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Oil quilt squares

Each square is a little more than 20 x 20cm and there are more than 70 to make up four quilt panels. Quite a few have been made two or more times and as they are mono-printed and/or stamped as well as inkjet printed, sometimes drawn on, each one is a unique piece. They are also quilted and stitched, sometimes embroidered and that is also unique to each one. I’m not making a second quilt (yet) just want some squares for display and sale.

These are low-res scans, hopefully the originals look better. All work in progress, more printing and stitching isn’t ruled out. And borders have to be added.

I’ve used a free font (non-commercial) all through this work, called Action of the Time New™ by Galdino Otten, although in most places it won’t be recognisable as I have distorted the text, over-drawn, over-stitched and over-printed almost everywhere. It’s a great font family.

Tags art, bombs, Bristol, craft, dye, embellish, embroider, guns, inkjet, machine stitch, nodding donkey, Oil, print, quilt, stamp, stencil, stitch

art

OIL quilt, work in progress

Post author By Chris Miller
Post date September 12, 2023
No Comments on OIL quilt, work in progress

This fabric work which I last posted about in June is based on the OIL poem I wrote in 2010 at the height of the USA ‘surge’ in Iraq, the poem in artist’s book form is here.

Although the bulk of the work is done there is still plenty to do and my progress through the summer has been slow – I have to wait for ideas and they don’t seem to come as often as they once did.

OIL quilt panel, one of four, work in progress

The imagery is ‘busy’ with lots going on, but I feel it could be busier still, and darker, more painterly. I’m still thinking about the border(s), those will take almost as much time as the panels and like all framing they will have a big impact on the final piece.

Linda and Laura Kemshall are well known artist quilters of the highest standard, their book, The Painted Quilt (2007) is one I refer to frequently, especially for printing advice and although my style and content is far from theirs I aspire to the standards they achieve.

I’ve also found their sketchbook ideas inspirational and highly practical, design is at the heart of what they do. My own sketches, scans, screen grabs, pics and notes tend to build into massive files on my Mac and eventually deleted but some get saved on paper or cloth.

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Hare

Summer 2022 I stayed on a willow farm in Somerset and bought withies and other fibres with a view to doing some sculpture. My previous experience with this material is that the whole project can quickly grow beyond first ideas and this happened again. I expected a smaller and much simpler mask but when the basic structure was made it seemed to demand more intricacy and detail.

I worked on it off – one of several projects – and on through last Autumn and into Spring this year and this is the result. The hare is supposed to be outside in my little garden but I haven’t got round to that, it needs a little shelter from the elements. Part of my reason for making this was to amuse my grandchildren and encourage them in artistic endeavours.

Hare, 2023, Withies, grasses and other natural fibres and found objects, 220cm x 90cm Chris Miller

Tags art, bamboo, banana, children, copper, craft, glass beads, hare, hemp, jute, mask, sculpture, silk, string, willow, withies, wool

art

Fukushima

Fukushima is in the news again, as it will be periodically for the rest of your life and beyond. This time it’s for starting to dump toxic water into the Pacific, with partial blessing of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) who are trying to hedge their bets, or just lying through their teeth. And a Netflix drama series about the 2011 events.

Anyway I thought I might re-post the piece I made for my Masters degree.

Welcome to Fukushima – kimono front, fabric, printed and embellished, 2m x 2m, 2018.

Welcome to Fukushima – kimono rear, printed and embellished fabric, 2m x 2m, 2018

I have managed to lose most of the files, sketches, notes, images &c. I collected for the project and for the rest of the MA, probably when I moved home, twice.

My overall feeling about this piece is that I would like it to be darker and with bigger and bolder images, but at the time of making I was thinking of the confusion surrounding the 2011 events, and a recent visit to the COBRA museum, Amsterdam https://cobra-museum.nl/ where the anti-art movement of Copenhagen, Brussels and Amsterdam (post World War Two) is displayed.

Tags 2011, Boro, Bower Ashton, craft, drawing, embellishing, embroidery, fabric, fabric printing, Fukushima, Japan, kimono, MA, print, printmaking, radioactive, sewing, tourism, Toxic dumping

quilt

Quilting

I have been working on a new quilt for the last few weeks, until the weather became too good to stay home.

This is a (low-res) pic of my sewing bench, work in progress. The quilt will consist of 72 printed, stitched and embellished fabric squares which are then quilted, stitched together and printed/overstitched again, until done. Most of the squares were inkjet printed, some printed with stamps cut from rubber or lino, some were also stencilled or hand drawn and painted. There are also other forms of printing such as collagraph.

Tags craft, design, sewing, stitch

art

Linocut

I decided to get to grips with multi-colour lino printing, starting with reduction print, It happened that the Folk House in Bristol was offering a weekend course in January in just this so I signed up.

The Folk House is a long standing entertainment and adult education venue and seems to be flourishing. It’s right in the centre of Bristol just off Park Street, has a great cafe and excellent live music as well as several classrooms and dedicated art and craft rooms.

The course was full with just six of us, Kerry Day, the tutor guided us gently through the basics of linocut and we used real lino rather than vinyl. After a fine lunch in the cafe we soon got to the printing stage – four colours and we had to decide as a group due to space/time pressures.

I managed to finish one linocut on the first day and a test piece. The sencond day I made a second lino and again made five, four colour prints.

My prints are nothing special but I really enjoyed myself and was reminded that practice and participation are the way to go. An excellent weekend.

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Cardiff Dockside Crane

Although most of the Cardiff industrial scene has long since been swept away one splendid relic survives in place beside the former Bute East Dock. Having had some success with my version of a still extant Bristol Dock Crane I decided to attempt the Cardiff version. It’s taken longer than I expected, being a little more complex but it’s now ready for production and hopefully some sales.

Approximately 30cm tall, adjustable jib, working winch, rotary cabin with opening door and the whole thing rolls on boogie wheels. Easily assembled from 43 press-out pieces of superior 3mm laser-cut birch ply, a sustainable material.

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Festival Season

After such a long break – I did manage one festival last year, lovely Lindisfarne – it is great to be planning a whole season of fun. Also been several months since I put anything on this blog for the few followers who see it.

I’ve stuck to several small festivals and three of these are short journeys from Bristol, trying to keep the milage as low as I can.

The highlight of my Summer will be Green Gathering which is at Chepstow overlooking the River Severn on a beautiful, spacious estate; lots of music and some politics, lovely people. Not far north of that is El Dorado near Ledbury, another four days of jollity.

Towards the end of the season Lindisfarne – small but perfectly formed – where viking gear is optional but frequently added. This is a longer trip for me but will be part of an extended Autumn jaunt, hopefully.

art

Bristol Dockside Crane

The Bristol landscape has many interesting sights and the Harbourside district has become a major tourist attraction, as well as an area of apartment housing boasting many thousands of flats and houses.

My approach to making toys and models is minimalist and eco-friendly, and my Bristol Dockside Crane reflects this. Like all my models/toys – currently 21 – it is made with sustainable materials, mainly 3mm birch plywood, laser cut, and made in the UK.