Category Archives: UK textile artists

New works exhibited in 2021

29 Wednesday Sep 2021

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

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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

Fragments, lockdown 3 in the UK

10 Wednesday Mar 2021

Posted by in Commissions, Drawings, galleries, Inspirations, Spain, stitched textiles, Textile Art, UK textile artists

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My first post for some months, but I’ve been looking at all my sketchbooks recently and my mark making seems to have been intrinsically linked to my embroidery, not necessarily with the intent to stitch, but to record information. They are my diaries and often bring back happy memories of places visited, some returned to many times, others one off holidays or work trips as I am lucky enough to have taught in many places. This year for all of us has been one where we have stayed at home or only visited local areas. I prefer to draw on site where ever I am and then often develop and invent from there. Sometimes I don’t like the end results so I cut up pieces then in my sketch book I extend the piece. I enjoy doing this and people who follow my instagram amd facebook will have seen some of these! I have many more. Your comments would be welcomed!

Fragment drawing from central Spain

Poppies on the South Downs near my home in West Sussex UK, followed by another fragment drawing from a piece based on central Spain

This one uses drawings I cut up and then extended with further drawing in my sketchbook

EPSON scanner image

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!

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.

 

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

 

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.

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

Sew ‘Scapes

13 Friday Nov 2015

Posted by in Be Creative with Workbox, Be Inspired by Workbox, Drawings, Inspirations, magazine articles, stitched textiles, Textile Art, UK textile artists

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Delighted to see my article called Sew’Scapes so beautifully produced in the Annual Be Inspired by Workbox magazine vol 4 now published. This magazine has really developed into a super read, with beautiful images well printed and displayed in all the articles. Having an 8 page spread is a real treat– Other artists who are featured include Michelle Cook, another UK textile artist who looks at the land in a very different way to me. Bethany Walker mixes cement with stitch, wonderfully different, and  other artists working in the Netherlands, Australia and Kenya have stunning work to look at as well. It’s good to see conceptual pieces alongside delicate botanical images and I feel honoured to be in such good company.

Here are a couple of the pages from my article. Even if you’ve seen the textiles before, I hope those who read the magazine will find that the text gave an insight into my working methods. I also rather like the way the pages have curled into folds when photographed Maybe I should try and develop this in my future embroideries–

Workbox article 3

Workbox article 2

You can find out more about the magazine on facebook, twitter and pinterest

ArtExpo2015 Milano, Italy

08 Monday Jun 2015

Posted by in Exhibitions, galleries, Inspirations, stitched textiles, UK textile artists

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My next venture is participating in an international exhibition in Milan that is running alongside the Universal Expo 2015 taking place there this summer. The exhibition is being presented byArtMeet Gallery whho are based in the city and have been running exhibitions, community projects and other ventures. THe show will take place in the Spazzio Progetto, East End Studios and runs from July 3rd- September 30th. http://www.artexpo2015.com. The piece I’m sending is a favourite of mine from my Irish series, called The Mountains of Mourne, so although I’ve shown it in an earlier post, here it is again. As there are only two UK artists showing from those invited. I’m pleased to see textiles taking its place amongst the paintings and sculptures!

C Naylor, Mountains of Mourne

and here’s a stitch detail which shows the way I used metallic gold threads to try and capture the essence of the light catching the land. I’ve used a range of threads, mainly from the Madeira range. 30weight golds are overstitched onto classic rayon no 12 and Burmilana wool/acrylic mix. I’ve also used Natesh Empress rayon and all these were put in the bobbin and done from the reverse before I added the fine lines from the front

Detail MM

My next post will concentrate on  Art in Action in July, an event not to be missed!

