M is for.......Manipulation and Melanie
Last Saturday was another lively and interesting day at Megastitchers, with short, taster, fabric manipulation sessions in the morning and a fabulous talk from Melanie Kay in the afternoon.
Here are a couple of samples from two of the tutors showing all the techniques we covered - Suffolk puffs/yo-yos, prairie points, stuffed puffs and furrowing.
There was only 25 minutes or so for each session so it was not possible for tutor to do a long show-and-tell and for members to complete lots of their own samples, but a very good start was made by many. Thank you to the four tutors.
Members who weren't taking part in the morning manipulations made progress with their own projects, or with samples started at previous workshops (well done to the crazy patchworkers!)
After a short lunch and a quick re-arrangement of the UC furniture, we welcomed Melanie Kay, a design technology/textiles teacher and textile artist, who had come with sketch books, completed work and handling samples.
Melanie is a graduate of the University of Bolton, and in 2011 was selected to take part in the Embroiderers' Guild Showcase at the Knitting & Stitching Shows, where she was awarded the Textile Study Group Award. She also won first prize in the Bradford Design Competition and the Premier Vision award, with a trip to Paris.
Through her work, Melanie makes a thoughtful exploration of gender issues, including domestic violence and alcohol abuse. She cites Grayson Perry as an important inspiration, where a seemingly decorative piece of work, on closer inspection, has an underlying, significant social message.
Melanie told us about the various methods she had used for changing the surface of, and punching holes in, her original (and cheap) chosen 'fabric' - recycled beer cans - and how she embroidered them.
Research for her Masters subject - 'Can an artist or designer impact consumer behaviour'? - has led her to move away from metals into packaging, making large (three times the size) replicas of such things as match boxes and chocolate boxes. Here are some photos of the display tables.
Thank you, Melanie, for a lively, humorous and thought-provoking talk.
