Friday 10 December 2010

A Present of Family Significance and a new approach.

Here I am again and as promised here is the present that has been received by my very dear cousin in the North of England; this is where most of my family live. It was my mother who moved to the south when she married my Dad, he was very much a Londoner born and bred.
However the significance of this present as I mentioned above is that this represents the home my mother grew up in. Yes a proper Romany bow topped Wagon. My Grand dad was a true Romany you see. I don't mean new age travellers. We are talking about the early part of the last century. My Grandparents were born in the late 1800's Some people would feel ashamed of admitting these kind of roots. I am very proud of my heritage. My mother came through some very tough times, and survived two world wars and even worse the great depression. She taught me how to be a survivor and how to make do and mend. She taught me a lot of things that many today would be grateful to know. So yes, I am proud of being half Romany. Even though I grew up in a house that my mother fought hard to buy for herself. I will never forget my roots.
My cousin said she is so pleased with this, she has it on her wall amongst all the family photos, isn't that wonderful. The front of it sort of represents the idea of looking out from a wagon on to the view of a wagon itself. It took me many hours to make this, it is made from my own hand dyed and hand made felt and all of it is hand embroidered with a lot of hand painted variegated silk.
As usual click on the pictures for a closer view.
This next piece is a new approach for me. This is what I recognise as mixed media; for me anyway. First I made a clay circle, quite small. I made a series of small holes equally spaced around the edge; these can't be seen as the embroidery covers these well. The idea was to create a frame for this pendent so that it would hang nicely. The embroidery is a free hand design/stitch doodle; this is what I might call them in future. I feel that working with very fine silk in this manner is very pleasing. I am planning to make a series of these pendents in different colours; and maybe shapes too. who knows. Well that's it for now folks. Be back soon. Cheers and thanks for dropping by. Tricia x

12 comments:

Sara lechner said...

tricia, I love this caravan and the story of your family. I think it is a very interesting way to work with clay as a frame. I'm sure you will devellop a great series out of it!

Ati said...

I like the wagon and its history.Truly lovey Tricia.

Susan Lenz said...

Hi!
Excellent work! Love the mixed media approach using clay. A series is always a good idea!
Susan

Tricks said...

Thanks Sara, Ati and Susan for dropping by and taking a look, it's so good to get feedback especially on new or experimental pieces. Cheers Tricia x

Ruthie Redden said...

Tricia, how wonderful, it is so good to hear you say you are proud of your Romany roots. Your felted pieces are beautiful, how large is the top piece? Thank you so for coming by my 5 blog and leaving such a lovely msg, i do think your art teacher was sooo wrong lol x ruthie

Tricks said...

Thanks Ruthie for dropping by I have emailed you from your blog, I enjoyed reading your comments, I think we are kindred spirits when it comes to all things Celtic. Seasons Greetngs Tricia :) xxx

Gail Burton said...

Hi Tricia,

This is incredibly lovely and intricate, and I LOVE the greeny blues of the background as they almost look like a watercolour. Glad to hear you are proud of your roots too! Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Gail x

Tricks said...

Thanks Gail, for your lovely comments. Good wishes for you this Christmastime. Have a really Happy New Year:) xxxx

t said...

I love your story Tricia, and your recognition of things learnt. And your art piece with the clay is stunning with its incredibly rich colour.

xt

Jasmine said...

Hi Tricks, I wanted to pop over and thank you for your comment on my blog a while ago. I have visited blogland seldomly these past months and am still catching up on myself.

I love your blog and your felted pieces. I think your Romany roots are exciting.

Have a wonderful new year xJ

Tricks said...

Hi Teresa,
Thanks for popping by, it's great to get your feedback, I know it's always very thoughtful and sincere. I know it always helps me to reflect. Happy New Year Teresa. Love Tricia x x x

Tricks said...

Hi Jasmine,
Thanks for dropping by, it's always so good to get some feedback. I thank you for your thoughts, I will drop by yours again soon Happy New Year:) Tricia x