H. ART HEREFORDSHIRE ART FESTIVAL 2023

 

We are holding our first Open Studio Event at Hillside Cottage 

as part of 

H. ART HEREFORDSHIRE ART FESTIVAL 2023

The event runs from Saturday 2nd September to Sunday 10th September.

We will be open every day from 11am to 5pm 

Sue Wright | Herefordshire Art Week (h-art.org.uk) 

We are looking forward to showcasing our work, our new "Creative Cabin"  will be full of items to purchase, the studio will be open for demos and the garden an ideal place to relax and be inspired.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Ancient and Modern

Blue Woven Cloth

I have been busy weaving some cloth on my Saori Loom, enjoying the process, using my blues, purples and grey hued yarn to blend together in the warp and weft to make a soft subtle colourway. Adding handspun and hand dyed slubs as I weave to create texture and interest making my cloth unique.

My weaving has a modern twist, but the method of weaving cloth is an ancient craft.

My loom is a modern style, designed by  Misao Jo, but there are hundreds of different ways to weave and many different looms that have been made.

http://www.saorinomori.com/eng/index.html  

On a recent visit to Cardiff we spent an enjoyable morning looking around St Fagans Museum of Rural Life. It is a work in progress and well worth a visit, unfortunately the weaving mill wasn't open for our visit which was disappointing, but here is a loom set up in a Round House setting.

https://museum.wales/stfagans/

We were pleased to find while staying in the area the (forest and rivers) far Open Studios was on. So of course we had a little tour of galleries and studios, chatting to the artists and makers and being inspired by the work produced, particularly enjoyed spending some time with two lovely weavers.

Here are the links to their websites. Really beautiful work and it is so wonderful to see the energy, skill and enthusiasm of these talented young women. 

https://www.rhianwymandesign.co.uk/

  

https://www.gabydevitt.co.uk/

 Weaving from the Ancient to the Modern is an absorbing craft, the more I learn the more I want to learn, to improve and develop my skills. Hand weaving to make slow cloth - many hours, carefully made by hand and with thought and love.   

With the weather being so glorious Skipper and I just had to get on the River Wye again.
We hired a canoe for the day, took a picnic and made our way gently down the river around 14 miles of meandering bends and sparkling shallow shingle banks, watching the fish jump, herons sleep, swans and geese glide and seeing the hundreds of damselflies in countless colours dance above the water's surface.

New Display Equipment

I'm really pleased to have been able to find these new display stands in time for my next craft show this month.
I'm looking forward to being able to display my knitting and weaving in a more creative way and these simple items in wood and calico will allow me to show off the colours and texture of work more easily.
I'm particularly pleased with my new mannequin as I will be able to display clothing and accessories such as scarves in a natural wearable style.

The Exhibition Gallery at Quarr Abbey is a lovely venue with it's plain white walls, tiled floor and beautiful old wooden tables to display work on. I don't know how I'm going to plan my area in the room as yet, in the summer I was there for my Open Studio event and I took my spinning wheel with me to demonstrate "spinning a yarn".
This time we are back for our Christmas Crafts At Quarr Abbey.
I'm looking forward to setting up a festive theme, do pop along to see us if you are on the island, there will be plenty of choice and ideas for Christmas presents on offer from hand knitting,weaving and felting to pottery,painting and photography.

For more details of how to find us please click on link in the right hand column.

Christmas Crafts At Quarr

November 24th-29th

open 10.30am-4.30pm

Spinning At Quarr, A Busy Open Studio 2011

It was a lovely week at Quarr Abbey for Open Studios. We were very busy with just over 1000 visitors attending. I took my spinning wheel along to demonstrate spinning. It was great to share my craft with so many interested people, the children were particularly fascinated by the process.

Most of my handspun yarns was snapped up and sold, I think it certainly helps to explain and show people how the yarn is produced as they then have a better understanding of the skill and time needed to produce a handspun yarn and because it is spun with local fleece from Island sheep, it is lovely to hear people are so pleased to get their hands on some special stash for a project they have in mind.

My handwoven work was also very popular and I gained a commission which I look forward to working on in the next few months.

All in all it was a brilliant week to show, sell and share my love of knitting, weaving and spinning and I look forward to returning to Quarr Abbey in November (I'll blog further details about that soon).

Open Studio Update

We thoroughly enjoyed our Open Studio.

We were really busy with just under 600 people attending our event in Freshwater. It was great to meet with so many lovely folk.

It was a brilliant event to showcase our work as Osmosis and it was very pleasing to hear some people had come especially to buy a mug and warmer set! Needless to say my sister and I have a busy time ahead to restock.

Gaining new contacts and customers was wonderful and as usual my sister and I had a good time together and were very quickly thinking up new designs and ideas for the future.

Our Next Venue

We will be at the Isle of Wight Garlic Festival 14th 15th August 2010.

hope to see you there!

http://www.garlic-festival.co.uk/

The Isle of Wight Artists' Open Studio 2010

Our Open Studio event is happening right now. (16th-19th July 2010).

We are halfway through our four day event at Freshwater Parish Hall, where we are having an amazing busy and enjoyable time.

Please see link at the bottom of the page for more details and how to find us.
You will find us listed as Osmosis.
Textiles and Pottery designed and handmade by Osmosis

My sister and I have been working closely to design and make unique homeware gifts and accessories.




The beginnings;
Osmosis just happened, a natural process.

We started doing craft fairs together as it was more economical as well as a lot more fun to share a pitch!
Displaying our work for sale in sets or groups showed the use and beauty of the natural elements of clay and wool.
Soon we were making items for "gift sets" to include both our crafts such as the hand-thrown mugs with their little knitted warmers.

We will be adding more creations as soon as we can, so do check out our Folksy shop from time to time when you are looking for a special gift or treat, just click on the Mugs and Warmers photo. You can also link to our individual shops at Folksy on the profile page.