There were eight girls (average age 10-11), six machines, plus me and Pam.
They stitched like they'd been doing it for years, despite the fact this was the first time some of them had ever used a sewing machine.
When they felt confident we then progressed to some stitched portraits in the style of Louise Gardiner. They worked in pairs and drew portraits of each other which they then transferred in stitch onto artist's canvas. They added touches of colour with paint to the finished embroideries. I was totally blown away by the quality of both their stitching and their drawing and these are the amazing results:
These are Sophie's and Grace's
I think the one below is Heather's (although it might be Abigail's)
The next one is Jemima's portrait of Pam
and this is Tabby's portrait of Skye...
and Skye's portrait of Tabby.
Nikki decided to invent a mystery man rather than do a portrait... or so she said. I don't think my mustache is quite that thick!
And I think the one below is Abigails... although of course it might be Heather's!
In order to demonstrate the technique I did a portrait of Pam... although she thinks it looks more like Jo Brand with her red lipstick. She decided she would like green hair like Constance Howard.
And to get her own back... Pam did one of me!
I'm seriously considering cosmetic surgery!It's been a brilliant day girls... well done!
They can really surprise you, I had a Year 7 boy draw an amazing tree.
ReplyDeleteReally great work. I bet the girls had a fantastic time. Just lovely.
ReplyDeleteTheir work is fabulous - it sounds (and looks) as though you all had an amazing time.r
ReplyDeletewonderful. you all look as if you had real fun.
ReplyDeletei so wish there was an interest in this kind of work with kids in the states. i'd be teaching everyday with a big smile on my face!
ReplyDeleteThey look fantastic, especially as the kids haven't done much sewing! :) x
ReplyDeleteOh wow - how lovely. I know my daughter would love to do something like that. Those girls must have had a great day, and what very cool work they produced! x
ReplyDeleteVery good portraits.
ReplyDeleteWhat fun you all had, and the way your young students took to machine embroidery is amazing - stunning results. The future of machine embroidery is in safe hands!
ReplyDeleteClever things, it's not that easy to produce a Louise style image. Especially if you've never used a sewing machine before.
ReplyDeletethat kind of sewing scares me to death - i think they have done brilliantly!
ReplyDeletexx
That looked like a lot of fun!
ReplyDeleteGreat work from the girls!
Vivienne x
Wonderful! Smiling my head off here..............
ReplyDeleteAstounding! I love that kids have no fear and assume that they'll be able to do everything.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant pictures, I know that all those young embroiderers will want to carry on with all they learned from you today.
ReplyDeleteWish I had a fake i.d. and could have taken a virtual plane across the pond, and been in the class. Free form embroidery is so intriguing! xo
fantastic gina! i love them all.
ReplyDeletealice and i have a teenager group starting soon and one of the things we are going to introduce them to is the delights of 'drawing' with a sewing machine. it is so immediate and such fun.
ginny
p.s. no plastic surgery needed just borrow a little of jo brand's lippy!
Didn't they do well. That's such a fun technique to do I bet they had a great time and there was a lot of laughter.
ReplyDeleteoh they're brilliant, I bet they had so much fun and should be really proud of their efforts!
ReplyDeleteThey are totally FABULOUS!!! I must try this myself. Do you draw on the fabric directly or how do you transfer the drawing?
ReplyDeleteExcellent fun work, they did a great job.
ReplyDeletewow they are great!!!
ReplyDeleteThe students have done amazing jobs...Jackie tried to show me but I wasnt very good at it...they are lovely...hope you are well.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great way to get the next generation on the sewing machines. And yes, Jo Brand definitely snuck in there!
ReplyDeletePenny x
love thisx lynda
ReplyDeletehttp://chocolatelifeandjazz.blogspot.com
and
http://tryingtocreatearteveryday.blogspot.com
What fabulous portraits of everyone! Didn't you all do well!
ReplyDeleteLove this post, what talent
ReplyDelete