Module 5–Chapter 13–Study of Three Artists

Jennie Rayment

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Jennie Rayment is a very amusing, entertaining and talented public speaker. I was fortunate enough to attend a lecture at a local Embroiderers Guild Regional Day where she performed her famous ‘strip’ Show and Tell routine!
I really like the way she uses calico and natural coloured fabrics in a lot of her work, allowing the manipulated textures to ‘speak for themselves’.

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Jennie Rayment is an internationally known textile artist from Hampshire, UK. She is a tutor, and author, specialising in fabric manipulation and surface texture.

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In 1989, after several different career moves from managing hotels, inns and restaurants to running a village general store and Post Office, Jennie saw her first piece of patchwork and made her first quilt. Having never sewn other than family mending and household repairs.
Over the next few years, Jennie explored and experimented and by 1994, she was firmly hooked on all forms of patchwork and quilting. In this period she completed a teaching diploma, and taught the Creative Studies course in Patchwork, Quilting and Appliqué to several groups in the South of England.
Much of her work is created in simple calico. Her textile manipulations may be adapted for any type of fabric and used to make quilts, wall-hangings, boxes, baskets, cushions, table linen and of course fashion garments and accessories. She describes herself as being obsessed with twiddling, fiddling, nipping, tucking, manipulating and manoeuvring.

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Nowadays, her work is exhibited in various galleries, at shows and exhibitions around the world.
Jennie has published many books on fabric manipulation techniques. She teaches a wide variety of classes for all levels and abilities of sewers from patchworkers, quilters and embroiderers to fashion, soft furnishing and home décor enthusiasts, and entertains with hilarious lectures with real ‘Strip, Show and Tell’.

Michael Brennand-Wood

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I was lucky enough to attend a lecture by Michael Brennand-Wood at the ‘Midland Textile Forum’ Symposium a few years ago. I found him to be a very relaxed, down-to-earth, ‘rock-n-roll’ sort of guy. Very honest about his upbringing and the reasons stitch, and making, became an important part of his life and career. He wore a red & black stipey mohair jumper, and reminded me of a cross between Denis the Menace, and Johnny Rotten!

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Michael Brennand-Wood’s interest in textiles goes back to his childhood. His grandmother was an industrial weaver who worked in a mill in the north of England and as a small boy he used to play with fabrics that she bought home. She also taught him to knit, sew and do a little embroidery. Her brother had a little loom at home and the noise and smell of the loom is a strong childhood memory.
His grandfather was an engineer. He had a shed at the bottom of the garden where he made things in wood and metal. He was an old-fashioned craftsman who really enjoyed making.
At University, Michael wanted to study fine art, but when he discovered the textiles department he felt much more at home and decided to stay there. He chose to study embroidery as it was far the most open-ended area of textiles and the area closest to fine art as he saw stitching as drawing in thread.
Until 1989 he worked as a lecturer at Goldsmiths alongside Audrey Walker, as senior lecturer in the department of visual art. He has taught extensively in colleges and universities in the UK and overseas, and has undertaken residencies in Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Belgium. He was appointed Visiting Professor at Manchester Metropolitan University in 2005 and is Research Fellow at the University of Ulster.

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Michael now has an international reputation as one of the most innovative and inspiring artists working in textiles today. His work is sculptural and tactile. He is particularly interested in embroidery, lace-making and traditions in floral textiles. He uses his knowledge in these ancient crafts and combines them with modern day techniques, such as digital printing and computerised machine embroidery, to create sculptural, wall-hung, textile and multimedia pieces.

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Although his work is first and foremost decorative it can be read on more than one level. Michael uses titles to allude to the source of inspiration for each one of his works. Recent flag-based pieces, for example, reveal their reference to conflict and war when seen up close.

Jean Littlejohn

This course would never be complete without giving credit and offering gratitude to one of my all time stitch heroes, Jean Littlejohn. I spent many happy hours admiring Jan and Jeans books in Waterstones bookshop in New Street, Birmingham. I can’t remember when I started to buy the books, but gradually, one by one, I now have them all. Videos as well, and could never tire of watching them. Always learning something new, they are a constant source of inspiration.
I am fortunate enough to have enjoyed taking part in a few workshops with Jean (and Jan), and thanks to Sian’s Distant Stitch Summer School, was able to spend an entire weekend in their presence, enjoying workshops, lectures, and even dinner at the same table!!!

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Jean Littlejohn, along with her long-time stitch & business partner Jan Beaney, is the Joint President and Honorary Member of the Embroiderers’ Guild. She is a Fellow of the Society of Designer Craftsmen and a member of the 62 Group. She is one of the best-known teachers of textile art and has held workshops in the UK, across Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

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Jean was born in Maidenhead, England. She trained as a teacher, specializing in Art and Textiles. Her work has been exhibited and sold in the UK, USA, Australia, Germany, Israel, Japan and many other parts of the world. In 1997, Jean co-founded Double Trouble Enterprises with Jan Beaney. This company was formed to publish books and promote further interest in embroidery and allied subjects. Their aim is to give students the confidence to design and create their own unique work. They have published 27 books and 3 DVDs.

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Jean teaches all aspects of work, from design to embroidery. Much of her work is based on hand stitch where she builds up many layers of stitch (hand and machine) and mixed media to create the most amazingly textural works. She experiments with hand stitch, pushing the boundaries of traditional methods and materials, exploring exciting new effects and patterns that can be achieved with simple stitches to describe echoes from the past, layers of life and experience, and aspects of decay.

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