My latest piece – a mini artwork called The Blues – has been chosen by curator Amy Oliver for ‘The Time of Her Life III’ dollhouse exhibition at The House of Smalls.
The Time of Her Life III. An exhibition of artworks conveying women’s thoughts, feelings and emotions as they navigate and negotiate the restless waters of peri/menopause and beyond.
Amy Oliver, Curator at The House of Smalls
‘The Time of her Life III’ – House of Smalls Dollhouse Exhibition
The exhibition takes place at The House of Smalls, Cambrook Court, High Street, Chipping Campden, Glos GL55 6AT from 27 May – 24 June 2023.
The Blues
The artwork
The changes in our hormones during perimenopause and menopause affect both our minds and our bodies. Some of the symptoms affecting our minds are known as the ‘Menopause Blues’.
“The spiralling effects of anxiety and depression, insomnia and brain fog changed my world. There were times I felt I was existing rather than living.” Anon.
Size 11.5 x 11.5 cm. Hand embroidered textile art. Perlé cotton thread, cotton cloth.
This is the second time I’ve taken part in The House of Smalls dollhouse exhibitions. I’m thoroughly enjoying the challenge of making small artworks and look forward to taking part in future exhibitions.
Update
Here are a selection of images courtesy of Amy at The House of Smalls.
My latest hand embroidered artwork has been stitched in memory of the ‘Accrington Pals’, one of the Pals Battalions that took part in the first day of the Battle of the Somme on 1st July 1916.
After the outbreak of the Great War in 1914 Lord Kitchener sanctioned the raising of Pals battalions. One such battalion was recruited around Accrington, Lancashire where neighbours, family, friends, and workmates enlisted to fight alongside one another. Within 10 days 36 officers and 1,076 men had enlisted – the smallest town in Britain to raise a complete battalion. Their formal name was the 11th (Service) Battalion (Accrington) East Lancashire Regiment, but they became known to everyone as the ‘Accrington Pals’.
A Lancashire Rose takes centre stage in the hand embroidered piece
On the 30th June 1916 the ‘Accrington Pals’ took their positions ready for the ‘Big Push’; then at 7:20am on the 1st July 1916 the first day of the Battle of the Somme began.
In the trenches along the 18 mile front-line, whistles sounded out and 100,000 men climbed the parapets and began to walk across No Man’s Land.
Amongst them were 720 men from the ‘Accrington Pals’ who advanced towards the French village of Serre only to be met by a hail of machine gun fire from the German trenches. In less than 20 minutes 235 Pals were dead and 350 were missing or wounded. When the roll was called by RSM Stanworth that evening, less than one hundred men answered their names.
The outer border contains 720 hand embroidered French knots
“I remember when the news came through to Accrington that the Pals had been wiped out. I don’t think there was a street in Accrington and district that didn’t have their blinds drawn, and the bell at Christ Church tolled all the day. ” Percy Holmes.
This was quite a difficult and emotional subject to research and I hope the piece reflects just a small part of what happened in France on 1st July 1916.
Size 30 x 30 cm. Featuring some of my hand embroidered text, a hand embroidered Lancashire Rose and 720 red French knots. Vintage thread, DMC embroidery thread and cotton cloth.
Accrington Pals
On the first day of the Somme the British Army suffered almost 60,000 casualties.
This piece has been accepted into the One Red Thread ‘Kindred Spirits’ exhibition touring Australia in 2023/24, curated by Elizabeth Dubbelde of Textile Fest, NSW, Australia.
Accrington Pals – part of the One Red Thread ‘Kindred Spirits’ exhibition, Australia
Update:
Accrington Pals is on the first stop of its tour of Australia, at the Sydney Olympic Park.
I’m pleased to announce that I’ve been awarded 3rd place in the One Red Thread Textile Prize in Australia.
Update:
Accrington Pals is on the next stop of its tour of Australia, at the Melbourne Exhibition & Convention Centre.
My latest piece Empty Nest is a change from my usual style. The idea started with a search through my vintage collection for suitable materials. Vintage bandages have a wonderful weave and were perfect for this project.
Gathering materials
Vintage ‘white open wove’ bandage was layered, distressed and hand darned. Next came the scary bit – cutting into the stitches with some very sharp scissors.
ork in Progress
The incision is repaired with a Cushing Suture stitched in vintage Sylko thread.
Empty Nest – completed
Size is 5 x 5 cm, hand stitched and hand darned. Features vintage ‘white open wove’ bandage, Madeira thread and vintage Sylko thread. Hand embroidered and hand darned.
The artwork: “It seems like only yesterday I held my newborn baby in my arms.” The rhythms of life and the status that motherhood brings come to a sudden end once the child leaves home and for some women ‘Empty Nest Syndrome’ occurs during menopause. Many women, including working mothers, go through emotions such as grief, anxiety and loss, feel redundant and challenge their sense of purpose and self-worth – feelings that can last up to 2 years as mothers adjust from the role of ‘mum’ and rediscover their own identity. Empty Nest Syndrome can affect both parents.
UPDATE:
The piece has been accepted into the House of Smalls ‘Scar‘ dollhouse exhibition.
