Two Blue Days planned for Eau Brink Studio

 

I love teaching at Eau Brink Studio with it's large and light workroom, set in a peaceful rural location. 

Having two days gives us the chance to explore and enjoy learning new techniques and completing a piece of textile art.

Eau Brink is also a place where I have tried out new workshops with feedback sought from the participating students. This year is no exception with a brand new two-day workshop planned. 

Two Blue Days. 8th and 9th August 2025

For the past couple of years I have been exploring the properties of cotton organdie fabric with various surface design techniques - dyeing, printing, painting, rusting, eco printing etc - and then stitching with the created fabric to make up into light semi-transparent hangings.

Indigo dyeing works really well on cotton organdie and this is the technique we will use on the two day workshop in August

Day One - we will set up an indigo vat and use shibori resist techniques to pattern many pieces of cloth. 

We will also set up a wax pot and use stencils and other mark making tools for resist patterning before dyeing. At the end of the day everyone will have a pile of lovely blue fabrics (and probably blue nails too!)
 

Day Two - we clear away all the wet messy stuff and get out our sewing machines. Using the contemporary machine piecing Pojagi technique we will stitch our patterned indigo dyed cloth into a double-sided, semi transparent wallhanging.

I will take along lots of other colours of cotton organdie which could be incorporated into the finished work.

To book onto the workshop please contact Anita at Eau Brink Studio

www.eaubrinkstudio or telephone 01553 611009

Eau Brink Studio, Pullover Road, Tilney All Saints, Kings Lynn PE34 4SG

Materials provided for £15

More monoprint magic

 

The 'Magic Monoprint' workshop at the Cosy Cabin on 21st June 2025 yielded some great results.

Using gathered foliage to print onto cotton organdie and build up layers of transparent colour with acrylic paints and inks

These lovely pieces were printed by Jane using a variety of different leaves

Bridget worked colourways of blue, green and dark red

Sarah had some metallic acrylic paint which gave a slightly different effect

All of these will be made up into semi-transparent hangings using the machine pojagi piecing method

There is another 'Monoprint Magic' workshop running at The Cosy Cabin, Risby Barns, Bury St Edmunds IP286QU on Sat 19th July 2025. 

Call 01284 811222 to book

Proud mentor moment

 

I offer a mentoring service to textile artists.

Sometimes this follows on from completing the Advanced Stitched Textiles course when students wish to have some continued guidance to establish their textile art practice.

We have an initial 2 hour session to establish what is required and to set some short term, medium term and long term goals. 

This is followed up by as many sessions are required to check progress, amend goals, and offer constructive feedback on work in progress. 

Sometimes only one session is needed. 

Meetings can be face-to-face or via zoom. 

I mentored Nicola Whayman in 2024. 

One of her goals were to change her practice to work only with sustainable materials. 

Nicola now uses natural dyeing to create all the fabrics she uses in her work.

In addition she uses gathered natural materials to weave, make cordage, and print. 

The result is a wonderfully muted and soft colour palette which reflects the natural world but full of texture and depth. 

One of the other goals we agreed upon was to create a series of work for exhibition.

With the power of a deadline in mind I proposed that Nicola book a venue! She chose The CraftHouse in Woodbridge for June 2025.

Eighteen months later the exhibition is here and looking brilliant.

Nicola has worked incredibly hard and has produced several series of work including her reflective 'Stitch Journals' and the 'Calm' work.

I am incredibly proud of what she has acheived. Nicola has now 'found her thing' and is making work with meaning and emotion which connects with the viewer.

The exhibition runs until Tuesday 24th June 2025 at The Craft House, The Thoroughfare, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 1AA

You can also see her work as part of the exhibiting group Out of the Fold in Bury St Edmunds in September 2025

Nicola is on instagram as @quiltingthreads and can be contacted by email on quiltingthreads@outlook.com

If you feel that may benefit from a mentoring session - maybe you just need some new impetus or a change of direction - then please contact me on maryelmcintosh@gmail.co. Cost is £75 for a two session. 

Group mentoring is also available. 

 

Reflections - work in progress

For the Out of the Fold 'Reflections' exhibition planned for September 2025 all twelve members are making a small 10 inch piece of work which we plan to display together at the exhibition but also make up the images into a calendar.

My chosen inspiration for 'Reflections' is the Tennyson poem "The Lady of Shalott" and it's most famous line "The mirror crack'd from side to side"

The phrase was used by Agatha Christie for one of her crime novels and in the name of background research I have been reading it for further inspiration. Published in 1962 (before I was born) it has had many editions and different covers fro which I can also take inspiration. Just have to be really careful with copyright!

We have aken on the ambitious challenge to make a large piece each measuring 16" x 60" on the theme of 'Relections' 

Watch this space to see how this progresses.......

 

 

Monoprint Magic result

 

Gwen Cogman attended the Monoprint Magic workshop held at Mellymade Designs studio and used a variety of grasses, ferns and leaves to monorprint her fabric before joining them using the machine Pojagi piecing method. 

Gwen sent me these images of her completed piece. Lovely colours and with the light shining through really shows of the plant shapes.

Handing in the doorway at The Cosy Cabin in Risby Barns. The seams become an impotant design feature of this Pojagi technique with colour mixing where the seams join.

The choice of hanging location can really change the look of the hanging.

The same work hanging against a white wall is much more subtle.

Well done Gwen, a lovely example of the Monoprint Magic technique.

If you would like to book this workshop for your group please email: maryelmcintosh@gmail.com

White cotton organdie for monoprinting, and coloured organdie for piecing can be supplied for £15

New website for Out of the Fold

 

Out of the Fold has a brand new website outofthefold.com/designed by member Jenny Lam and a fresh new logo designed by Penny Evans

Every member has a profile page and you can find mine herehttps://outofthefold.com/

All twelve members have a profile page

Plus information about our forthcoming exhibitions and a news section which will replace our old blog

Out of the Fold are working on a new series of work' Reflections' which will be exhibited at The Guildhall in Bury St Edmunds in September 2025

Out of the Fold will b taking our 'Reflections' to the ArtConTex event in Colchester in October 2025

Out of the blue - there came blue

 

When teaching the 'Life's a bleach!' workshop and using black cotton fabric I have come to expect the cloth to discharge to a lovely range of grey and copper colours. 

HOWEVER. Not all black fabrics are the same, even if purchased from the same retailer who has used the same supplier. 

Teaching this technique to a lovely group in Lincolnshire recently we did not get copper, we got.........

Blue! 

Happily it was quite a nice steely blue and combines well with silver and grey. 

I will progress this piece into work for exhibition

Jane Starling, one of the students on the day, has used her practice piece to make up into lovely container

Thanks for sending the photos Jane. Cannot wait to see what you do with your large piece of discharged fabric. 

If you would like to book the 'Life's a bleach!' one or two day workshop for your group then please email maryelmcintosh@gmail.com

£225 per day for groups up to a maximum of 12

I just can't confirm what colours may emerge