Category Archives: Drawings

Chichester Cathedral and Homeward 1994-2019

06 Thursday Feb 2020

Posted by in Commissions, Drawings, Embroiderers Guild UK, Exhibitions, Inspirations, Textile Art

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A very much overdue post by me but here it is. An article has just been published in Stitch Magazine issue 123, on my piece for the Embroiderers Guild UK touring exhibition “Home” in 2019/20. You can still catch this at the Spring Knitting and Stitching show. Sally Stirling, managing editor of Stitch says this about this edition. “Stitch 123 is out now! In recognition with International Women’s Day, this issue is packed with projects, features and inspiration – all either by or about women. Embroidery may be dominated by women, still the depth and breadth of skill and talent continues to astound, and as ever, the best is brought to you by Stitch magazine”

My piece has Chichester Cathedral as a small but vital focal point, and this reminded me of early work I did in the 90s. So for the first time I’m showing some of this work alongside a glimpse of my piece for Home.

The South Downs have long been an inspiration but I haven’t used the Cathedral in my work since way back when I was still lecturing, and had two commissions for St Richards Hospital. I’m showing one of these here, as although the image of the final piece is low res, the drawings give an idea of how I developed the piece. Luckily I do have the sketchbook I developed and these haven’t been seen before! Some of my very talented students produced pieces as well, but I havent access at present to their work. The theme was A Sense of Place and the work was made in 1994 I called this piece Cathedral Vistas

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And now for 2019 and the ideas I developed. You can see my drawings and progress, and read the article in Stitch magazine. I also have a link on my Instagram account @naylorcarol

These were my inital thoughts for the theme “Home”

Like a beacon guiding you to safety, Chichester Cathedral can be seen from which ever direction you approach the city. It is the only medieval English Cathedral that can be seen from the sea, and the only one with a separate bell tower. I have lived in the city since 1972. When you stand on the Trundle near Goodwood, on the rolling South Downs, the spire is often shrouded in mist, a view I’ve drawn many times. You can see it from the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth on a clear day, from the coast just a few miles south of the city and from the trains that run from Brighton or London.

So here it is, very different in every respect to my piece from 1994 which is still hanging in the hospital and I’ve just posted one drawing below as there are lots in the magazine!

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Drawing with the Isle of Wight in the background.

and hope you enjoyed the two pieces and their very different feel. It does show how my work has changed!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drawing, Threads and Stitching

22 Wednesday May 2019

Posted by in Drawings, Embroiderers Guild UK, Exhibitions, Inspirations, Textile Art

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A long overdue post by me, so I thought I’d look at drawings and embroideries  where I sometimes simply take a small aspect of something I’ve seen to translate. I always say that once I start a piece, the threads and machine seem to take over! I close the sketchbook up and then see what happens. Still working on skies, here are a couple of quick on the spot drawings and the work that came from them, with a selection of my threads as well.

Very quick drawing, skies change so quickly
Purple and Amber sky

The very quick drawing on the left helped me start the embroidery, 5in /13cm square. I started with the idea of form and colours, began to stitch and put the sketchbook away.

 

Sicily Remembered 1Drawing Sicily001

I was able to record these mountains in Palermo,and then had to try and remember the skies I had seen. The richness of the sun was my main interest, and the way the colours of the sky changed from pinks to pale yellow and blues. I love all my threads! I always make a limited selection to begin with, then add or subtract others as the stitching develops. I use heavyweight metallic threads, weights 8, 12 and 15, as well as metallic no 40, plus lots of rayon threads, mainly weight 30. Madeira classic no 12 is a huge favourite of mine,  but Wonderfil also make some glorious threads and I love their rayons, weights 8 and 12. I use cotton embroidery threads of course, and woollen/acrylic mixes as well.

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—and then sometimes I draw simply to record where I am. My sketchbooks are my diaries. I used to make architectural pieces, so maybe I’ll go back to looking at buildings, but I suspect  they would be much more abstract!

Cepeda drawing 2018

My next post will record the development of a piece I am to make for the next touring exhibition of the embroiderers guild called “Home”,  so look out for it although I have only just started it!

 

 

 

 

Knitting and Stitching Shows 2018

30 Sunday Sep 2018

Posted by in Drawings, Exhibitions, galleries, Knitting and Stitching Shows 2018, Processes, Textile Art

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Its too long since my last blog entry, but a very busy summer has been compounded by preparations for my one woman show at the Knitting and Stitching shows this autumn.

