Gerties Goddesses

I thought I'd share some of my recent work, I'm always drawn to working with Goddess imagery and archetypes. This one is a present for a dear friend and was finally finished when Saturn moved into Scorpio. Yes! I'm a fan and long time student of astrology and like to link it to my work too.

She has a hand embroidered and sequined chakra caduceus design on her torso to represent healing and balancing of the body. On her womb space is some vintage hand beaded flowers and foliage for creativity.

She has a honeysuckle wand with attached acorn, for strength, amethyst for power, protection and healing.

Also seashells, feathers, holy hag stones to represent all four elements she is an earth goddess. I do hope you'll like her and comment. I've also just finished a mer-goddess for my daughter (photos up soon) and am currently making a commision for a fire goddess for a lovely creative young woman.

Degree Show at Norwich University College of the Arts

Blimey! Finally made it to the end of my three year degree in contemporary textiles at Nuca. I'm overjoyed, tearful, and so very happy with the result of all the hard work that its taken to complete it. I got a first class honours degree and now hopefully I can begin to put into practice all that I've learned so far. I've had tremendous support from family, friends, tutors and want to give a special mention of thanks to three wonderful online artists who generously gave their time and knowledge to answer a questionaire to help with my research report. Jackie Morris http://www.jackiemorris.co.uk/blog/ Jackie Cardy http://dogdaisychains.blogspot.co.uk/ and Carolyn Saxby (who big heartedly spent over one and a half hours  answering my questions.) http://carolynsaxby.blogspot.co.uk/ Thanks Ladies!!!!!
Heres a couple of photos from the show, which starts on the 27th June, private view is on the 26th at 5.30-8.30pm. Sadly, I was so underconfident with my work that I didn't invite anyone. But if you'd like to see all of our work, and looking at the show on friday I felt so proud of all of my fellow students work. We really did work our butts off and have produced a Brilliant Show!

Close up of my installation entitled 'Memento Mori,'

Now abit of artistic blurb which I always think sounds abit up itself! and not really me at all so apologies in advance for this bit about the pieces in my final show:

Sue Tyler is a mixed media textile artist, whose latest collection of laser cut acrylic jewellery is entitled : ‘Memento Mori.’ Key themes for this body of work being, loss, life and mortality. Inspired by Victorian sentimental jewellery she has created an installation of contemporary mourning jewellery for her final degree show at Nuca.
The pieces when worn evoke the sense of bringing the wearer back into the present moment, based on the cognitive therapy technique of wearing a rubber band around the wrist. They awaken the wearer to the preciousness and transience of life, and are primarily a celebration of the human condition.

I'll be at the show in person on friday 29th of June 10am-12, it'd be lovely to see you there........

Memento Mori and hair

My current work has developed into a collection of contemporary mourning jewellery. It started for me in BA7 when I became interested in the latin victorian phrase 'Memento Mori ' ( Remember that you must die!) It actually for me became a mantra for the preciousness of being alive in the moment and remembering ones own mortality. It is so important to accept ones death and the' little deaths' (losses) that occur throughout life, so that we may live fully and in the present.
My jewellery when worn brings the wearer into the present moment, you know you are wearing it. It is abit like the cognitive therapy technique of wearing a rubber band around the wrist, pinging it to bring the wearer into the now.
Hair was often used in Victorian Mourning Jewellery, so I did alittle experiment of my own.

Synthetic monofibre hair, digital ground for non porous surfaces and photographic inkjet print.

Inspirational photography from one of my pinterest mood boards.

Close up shot.

Laser cutting cold porcelain

Had a mega cooking session all day tuesday, getting ready for yesterdays laser cutting. I was very organised, or so I thought. Having cooked and rolled out the cold porcelain onto cling film wrapped boards, eight in total.
When I came to taking the material off the boards, Huge Problem! It had stuck solid! Thankfully, Steph from surface design was around and looked after the lasercutter whilst I looked for a large palette knife. Thanks Steph, you saved the Day!

Cold porcelain, engraved with laser. I had to alter the settings on the laser alot to get the effect that I was after. This piece is 'After Albarn/Ansari.'

Another shot of the piece, as its still wet and pliable I can still work with it and mold it.

Our lovely laser cutter at Nuca

First batch didn't completely cut through the material, so altered the setting to 5mm.

As the material is still pliable, I can see lots of potential for future research.

Work in progress!....

After yesterdays  laser cutting session I now have a kitchen table full of acrylic shapes to weave together with wire and rubber. I finished late into last night just picking the protective layer off the shapes with a needle, so my fingers are abit sore today.
Heres some more work in progress:

Because the pieces are woven together they twist really well creating different ways to wear the piece.

Scuse the sellotape!