Exhibition Preparation, Chichester Art trail 2015

21 Tuesday Apr 2015

Posted by in Drawings, Exhibitions, Inspirations, stitched textiles, UK textile artists

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This post features not just my textiles, but life drawing and painting by my husband Albert, so do take a look! With several exhibitions coming up, I’ve been making new pieces to tie in with my current themes of light and shadow, especially looking at the different seasons. The first show is Chichester Art Trail in May, which I’ll be doing here in my home with Albert, who is showcasing a series of new life drawings alongside some of his paintings. The mix of paintings, drawings and textiles makes it more interesting for visitors who can see how differently we both interpret the same subjects. The textile and painting here are both inspired by the same area of Spain.

The trail is on the following days, May 2/3/4 and 9/10. All details from http://www.chichesterarttrail.org

and here are a few images to whet your appetite!

The tools of the trade-my sewing machine, threads and sketchbook

Carol Naylor, close up of textile

Gold and Silver Light-memories of Spanish evenings in Castille

Golden Light small file

Life drawing by Albert Naylor

Life Study in conte001

One of Albert’s abstract Spanish landscapes from Castille

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Chichester Art Trail 2014, textiles, paintings and more

01 Thursday May 2014

Posted by in Exhibitions, Inspirations, Textile Art, UK textile artists

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Once again we are opening our doors to the general public as part of Chichester Art Trail, five days in May, May 3rd, 4th, 5th, 10th and 11th. There’s always much to do, but we are now almost ready. Any UK based followers who are not too far from us would be most welcome! I shall have my usual range of textiles, from hangings to small and larger framed or mounted works. Some of these have already been aired on this blog, but the following photos will give an idea of both the work and our home. Husband Albert has some lovely paintings, large and small, life drawings and prints and you’ll see some on the photos too. Open houses rae great experiences. You meet the general public who actually choose to visit you as well as family and friends who are loyal supporters. I hope you enjoy the snapshots that follow.

Trail 1Trail 2Trail 3Trail 4

Textile Artist.org

06 Thursday Mar 2014

Posted by in Inspirations, stitched textiles, Textile Art, UK textile artists

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Textile artists, ideas and processes and where to resource these are important for us all. If you don’t know the website http://www.textileartist.org then do have a look. This excellent site has regular articles by practising textile artists, as well as articles offering advice about all sorts of textile matters. I’ve written three articles now for them and have been delighted by the response from visitors to the site from all over the globe.

I’ve spent the last few weeks making a series of small works that I’ll be showing at exhibitions in the coming months, a couple follow for you as does a full image of a larger piece, Downs in Winter. I did put a detail of these on an earlier post but now I have a good image of the whole piece which also shows the framing process, attached to canvas in a box frame, unglazed.

Downs in Winter

and here are the two small images from my new series, the first is called “Silver Lining” and the second is “Spring Light” part of my Spring sequence, maybe if I stitch it Spring will get here!

Silver lining 1

Spring Light001

Art in Action 2014 July 17th to 20th

12 Wednesday Feb 2014

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

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I am delighted to say that I have been invited to demonstrate in the textiles marquee at Art in Action, Waterperry, Oxfordshire this year. For those who don’t know about it, its simply the best Art Show of its kind in the UK. There are artists demonstrating in numerous disciplines, painting, printing, jewellery and so much more, as well as live music, peformances, workshops for children and adults, food, gardens-it has everything! I’ll be posting more nearer the time but I wanted to flag it up now. I last demonstrated there in 2003 so I feel my work has moved on quite a lot. You can also look at the official Art in Action website which will have more info in some weeks time. Artists aren’t all listed as yet.

In the meantime I’ve been tidying my computer room as I’m getting an upgrade tomorrow and I suspect I’ll be tearing my hair out with the jump from XP to Windows 8! I’ve also been working on the smaller pieces like the one I posted last week and another follows. “May Afternoon” For those followers who are not UK based, we are suffering horrendous weather, with parts of the country literally drowning, and although where we live its currently luckily just nastily wet and windy, it does rather preclude going out to look at the land! So, the following textile looks back at a May afternoon when a trip to the downs was viable!

May Afternoon for blog