New Work: New Life for the SAQA Benefit Auction

New Life by Gillian Cooper

Some people work well with a schedule of what they need to do by when and will finish things well in advance so that they will be organised.  Others of us, well, let’s just say I’m the queen of the last minute.  Without deadlines, I can struggle.  Of course, life would be less stressful if I was always ready in advance, but where would the fun be?  The kids wouldn’t recognise me if we didn’t arrive up at school right at the last minute.  However, I do want it to be noted that in seven years, we haven’t been late once... yet!

And so it is with my artwork.  Deadlines can help.  I decided that I wanted to make a piece for the SAQA Benefit Auction months ago and when did I make it?  The week before the deadline.  Luckily, given that it had to posted internationally, the deadline was extended by two weeks.  Even better for SAQA, the deadline was extended after I had posted it or it still wouldn’t be finished now.

I decided to make something a little different and experiment. Circles keep cropping up at the moment so I thought I would just go with it and do circles.  I hand-dyed lots of different types of fabric to make the circles to add to the texture.  It’s finished with recycled glass beads from the African Fabric Shop – I just couldn’t resist them at the Loch Lomond Quilt Show.

Anyway I think it is a bit different to everything else I’m doing and I’m not sure it will be more than one off – but what do you think?  Do brighter colours work for me?  Does it look like my artwork?!  If you really like it, it will be auctioned raise funds for SAQA in September - even if you don't want to buy this piece, you should have a look at some of the others.  SAQA has lots of talented members.  

New work: Finesse: Bound to the Past

Finesse: Bound to the Past by Gillian Cooper 

This is yet another completely finished new piece – I know -  I’ve been very productive recently after a fallow period. 

Finesse: Bound to the Past by Gillian Cooper (detail)

Although the colours are completely different, the work is still related to the Unsung Muses series.  I’ve used a different goddess shape and repeated it across the background using print and embroidery.  There are waves of stitch passing over the background.  The crosses and circles come from the patterns on some of these ancient figures.

Finesse: Bound to the Past by Gillian Cooper (detail)

You may recognise that the crosses are made from the fabric beads I got a bit obsessed with making in February.  It is good to use them, although the quilt is now rather more delicate than it was before.

The beads used, bought from the African Fabric Shop

I love the circle beads I used.  They came from the African Fabric Shop (always a favourite) and are made from recycled glass.  You can see more of them here in lots of different colourways.  In fact, I’m really tempted to add to my collection again.

I’ve hand stitched circles around the glass beads, which again is a bit of a departure from the work I have been doing over the last few years, but takes me back right to where I started with fabric.  However, with hindsight, I think I did mainly hand stitch then as I was afraid of my sewing machine.  How things move on!

Has your work had any major changes recently?

Finesse: Bound to the Past by Gillian Cooper (detail)

 All of these photos apart from the glass bead ones were taken by Alan McCredie.  The piece measures 25x19in.

In my studio: snatches of work

This is all hand-stitched - something I haven't done for a while

Here is a flavour of some of the things I have been working on this week.  In case you have the impression I am some superwoman or a whirling textile dervish, this work hasn’t all happened this week – more stitching had been added or another layer of print to the fabric – not the complete thing.  If only I did have the time or ability to do all of this in one week!

Spot the needle - a definite WIP

In addition to my ‘real’ work, I have been attempting piñata mark II for an important 7^th birthday party on Sunday.  It is currently sitting on my studio table, filled, but still newspaper coloured.  It has to be goblin shaped and coloured by Sunday.  Here’s hoping that it will actually split unlike the last one, which was so indestructible, I had to take a Stanley knife to it so it would spill its contents.  Wish me luck...!

Ripple effect through hand stitch

 

Putting the hand-made beads to use at last

Even more hand-stitching, with beads from the African Fabric Shop

Not hand stitch, but you can probably see the potential for it in the drawing...