Amanda Duke Artist

I’m making this post today with such a huge mixture of feelings. I thank for the post she made last week celebrating the opening of exhibition ‘Signature XII’ it’s two weeks since my husband passed away quietly, peacefully and unexpectedly in his sleep. Whilst grateful for this simplicity for him I’m left with a huge hole in my heart, wonderful memories of the kindest, most generous, unconventional and loving man. Today I will take a day off the affairs of this loss and steward our exhibition of which I am very proud. Today will be a normal day amidst yye chaos of the last two weeks and if you are passing the Oxmarket Gallery in Chichester I would love to see you, chat about the work and giggle about Malcolm’s wonderful idiosyncrasies love to you all and mostly to Malcolm who always supported my creative endeavours wholeheartedly.

zero3 is an exhibiting collective of textile artists that was formed in 2003.
Over the twenty-two years of its existence zero3 has firmly placed itself at the interface between fine art and contemporary craft, promoting textiles into the art space. We have exhibited UK wide and in Europe. Our membership has changed over the years but our backgrounds include those who have had a life in the arts all their professional careers, others have come from advertising, business, education, medicine and science. Some have high level art qualifications, others have reached this point in their artistic lives through a less formal route. Two members are presently back at university pursuing art courses as mature students.

Come along to see us either at the private view (28th October 6-8pm) or any of the open days over the two week period.

What a wonderful thing to receive this poem, as way of a thankyou, from a Natural Dye course participant this summer. Thankyou to for sending me these words. What a lovely tribute to the plants that give us so much and just keep on giving. Its taken me some time to return my thoughts to the earlier summer weeks when so many good things took place . The plants gave us so much colour and the garden is still full of colour, the p look ants are beginning to change into their Autumn glow. Maggies words are so moving and so apt for the memory moments of the summer weeks. My thanks go to Maggie.

Sneak preview of 2 new small works from a series entitled 'Duality'. Duality refers to the gradual transition fI am making from synthetic to natural materials in my ongoing studio practice. The top sample shows cloth fibres dyed with madder (Rubia tinctoria) and contrasted with synthtically dyed hand embroidery thread stitching. The lower sample shows cloth fibres dyed (in a dye bath, not a dye vat) with Japanese Indigo leaves. The small hand darned shapes in each sample show an area of repair, colour contrast and focal point set to challenge the hand dyed fibres. 'Duality' is the state of having two different or opposite parts, elements, or aspects that can exist at the same time. It can refer to the coexistence of contradictory ideas. See more samples from 28th October - 9th November - you are also invited to a meet the artist and private view 6-8pm 28th October. Looking forward to the hang of this group show with 10 other artists

Becoming a member of is a right of passage after completing the Natural Dye course . This community meet about 4 times a year to continue to develop skills in natural dyeing and share relevant experiences. Another brilliant opportunity is to keep in touch with course members from the year group you attended the course with. So the building if community around attending the course is very strong. All these opportunities have been set up by the wonderful and and continue grow via the members. So in a very busy year, full of family activities I’m so pleased to have still managed to explore some different plants from Soring and through the Summer. Last weekend I managed to modify all those samples. As a result there’s a big recording in a journal job to do, an Autumn/Winter task for sure. Thankyou to for the fun, friendship and community spirit around all things natural dyeing. It’s been great getting into some ground tree stumps and bark this year.

All eleven members of zero3 are very excited to be exhibiting in Oxmarket Contemporary. It is our first exhibition in this wonderful unconstrained space, which gives us the freedom to display our work exactly as we want. Whenever possible, each member works on their own theme, developing their own practice, which leads to the title Signature. For this exhibition, we have reached Signature XII. This gives a broad sweep to our exhibitions, but everything is underpinned by the fundamental of a connection to textiles. This exhibition can be described as textile art with an expansion into multimedia. The work on display includes large to small wall pieces, 3D work, some addressing issues of the day and others that will just make you smile; it ranges from representational to abstract. We all love the time working towards an exhibition, and at least one of us will be on hand every day to give you a bit more of the back story.

