My Journey - A presentation by Clarissa Bousfield July Meeting 2022

 Clarissa had been invited to speak to us by popular demand after her work had been seen at the Silverdale Art Trail and we were very pleased when she said yes.

Clarissa  arrived with all sorts of wrapped,  tantalising, packages in boxes and there was a lot of excitement in the room as to when members would see what was inside!

She set up her exhibition of  sketchbooks, early 3D models,  fashion story boards and framed pieces of the most exquisite embroidery mainly of frogs and butterflies.

She spoke about her early years and how as a child she had always enjoyed making things, learning many of her skills from her mother.

She had then gone on to study A level Art and continued her studies at Herriot Watt University studying Fashion and Textiles.

She said that most of her work was 3D as she loved the form of butterflies and frogs.

Many of the butterflies and frogs were on the red list and therefore there was something special about seeing a 3D embroidery of an animal which we will probably never see in the wild and might not exist in a few years time!

The presentation was illustrated with pictures of her work via her computer and as each piece was show there were gasps of Wow! and Ooh! at the complexities and the sheer artistic skill involved in making animals so life-like. The number of processes involved in each piece was awe inspiring and Clarissa is now learning to make lace to add to her numerous skills.

After the talk Clarissa answered questions and the members were able to wander around looking more closely at her work asking more questions as they went.

The presentation was enjoyed greatly and set a level of embroidery we could only hope to aspire to. Fingers were itching to return home and do some more embroidery.

Thank you Clarissa for a very interesting and informative presentation and inspiring us all to aim higher in our own work. We wish you every success in the future with your artistic skills as they develop even further.

Free Machine Embroidery - Mary Seaman and Sandra Kendall July Meeting 2022

 We had a talk booked for the afternoon session so members were able to do their own work in the morning  or there was a chance to join one of two machine embroidery groups. Mary led the group  of Beginners and Sandra led the Improvers.

Mary showed the beginners group how to lower the feed dogs and set the stitch length and width. When they were ready for thread she showed them how to catch the bobbin thread and bring it to the top and hold the threads taut while stitching began.

They practised control by making patterns, leaves and other shapes.

The intermediate stitchers practised stitching up and down and side to side. Then circles and filling in a shape followed by vermicelli stitch.

They then practised edging two small pieces of applique, an oval shape to be made into a bird by adding legs, tail, beak, crest and wings and a flower that needed leaves and a stem, followed by a stamped gingko leaf which needed outlining and veins.

The free machinists were going home to practise some more because it is one of those skills that needs constant practice. It often needs a practise piece before starting  a new embroidery as the stitching is affected by thread, fabric and surface fibres.

We hope to continue with a chance for more practise sessions in the Autumn.

A thank you to Mary and Sandra for leading the sessions.