In the Studio this week Carol Fagan In the Studio this week Carol Fagan

The Repair Shop

Have you ever watched the UK documentary programme, The Repair Shop? I am often blown away by the repairs made to vintage items in this programme. I have often had a go a mending broken stuff from the shop but I suddenly wondered if I could fix my Mum’s fine ceramic owl. This quite large ornament sat on the mantel for most of my childhood. When I was a teenager, Mom asked me to throw her a towel and when I did this, the edge of the towel caught the owl and it toppled down, smashing the corner of the base. When my Mum passed this special piece came to me and it as sat looking at me accusingly in my office ever since. Well today’s the day. I started with air dry clay and gradually built up the smashed base - the original fragments are long lost. I sanded and set about trying to match the colour in acrylic paints. I don’t think I did too badly. I still need to get some high gloss spray varnish to complete my task as the brush strokes of the high gloss medium as still apparent. I have documented my progress below. But I think my Mum would have been pleased to see the repair

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What is my current Textile Focus

My interest in textile art is wide and varied. My focus at the moment is on completing panels for my scholarship project Parallels in Maori and Celtic customs and art. I am currently working on a Tromp L’oeil piece that represents the Winter solstice coming through a gap in the hills that was important to both cultures in mapping their seasonal world. the centre piece is hand embroidered and now I am trying to complete the effect of adding small pieces fabrics to create the effect I am looking for