Hanging by threads!

Another twist

Glue!!!

I've had lots of problems with the micro nuts & bolts that connect parts of my jewelley and the fact that they keep coming apart. Todays experiment was using plumbers tape, worked but the end of the screw is white! Not a good look. Superglue in a pot, using a cocktail stick as a dropper. Looked awful... Think I've now solved the problem with model makers cement, but its really smelly and solvent based.

Super glue on the left, looks really awful, plumbers tape on the bottom right and top right magic cement!

Work in progress, had to take this apart quite a few times....slowly getting there!

Weaving with fluro acrylic rods, expensive though!

Another pic of two rows of acrylic weaving

It bends nicely, but I'm not sure of the breakage point as yet

Pinterest...

I've recently joined Pinterest, an online virtual pinboard. Its great for creating moodboards for projects. Although I think I'm now addicted! Having spent many, many hours online!
Heres a few images I've collected for my final project at Norwich University College of the Arts. The original sources can be found on pinterest.

Iris van Herpen

Una Burke

Kate Moss

Sarah Moon

Roses!

After five days of cooking the petals I pulverised them with a blender. Drained the water from the pulp overnight and was left with a mushy mess. Smells rather nice though. Next step, coating kebab sticks in melted beeswax and forming the beads. Not sure if it will work yet! They look like a cross between kebabs and the eggs our dogs leave in the backyard!
Try another experiment later....

Straining off the water from the petal pulp

Not sure this will work yet....

Pressie from Hubbie...

My lovely hubbie Andy brought me a muntjac deer skeleton as inspiration for my latest work. He found it whilst walking our two hounds Wooluf & Greebo. I think they might have liked it for their tea! Naughty Dawgs! Inspiration for my latest work comes from Giger, Dr Gunther van Hagen, ( programme on channel 4 recently about his work, 'The crucifixion')http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/9190588/Crucifixion-Channel-4-review.html There was an amazing church in Prague featured in the programme, made entirely from human bones. It was rather macabre but also very beautiful. Hubbie thought it'd be such a shame to leave this wonderful skeleton on the roadside, he really does understand my strange taste in beauty.

Makes me think of Giger

I decided to bury this beautiful creature, the earth will strip all the bones clean in about six months or so.

Everythings coming up roses

Last year I did a lot of textile work based on heat-pressed flowers, digital photography of deconstructed antique textiles to produce a series of digital printed fabrics. Some of which were shown at Premier Vision in Paris this year.
I came across this Elizabethan recipe for making rosary beads from rose petals. So I thought I'd give it a go. I plan to make some beads based on Japanese fastenings for armour for the costume idea I'm planning for my degree show.

Good old Tesco's! Left over Mothers Day Flowers bought for 50p

Close up

I love the way they are decaying

Lots of hand-picking

Add water to the pan

The recipe says to simmer for one hour everyday for five days.

Happy Easter! 43 Days before deadline!!!!!

Well, its 43 days left before the hand-in for our final major project at NUCA! Loads to do, so its a matter of prioritising what works, what doesn't and refining the work that I think has potential!

lasercut ply wood shapes waiting for a good wash, each one has to be cleaned by hand and then dried.

Experiments with the wood/gesso/lace/lasercut shapes, two had a layer of soft gel gloss and various staining with boot polish, my days as a furniture restorer came in handy here!

laser cut disks in various shades of staining

Lasercut/wood/gesso/transfer printed shapes waiting for a wash. After laser cutting the edges of the wood burns and has to be cleaned off by hand.

Drying out on the top of the vintage cooker!

Washed and dried and first coat of soft gel gloss.

Large lasercut circles, wood/gesso/lace/tea stained. These had to be recut by hand as the laser didn't cut all the way through, holes had to be re-punched and sanded by hand. A lot of work!

First layer of soft gel gloss.

Heat Experiments

Put together a couple of ideas for cuffs today, lots of fiddly work with the micro nuts & bolts. Fired up the vintage 1930s gas cooker, which has one temperature setting...on!
Ten minutes was far too hot, and melted the mirror acrylic. Also I need to make a cast of my wrist as trying to bend melted plastic and hot metal around a bandaged wrist (for heat protection) was mighty stupid!

Black & engraved mirror acrylic cuff

Another view

You can see from this that 10 minutes has melted the mirror acrylic.

Back to the drawing board, not sure if i'll use these as yet.

5 minutes in the oven!

Still having probelms with the nuts unscrewing themselves, I've tried screwlock also a kind of superglue.

Lasercut cold porcelain which I made myself, laser cut whilst still mouldable and bandged around a bottle.

another view of the cuff

The inside which was a heat transfer design

needs alot more work, but do I concentrate on other pieces