Shelley Rhodes, Behind the Stitches

Today I’m sharing more from the Knit & Stitch Show from Harrogate last year, and now I’ve shared all of the graduate showcase exhibits I’m going to move on and share some of the equally exquisite work on display in the gallery sections, starting with Shelley Rhodes.

I’d not seen any of Shelley’s work before but I was completely mesmerised by it - both when they were hung together, and individually. Shelley’s a mixed media artist who is drawn to the concept of fragmentation on repair, each the elements for her pieces are either weathered, worn or broken.

Her website says she is ‘drawn to the effects of time, the transience of nature, the things that go un-noticed and the ever-changing fragility of things around her.’

And together her pieces are quite a statement.

BEHIND THE STITCHES, SHELLEY RHODES

But I think are equally good alone.

She uses stitches to join pieces, and takes inspiration from Kantha making and combines layers of distressed, pre-used cloth piecing, matching and mending as she goes - and the results are stunning.

A SEGMENT OF BEHIND THE STITCHES, SHELLEY RHODES

I loved the detail on each of these elements, and it was great to be able to get so close to do that. I’m always amazed at how cohesive mixed media art is whilst using scraps - but then I guess if I were to colour code my scraps I’d be in with more of a chance of not creating a rainbow! Though obviously these are a level above anything I would create, but I’m sure there is still the satisfaction of putting something together well, whatever your skill level.

A SEGMENT OF BEHIND THE STITCHES, SHELLEY RHODES

I think though of all of the different type and shaped pieces, it is these oblongs that are my favourite, perhaps it’s the colours, perhaps the addition of nails/tacks - or maybe both.

A SEGMENT OF BEHIND THE STITCHES, SHELLEY RHODES

I’m glad to have seen them, and to share them here - and to wonder at their inception and beauty, and now you can too.

The Walled Garden at Flintham Hall

I was pleased to learn that nearby Flintham Hall was opening for charity as part of the National Garden Scheme, and that I’d get a chance to have a look at another part of the estate’s garden. We’d visited in April for the Bluebell walk and that was amazing, so my expectations were high.

I was not disappointed.

I mean, what an enticing entrance.

And after turning the corner and spending quite a bit of time admiring the flowering wisteria, as well as the alliums and tulips planted beneath it, and the plentiful hawthorn blossom we headed through the wrought iron gate into the walled garden.

My first view of the walled garden was pretty special too.

We followed the path that led to the glasshouse, past many bushes of peonies whose buds looked ready to pop. In the glasshouse - which was also to die for - was this pastel blush coloured flowering amaryllis.

What a glorious space.

I finally left the glasshouse, which had a swimming pool at one end, to discover a non-native animal eyeing up the waterlilies in the pond, or maybe something else?

Next we headed towards an area with fruit trees which were clearly old - and shaped into a fantastic goblet. It looks, like me, that the estate will be expecting a fair few apples later in the year too.

Though their roses (and peonies) are way ahead of mine, but like the peonies before I was happy to stop and admire the blooms.

This was our exit from the walled garden, and passing another gnarly and twisted wisteria which to me the trunk of it looks like the face of an animal (if you look closely enough!) and the exit was just as thought out as either of the gates I showed at the start of this post, but I wasn’t prepared for what came next.

How beautiful, dreamy and enticing is this mown path through the cow parsley? I think I want to move in…

Post Comment Love 22 - 25 May

Hello there, welcome to this week’s #PoCoLo - a relaxed, friendly linky which I co-host with Suzanne, where you can link any blog post published in the last week. We know you’ll find some great posts to read, and maybe some new-to-you blogs too, so do pop over and visit some of the posts linked, comment and share some of that love.

It’s another bank holiday weekend here in the UK, so the linky will stay open until Monday evening so there’s more time to link up - and if the weather forecast is correct, it’s going to be a scorcher.

Please don’t link up posts which are older as they will be removed, and if you see older posts are linked then please don’t feel that it’s necessary to comment on those. If you were here last week it was great to have you along, if you’re new here we’re pleased you’ve joined us.

There’s been a lot more gardening, and with MOH on what he’s calling ‘light duties’ the grass cutting has fallen to me. It’s been a long time since I last cut the grass, in fact it was before MOH and I got together. But I have now cut the grass twice and apparently I’ve passed my ‘beginner’s grass cutting’ qualification. I think this meant that I was allowed to progress to strimming the edges, though had I known then maybe I’d have failed on purpose!

So it seems appropriate for my picture this week to be our garden wheelie bin full of mostly grass, and approximately the third that isn’t grass is weeds that were growing in the grass and needed to be weeded out before any grass cutting could take place.

Have a great week, and don’t forget the sunscreen.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter