Stitched Pictures With Janet Bolton
Janet Bolton composes textile pictures using the simplest of hand-sewing techniques. Her inspiration comes from visual experience, memory, imagination and the material itself. With every piece, Janet is led by the placement of each evocative element within a composition and the feeling this evokes is the important factor of each piece of work. She has been on the Crafts Council selected index of makers since 1985 and her work is in both public and private collections.
Janet has exhibited her work all around the world - in countries as far-flung as Japan and the USA. She is also a published author of ten books, which all feature her stitched illustration. Janet has also herself been written about in several textile books and publications. In April, she will be one of the exhibitors at Patchwork & Quiltdagen in the Netherlands.
In March, She will be giving a workshop on "stitched pictures", which aims to instruct and inspire participants to produce personal hand-sewn designs. The emphasis of this workshop is to give students a comprehensive introduction to this direct way of working with your material and your idea. Although there will not be time to completely finish a piece, all necessary aspects – including the presentation and framing of the work – will be covered.
The day starts with a short talk by Janet, who will go through the process of choosing your subject matter, composing directly with the fabric to hand and allowing the work to develop as it progresses. Questions are invited and encouraged at any time and Janet will have examples of her work with her to help illustrate the method she uses.
This will be followed by a practical demonstration of constructional methods; simple cutting of shapes, placing, and 'needle turning' techniques. All work is done with hand-sewing.