"Alvin and the Worms" - Out of The Blue

Worms of the rear curtain - Giving birth to worms from the front curtain! The colours (or lack of) are from the dea sea, abyssal plain.


Worms of the front curtain - Coral reef colours of the shallow, shelf sea.


Detail of worms from front curtain - These nearly drove me insane!


Focus is on middle curtain - Hairy worms.



Details of hairy worms.


Worms of the back curtain.


View of back curtain seen through hairy worms.




Details: worms of the back curtain. I like to take my art works and photograph them abstracting the design further.


Alvin and the Worms - First prize Charles Henry Foyle Trust Competition
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On the 5th August 2007 I was fortunate to be awarded first prize in the Charles Henry Foyle Competition run by Forge Mill Needle Museum, Redditch, UK.

There were 87 competitors and 27 finalists. The work of the finalists included a fabulous piece by Gemma Butcher based on Radiolaria and other sea creatures (second Prize) and a wonderful jacket by Di Goodison, are currently on show at the Mill till end first week October 2007.

My entry is called "Alvin and the Worms". It is based on nudibranchs (see www.nudibranch.com.au) and comprises three hanging curtains, 150x50cms each, that hang 1m apart. Colours are taken from sea life, vibrant and colourful mix at the top, giving way to lack of colour in the lower parts.

Materials included 12m of colourless bubble wrap, acrylic paint, machine, knitting and embroidery threads, fishing line and hooks, copper wire and Hama beads.

The main technique was Shibori, with hand and machine stitching. My piece was a labour of love being made up of so many similar parts! - Over 100 on the first curtain - but fulfilled the main requirment of the competition which was to demonstrate an innovative use of materials.

I recieved a £2,000 award which must be spent researching silver thread on leather embroidery in Oman as I had indicated on a project proposal submitted with the art work.