Adding finishing touches in the studio to some pieces for 'Small Medium Large'
It's always lovely to have an exhibition in my hometown of Newcastle Australia so I am very excited to be involved in 'Small, Medium, Large', an exhibition curated by the Newcastle Gallery Collective. The unique thing about this show is that it is being held across four different galleries in Newcastle; C Studios, Nanshe,
The inspiration for my new piece Coast Pennywort (hydrocotyle bonariensis) came from a plant I picked up on a walk around my local area. This plant, commonly known as Coast Pennywort or Kurnell's curse, is a weed in most parts of New South Wales but I have always loved the shape of it's fleshy leaves with their intricate internal vein patterns.
As a result of winning the 2014 Emerging Artist - Craft minor award from Craft NSW I have been invited to exhibit my work in their wonderful showroom in Sydney for six months. I am delighted to have the opportunity to exhibit in such a prestigious gallery and wanted to make some work that extra special for the event. I wanted to create something that was a bit different. Something that would challenge me. Something that would be exclusive to Craft NSW.
'Red Cabbage' by Meredith Woolnough, embroidery thread and pins on paper, 94 x 94cm
Anyone who knows me personally knows that I love good food. If you want to get on my good side just send some home cooked goodness my way and I will be your friend for life. So when Anne Kempton (director of Timeless Textiles gallery) asked me to be a part of an art exhibition that combined food and textile art I naturally jumped at the chance.
Since writing this post back in 2014 I have invested in a new machine (A Bernina Q20) so I have updated this post to include a bit of information about my experiences with this very different form of sewing machine. I hope you find this update useful. ~ Meredith
One of the most common questions I get asked about my work is "What sewing machine do you use?" People seem to assume that I have some wiz-bang-space-aged machine that does all of the thinking (and sewing) for me, but in reality I only use some of the most basic machine functions to allow me to draw with the machine. It is for this reason that my technique can be done on almost any sewing machine.
Last month I entered my 'Amazonian Water Lily' in the inaugural Emerging Artist - Craft Award at Craft NSW. I don't usually like to enter my work in competitions but I figured I would throw my hat in the ring with this one because I have always been a big fan of Craft NSW and love visiting their gorgeous showroom in the Rocks.
I was recently interviewed by the IFWA (International Foundation for Women Artists). The IFWA blog is a great place to discover female artists across all areas of the arts and from around the world.
I am tickled pink that they have decided to feature me.
I love Ginkgo leaves … it's no secret. They have been the subject of many of my artworks over the last few years and they will no doubt continue to inspire my work for years to come.
This new trio of works are my newest interpretation of this golden plant. Each of the pieces are multilayered with overlapping leaves. This creates a lovely layering effect and adds a greater sculptural element to the work.
It's always lovely to have an exhibition close to home.
Its even more lovely to be able to exhibit with my wonderful and talented mum Rae Woolnough (who if you didn't already know is an amazing felting artist).
My next exhibition 'Akin' at Timeless textiles gallery will showcase my newest work alongside the felted work of Rae Woolnough in my very own backyard, Islington (Newcastle) NSW.
People often ask me if I teach workshops and the answer is … Yes, yes I do - and I love doing it as well!
I have developed a fun two day workshop packed full of techniques such as resin embedding, freehand embroidery and of course my signature sculptural embroidery technique. I will be running the workshop twice this year in two great locations. Both are in NSW (sorry for those that are further out, I will get to you one day) and I am really looking forward to both workshops.
When I was in Melbourne last year I was asked by Embellish Magazine if they could do an artist profile on me.
My answer was naturally …. HELL YES!
The March issue (which has my little article) has just gone on sale so check it out in your nearest newsagent. Look for the green cover.
Square Leaf study (2014) Embroidery thread and pinups paper.
Square leaf studies (2014)
I have always loved Ginkgo leaves and have used their delicate fan like forms in several of my artworks. I generally create small Ginkgo leaves but with my newest piece 'Ginkgo Biloba' I felt I needed to go bigger. This piece examines the beautiful internal structure of the Ginkgo while capturing the vibrant yellow/orange that the leaves turn in Autumn.
While I have been working with leaf shapes and designs for a few years now I have always used very dark, muted colour schemes - like dried and dead leaves. But I do love the bright colours that leaves turn, especially in autumn, so I felt it was time that I used this as inspiration for some new work.
Yesterday was my first official day working in the new studio and to say I was excited was an understatement. I got up at 4am (yes 4am - what is wrong with me) and was so full of plans for the day that I got to the studio super early and threw myself into work.
I recently married my high school sweetheart, and as a result of this fabulous bonding of two souls … I got to go on a honeymoon! Now a honeymoon is probably the most important holiday one ever goes on and you want to make it super special. Most people splash out and go somewhere extra special or extra fancy, blow the budget on a nice hotel and fancy dinners. Now while that all sounds lovely my new hubby and I prefer a more active kind of holiday which is why we chose our fabulous honeymoon destination. Palau!
Last weekend's I took part in the Australian Art Show in the Royal Exhibition Building, CarltonGardens, Melbourne. It was a great weekend ... I met some inspiring people and many of my pieces found great new homes. Thank you for everyone who came along and supported me.
Generally when I start an artwork I have a pretty good idea of how it's going to turn out. But every now and then a piece will surprise me. It will start as one thing and then evolve into something else all together. My 'Sea Spiral' was one of these pieces.
You may have already picked up on this but .... I really love coral!
It completely fascinates me and I find it to be tremendously beautiful. Whenever I scuba dive I find myself transfixed on the coral formations I see below the surface rather than the beautiful fish and other creatures that we seek out when diving. Don't get me wrong I get excited when I see a shark or ray just as much as the next diver but I get so much out of just looking at the coral itself. While most people surface from a dive and exclaim... 'Did you see that huge groper/shark/ray etc!' I am more like 'Did you see the massive brain coral bommie!!!'