Thursday 25 February 2010

Textile Art in Salisbury Starbucks

Textile Art in Starbucks, Salisbury

This textile art commission was done for Starbucks Coffee Shop in Salisbury, Wiltshire. So if you are in the area and fancy a coffee you can have a look at the art work too. The work is on permanent show in their upstairs room.
The commission was through a design company called One Red Wall for Starbucks "Local Relevance Project". A scheme to put original art by local artists into their coffee shops to reflect the character of the area.
Salisbury's wealth was originally created by the wool trade so textile art seemed appropriate. The design company wanted the art to reflect the landscape surrounding Salisbury. I use textiles to create Wiltshire Landscapes so I was chosen for the commission.

The four pieces are made from hand dyed fabric and fleece which has been pieced and layered together. Hand stitching was used to assemble the work and the detail drawn into the surface with embroidery stitches.


Design Wall - work in progress
Work in progress on the studio pinboard.

The textile work was going to be on permanent display in a public area so needed to be well protected under glass in box frames. The wall was going to be painted a dark wine red so my usual simple lime waxed frames would work well. The wall was 12 feet long so I decided to do four individual pieces to reflect different aspects of the landscape around Salisbury. I chose Stonehenge, the chalk downland, the chalk hill figures and the archaeology.
I worked on the four pieces together to make sure they complimented each other even though they were quite different.
So from left to right on the pinboard is 'Hill Figure', 'Stormhenge', 'Chalkhill Blue', and 'Circles in the Plain'.

Design Wall - work in progress

An earlier photograph of the pinboard with the first paper sketches under the textiles. 'Chalkhill Blue' is in the very early stages of assembly. It changed considerably! 'Stormhenge' is progressing well, and 'Hill Figure' before I cut out the horse.

Design Wall - work in progress

'Circles in the Plain'. This piece represents Salisbury Plain from the air. The manipulated hand dyed fabric is pleated to echo the land forms of strip lynchets and sheep tracks. The various circle patterns represent the many archaeological forms of henges and burial mounds, many of which are circular.

Design Wall - work in progress

A close-up of the main circular focal point. The white embroidered stitches are sheep!

Circles in the Plain, detail

Close-up of more circles, sheep and lay lines.

Circles in the Plain, detail

A close-up of the bottom of the textile representing the river valleys around Salisbury where five rivers meet and meander across the water meadows.

Circles in the Plain, detail

A close-up of the folds in the land.

Circles in the Plain, detail

Lots of sheep wandering across the Plain.

Circles in the Plain

The finished 'Circles in the Plain" ready for framing.

Design Wall - work in progress

This is "Chalkhill Blue". Very different from the first assembled idea and more abstract than my first sketch. Chalkhill Blue is a rare butterfly that is found on the wild flowers that grow on the chalk downland.

Chalkhill Blues, detail

Close-up of 'Chalkhill Blue' with butterflies, field patterns, and seed stitches for flowers.

Chalkhill Blues, detail

Close-up of 'Chalkhill Blue'.

Stormhenge

'Stormhenge', Stonehenge seen with a stormy sky and passing rain. Salisbury Plain is a wonderful place for weather watching.

Stormhenge, detail

Close-up of 'Stormhenge'. Shafts of light through stormy clouds, the stone circle and a flock of birds.

Hill Figure - Alton Barnes

'Hill Figure'. This is inspired by the Alton Barnes White Horse, a favourite place of mine. The design is based on drawings from old aerial photographs.

Hill Figure - Alton Barnes, detail

Close-up of 'Hill Figure". The horse was cut out of the green fabric field, just as the real one was cut from the hillside grass to reveal the chalk beneath. This horse is white felt though, not chalk!

Hill Figure - Alton Barnes, detail

Close-up of 'Hill Figure', field patterns, plough lines, footpaths and crop circles.

Finished at last!

And finally the finished, framed textiles are installed in Starbucks.

Friday 4 December 2009

'Silbury Hill' textile art


Silbury Hill, originally uploaded by Margaret M Roberts.

A new textile art piece finished this week and delivered to Bluestone Gallery. Probably the last textile piece I'll do for a while since I'm enjoying exploring methods of painting and mixed media.

Studio - Silbury Hill almost finished
In the studio... the Silbury Hill textile on the pinboard for final finishing off.

Studio - Framing
Just finished staining the frame to match the blue of the Hill.

Studio - Silbury Hill textile finished
Framed and ready for the gallery.

Friday 4 September 2009

A sale on RedBubble


A big thank you to the unknown person who bought a framed print of Woodborough Hill from my RedBubble gallery. Making my work more available through print-on-demand websites such as RedBubble and ImageKind is exciting. Note to self: put more work up for sale as prints and greetings cards!

Saturday 1 March 2008

Three Small Paintings


Small painting: Treeline



Small painting: Misty Morning



Small painting: Through Trees