“A Stitched Timeline” showcases my work from the 70s to the present day, and is the first time I’ve shown this work together. It’s been a fascinating journey, searching out old, forgotten pieces in the attic, and contacting people who I know bought pieces from exhibitions, especially in the 80s and 90s. There is a really lovely catalogue to accompany the exhibition, which goes to all 3 K&S shows at Alexandra Palace, London, Dublin and Harrogate. It’s also going to the Sunbury Gallery in 2019.

From the 70s, never been seen before, hand embroidery onto hessian. The threads are as vibrant now as they were then!

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the 80s and 90s, some drawings from my sketch books follow, which will also be on display

the 2000s, hangings based on maps- this was from my local landscape near Arundel in West Sussex UK and only exhibited on two former occasions, its quite large, about 120cm x 50 cm per panel, and includes some felted areas.1 Arunscape, diptych 2004

….and finally work from the last ten years includes land, sea and skyscapes from the UK, Spain, Italy and France. You’ll have to visit to see most of them, but a few follow. So for UK friends I do hope to see you if you come to the shows, and for those further afield, I hope you enjoy seeing these.Its a slide show (clever !)

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Your comments are always appreciated. Carol

 

From Sunrise to Sunset

19 Monday Mar 2018

Posted by in Drawings, Embroiderers Guild UK, Exhibitions, galleries, Inspirations, Processes, stitched textiles, Textile Art, UK textile artists

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I am indebted to a good friend for this title which she suggested when we were talking about forthcoming exhibitions this week, so thank you to Myfanwy Hart, as it has inspired a new blog post! I have been very involved in the natural world for some years, and increasingly found myself emphasising colours and forms in the skies. Some of these are very detailed, others show simplified shapes of colour and stitch. I’ve put more information with the images that follow.

Firstly, if you don’t know Myfanwys blog site then take a look at https://crochetalongwithme.blog/author/nuvofelt/ with loads of lovely colour!

So here are some images where sunrise and early morning skies played a part in the work. The first image is very recent and uses memories of the South Downs where I live in the UK. It’s followed by two other locally based pieces. Finally I don’t write a lot as I hope the images speak for themselves but your thoughts are always welcome!

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Daybreak 2018

On the left, Silver Lining, a windy morning, and on the right a bright sunny winter morning at Petworth, which I’ve shown before here. The blue-grey palette of Silver Lining contrasts strongly with the rich morning late mid-winter sky on the right. They are followed by “A Quiet Summers Evening” where memories of travelling through France and the UK combined to produce a palette of golds and blues, as I tried to echo the sky colours in the fields below.

 

A Quiet summers evening

Sunset from Lanzarote, with the night sky gathering and darkening from behind the distinctive mountains there, and a softer Sussex sunset of gentle pinks

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Fading summer light detail

And finally a piece from 2017 where the sunset has faded away giving way to the night. You can see more of these on my earlier post called Skyscapes.

C Naylor, Skyscape Nightfall

 

Skies 2018

11 Thursday Jan 2018

Posted by in Drawings, Exhibitions, galleries, Inspirations, Processes, stitched textiles, Textile Art

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I’ve started this year by continuing last year’s theme of skyscapes. My obsession and passion for colour is especially indulged by autumn and winter skies, the latter somehow always the richest and most varied due to the sun’s  low position. I’ve also shown a few of the skies that I found inspiring, always fleeting, impossible to “draw” unless you are a Turner or Constable! I record these rapidly changing vistas by putting down words, quick sketches and by memory, and then the threads and stitches take over. They are all 5 in (13 cm) square and double mounted to 12 ins (30cm) square. I am always interested in what visitors to my blog think, so do comment if you would like to.

 

On the left, the stitched piece, and the quick drawing on the right, Costa Teguise sunset. I start with a drawing then put it away, never trying to copy. Below two night skies from the UK, “As Night Falls” on the left, and “Wintry Sky” on the right, this week’s work.

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The magic of sea, sunrise and sunset. I havent really looked at using the sea very often although it does feature in some of my work, maybe I’ll do more—

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And finally, these four all found new homes after my last exhibitions in 2017.

