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Carol Naylor

~ Contemporary textiles, making, exploring and communicating ideas

Carol Naylor

Category Archives: Processes

New works exhibited in 2021

29 Wednesday Sep 2021

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

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

drawing, embroidery, exhibitions, landscape, south downs, textiles, thread

Having a theme to work to is always a challenge I enjoy. With an exhibition called Alchemy postponed from last year, I was able to make more embroideries on the ideas I started in 2020. I found old threads and embedded fragments of gold leather and fibres, often catching them down over a layer of machine embroidery, to add to the depth. The first 3 pieces shown were made for “Alchemy” with local contemporary art group Artel, and the second exhibition called Excellence was with the Society of Designer Craftsmen. I’ve chosen to show two of 6 works exhibited there. All these works took on their own characteristics and are now for sale, so do please message me if interested.

All are mounted on canvas boxes in whitewood frames to 43cm square. Both exhibitions were at the Oxmarket Gallery in Chichester, UK

1 ) All that Glitters – ideas adapted from the landscape of the South Downs “Alchemy“

2) and 3) on the left Nightfall and on the right The Promise of Spring, inspired by observing the sky and landscape at different times of the day

The Second exhibition Excellence with the Society of Designer Craftsmen , 2 of 6 pieces shown again using the landscape of the Downs

Twilight

Silver Light

Knitting and Stitching Shows 2018

30 Sunday Sep 2018

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

≈ 17 Comments

Tags

Art, embroidery, landscape, Spain, stitch, thread

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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!

2018-08-22 16.54.45

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

garmisch-86-001
landscape-abstract-001
journey-1-mixed-media002

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 !)

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Your comments are always appreciated. Carol

 

From Sunrise to Sunset

19 Monday Mar 2018

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

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

abstraction, Art, blue, clouds, colour, drawing, embroidery, France, golden threads, landscape, skies, south downs, stitch, sunrise, sunsets

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!

Daybreak001

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.

 

Naylor,C Silver Lining 4_edited-1
Petworth Lake, Autumn_edited-1

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

EPSON scanner image

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 carolnaylortextiles in Drawings, Exhibitions, galleries, Inspirations, Processes, stitched textiles, Textile Art

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Art, colour, Constable, Costa Teguise, embroidery, landscape, skyscapes, Spain, stitch, sunsets, thread, Turner

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.

 

Sky over Teguise
Drawing cropped sunset

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.

As Evening Falls
Night Sky cropped

collage 4

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—

Little Skyscape Carol Naylor
Sky at Dawn, Carol Naylor
EPSON MFP image
EPSON MFP image
Skyscape, early evening sold

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

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

abstraction, Art, clouds, drawing, embroidery, landscape, Oxmarket Arts Centre, painting, sunsets, thread, transience, Walford Mill

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.

2017-09-25 14.42.312017-09-25 14.42.572017-09-25 14.42.24

Skyscapes, preparing new ideas

22 Monday May 2017

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

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

abstraction, Art, Artel, Chichester, clouds, colour, rain, skies, stitch, sunsets, threads, water

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!

Transiense drawing001 copy

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

The Colour Red-poppies and memories 1

06 Monday Mar 2017

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

≈ Leave a comment

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Art, embroidery, France, poppies, red, south downs, stitch, thread

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

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

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.

glimpses-of-scarlet-for-website

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

downland-poppies-cropped

poppies-ablaze-cropped

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!

 

From drawings to a stitched landscape

16 Thursday Feb 2017

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

≈ 11 Comments

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Art, Castilla y Leon, Covarrubias, embroidery, galleries, landscape, Madeira Threads, Natesh threads, Spain, stitch, textile, Wonderfil threads

I have recorded here some of the stages of my most recent embroidery, completed this week, and would welcome your comments. The drawing was done in central Spain near Covarrubias last summer. I have shown some of the stitching as it develops, explaining the processes that resulted in this final piece, a Spanish landscape that contrasts strongly with my gentler South Downs pieces.

