Wednesday 18 May 2011

Progress made.

Well into the third week of the residency and the time is flying by so fast.  I feel like I am now beginning to fully develop my ideas and samples for the site specific pieces for Farfield Mill and, following visits to both businesses that I will be working with in Sedbergh, I now have lots of ideas for developing the work for their premises.

Foundry lettering on a
silver grey pillar.
My work for the mill is focusing on the silver grey pillars, I have been looking at the foundry lettering that is cast as part of the pillars and am incorporating lettering into my samples in the form of Italian corded quilting.  I have also been fascinated by the songs that were sung by the spinners, weavers and knitters and want to incorporate something of the songs into my work just as the sound of the workers singing is an unseen, unheard memory contained in the building.  The text of the corded quilting will, therefore, be the titles of the songs and some of the body of the song will be incorporated elsewhere on the piece as text.
Corded quilting on the felted woven wool









A lunchtime visit to Howgills Bakery and Cafe, and not only a delicious sandwich and latte, but also a chance to take some photos of the textiles that they use for their work, their hands using the textiles and the marks of use that have been left on the textiles.  Lots of food for body and mind!


I discovered some interesting textiles at the greengrocers too...
... more of my ideas of how I will develop this work in my next post.

Stella 

3 comments:

  1. Love the corded quilting. I wonder when the pillars were cast. "Built next to the Kendal and Lancaster Canal, H H Day's foundary was established at Canal Head in 1893".

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  2. How fascinating - I hope Stella is following this nugget of historical info up.

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  3. I certainly will - thanks for the interesting information Pazzer 1

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