art exhibition Archives - Jane Mercer Felt Artist

Exciting November Exhibition with York Textile artists

It's been a while since I posted here. What have I been doing? Catching up with friends and family and spending lots of time in Scotland. Plus of course some felting, eco printing, dyeing and stitching. I also applied to and was accepted by York Textile artists. I am delighted to be taking part in their winter exhibition. The exhibition will take place at York Cemetery Chapel on the 13th and 14th of November from 10am to 4pm. Holidays in Scotland So here is the beautiful Sango Sands beach in Scotland. I watched seals from the cliffs above these sands. In Scotland you know the rain will never be far away. And all around beautiful scenery just one example of some inspiring lichens. Work in progress Following the eco printing of a scarf using peony, alchemilla, jack by the hedge and eucalyptus leaves, I have stitched the resultant beautiful iron blanket with…

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27/10/2021

art exhibition / British wool fibres / Felt Workshop / IFA / Natural dyeing / Prefelts / shetland / Textile art / Wet felting / Wool / Yorkshire

How exciting to be taking part in my first virtual exhibition

I like to take part in an exhibition, but this is the first time I take part in a virtual exhibition. ReConnect opens today and I am exhibiting two pieces. The exhibition is organised by the International Feltmakers Association, of which I am a member. The exhibition coincides with the AGM of the organisation it was to have been held in France, but along with so many things has become virtual. I am inspired by the title ReConect. It is so very appropriate to so many of us, who have spent much of the last year isolated from friends and family. Isolation wasn't easy but reconnecting is also going to require relearning old ways and will take time and patience. Sculpture My sculpture piece uses Bluefaced Leicester, Masham, Welsh, Grey Shetland and Swaledale wools, all with such beautiful natural colours. I made 15 different elements to represent different people, isolated in small…

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28/03/2021

art exhibition / Framing / Natural dyeing / Textile art / Wet felting / Yorkshire

How I frame felt art perfectly using stretcher bars

I wrote a blog on framing with stretcher bars in 2017, and I am surprised that it is my most read blog post. I am in the middle of framing felt pieces for an exhibition so I thought I would show some more photos of the framing process I use. What are stretcher bars? Stretcher bars are made for artists to stretch their own canvases on prior to painting but I don't think they are intended for textile work. That is not a problem for me. These are the ones I have just bought from Great Art Stretcher bars are made in a huge variety of sizes and they are really quite cheap. The bars to frame this picture which is 68 cm long x 32 cm wide cost £7.18. Plus a bit of postage. Measuring First, measure your felt piece. I normally start right at the beginning and design the piece…

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21/03/2021

art exhibition / From The Earth Textiles / Natural dyeing / Textile art / Wet felting

How I measure success at exhibiting textile art

In the last few years I have participated in a number of exhibitions. Exhibiting my very first time was my most successful in terms of sales. I sold out. A fluke ? I don't know ? As I think about my pieces for a exhibition in Leeds I wonder what defines exhibiting success . In 2012 I became aware that there would be an exhibition entitled "The dyeing of the Sun - a meditation on fire ". I had never put a piece in an exhibition before. I thought about the exhibition brief and my mind started to think about super novas and the wonderful pictures you see of them. They have crazy names like crab nebulae and pelican nebulae. These pictures are produced by assigning different wave lengths to the colours of the visible spectrum. How techy. Just my thing. I was hooked on this as a exhibiting subject. But how…

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20/08/2017

art exhibition / Wet felting

Hanging an art exhibition : 6 most important lessons I learnt

Do you ever walk around an amateur art exhibition and think fantastic I love it? Do you ever walk around an amateur art exhibition and think what a load of rubbish? What makes the difference between the two? Is it the art or is it the way it is all hung? I learnt many lessons in recently hanging an art exhibition. Hanging an art exhibition: my first lesson Think ahead. Think a very long time ahead. If you are going to invite other artists to participate ask them at least 6 months of more in advance. If you don't you will find them too busy to take part. Think about the artists and their work, before you ask them. Is your exhibition based on a theme or a technique? Make sure everyone is very clear what the theme of the exhibition means. The second lesson: Pricing problems Everything needs to be priced. …

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28/05/2017