She talked about how her travels to places such as India and Peru had influenced her use of colour and how the idea of upcycling or reusing textiles had a major bearing on her work.
She began to consider gender and identity and the difference between the 'ideal' and 'real' woman. This resulted in a series of dresses made from bras and bunting made from knickers.
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| Julia with 'Push my Button' - 100 metres of knicker bunting |
Needless to say, not all the components were her own, as she appealed to friends, family and the wider public including celebrities for donations towards her creations. The interest created in her work led to her having an hour on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square. Further images can be found here on her website.
Julia had brought delicate sketchbooks for us to look at and more recent pieces of work including smaller stitched pieces concentrating on the seams and evidence of wear of original garments which had been deconstructed and re-assembled. It was a very enjoyable and interesting talk which gave us a real understanding of the themes and influences which run through her work.
Other things:
The library will be back to 'normal' next month, so if you are 'looking after' books it will be ok to bring them to the next meeting.
There was a reminder that it is the 'Chairman's competition' next month (see the Programme page for details) and in September, in addition to the Ida Barber trophy being awarded, there will be a separate competition for 'best' name badge incorporating the York Embroiderers' Guild badge.
The July meeting is on 5th July which is the day of the 'Grand Depart' for the Tour de France and cyclists will be making their way from Leeds via Harewood and Skipton up to Swaledale and finishing in Harrogate. It is likely (ie definite I would imagine!) that other traffic in these areas will be disrupted, so plan your journey to our meeting with this in mind.
The North West region of the Embroiderers' Guild is having an exhibition Tied by Stitch at Lancaster's Storey Gallery from 26th May to 21st June.