Here is the drawing, A4, pencil, pastels, watercolour pencils, and pen.

looking-towards-clunia-drawing

The planning stage with mainly Madeira threads, Natesh and Wonderfil added later

dsc00714

I draw a few main lines directly onto the painters canvas, stitch them in and then turn to the back as most of the work is done with cable stitch. This technique means putting threads that are too heavy to go through the eye of the needle on the bobbin. I stitch on the reverse side of the canvas, couching down the heavy threads to give long, uninterrupted lines of threads- the next image shows me workimg from the back. The top thread colour is important as it affects the bobbin thread adding new  colours to the piece eg the bright red is couching down a heavy metallic copper underneath.

dsc00719

I have to keep turning to the front, shown next, to make sure I’m happy with what I’m doing, but as the bobbin runs out every 3 minutes I get plenty of opportunity to correct any errors and add any fine details. You can see below that the fabric starts to move and undulate. I “go with the flow” in the hope I can control the final results!

dsc00718

-and here it is, 24cm x 35cm approx. The drawing is  only ever a guide, as once I start stitching, the thought processes and techniques take over. I never try to copy my sketches, but aim to translate and interpret. Hope you found this useful and interesting!

–looking-towards-clunia-final

 

Sketchbooks, the 90s

15 Sunday Jan 2017

Posted by carolnaylortextiles in Drawings, galleries, Inspirations, Processes, Spain, Textile Art

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Art, drawing, embroidery, France, landscape, Landscape Architecture, painting, Spain, stained glass, stitch, textile, threads, windows

My first entry for 2017 and it’s a look at my sketchbooks in the 90s. All the drawings here are from 1991-92 and there’s quite a change of direction. I started looking at architecture and architectural features, so here are drawings from France and Spain. I also show two embroideries that evolved from the drawings.

Carol Naylor Beach Umbrellas 1993

Beach Umbrellas, Costa Brava.( machine embroidery onto muslin) The embroidery came after making about six drawings. The first, which is the delicate pencil drawing below, was made in situ on the beach. Then I made several others, extracting shapes and lines until I felt I was ready to stitch. The final piece in no way copies my drawings but I hope shows the developing ideas

beach-umbrella-sketch001

beach Umbrella sketch 3

I visited France on a field trip with students, Chartres and the Matisse chapel at Vence were just two venues. Here are some designs I did after looking at Matisse’s amazing windows.( the on site sketches are difficult to show here) I eventually did a series of embroideries based on stained glass but with my own take! So you see. I didnt always makw landscapes! Art evolves all the time– The embroidery below was onto calico that I painted and then stitched.

matisse-chapel001

 

matisse-chapel002

window-5

 

 

Sketchbooks revisited, the 80s part 2

28 Monday Nov 2016

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

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

abstraction, Art, drawing, France, galleries, gardens, landscape, Landscape Architecture, painting, stitch

Some more drawings from my 1980s sketchbooks to look at, from a garden in France to a student field trip to Munich via Garmisch Partenkirchen. I  did not always draw with end products in mind, but to record where I was, what I was thinking and so on. Many pages are too messy or sketchy to put here, but I’ve found a few that show my journey They are shown in chronological order . Next post-the 90s! The first drawing was made in a garden in Cesson, France 1982. One of my followers might recognise the venue!

All drawings approx 20cm x 18cm French garden 1982 Detail followed by full page .

french-garden-1982001_edited-2

french-garden-1982001

The alps at Garmisch in 1986 and yes it was cold drawing outside so it was done very quickly!

garmisch-86-001

Fruit bowl 1985, pencil and coloured pencils, drawing what’s in front of whilst the TV was on

fruit-bowl-001

This is a pastel drawing from 1989. I was looking at landscapes and playing with potential ideas for embroidery. I did work  up a series, but only have a couple on old fashioned slides!

landscape-abstract-001

In 1989 we seemed to keep coming across standing stones, dolmens, rocky formations on our travels, so lots of drawings did lead to a series of works in handmade pulp with additional stitch and fibres. Here’s a drawing and one of the final pieces which I made for an exhibition in 1990. The drawing uses pastel and a tippex pen

dolmen-1982001

carol-naylor-1988-dolmen

see you in the 90s next time!

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