Exhibition brings The Italian Eye to Newcastle.

A new exhibition by Brisbane-based fibre artist Sylvia Watt, opening at Newcastle’s Timeless Textiles Gallery in October, brings to life the colours and textures of Italy.

Sylvia Watt returns to Newcastle for her third exhibition, The Italian Eye, which was inspired by a three-month sojourn in Italy.

Speaking of her exhibition Sylvia says she was first drawn to the colour and texture of the walls.

“What a feast for the eye! Colour, texture and form have always been central to my work and these elements draw me in. The body of work for this show comes from the walls, which speak to me.”

They walls became the backdrop in which the artist frames dogs and churches. Although not a dog person, Sylvia found herself following the dogs she saw in Italy – which were often solitary and wandering from place to place but always with a sense of purpose – trying to capture their expressive poses.

“The cathedrals and churches provided a divine backdrop to my endeavours,” she adds.

Sylvia’s technique combined the random texture of the Italian walls, using ink and paint, and then overlaying the images that had drawn her eye. She then added stitch to anchor the work and to reinforce texture and line.

Sylvia has been a felt-maker for over twenty years, exploring surface textures, mixing up materials, while retaining the clarity and integrity of each material used, blending them while maintaining their individual identity. Exploring organic forms, using mostly fibres combined with paint and ink, has been at the heart of her work.

The Italian Eye Exhibition opens on 22 October from 6pm – 8pm and continues until 15 November 2015.