a thing of beauty

        I spent the rest of the day being amazed by the vastness of metro house – the CFT’s prop store – searching for props and attempting to re-cover a lamp for Present Laughter, which I was lucky enough to see the week before.

        CFT_Website_Images_447x792px_Random
        random/generations

        I was  privileged to be invited to the ‘meet and greet’ with the cast of random and generations where I met and talked to the actors and the South African choir – check them out on instagram! The plays are hard hitting and amazing. Brilliant set.

        wardrobe….

        In my spare time (that’s a joke by the way) I’ve been researching the history of the building using, amongst other things, books by Kate Mosse and Leslie Evershed-Martin, the man who started it all and who seems like quite a character.

        Image result for leslie evershed-martin
        leslie evershed-martin

        Coincidently, I  met a woman at a textile event (Brockenhurst) whose grandfather owned the building firm that that built a part of CFT in the 60’s.  She was a cornflower girl – one of the girls and women who sold cornflowers to raise money for the theatre back in the 1950s. Serendipity. I need to find out more….

        I was invited to (and attended!)  a talk by Tinuke Craig, director of random and generations (fascinating and insightful, an amazing, interesting and very accomplished woman), and met members of the the Commissioning Circle and the Youth Commissioning Circle.

        As my residency progresses I am continuing to to meet as many people connected with the theatre as possible and have been finding out about the Pass It On and Renew  projects which have helped the theatre continue to grow and evolve. The reach of the theatre goes far beyond just the people who attend the shows.

        Next I will be spending a bit more time in the prop department and meeting some of the army of volunteers who support the theatre. My sketch book is getting  fat and I am getting lots of ideas…I have begun to make experimental pieces in response to time spent st the theatre…I will begin to post these as a visual documentation of my time here. It will be interesting to see where this goes.

         

         

        prop department

         

        images above are in the prop department……..guess the show….

        Meanwhile the  Art One Degree Show started last night..great to see lots of new art..the preview was busy and buzzy…….and am now getting ready for a trip to the New Forest, New Milton to be exact…  for my drawing in to textiles  work shop tomorrow..I hope my students are going to enjoy it…its going to be quite exciting  – we’re going to some drawing from the right side of the brain exercises  (thank you Betty Edwards)..and wire drawing and then turning our designs into  textile pieces!  Really looking forward to it!

        PS I have actually been doing some work too..so will put pics in my next post..I have a thing going on about how to download images on to my computer  ….

        PPS I’m updating my site so stay with me….there are a few glitches…..I will get there!!!  Onwards and upwards.

        PPPS …off to pack my car!!

        PPPPS Sorry I didn’t get to see you Sarah