Currently I am working towards the first gallery show of the year. It’s a new venue The Fountain Gallery in East Molesey near Hampton Court.
I am delighted to be sharing this gallery space with Jaci Hogan to present a two woman show. We enjoy displaying my textiles and Jaci’s pastel drawings together as they share the same level of detail and texture. We are both working on the same theme of water.
WATER: COAST, LAKE AND SEA 23rd May to 4th June 11am to 5pm Tuesday to Sunday 26 Bridge Rd, Molesey, East Molesey KT8 9HA
A selection of our work that will be on display The 3 stages of this embroidery shows the silk painted base, the layers of stitch building up the texture and detail and the final finished piece ( 20 x 20 cm)
The show will include my intricate detailed embroideries alongside Jaci’s beautifully observed pastel drawings. Vibrant and textured interpretations of water in all its forms. One of us will be in the gallery each day and we look forward to seeing you there! If you want to meet me email me to find out which days,I will be there. alison@alisonholt.com
My next big event is an exhibition in Cheltenham in December. I am busy making new embroideries and I am excited to be showing a selection of my new work in such a super gallery.
Pastel drawing by Jaci Hogan
The exhibition is called CHANGING HORIZONS, and I am sharing the venue with pastel artist Jaci Hogan. We both work in a detailed way but in very different mediums. We will be showing a wide range of richly textured artwork of the natural world. This will include stunning animals, birds and landscapes by Jaci and my embroideries inspired by rock pools, coastal walks, woodlands and the English countryside.
Jaci’s method of using a combination of a soft pastel base with pastel pencil details allows her to encapsulate the different textures of each animal from the fur of a leopard to the feathers of a nuthatch. She feels each animal deserves it’s own treatment and she spends many hours building layers to achieve the beautiful finished artworks.
My aerial scene embroidery on painted silk
It is at the SIXTEEN GALLERY 16 Rotunda Terrace, Montpellier Street, Cheltenham. Gloucestershire. GL50 1SW We open on 15th December and it runs until 21st December 2022, open from 10am to 5pm each day except Sunday when we have something special happening!
We invite you to MEET THE ARTISTS on Sunday 18th December. Open from 11am to 4pm we will be stitching and drawing in the gallery! We will be sharing our creative process with you and talking about why we make art. There will be mulled wine and mince pies, as well as an array of items for sale from cards to stitched prints and original artworks. There is no charge for this event and all are welcome, I do hope you can come along.
This is a great opportunity for people to see the exhibition of two very interesting artists and buy Christmas gifts with a bit of individuality.
When flying I have always been fascinated by the aerial view of the landscape. It can be the first view of a new country or the last you see of somewhere that has stolen your heart. So often an emotional experience, I remember the excitement or the sadness that view creates.
I think it’s so interesting to see the landscape from that perspective. It’s broken down into shape, pattern, colour and my favourite…texture! Also a completely different colour palette to the UK so often new and beautiful colour combinations to get excited about. Over the years I have been fortunate to take trips in helicopters, sea planes and a hot air balloon. Often on the coast, sometimes over forests and woodlands and have never used these ideas for my embroideries until now.
A selection of aerial embroideries
For some of the pieces my process has remained the same, I paint my composition on silk and stitch the detail on top. Others have seen me experiment using black silk as my base. I am creating more texture than before, using a range of weights in my threads. Aurifil cotton in 28, 40 and my usual 50 weight helps me do this.
Work in progress showing the silk painted base.
I have now become hooked on this imagery! It forms part of a new body of work for a forthcoming exhibition called Textures in the Wild, for March 2022, it will be launched at the Willow Gallery, Oswestry
Created on black silk
Textures in the Wild is a collaboration with Jaci Hogan, a successful pastel artist who has recently turned her attention to wild animal portraits. Using a combination of pan pastels, soft pastel sticks and pastel pencils she achieves life like and tactile studies of some of the world’s most majestic wildlife. Check out her work on Instagram @animal.artistuk This collaboration started as a conversation about each other’s techniques and processes which sparked the idea to create to create a body of work together which would celebrate the beauty we both find in the varying range of textures within the natural world. During the planning we have encouraged and inspired each other to step out of our comfort zones and explore new ways of working.
4 stages in this embroidery showing the development from paint base to stitch detail
