Tracy Evans Textiles: New gift ideas

Tracy Evans Textiles: New gift ideas: Over the past few weeks I've been keeping myself busy making new products from my hand woven fabrics, and a selection is now available in t...

New gift ideas

Over the past few weeks I've been keeping myself busy making new products from my hand woven fabrics, and a selection is now available in the gifts section of my website shop.  If you're looking for inspiration for Christmas why not take a peek, there's a variety of gift ideas with a good range of prices to suit every pocket.  Finally, after months of searching for the right product I've managed to make some cuff links by combining acrylic resin and my fabrics.  The cuff links have a sterling silver plated stem and feature a tiny piece of hand woven fabric suspended in the resin.  

They are both decorative and durable, which is really important as your cuffs get lots of use during the day, especially if you work at a desk.  Each pair is presented in a little gift box and make a lovely gift for men and women, especially with this season's androgynous fashion trend on the catwalks.  It's definitely all about the tailoring and these little gems can easily bring a bit of sparkle and colour to a simple white shirt.  They have the appearance of glass without the weight so you won't feel like you've been doing a work out at the gym all day!

Next are my little notebooks with hand woven covers. I've been making and selling these for a few months now and generally only put them out at shows as they go quickly. The covers are made of fine lambs wool and cotton and woven in a classic stripe combination, the colour ways change dependent on my mood so I rarely weave the same colour story twice. Being a typical Gemini, I get bored easily so like to keep it fresh. The notebooks are standard A6 books which can be bought in any good stationers, such as Staples or Smiths so, when you've finished the book you can just slip the cover off the old one and pop it onto the new one. This gift just goes on and on until you get bored with the colour, then you can always pop back to my shop and buy another!

Lastly are my hot water bottles, a classic hot water bottle sitting in a lovely hand woven cover which is lined in fleece and fastened around the neck with a little ribbon.  I must admit, I really like these and am tempted to keep one for myself but I've only made four and they were time consuming.  Not only was the fabric quite a complicated structure and, it was almost a metre wide, took me ages to thread up on the loom, it also required me to use all 16 of the shafts on my loom, something I haven't done for ages, so my right leg was definitely getting a good work out during the weaving.  Just to add insult to injury it shrunk up to almost half it's width after washing so, needless to say, I was getting a little frustrated by the end of it, but I think the effort was worth it.  They are really soft and I can image snuggling up with one on a cold winter's night and feeling very warm and toasty.

All of these products and more are available on my website while stocks last and I am continuing to offer free postage and packing on all purchases (UK only).  If you like what you see but I don't have it in your colour, I am happy to take commissions but please give me as much notice as possible if you need it by Christmas.

Tracy Evans Textiles: Beautiful Bosham

Tracy Evans Textiles: Beautiful Bosham: I've been out and about with my camera getting to grips with learning how to use it properly and am quite impressed with my shots of the wa...

Beautiful Bosham

I've been out and about with my camera getting to grips with learning how to use it properly and am quite impressed with my shots of the waters at Bosham (even if I say so myself), so I thought I'd share them.  

This little place is a bit of a gem on the south coast, not far from Chichester, it's small but perfectly formed.  It served as a welcome break from my loom, which has been misbehaving due to constant use of late.  Well that's not completely true we managed to grab a sneaky break to France last week!  I'm busy getting ready for MADE at the Brighton Corn Exchange which runs from 18th to 20th November, I'll be posting details very soon but check out the link to see who else will be there.  

Six in the City!

I've been meaning to blog this all week but wanted to wait until I'd got a few photos before so I could show you what we're up to.  Since last Monday (17th), I've been exhibiting at the Oxmarket Gallery in Chichester with 5 of my arty friends.  We've all known each other since meeting at the Festival of Art in Southsea in 2007 where we formed a small artist network and have been working together on projects ever since.  This is our third visit to Chichester as a group, the last one being in 2009, but our group has been somewhat depleted since then and we are now an all female bunch.....girl power!  I love the Oxmarket, it is such a beautiful old building and the light in the galleries is just amazing.  It boasts the John Rank gallery, a large exhibition space which is currently being occupied by the West Sussex Art Society, the small Wilson gallery where we are and also space within the lobby and foyer, also being taken by us at the moment.  My products and artwork are on display in the lobby, it's a really intimate space and I'm really pleased with how it looks.