I've just spent 3 days at Sussex Prairies. What amazing weather it was, the ground is very thirsty, yet the floral colours are out and radiant and the grasses are high ans swishing in the breeze. More about that in my next post. I'm starting to get the kit together for my last two days of Prairie teaching for the year. A one-day workshop in Ecoprinting. Its a form of contact printing using fresh leaves on paper and a steaming/simmering process. After making packages and bundles the leaves print directly onto the paper, and you are left with a mixture of abstracted marks and pictorial images. On the day, we also go through what you might do with the prints once they are dry. It's a bit of magic and another process for those who are interested all things botanical. Whilst 27th August is fully booked there are a few places left on Thursday 28th August. Get in touch if you are interested. Ax

A creative project with is gaining steam, demanding weekly cropping, processing and tying of the strawflowers (Helichrysum) which have now been re-named Xerochrysum bracteatum. This common everlasting, papery flower comes in so many colours, a very special and useful flower for drying, it seems to keep for at least a year, soemtimes longer if you are careful about when you pick them. Best before fully bloomed as they continue to open once they are hanging to dry. This collaboration goes on to early September when we can share the outcomes. Enjoy a few garden views and remember the garden is open until 31st August Wed-Sun 12-5pm with Bazaar holding a party on Saturday 16th August from 5pm

The last few weeks have been very special in many ways. I have some special family projects on the go and the summer plants plants plants all need to be tended, gathered and processed for projects, natural dye courses and culinary use. We've had some dry, sunny and rainy weather all of which have affected whats going on outdoors, some plants have suffered and some have thrived. The Dahlias at Sussex Prairie Garden are simply ENORMOUS, have you been over to see them yet? the garden is open 12-5pm each day until 31st August and don't forget the evening party this coming Saturday. Go to the website to book your tickets for an evening of fun, entertainment and great curry! I'll be teaching the last two day Natural Dye course at the Prairie on Saturday 16th /Sunday 17th August. The course fee gives free entry to the garden and to the BAZAAR too. Get ihn touch if you would like details about the course and flip through the photos here to get a few clues about what the course, the garden and the BAZAAR. In the last few years my world, ideas and aspirations have been deeply influenced by an ever-increasing curiosity in the botanicals and I look forward to sharing the benefits in my next course. Enjoy the photos. Ax

This is part two of the 2 days at Sussex Prairies last week. These photos are all about the solar jar dyes that were put together. In just 24 hours the warmth of the sun moved the colour from the flower petals to the fabrics and yarns. The Coreopsis gave the most terrific deep orange on the wool and it was interesting to see the difference between a Buddleja jar with nail and a Buddleja jar without nail. The Black Touch Dahlia gave the 12th different Dahlia colour that I've witnessed to date. There is no end of fun with this process, its simple and one that goes down very well with the youngens too. Thanks to Jenny Dean for her recipe for the Buddleja with nail!
I wonder what flowers we'll be experimenting with on the next course 16th/17th August.

My first two day Natural Dye course took place last week and it couldn't have been a better two days. Lovely people full of enthusiasm and grit to get through 6 dye baths and a solar jar experiment for each person in two days. Fitting in some practical support on scouring and mordanting along the way, somehow we got through a tremedous amount leaving the group with enough introductory knowledge to keep going at home. Ideas for journaling and recording were also covered and happy people went home ready for a good nights sleep. The brain power involved was pretty big and I am assured that everyone learned a great deal. Thankyou to Sussex Prairies for the wonderful garden room and also the Echinacea, hornbeam and flowers for the solar pots, and the cake of course! thankyou to Sarah Jay Caws and Jayne Peacock, Joan and Louise for your terrific engagement and what fun we had. Thankyou also to Museum of Art + Craft for continuuing to run the Natural Dye course for those who want a deep dive and to Jenny dean, Jacqui Simmonds and the Ditchling Dyers for on-going development, research and knowledge in the Natural Dye. world. This course runs again on 16th / 17th August. Get in touch if you'd like to join the group.

We had a great day dyeing fibre samples today with Weld, Cutch and Echinacea. Particularly pleasing dye pots and samples, can't wait for tomorrow when we'll trial Madder, Rhubarb and Hornbeam from the prairie garden.