BalconyLife Cloth

Started last year during our ‘BalconyLife‘ exhibition outdoor display and ‘Open September at the Dye Garden’, this is the first time that the BalconyLife Cloth is being shown to the public. It is a visual record of the community engagement and interaction with the work we have been doing at the Nomadic Dye Garden and…

‘Still life’ at the Leicester Contemporary

Our first show together as moderneccentrics is now open at the Leicester Contemporary Gallery and we are so thrilled. After a busy week getting everything together, plus working through a few last minute hitches, the show opened on Friday night with over 300 visitors by close of day yesterday. The space is incredible and Steve…

Artefact Book Now Available!

Things have been a bit quiet here on the blog for a wee while. This is because we’ve been rather busy here at moderneccentrics and there is going to be lots going on over the next month. The first thing we’re launching is our new book of Ross’ work. Covering the Artefact series, which started…

Addressing Space: Ross Belton

The idea of ‘place’ as a concept is key to my work and practice. I respond directly to the environment I find myself in, whether urban or rural. Natural dyes, homegrown plants, found objects and recycled materials form the building blocks of my work. The direction is dictated by the materials, and the final piece…

Other Work at the Contemporary Textile Fair 2021

Opening this weekend and continuing till next Sunday the 28th, this year’s Contemporary Textile Fair has had a few false starts with COVID and lockdowns but it’s finally here!  Alongside the new series of work ‘Lockdown III – A Contemporary Circling‘ that Ross created Ross during Lockdown III especially for the Contemporary Textile Fair, we…

New Work at the Contemporary Textile Fair 2021

Opening this weekend and continuing till next Sunday the 28th, this year’s Contemporary Textile Fair has had a few false starts with COVID and lockdowns but it’s finally here! This series of work was created by Ross during Lockdown III especially for the Contemporary Textile Fair at the landmark Arts Centre, Teddington. As the COVID…

Contemporary Textile Fair 2021

In 2018, Ross was invited to create a site specific piece for the Contemporary Textile Fair at the the Landmark Art Centre, Teddington. The result was ‘Journey‘, 120m of naturally dyed and rusted recycled hotel sheets commenting on migration, refugees and the global imbalance of resources. We revisited ‘Journey‘ last year in our Open September…

St Saviour’s Winter Show: Ross Belton

The idea of ‘place’ as a concept is key to the work of Ross Belton and his practice. His work responds directly to the environment he finds himself in, whether urban or rural. Natural dyes, homegrown plants, found objects and recycled materials form the building blocks of his work. The direction is dictated by the…

Final Week Part 2 – The Weekend

By Saturday our luck had really changed re the weather, though 4 weeks of wonderful warm sunshine in September was an amazing run. Rainy sleety awfulness had set in and the idea of creating solar jars in a blizzard somehow didn’t seem promising. A rolling fire later and we were ready for visitors! Once again…

Final Week Part 1 – Equinox Harvest

Well we did it… Our ‘Open September’ has come to an end, and what a grand success. Coming out of lockdown and with a very limited growing season, we managed with a lot of kindness and help to open ‘BALCONYLIFE A Collection and Nomadic Dye Garden’ to the public. With the final week approaching, unsurprisingly we had…

Fourth Week – Experimental Brushes and an Indigo Taster

Week 4 of our ‘Open September’, and the garden is thriving – the madder is loving its new more spacious container and the weld finally looks like its alive and willing to take part in this project! The woad is doing well in the troughs and fortunately whatever was picnicking on it has moved on….

Third Week – White Linen, Indigo and a Birthday

Week three and we have been dyeing in the garden, even if it was just reviving an old indigo vat, which due to circumstance has lain idle this year. The impromptu garden set up with Cat worked a treat. It’s always a little daunting when planning a ‘play date’ as you never know what your…