So far I've been successful with a few scarf sales but it's really nice to have some of my artwork on display for a change, a first for me.  My little hand loom is also there to hopefully put the craft into perspective.  I only use it for demonstrations, I don't actually use it to weave scarves, it would  take forever.  I've also got a couple of lampshades hanging in the Wilson Gallery alongside Chantelle Cheshire's hand drawn cushions and a hand embroidered lampshade (a work in progress).

 

Chantelle likes to use recycled and alternatives such as bamboo and hemp to create products like lavender bags, dolls and cushions which she screen prints with her quirky designs and doodles.  She takes her inspiration from many things but especially old children's books.  

Some of Chantelle's screen printed lavender bags

Also in the Wilson gallery you will find ceramic artist Rose Bates' collection of chrystaline and raku glazed ceramics, pit fired pots and garden poppy heads and urchins.  Rose has a passion for colour and an interest in both human form and animals.

Rose's pit fired pot

Rose's  raku glazed torso

Rose's garden poppy heads

More of Rose's raku work

Samm Mackinnon specialises in marine scenes, painting with acrylic she works from photographs, sketches and her own extensive archive of images.  Samm's work is visually stimulating, evocative and colourful.

Samm's paintings

In the window of the foyer is the work of Katherine Webber, a Southsea based jeweller who uses semi-precious stones, freshwater pearls, glass, sterling silver and gold vermeil beads to create distinctive styles from  the subtle and delicate to the bold and dramatic.  

Katherine's semi-precious jewellery

Our last exhibitor is Di Wren,  working in ceramics, printmaking and mosaics Di is exhibiting artwork in foyer and three dimensional work in the Wilson gallery.  She is inspired by twentieth century artists such as Matisse and Picasso and she also has a taste for the gothic.   

Di's raku glazed fish

The exhibition continues until Saturday 29 October 2011.  Opening times are 10am - 4pm and admission is free.  Hope you get the opportunity to come and see it.  If you do make it to Chichester pop along to Pretty Scruffy on Cooper Street, a lovely little shop selling only hand crafted goods, where you will find a few more of my scarves for sale.

Tracy Evans Textiles: Look what I made!!!

Tracy Evans Textiles: Look what I made!!!: Over the last 6 weeks I've been neglecting my work in favour of a new craze.....copper foiling! My friend Mandy asked me if I fancied doin...

Look what I made!!!

Over the last 6 weeks I've been neglecting my work in favour of a new craze.....copper foiling!  My friend Mandy asked me if I fancied doing a 6 week evening class at our local gallery and, using it as an excuse to escape my loom, I eagerly accepted.  I had no idea what copper foiling was so went along thinking that it was something like using gold leaf on things......WRONG!  It's stained glass, am I the only person in the world who had never heard of it?  Well, what a joy, it felt so good to do something other than textiles, a completely different medium.  Of course the designer in me wanted to experiment with the most complicated design but I think I pulled it off in the end.  What do you think?

It's now hanging up at my sitting room window for the world to see.  Not bad for a first attempt I guess.  I'd like to be hooked on this new craft but I just don't have the time at the moment.  Here's a few images of the rest of the projects being made by the course.

This is Mandy's flower in progress.  I just love the way that the swirls in the glass are being used to show the movement of the wind.  Hopefully she'll have a chance to finish it as she wasn't a well bunny for a couple of the sessions.

Julia's Angel

Pete's Mondrian inspired clock

A variety of evening and daytime courses are available at Gallery 77 Lee on Solent.