I nearly missed this Exhibition. It was only when trawling through Mary’s messages before the last meeting that I spotted the invitation to the preview evening and here I was on the last day. I had no idea even of Parndon Mill itself so it was a double pleasure to visit such a lovely spot as well as see the exhibition. Ebb and Flow is a lovely theme to work on. It lends itself to so different interpretations and is a natural for textile artists. It was also very appropriate because of its location on the banks of the River Stort. The exhibition contained thirty-two pieces, which were well laid out. The mill owner felt there could have been many more on the grounds that visitors looked round very quickly. I think that while that was true, I think that everything was given due prominence and to have many more items would have made it rather crowded. We have met Connie Flynn at Guild meetings. Her work was very different from most in that she used natural fibres in neutral tones and sourced her materials from round the mill. Even the fleece had come from the Suffolk sheep at Parndon Mill. I particularly liked her notebook, which was the only one on display. Stephanie Edwards is another familiar name. The imagery in her woven tapestry was based on photos taken while walking along the New River. Her work reflects the devastating effect of plastic packaging from ‘fast foods’ when they find their way into the river. There were fifteen artists in all and I enjoyed nearly all the pieces. I preferred the more abstract pieces rather than the pictorial ones and particularly liked those of Felicity Cook, who is interested in the surface patterns on the water at the shoreline, where water meets the sand. She particularly enjoys the way the unpredictable nature of the dyeing process echoes the ripples left in the sand. I was interested in the little notebooks made by Joanne Bowes. She has used natural dyes with ecoprinted leaves to embellish them. We have an ecoprinting workshop in July, so it has given me some ideas as to a possible outcome for the day. Lesley Ottewell Parndon Mill: http://www.parndonmill.co.uk/ Comments are closed.
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