Category: News - Sabi Westoby

London Quilters - Coming Home

19/11/2014

The biennial exhibition of work by members of London Quilters shows the diversity of the group, from traditional pieces worked by hand over paper to art wall hangings. Here is a selection of some of the quilts. All the exhibits can be seen with this link - www.londonquilters.org.uk/coming-home-2014

As well as the exhibited quilts, members made items for sale, ideal for unique, handmade Christmas presents. These included quilts, cushions, books with textile covers, my textile bowls, table mats and decorations.

And a couple of pictures to show part of the gallery space:

Queen's Park Open Gardens and Studios

15/6/2014

This event has been running for some 12 years and is very popular with locals and some not so locals. Gardens and studios were thrown open to the public, many of whom stoically went round all the venues, often with children in tow. This year there were invitingly beautiful lawns, trees, plants and ornaments and, in the studios, paintings, prints, ceramics, glass, furniture and textiles.

I shared an airy garage with the talented printmaker, Ruth Kitching, and our work complemented each other well. I showed some framed work as well as quilts, textile bowls and fabric covered notebooks.

We had well over 100 visitors in the five hours we were open and it was a real pleasure explaining my creative processes to the curious. Although it was chilly, the rain held off for the entire day and for the closing party in the Tea Garden.

This was my first participation in the event and I was made to feel very welcome - it was just lovely.

Here are three examples of hexagonal bowls - I loved making them. I also showed square and round bowls, all very popular.

Taking the Rough with the Smooth - Part 3

18/4/2014

The exhibition has been up for the past two weeks and will be taken down tomorrow, Saturday 19 April.

We all have very different styles of working but the pieces on display work well together. The pictures below of selected works give some idea of the exhibition.

Taking the Rough with the Smooth - Part 2 Sketchbook

30/3/2014

One of my exhibits at this show is a sketchbook showing my inspirations, planning and samples, some of which has led to full scale work.

All the pages were on A3 Khadi cotton rag paper of varying weights and include textiles, stitch, paint, print, collage and applique. The pages were then hand sewn together to create a large book form.

Taking the Rough with the Smooth - Part 1

11/2/2014

The ICE group of artists' next show is at The Bramble Patch 5 - 19 April and the title of the exhibition is 'Taking the Rough with the Smooth'.

The theme is very wide and open to interpretation literally and/or metaphorically.
My objective is to explore both concepts. To take the literal first, I have made a textile wall hanging incorporating silk, cotton, scrim and jute which I have dyed, rusted and printed. I have quilted it with straight machine stitched lines to let the fabrics speak with their rough and smooth textures. The stitching will be simple, perhaps both by machine and by hand. I have some letter press blocks and might print words onto the piece - this is a decision I will make when it is almost complete.

I am also making a textile triptych using the image of a pot as a metaphor for life - a whole pot, a shattered one and one that has been mended. For these pieces I used Markal Paintstiks, one of my favourite mediums, and will do a separate blog showing the processes once the exhibition is up and running.

One part of the show is a display of work mounted on 12" x 12" canvases incorporating two specific fabrics, a cobalt blue batik and an open weave jute scrim, in any style and proportion. It will be interesting to see how we have all chosen to interpret this.

My final piece is going to be an A3 book made of khadi paper and incorporating paint, textile, collaged paper and stitch, all exploring the theme of rough and smooth.

At Tate Britian with Jemima

27/10/2013

Jemima, aged two and a half, saw an item on television about children going to the National Gallery to look at pictures and announced that she wanted to go too. So, a plan was hatched.

An afternoon at Tate Britain would provide the necessary material to be examined and she was duly excited at the prospect of looking at pictures. We arrived through the Clore Building which took us to the Turners and Constables, highly suitable for a small girl. She was totally engaged with the artworks: asking questions, responding to mine, making pertinent comments. The animals, clouds, ponds and rivers, as well as a rainbow, all fired her imagination in a keen way.

Then the room with some modern sculptures proved irresistible, probably because the Hepworths and Moores were so tactile, just right for a small child - unfortunately, touching the works was forbidden! Epstein's 'Jacob and the Angel' was Jemima's favourite work of art. It was probably the immense scale (in her eyes) which was impressive and it was hard to drag her away. However, a promise of a visit to the shop did the trick and one happy little girl departed clutching her purchases - postcards of some of the art she had seen, including the Epstein. Result!

Textile Fair at Compton Verney

27/10/2013

A group of artists to which I belong, the ICE group, former students of Brenda Boardman, will be exhibiting at a one day Textile Fair in Compton Verney on 9 November 2013. We will be showing textile works, from cards with original artworks to wall hangings and framed pieces, as well as everything in between.

I have made notebooks with covers made from upcycled fabric samples (so each is unique), cards and mixed media artworks ready for framing. The mixed media pieces are shown here.

Open Studio - afterwards

26/6/2013

The Open Studio event was a great success with over 150 visitors, great comments and all artists selling their work.

I so enjoyed meeting new people that there wasn't the time to take my own photographs. However, Margaret Cooter was much more organised than I was and has posted lovely pictures on her blog, which you can see by clicking on the link below.

We are now thinking about the next event...

http://margaret-cooter.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/elsewhere-at-open-studio.html

Open Studio Event

9/6/2013

Four artists - Margaret Cooter, Tony Wallis, Mark Tamer and I - are having an open studio event on the weekend of 21-22 June 2013 showing textiles, mixed media work, photographs and hand-made books.

It would be lovely if you were able to come and meet us and see our recent creations.

Margaret Cooter paints with fabric and scissors, and draws with thread and needles, and also makes sculptural book-objects from various materials. www.margaretcooter.co.uk

Tony Wallis's photography shows great variety, but his favourite subject is landscape. His experimental style has won him prizes in prestigious competitions. www.tonywallisphotography.com

Mark Tamer has a very graphic style, creating simple, stunning photographs that would look great on anyone’s wall. www.marktamer.co.uk

Sabi Westoby creates works inspired by the natural and man-made worlds by combining paper and textile, paint and stitch, collage and applique.

Spring has Sprung at Artisan

26/4/2013

The exhibition is looking good and here are some photographs to show that spring really has sprung at the gallery!