Exquisite Evolon...

..is finally here! Evolon is a non woven polyester/nylon cloth, a microfibre, which is a bit like working with suede or velvet. Like Lutradur, it does not fray, and tolerates heat well, so takes transfer dyes beautifully. However, as there is a nylon element, it is also possible to acid dye, making it really easy to colour. I couldn't resist writing a book about it, as I'm a texture fan, and the texture of this cloth is just gorgeous.

The book has ten chapters, which split into three sections. The first talks about dyeing using both transfer and acid dyes, whilst the second discusses inkjet printing and distressing using heat (burning), two of the special effects you can achieve with this flexible cloth. The remaining chapters are projects, which are discussed step by step with process photographs. The projects include knitting with Evolon, making a rust dyed wall hanging, and a fab jacket, as well as some easy embellishments. The projects are followed by a gallery of images of different kinds of work made by using Evolon, from a number of different artists, with a variety of different skill levels, most of whom had never worked with Evolon before. Tracy Borders describes her experience of making work for the book here; other artists include Sally Bramald, the UK queen of feather quilting, who made a fantastic whole cloth quilt for the book....and who is still talking to me, despite me asking her to work with polyester!

The introduction reads;
' I hope you will find lots of different ideas about how to use Evolon both in textile art and in making things for your home. It is such a versatile material. The projects in this book are intended to inspire you to try out some of the techniques I use in making my own art. You can work through them, one by one, or select those which appeal to you most, or match your skills. Use them as a springboard for your own creativity; why not try designing your own art doll, just as I have done in Chapter 5.'


You can buy Exquisite Evolon here... if you are in the UK, use the top button. If you are in Europe, use the middle button, and if you are in the USA or Canada, use the bottom button. If you are elsewhere in the world, please contact me for a mailing price before you buy. Wholesale terms are available; please contact me via email for more information.

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In The UK? Click below to purchase; the price is £14 plus £3 postage and packing.

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In Europe? Click below to purchase; the price is the cost is 17 Euros with 6 Euros postage and packaging.

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In the USA or Canada? Click below to purchase; the cost is $23 plus $7 postage and packing

Wonderful Workshops...

or at least, I hope they are! This is the most recent list of my workshops, if anyone would like more details, please email me. Whilst I'm based in Norfolk, I'm happy to travel anywhere, in the UK and beyond, and have taught in French as well as English. In theory, I could do so in Russian too, if anyone's interested out there!

Marion Barnett : Workshops, 2010-11

Mixed Media

Collage Basics 1 day
Experiment with collage techniques using paper, cloth, paint and found objects to create an
exciting small piece of work. Suitable for anyone who enjoys working with colour and
texture; previous experience of either collage or painting not required.

Altered Books 1 day
Create a piece of original art from a child’s board book. This class takes you through all
the stages of preparing your book, creating backgrounds and then filling your book with
whatever you wish!

Artists Trading Cards ½ day
ATCs are small pieces of original art, which can be made from any medium, but which always
measure 2 ½” by 3 ½”. Have fun making a selection of these cards, using stamps, paints,
collage, anything you like!

Waxing Lyrical 1 day
Learn how to use wax as a resist, to create patterns on paper and fabric. Then use it as a
way of adding interest to your collage or mixed media work.

Mixed Media Play Day (1 day)
Come and experiment with a wide range of materials and media; no holds barred! I will
demonstrate the uses of the materials available, and then you can try them out.
NB this workshop can also be run on a half day basis, focussing on one particular medium.

Textile

Getting It Finished : Altered Quilts (1 day)
We all have quilts that we have started and abandoned when we can’t ‘get it right’, but
which we don’t throw away for any number of reasons. This workshop looks at how best to
work with those UFOs; how to diagnose the problems and fix them, turning a problem child
into a star! Each participant will bring a piece that they would like to finish, and
together, we will identify the issues and come up with a strategy to deal with them, as
well as looking at how we can avoid such issues in the future.

Lovely Lutradur : Adding Colour Play Day(1 day)
This workshop introduces working with lutradur, and will allow you to try working with all
four available weights of lutradur. We will experiment with transfer (disperse) dyes,
paints, inks and chalks, separately and in combination, and create a useful set of samples
contained within a hand sewn journal.

Lovely Lutradur : Working With Transparency
Lutradur’s special feature is transparency. In this workshop, you will learn how to use it
to best effect in combination with patterns and prints. Each participant will print a
textile base cloth, and then design and make a coloured lutradur piece to cover it, making
a unified image from the two layers, a quilt top ready for stitch. The two lutradur
workshops may be combined over one weekend.

