LIZ DRAKE - TEXTILE ARTIST

LIZ DRAKE - VINTAGE CLOTHES DEALER AND TEXTILE ARTIST

LIZ DRAKE - TEXTILE ARTIST

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This is my final City and Guilds Diploma Quilt. The inspiration came from my interest in Historical Costume and my Research subject for the course which was 'Surface Decoration on Historical Costume'. It is a mixed media piece with photo image transfer techniques; tissue paper panels with applique; layering techniques using sheer polyester fabrics, burning, slashing, transfer printing. It is made up of three panels laced together with hand made cord attached to genuine 19th century buttons. The whole thing is heavily stitched by hand.

It covers three hundred years beginning at the 16th Century. The second 17th century panel contains images and references to one of my ancestors who was a Major in Cromwell's Army.

The third panel covers the 18th century.

I intend to carry on the sequence at some stage or other!!

This is the soldier's coat I made as part of my City and Guilds Diploma course. It is made of felt which I made from hand dyed merino wool and silk fibres. My love of uniforms inspired me to do this and it is roughly 18th century in cut. The frogging is made from hand dyed silk chiffon as are the godets and the edgings at the collar and cuffs. The buttons have been made from felt and embroidered to resemble poppies. I have quilted poppy petals over the shoulders and back in some areas I have used the cut back applique method with the dyed chiffon. The detail is difficult to see but I wanted to use the same colour for everything. As the different fibres and fabrics were hand dyed each one took the dye in a slightly different way and this gave the change in tones that I wanted.

I am currently working on another City and Guilds Course - Creative Sketchbooks. I am enjoying this very much. For me it is totally consuming and I spend many happy hours mixing paint and trying out different techniques.

Here are a few pages from my practise book.

Birdbox made for City and Guilds Part 1 Patchwork and Quilting. Hand painted fabrics, trapunto quilting.

Birdbox made for City and Guilds Part 1

Hand painted fabrics, trapunto quilting.

City and Guilds Part 1 Corset

Crazy patchwork

This is my latest Quilt. "Landslide at Seven Rock Point".

The inspiration is my place of birth - Lyme Regis, Dorset - and its constant battle with ongoing erosion of the coastline.

I have used hand painted fabrics and it is made using strip piecing and raw edge log cabin blocks combined with weaving and slashing. It is heavily machine quilted using variegated threads. The strip of beach at the bottom has been hand stitched with seeding using silk threads to give a change of texture.

For this piece of work I won the Amateur Award in the Small Contemporary category at the Festival of Quilts 2007 at the NEC Birmingham.

Detail

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Email: Gloriana41@yahoo.com.

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