Mixing it up

Hot on the heels of Lin Kerr's workshops, this week we had the pleasure of a two-day workshop with Arleen Wild. For those of you who aren't familiar with her work, Arleen is a mixed media artist, and her work is an energetic mix of painting, free motion stitch and fabric.  She produces stunning landscapes, seascapes and flowers some of which are huge! You can see more of her work on her website.

Arleen is a very generous tutor, with a wealth of knowledge and tips about the media and processes she uses. We started by priming the canvas and while it was drying Arleen helped everyone select a suitable image or elements from several images as a jumping off point. The idea was to produce a unique piece of artwork, and not a slavish copy of the photograph.  Next we added a subtle wash of paint to form the background. Hers is a very loose style and I think one of the things that most people took away was the message that less is most definitely more! The tiniest amount of paint, or fabric and thread used in a painterly way, can really lift a piece. The day was all about layering materials to achieve the desired effect and give the work energy and focus. A dab of paint here, a couched thread there, then perhaps a tiny piece of fabric, caught down on one edge only, all the time paying attention to composition, and definitely no straight lines!

Don't you agree that all the work looks amazing? Some aren't quite finished yet but all are well on the way.

and there was cake . . .

You will have spotted that there are scones and home-made jam with clotted cream in the picture. Well we couldn't let all these lovely people work so hard without some kind of reward, so over the two days there were raspberry muffins, banana and pecan loaf and chocolate oat biscuits and the aforementioned scones. Recipes will follow!

If you have been inspired by the work shown, and fancy a creative day out with friends (and cake!) why not check out our Textile Adventures workshops.  There are three left this year and we will soon be adding next year's programme.

That's all for now - thanks for reading! ​

Hazel & Terry