Workshop: Working Intuitively (1 day)
This workshop lets you consider the process of making work. Often, we do the same thing,
over and over again. We start with an idea, make the cloth, or purchase it, assemble the
quilt top and then quilt it. This workshop encourages you to abandon that way of working,
to mix up the order in which you do things and to combine techniques at different stages in
the work.

Workshop: Learning To Dye (1 day)
This is an introduction to dyeing with Procion MX dyes. Participants will learn about the
dyes themselves, mix and apply them. We will also try out making some basic patterns,
using folded and tied resists. We will also try out overdyeing cloth that we don’t like.

Workshop: Learning to Dye Paint and Print (1 day)
This leads on from the Learning To Dye workshop. We will use thickened dyes to make dye
paintings, as well as making mono and block prints.
The dyeing workshops may be combined to make a two day workshop.

Textiles Play Day (1 day)
Come and experiment with a wide range of materials and media; no holds barred! I will
demonstrate the uses of the materials available, and then you can try them out.
NB this workshop can also be run on a half day basis, focussing on one particular medium.

Creativity
Inspiration Journal (1 day)
I’m often asked where I get my ideas from, or what I do when I’m stuck. This particular
workshop shares a number of techniques for generating ideas for work. Participants will
select a theme and create a folded book with lots of different ideas on that theme, making
it the starting point for new work, whether textile, mixed media or paper. This is a
particularly helpful workshop for anyone who wants to begin to work in series. On the
second day, each participant will develop one of the ideas into a cohesive piece of work.

Finding Your Creative Focus (1 day).
An opportunity to review your current practice with other artists and an experienced
facilitator/creativity coach, and consider how to move forward. This is particularly
useful for people who feel ‘blocked’ or ‘stuck’ in their artwork. Or it would be suitable
for people who want to return to making art after a break of some kind.

ps the image is an Artist's Trading Card; the background is made using shaving foam printing with Brusho, and the tree is stamped on using thickened Brusho.

Lovely Lutradur...

and yes, we really mean it! We brought it out originally on CD; now we have a softback 'real' book as well. We wrote this because we both love lutradur, and wanted to show how flexible and easy to use it is. We also wanted to show you how two artists can approach the same material in a completely different way, and get great effects. The book offers step by step information about colouring and using lutradur, as well as lots of projects which aim to inspire you to use this lovely cloth in a variety of different ways, and to experiment with it. I'm still finding lots of different ways to use Lutradur...who knows, maybe we need to write a follow up...

In the meantime, here's part of the introduction, explaining why we respectively love using Lutradur;

' Every textile artist has a dream material. When we compared notes, we found that we both wanted something similar, despite our differences in our approach to art. Dijanne's work is based on nature; Marion, on the other hand, works mainly in abstract. Dijanne is based in Australia, but was born in the Netherlands, Marion in England, but was born in Scotland. Our work does have some things in common, however; both of us use strong colours and are fascinated by texture and layer'.

So what was it that we had in common when it came to cloth? This dream material should be as easy to work with as cotton, as transparent as silk organza, and have a sheen like silk. Oh, and it shouldn't fray, and should tolerate high temperatures. After a bit of searching, we have finally found our dream material; its name is Lutradur.

So, why Lutradur? Well, for Marion, it is the see through nature of the cloth. The fibres are floated across each other in the manufacturing process, producing a material which is similar in texture to fibreglass, but without hte problems of shedding, etc, that fibreglass has. Even the heaviest weight of Lutradur has this see through nature, and it produces wonderful layered effects in work, that could previously only be obtained by working with silk sheers, which are expensive and difficult to work with.

For Dijanne, the lure of Lutradur is the ability to colour with brilliant, light fast colour, and to control the application of colour. Transparency and layering are also important factors, as is the material's ability to 'breathe' like natural materials. It has a seductive sheen and the texture when worked upon visually appears like felt, thereby adding richness. The material is remarkably sturdy and stable for sewing as Dijanne sews her work intensively bith by machine and hand. The material's tolerance for high temperatures makes it ideal for such things as foiling and controlled melting. However, it is the intensity of colour and the play of colour achieved with layering that appeals to Dijanne's sense of colourand contrast.

For both of us, though, it adds a dimension to our work that we truly enjoy. We hope you will, too. And we hope this book will inspire you to work with this wonderful material!'



In The UK? Click below to purchase; the price is £14 plus £3 postage and packing. SCROLL DOWN IF YOU ARE IN EUROPE OR THE US FOR YOUR DEDICATED BUTTON. Please contact me for a postage price if you are outwith these areas...thanks!

In Europe? Click below to purchase; the cost is 16 Euros with 6 Euros postage and packaging.




In the US? Click below to purchase; the cost is $23 plus $7 postage and packing

Finding Your Creative Focus.

