Hello............


Hello and welcome to my visual sketchbook: to log all the art ventures I immerse myself in. Snippets of my work can be found on here along with classes I teach, exhibitions I am inspired by and anything that generally makes me smile.

Please beware I am not the best and 'once in a blue moons' are plentiful here. Have fun looking and feel free to drop me a line with your comments. You can if you so wish follow me on Facebook Angela Lai Yen - Printmaker and Textile Artist.

Bye for now.







27 June, 2012

Prior Park Road

Well I've just about recovered from my Widcombe Art Trail week end. Thank you to all you lovely people for coming (dogs included), for enjoying the work and for giving me the time to chat.....I'm afraid I do ramble on. 


Here are two of the artists I was exhibiting with -


Andy Kelly is a talented Stained Glass artist who creates stunning works of art that truly transforms a space. Do have a look at his website especially the bathroom window, its my favourite. http://www.distinctivestainedglass.co.uk/

Madeleine Town, an atmospheric painter and printmaker with a love of foxes. She is a regular artist of Time and Space Gallery. httbathtimeandspacegallery.com/

19 June, 2012

Arty Weekend



Hello where does the time fly away to.....
I'm just popping in really quickly to mention that I'm taking part in the Widcombe Art Trail again this year. I will be showing in Venue3. Prior Park Road. There will be a selection of prints and stitch pieces on show, come by and say hello.
http://www.widcombeassociation.org.uk/Postersfliers/Widcombe%20Art%20Trail%202012%20Web%20Version.pdf

07 June, 2012

Quilt time........

Just before dashing away for the Jubilee weekend I managed to finish my second quilt. Yipeeeee. Sorry the pic is a bit blurry I was too excited and jumpy from finishing, now I think it may be time to make a quilt for myself. Its just too addictive.



02 June, 2012

Teddy Long Legs - Suzanne Leather

About a month ago now the Millie Moon team and myself were invited for a Make and Show evening with the lovely Wells WI. There I demonstrated a little free-motion embroidery and met some keen ladies ready to take on the machine.......cue Suzanne Leather who really took to the technique I love so much.

Suzanne has since found her own signature style with free-motion embroidery and is continuing to play and experiment with it. She was lovely enough to get in contact to show me the delightful cards she has created; I'm very much in awe of them.

Lets get to know Suzanne a little.......

How did you get into sewing and crafting? Have you always been creative?

I suppose I've always been creative. I completed a Fine Art Printmaking degree in 1994 and went on to become a secondary school art teacher and head of art. My mum is a fantastic dressmaker; she made loads of our clothes when we were growing up and curtains, cushions and binds have never fazed her. I managed to pretty much avoid sewing other than getting Brownie badges! While teaching I did bits of batik but never anything beyond seems on a machine. It's sad to say but teaching knocked the creativity out of me - art became a job and all my thoughts were about the students work rather than my own. I left teaching in order to concentrate on being a mum for a while and finding my creative self again has been an unexpected joy. 


What kind of work do you you enjoy doing?
I'm enjoying working in craft rather than 'fine' art because I can just focus on creating lovely things rather than worrying about the deep and meaningful stuff!


What is it you like about freemotion machine embroidery?
I'm really enjoying free motion embroidery. My natural drawing style is quite tight and I love the way the machine forces me to free up. I also love the unexpected moment when the machine kind of does its own thing but the result is something special; in that way it reminds me of printmaking - you never know quite what you're going to get! At the moment I'm creating lots of birds, hearts and flowers and I've have lots of success with my jubilee cards and brooches. In the future i'd like to experiment with printing onto fabric and sewing into it but we'll see - one step at a time!


Suzanne's brand new venture Teddy Long Legs can be found at www.facebook.com/teddylonglegs, do have a look, its yummy! Be sure to look at her new work 'Beach Huts', an exciting mix of lino printing and free-motion embroidery. Lovely. Keep on sewing Suzanne.