Busy week

It has been a busy week, everything seems to have taken me out of my studio: dress shopping for my nieces wedding with three girls involved many hours sat outside a Top Shop changing room, a major mission and looking for bathroom tiles. Both have now been achieved so I can get on with some work. I shipped my picture to America last week for the Small Stories exhibition and I was very relived when I received an email to say they had arrived safely. I always feel like I have sent my children off unattended and just hope they get there alright. Finally Stitching Picture by Sandeep Jandu has now been published and I received my copy in the post this week, it lovely book and it was great to see my work published in a book.

Small Stories

I am very excited I have just found out that my work has been selected for an exhibition in the Urban Alchemist Gallery in Brooklyn, NY. The exhibition runs from the 20th of June until the 23rd of July and is curated by Joetta Maue who is a textile artist and curator. I am thrilled to have been chosen as I know she had lots of entries. I would love to go to the exhibition as America is far more supportive of textile art than we are in this country, but unfortunately money and distance are against me. I went to Collect at the Saatchi Gallery last weekend and as a textile artist I found it very disapointing, lots of beautiful craft but only one textile artist Louise Gardiner who was in the project space. However Louise Gardiners beautiful work made the visit worthwhile for me.

New textile fans

Before the Easter break I visited a class of year five children who were making textile pictures of buildings of the old part of town where they live. They had been on a visit taken some pictures and then drawn some sketches. Afterwards they went back to school to start work on their final pieces. Their teacher asked if I could go into school and talk to the children about my work as a local textile artist. I decided to visit the same part of town and do a picture of my own to show the children. It was a lovely visit, the children had loved using textiles and were really enthusiastic. It was obvious that they had all put allot of thought and time into their pictures. When it came to the end of my talk they all asked the most brilliant questions about my work and inspiration and any tips I could pass on to them. I hadn't quite finished my picture so I went back today to show them the finished piece and to look at theirs, I have taken some picture you may all like to see of their wonderful work. Best of all they all gave me a clap when they saw my finished picture ahhh!! I am easily pleased.

I think they are all great, it's really good to see young children engaging with textiles and enjoying it. Hope you know which is mine!!!