Why did I write this book? Well... people kept asking me questions, like, where do you get your ideas from? Or they said things like, I wish I was as productive as you. Or, I wish I had more time. So I decided to look at the reasons we give for not following our creative stars, and the result was 'Finding Your Creative Focus'. And of course, it gave me the chance to use both my 'hats' at once; as well as being an artist, I worked for many years in HR, specialising in self development, helping people to work out what they really wanted, and how to get it. That's this book in a nutshell.

It's more of a workbook than anything else. There is the occasional picture, but mostly, there are exercises to do and forms to fill in, all intended to help you to identify what the problem really is, and how to fix it, or at least fix it as much as it is possible to do. Sadly, I don't have a magic wand; I can't put an extra day in the week, which I know most of us would love! But I can help you think about how to manage your time well enough to squeeze in some creativity time for yourself.

It says in the introduction:

'Who is this book aimed at? Anyone, really, who dreams of being creative, but can't quite get there, or doesn't know where to start, or who wants to be more creative than they are at present, or who is highly creative, but is blocked in some way. It looks at both practical and emotional aspects of creative work, and suggests ways of getting past blocks in your creativity. Some of the suggestions I'll make come from my own struggle with these issues; others come from years of experience of working as a coach with people who faced similar issues in personal and professional lives.'

The books are sent in specially designed cardboard boxes, and so will arrive safe and secure.


If you are in the UK, please click below to purchase; the price is £14 plus £3 postage and packing.

If you are in Europe, please click here to purchase; the cost is 16 Euros with 6 Euros postage and packaging.

In the US, please click here to purchase; the cost is $23 plus $7 postage and packing

If you live elsewhere, please email me for a quote in your own currency.

Workshops In The Little Green Shed.

If you read this blog regularly, you'll know that I run bespoke workshops in the Little Green Shed for up to four people. I've decided to extend that a little, and have added some Play Days to the options. The dates and topics for this year are :

13 June: Simple Book Binding

4 July : Artists Trading Cards

2 August : Paper Making

5 September : Monoprinting

3 October : Collage

7 November : Stocking Fillers

5 December : Stocking Fillers

The playdays cost £35 per person, including a light lunch and refreshments. If a group of four books, however, the cost is £120, so get together with some friends and save some money! And of course, you can request a workshop from any of the topics below:

Altered Art
Artist's Trading Cards
Artists Journals and Sketchbooks
Basic Batik
Basic Book Binding
Basic Hand Stitch (decorative)
Cloth Dolls (Keyhole Kate)
Collage
Colouring Paper and Cloth
Dyeing using Acid Dyes
Dyeing using Fibre Reactive (Procion) Dyes
Dyeing using Transfer Dyes
Exquisite Evolon
Feltmaking
Finding Inspiration
Linoprinting
Lovely Lutradur
Machine Stitching For Line
Machine Stitching For Texture
Matchbox Shrines
Monoprinting
Paper Making
Printing with Natural Materials
Screen Printing
Silk Paper Making.

And if there's nothing there that suits... ask me! I'm always open to suggestions for new workshops! And if you live outwith Norfolk and would like to spend a weekend here, we have a wonderful pub just up the road which has accommodation and wonderful food; I can make arrangements for you (check it out here)

Please email me if you would like more information, and I'll send you the leaflet with more details, or give you my phone number to discuss your requirements...and doubtless have a little giggle, too...my phone calls, like my workshops, are fun!

Opening The Studio

If it's May, it must be Norfolk Open Studios...and I'm taking part for the first time ever. I'm nervous, excited and scared, all at once, which is a heady cocktail for anyone... I've even tidied the Little Green Shed, so you know it's serious! I'd love it if you could come to visit at some point during the proceedings; if you can't manage to come during opening times, I'd be more than happy to open the LGS just for you outwith those times. This coming Sunday, there will be wine and nibbles for anyone who attends; and on Sunday 24th May, there will be Serious Cake, as it's my birthday. I really hope you'll manage to come and visit... please email me (email in my profile), or leave a message for more information and directions...or visit the Norfolk Festival website and search for Marion Barnett; there's contact information and directions there, too.

Terrified By White Paper?

You know, when you want to create, but the white paper is scary, and you sit there and think, and somehow nothing gets done? I have the solution! Work small, and work with pre prepared card! I've just added these to my Etsy shop; hand painted card that is in Inchie or ATC format (ie 1" square or 2.5" by 3.5"). You can use them however you wish... just as they are, on cards or collage, or use them as a starting point for your own creativity. Look at each one with a fresh eye, work out what theme it suggests to you, and start to collage or paint. Above all, have fun! You can find the inchies here, and the ATC/ACEOs here

It really doesn't matter if you start from a blank sheet of paper, or from a pre prepared background; the work you make will be uniquely yours, I promise! And however you make your art, make sure you have lots of fun, too!