Melanie Ewer

 

 

I work as the Centre Director of Courtyard Arts Centre, Hertford which is the best job I have ever had.  I am surrounded by art and artistic people. The Centre is dedicated to the visual arts and helping people of all ages and abilities within and outside the Centre, to achieve their artistic potential.

Ever since I was a little girl I have messed around with textiles:  making clothes for my dolls and for myself, embroidering pictures for family and friends, making textiles for the home, quilts for babies and more recently for my daughter’s 21st birthday.

I was tempted and challenged by the “Call to Textile Artists”!  This project has given me an opportunity to work on my own piece of work to the deadline of the exhibition.

I have found it interesting to learn about the archives as I had never been there before.  I would love to take part in another project based on a different collection.

It has been great meeting the other artists and fascinating to see what they are making and watch their work develop. I have also been able to pick up new techniques and ideas from the wealth of knowledge that they have shared within the group.

About my Piece

My quilt is a scaled copy of a map of the Rothamsted estate, dated 1623. I chose it because of a love of maps and a familiarity with the estate.

 The quilt is made up of 414 squares symbolising the ‘patchwork’ of the English countryside.  Traditional lightweight calico was chosen because of its colour (like parchment) and its delicate nature, replicating the fragility of the old documents in the archives.

 The quilt was embellished using hand/machine stitches and fabric paint.  The field names were hand written by calligrapher Judy Broad, printed onto organza and stitched in place by hand.  Finally, the quilt was aged using walnut ink crystals and charcoal.

Melanie Ewer: 07818 423 743