Exhibitions, looking back at 2017

26 Thursday Oct 2017

Posted by in Drawings, Exhibitions, galleries, Inspirations, Processes, stitched textiles, Textile Art, UK textile artists

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Preparing for, and selecting pieces for exhibitions is a time consuming task, and although I’ve done this many times it doesn’t necessarily get any easier! In 2017 I made work for, or sent work, to venues that were very different. Walford Mill in Wimborne Minster, Dorset, is a fabulous venue that always has an amazingly eclectic selection of artworks from small and delightful, to the thought provoking and dramatic. I was asked to send 3 pieces to Textile Textures from April to June, and was lucky enough to have this piece, “Poppies Beneath The Downs” featured on all the publicity. It didn’t come home!

Carol Naylor, Poppies beneath the Downs UK copy

I also made work for an exhibition with a local group of contemporary artists called ARTel, on the theme of Transience. I worked on the idea of sky, and the fleeting moments of colour that we see at different times of thEPSON MFP imagee year. I exhibited a series of six pieces, only 5 inches square, but mounted an framed to 12 inch squares, intimate, densely stitched, with rich overlapping lines of embroidery. Showing with artists who worked in paint, print, clay and photography was a very worthwhile and challenging experience.

Carol Naylor, Skyscape-sunset

Recently I held a joint exhibition with my painter husband Albert at the local  Oxmarket arts centre, Paintings, drawings and textiles that combined to give what we hoped was a rich and diverse experience. Some images follow.

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Art and Textiles from Spain to Scotland

10 Sunday Sep 2017

Posted by in Drawings, Embroiderers Guild UK, Inspirations, Spain, stitched textiles, Textile Art

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As always a busy summer schedule included work and play! Our usual month away in Spanish hideaways, wonderful landscapes for inspiration, staying with friends who are like family, was swiftly followed by a flight to Glasgow to teach for the Scottish Region of the Embroiderers Guild on the stunning campus at Stirling University. You can see some of my drawings here, plus examples from the summer school, an amazingly responsive group of students who played and worked hard in equal measure! The first images are from Spain, followed by a selection of work from Stirling summer school.

Sunflowers near Sepulveda, sketch book drawing. I hope to use this and the second drawing as starting points for embroideries this autumn.

 

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This is the wonderful Posada de San Millan in Sepulveda where we stay with our delightful friend Pilar.

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Lavender and sunflowers growing in fields side by side on the tiny road between Santo Domingo de Silos, and Lerma inspired this memory drawing as there was nowhere to stop the car safely!

Lavender an Sunflower001Carol Naylor drawing

 

And now for Scotland. The wonderful campus at Stirling University

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Here are some if the wonderful pieces made by my students. The theme was The Land we Know so nearly all had images from the wonderful landscapes of Scotland. Many of them had only done basic machine embroidery before. It shows what you can achieve in under 4 days. Maybe the late evening wine helped! There were 15 students so I can’t really show all the work here, but I felt so proud of their achievements.

,20170827_172106 By Ruth Blakey, taught by Carol Naylor

20170827_171035by Isobel Shaw, taught by Carol Naylor

20170827_171838by Maureen Griffiths, taught by Carol Naylor

20170827_195234 (1)by Susan Gray, taught by Carol Naylor

I think these give an idea of what is possible if you are brave enough to fly on your sewing machine!

Skyscapes, preparing new ideas

22 Monday May 2017

Posted by in Drawings, Exhibitions, galleries, Inspirations, Processes, stitched textiles, Textile Art

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Working towards a new exhibition is always challenging. I recently joined a group of  contemporary artists called Artel, all of us based in, or near the city of Chichester in the UK. The theme is Transience. This started a train of thought that began with my passion for the natural world. One of the most transient aspects for me is the sky. Skies change as you look at them, colours and cloud formations drift, move, merge, disappear. The light changes constantly, and the winds create rhythmic patterns that dance and swirl, offering endless possibilities that are perfect for abstracting and experimenting.

Capturing moments in time like this with a sewing machine is not easy. Over a period of months I made notes or quick sketches that were no more than a series of hasty lines. I took photos to help me remember colours, although these were soon ignored as ideas began to form. I NEVER work directly from a photo but use them as aides-memoire. Here are some pieces. They are small compared to my usual works, between 4-6 inches square, (10-16 cms) but who knows, maybe they will lead onto larger pieces later this year.

