Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Cork Textiles Network Conference 2011


I'm home and finally recovering from a whirlwind trip around the country. First I went down to Cork, to the annual Cork Textile Network Conference. I wasn't going to go, but decided last minute I would. I had seen some of Deirdre Nelsons work online, and was looking forward to hearing her speak, I also managed to book the last spot in her workshop.

The lectures were great, Deirdre Nelson, Diane Harrison and Aileen Johnson. Then after a beautiful (and cheap!) lunch, it was into the workshop with Deirdre Nelson. Well... what can I say. You have to meet this lady to truly appreciate her work, her humour, her thought processes... her way of teaching.

Fantastic is the only way to describe it. Probably the most un-productive workshop I've ever done, in terms of what I made, (maybe, just maybe, I was yapping too much..), but mentally, it was astounding. I think maybe the best workshop I have ever been to, and the most enjoyable. Pure stitching soul food... (with a bit of mackerel, very unsubtly thrown in..)

At the end of the day there was supposed to be a show and tell, but we figured we'd been doing more telling than had stuff to show, so we skived off. At that stage all I had made was a shower cap for a rubber duck... You had to be there to appreciate it...


Heres what I made on day 2:


and a few pics of what others in the class made....




I think everyone enjoyed the class immensely. There was a great mix of felters, stitchers, and of course, crocheters! Deidre is doing a residency in the Sirius Arts Centre in Cobh, Contemporary Souvenirs. She is looking for people to partake, but I will put that in another post. It definitely worth its own post...

Here's some other work by Deirdre

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