Early Signs
Dear All,
The snowdrops and the crocus in our garden have popped up to say hello and here am I, doing just the same. The first stirrings of life, as we come towards the end of a gruelling winter, are encouraging me to make plans for the year ahead. And, it seems, for the year beyond that!
As you know, I am running fewer courses these days, as I head towards retirement from teaching, and the small number of courses that are taking place this year have been fully-booked since last summer. So, I have now put the 2025 dates on the website calendar so that those of you who missed out on a place for these courses - An Atlas of Stitches and A Field of Stitches - can perhaps sign up for them in 2025. There is also a brand new course for next year: Putting the Text into Textiles (although in the brief time it has been listed on the website, a few eagle-eyed enthusiasts have already spotted it and taken some of the places). So, if you are interested, you may need to move fast.
My other news is that there is some new work for sale on my Online Textile Shop, so please have a look at that. To see the larger work, you need to scroll down the page.
Well, I hope you too are finding joy in the early portents of spring.
Over and out.
Jan
Luna
The moon frequently makes an appearance in my work, which is a little puzzling, since I am early to bed and never have been a night owl. However, I often split my sleep in two, spending some time in the wee sma’ hoors just looking out the window. Then, I am mesmerised.
The moon has many guises, many moods and can be elusive. It is constantly on the move and is either framed by the landscape or basking in a huge starry sky. It has a powerful effect upon the earth and the beings who live here. There are many languages used in the attempt to understand and describe the nature and functions of the moon and I find interest in all of these, including astronomy, ecology and folk tales. But I find that once I allow myself to express a reverence towards the moon using my own mixture of visual and written imagery, the pulsating power of the moon shines through all that noisy discussion; it settles quietly upon my work and hangs forever in the night sky.
Open Studio 2024
Until Easter 2024, Jan's Studio in Elphin is only open to visitors by appointment.
Please email Jan or telephone 01854 666279 to arrange a time that suits you.
Open hours from Easter 2024 onwards are as follows:
Wednesdays
10 am until 4 pm
3rd April until 2nd October.
NB There may be the odd occasion that Jan cannot open the studio on a Wednesday so if you are travelling a distance to visit, please check with Jan that the studio is definitely open.
See the Open Studio page for more details.
Earthworks Move into Print
At long last the book version of the Earthworks project is complete! And as I leaf through the pages of the book, I feel the warm glow of a job well done, thanks to the solid support of Chelsea Frew (designer) and Ricky Frew (photographer).
This beautiful, high-quality art book contains over a hundred pages of images and words celebrating the intricate workings of the earth, as experienced through the eyes - and hands - of textile and mixed media artist Jan Kilpatrick. Striking photography by Ricky Frew illustrates the landscape that both inspires Jan’s work and provides the materials from which the work is made. The nature-led processes involved in the making are also recorded through photography, along with a selection of the finished textile and poetry works that emerged from this immersive project. It is a visual feast.
Earthworks, the book, is a textile-covered, hardback volume, almost A4 in size. It is limited to an edition of 500 signed copies and was launched on the 28th of May 2023. It is only available through the artist’s website. To make an advance order, please click here.
March 2023
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