The first image is from a sunset, and the second a late afternoon sky

Carol Naylor, Skyscape-sunset

Little Skyscape Carol Naylor

This is a drawing/collage from my sketchbook. It has helped me make decisions, although it’s not been used as a direct starting point as I had intended to make a much larger piece, but a broken wrist got in the way!

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and finally an explosion of gold and blues influenced by the collage above- I think I like it best so far! Your comments would be interesting and helpful.

Carol Naylor, skyscape, early evening

Spanish and Italian Reds

02 Sunday Apr 2017

Posted by in Commissions, Drawings, galleries, Inspirations, Italy, Spain, stitched textiles, Textile Art

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I’m not talking wine here for those who know me well (!) but this is a follow up to my last post, where I looked at using the colour red in my work. Below you will see a number of contrasting pieces where different red tones and threads have been used either as one of the main colours or as highlights within the compositions. I always use first hand experience, even if its just a fleeting glimpse of something that can inspire a series of works. The first embroidery is called “Sol y Sombra” which translates as sun and shade. The image comes from the landscape of central Spain near Santo Domingo de Silos. The light  was pouring through the valley, with golden wheatfields, terracotta earth, and blue shadows reflecting the mountains, catching my eye. After drawing on  site, when back home, I stripped out the vegetation so that I could concentrate on the land’s surface, and the act of stitching took over.

I am always interested in hearing what readers think so your comments are welcomed.

Sol y Sombra cropped

This next piece is called “Winter’s Song”, memories of cool light and chillier weather and the changes wrought by these conditions on the landscape.

C Naylor Winters Song

I showed this next piece in my post entitled ” From Drawings to a Stitched Landscape” where you can see how I developed the piece, but its so very red it needs to be seen again here! The cascading fields were seen against a backdrop of wheatfields and distant blue hills, Spain at its hottest and best, rich with colour and the sounds of insects.

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From the fiery reds of Spain now to the rolling Tuscan hills peppered with poppies. I use a crimson rather than a scarlet thread in this series as I feel it echoes the landscape more softly. I called this “Tuscan Serenade”. I never tire of playing with ideas that take me back in my mind to Italy, with its cypresses, hills and late springtime poppies that permeate the fields.

Tuscan Serenade

Finally the following embroidery was a small commission for a French family who requested a red landscape. I took the reds from Spain and mountain ranges from France, and really enjoyed the challenge of adding richer scarlet colours combied with metallic copper and gold threads. Its about 20cm square.

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The Colour Red-poppies and memories 1

06 Monday Mar 2017

Posted by in Drawings, Exhibitions, galleries, Inspirations, Processes, Textile Art

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I find red one of the most difficult colours to work with, and tend to add it into a piece of work to provide richness, splashes of colours, and to represent flowers such as poppies without trying to “copy” a flower. In this post you will see some of the landscape that has inspired me, and I explain some more stitch techniques. Sizes given are always for the actual embroidery and dont include mounts, or framing.

This poppy field in France was the start of what became a gentle obsession, looking for glimpses of scarlet amongst the corn, grasses and wheat in France, England and Italy. This post looks at French and English imagery

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I made a series of works where I used photos to jog my memory, and then drew directly onto my base canvas having put the photos away. The following piece is one that I felt worked well. I used cable stitch from the reverse side for much of the work (explained in my last post, From Drawings to a Stitched Landscape) and then put a heavy red woollen Burmilana/lana no 12 in the bobbin, loosened the bobbin case screw horribly(!) tightened my top thread, a normal no 30, and stitching on  the correct side of the canvas the top thread whipped the red thread through. If you try this be prepared to scream and shout a lot as threads do sometimes break! Its called “Glimpses of Scarlet and Gold” 21 x 28cm approx and was based on fields on France.

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In the first smaller piece the red contrasts with the softer colours of cornfields as this is from my local landscape, The South Downs 14cm x 18cm approx embroidery size. The second one is smaller still, 10cm x 13cm, and is called “Poppies Ablaze”. Here I went back to cable stitch couching the heavy red from the back, then turning to the front and wandering across the red freely with greens and golds to get a feel of intensity broken by line

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In my next post I’ll look at reds used in other landscapes from Italy and Spain and a private commission where “red” was requested!