Develop - A Masterclass with Glenys Mann

 The Masterclass with Glenys was short but very focussed on developing an idea and exploring/interpreting that idea in a variety of ways. I have been a bit slow to report on this and had thoughts of having finished all the projects that were started, but this is not the case. I will continue to work on these ideas which is really what the class was about.

You can read about Glenys here and the focus of the workshop here. The timing of this class with the canvaswork class at the same time was not ideal, however, it probably led to a cross over of ideas.

The beginnings of a stitched postcard. The first exercise was to create a series of postcards. The crossover with my canvas work is evident as I continued to focus on the body.

This is the first postcard. An image from a magazine. I really liked the hands. If I had black paint with me I would have blacked out more of the background, however, as I only had a black text a pen I had to make do.

Hand sketch, the plan was to stitch into the paper.  Stitching holes made with an awl to allow the thread to pull through easily.

Another activity was to take one of the postcards and create a much larger piece. This is approximately fifty cm x fifty cm. I am continuing to explore working in a limited colour palette. This piece is made with a piece of vintage voile over old damask and cream felt for the hands.

Then we were to make a scroll. This concertina book is how I interpreted the scroll. I deliberately kept it small, it fits into a matchbox.

A version of 'a Little Golden Book'. The outside is painted gold and has muslin glued over the paint.

On the inside. Various parts of the body, starting from the head and working down.

Hands and arms feature.

We made some books using Glenys' favourite method.

An old calendar and an assortment of papers

We explored the idea of a palimpsest. I created a box to hold my postcards. Layers of paint and images, peeled back and scratched into.

Another of the activities was Mend. This is made from small pieces of an old damask tablecloth, very worn and in need of mending. I used it as an opportunity to explore a variety of mends and assembled it to represent a fragment of an old much worn and mended garment.

And throughout the class there were discussions, readings and plenty of sharing of work and ideas.