Chapter 1. Telling a story. Setting the scene. My Grandmother's war - an introduction using vintage photographs

This is my first major project since completing my City and Guilds Certificate in Embroidery with Distant Stitch. I've decided to record my work as it's good practice and helps to keep me organised! It also means I can refer back to experimental methods in the future.I'm looking forward to creating a textile piece to honour my Grandmother's achievements. At the moment my idea is to create a fabric collage and to translate images and photographs onto fabric with added textural techniques to bring interest and intrigue. I'm constantly fascinated by how fabric and thread can interpret and convey so beautifully experiences and memories of past events especially those which are emotive. I have uploaded my sketchbook pages plus added photos for extra detail or a close up view.

This weekend would have been spent at the Ammerdown Centre in Somerset with The Stitched Textile Group for a  Master Class with textile artist Sian Martin and I had decided to take aspects of this project with me to develop my ideas but Covid 19 has  landed us with a month in Lockdown starting today. We will enjoy a zoom week end instead and I felt it would help to record my work thus far on my blog should Sian need to take a look.

Introduction

This project has been bubbling under the surface for sometime and has been inspired by a little autograph book kept by my Grandmother who volunteered as a nurse with the Red Cross in 1915 to help care for wounded soldiers in Exeter. This little book is full of wonderful comments entered by the soldiers as she went about her nursing duties. Their comments give graphic detail of their war time experiences along with expressions of their heartfelt thanks for my Grandmother's care, attention and patience. I now have the privilege of taking care of this little book of treasured memories.

Firstly to set the scene I have a collection of photographs which I feel bring my Grandmother to life. I have such fond memories of her and she was very dear to me. These photos include those of her wedding in 1922 and her life as a farmer's wife and mother in rural Somerset. I find it fascinating to think of these as moments in time and glimpses of my family history:

To look closer:

A country wedding:

With my Grandfather [his bucket would suggest he'd just fed the pigs!], her 3 children [my mother is standing in the front centre] and an elderly aunt:

My mother and her siblings playing in the farmyard - I'd love to know who took this wonderful photo:

In later life and as I remember her: