Phoenix Blog

As a group we have not met in person since March 2020, so we were very excited to be able to go to the Church Hall in August 2021, particularly since we really needed to see our exhibition work in the flesh. Zoom is great for certain things but definitely not for appreciating artwork in its entirety. We … Continue reading SEENUNSEEN EXHIBITION PREPARATIONS

In part two of the preview of our forthcoming exhibition SeenUnseen, we continue with the work of the remainder of our artists, but first here is a reminder of the dates of the two venues of our exhibition: Robert Phillips Gallery Riverhouse Barn, Manor Road Walton-on-Thames Surrey. KT12 2PF Wednesday 13 October until Sunday 31 October www.riverhousebarn.co.uk … Continue reading SEENUNSEEN – FORTHCOMING EXHIBITION PREVIEW – PART TWO

Phoenix Contemporary Textiles Group usually exhibits every two years and our exhibition Seen Unseen was supposed to have been shown in October 2020.  However due to all the uncertainty around the pandemic last year we made the decision to postpone our exhibition by 12 months until 2021. This has given us an extra year to work on our ideas … Continue reading SEENUNSEEN – FORTHCOMING EXHIBITION PREVIEW

As lockdown lifts our artists are beginning to get out and about and are visiting exhibitions. Maria Walker made a trip into London recently and has picked out some highlights from her visits to galleries on the Southbank and Bermondsey. The Hayward Gallery I started my day at the Hayward Gallery where you get to … Continue reading EXHIBITIONS REVIEW

Rosaline Darby reports on an exciting workshop she organised for some members of Phoenix, despite the prospect of uncertain weather conditions. It was disappointing not to be able to meet as a whole group at our usual venue in July, the lifting of Coronavirus restrictions having been delayed, particularly as we are raring to go … Continue reading CYANOTYPE PRINTING WORKSHOP

Some of our members are just too modest to write a blog about themselves so Maria Walker decided that she would just have to interview them instead and Robertta McPherson offered to go first. Maria:  Can you tell me what initially captured your imagination about textile art and who were your early influences? Robertta:  My passion for … Continue reading INTERVIEW WITH ROBERTTA McPHERSON

Kate Davis reports on her project, which relates to a group venture about mudlarking on the foreshore of the River Thames, near the OXO tower in London. Most of the items found were affected by being in the water and gritty sand for some time. They included a variety of materials such as metals, wires, nails, … Continue reading THAMES MUDLARKING PROJECT

This second and final part of Lynne Butt’s series on Sketchbooks demonstrates how integral it is to make notes as a progression of ideas, whatever your medium: “My spiral book, size 21cmx29.7cm, is more a record folder than a sketchbook containing drawings and photos of work in progress, as I prefer to work up my pieces … Continue reading SKETCHBOOKS – PART TWO

Lynne Butt brings to life her love of sketchbooks, along with her fellow Phoenix artists: Sketchbooks…..An indispensable tool for artists A finished piece of art grows from a sketchbook. They are the place where the seeds of ideas are stored, where they germinate and grow. Sketchbooks take many forms…..books, boxes, pin-boards, loose papers gathered together, … Continue reading SKETCHBOOKS – PART ONE

Maria Walker takes inspiration from the everyday events of the past. THE LIGHTFOOT LETTERS  This story begins with a bundle of old letters I found one rainy Sunday afternoon in an antique centre in Cheshire in 2009.  I had originally intended to cut up the letters to use in the mixed media collages I was … Continue reading FEATURED ARTIST – MARIA WALKER