Having seen the various comments on Facebook about this exhibition, I vowed to get to see it before it finished. A family wedding was occupying much of my time but I foresaw no problem with buying tickets for a later date. How wrong I was! As I tried to book online, the dates filled up and ‘sold out’ appeared against each date. I finally resorted to taking out membership, just as they extended to exhibition to September. But, it has meant that I can go when I like and as often as I like. The whole show is beautifully stages in a new basement gallery at the museum. Having subsequently looked at images from the parallel exhibitions in Paris and Dallas, the same guiding hand has obviously curated them all. Billy & I have been wanting to divide our garden to allow our chickens to roam in safety - away from potentially marauding Jack Russells/feline articles, and I'd seen lovely pictures on Pinterest of artfully created willow fences. I enquired around and found Wasseldine Willows who were prepared to come to us with the materials, and to teach us on site how to make our fence. So finally last month Guy from Wasseldine turned up one sunny morning with a trailer full of willow and hazel stakes, and we got stuck in. I was lucky; I was there on the Sunday. Hilary and Michele had to set up in pouring rain on the Saturday but by Sunday it was merely just dull, drizzly and windy. Still, we were in a good solid marquee so sheltered from the elements. Finding the actual festival site was quite tricky as it’s a 1,000 acre site with tracks going in all directions and not signposted for the likes of tradesmen! However, having gone down one incorrect muddy track I was sent in the right direction by a lady walking her dog.
The Festival was held in a large, wind-swept field but it had a very nice ‘feel’ and all the stallholders and visitors were charming. The Fashion and Textile Museum: Swinging London: A Lifestyle revolution
Terence Conran and Mary Quant I came of age in the sixties. This was my era so my visit to the Fashion and Textile Museum in Bermondsey Street was more than a little tinged with nostalgia. I had grown up under rationing so my family home was one of make and mend. Even our Christmas presents were recycled from ones my father had fashioned previously. My middle brother searched in vain for his old wooden steam engine. It had become a fire engine for our younger brother. I learned to sew at a very young age; so young in fact that I was accused of lying when I took some doll’s clothes in to show my needlework teacher. At our March meeting, Michele Turner led a fascinating Shibori Resist Dyeing workshop. Shibori is the Japanese word for a variety of ways of embellishing textiles by shaping cloth and securing it before dyeing. The word comes from the verb root shiboru, "to wring, squeeze, press." The result is beautiful, unique fabrics that can be used for just about any purpose. Our workshop used stitches to create hidden areas of the fabric that dye cannot reach (people are generally familiar with Tie-Dyeing; tie-dyeing is a form of Shibori Resist Dyeing.) We started by transferring a sampler template to some cotton fabric using water- or air-soluble pens. This allowed us to see for ourselves how different stitch shapes and combinations produce different effects. I took part in the tea towel weaving workshop in February.
I had a fabulous day, everyone was sooo patient and helpful with a newbie. With the aid of my partner I was able to warp up my loom ready to start weaving at home. A quick look and some useful iPad piccies of Carol at work with the pick up sticks and I was off home to start before I could forget what I had learnt. My first effort was far from perfect, but they are definitely teatowels, and they dry dishes! The Association AGM is held in Conway Hall, a rather nice old-fashioned brick building in tranquil, leafy Red Lion Square, a few yards north of High Holborn. (Conway Hall is the home of the Ethical Society, which began as a dissident congregation in 1787 in rebellion against the doctrine of eternal hell!)
Historically, it’s been held in London every other year, with the alternate years attached to a Conference in a regional centre. However, from now on all AGMs will be held in London, with a Guilds Gathering in alternate years. The GPC has done its best arrange a conference type meeting and the first such will be at the University of Worcester from 19-21 June 2020, called ‘Colour – the Full Spectrum’. There will be keynote speakers, including: Margo Selby, Susan K Williams (CEO of the Royal School of Needlework), Alison Daykin, Caroline Nixon, Daniel Harris (London Cloth Company), practical sessions, talks and a Saturday evening dinner. The 2020 National Exhibition will be held at Leigh Spinners Mill, Greater Manchester from 5-20 September. The theme for the juried section will be ‘Coal, Cotton, Canals’, and for the non-juried section ‘Still Waters’, a textile piece within a 6 inch ring. Angela Colbridge, the Chairman, greeted all delegates at the door on arrival (a nice touch). The meeting started fairly promptly at 11.10, with 50 delegates present and a number of observers. Angela introduced our outgoing President, Jenny Balfour-Paul, who gave her usual enthusiastic and spirited address. She mentioned in particular the enormous amount of hard work done by the GPC, all of whom are volunteers, and praised the Guilds for the vast number of skills within their membership. She said that ‘artisan’ was now the buzz word, rather than ‘craftsperson’, and she had come to realise that the young wanted to get back to actually making things, although their tutors often didn’t have the knowledge to teach them! She would continue to be an ambassador for the Guilds and emphasised the need to use social media to engage the next generation. Jenny was presented with an absolutely beautiful fine silk shawl, handwoven (of course) and indigo-dyed. Chairman’s, Treasurer’s and Secretary’s Reports had been circulated in advance and were adopted, as were new appointments to the GPC and JEC. Various points of interest raised were:
After lunch, Jennie Parry, the new President, opened the afternoon session with some background to her life In textiles. Her mother was a member of the London Guild in the 1950s and Jenny had her first loom when she was six. She too, was exercised by the huge gaps in the knowledge of graduating textile students, and encouraged us to help them as early as we can, saying that many will return to us later in their lives if these strong links are fostered. She suggested finding out about local Degree Shows and attending them to talk to the graduates. The Association should be a rich source of information to everyone and children of 7 upwards should be welcome with a parent to learn how to use all their fingers, not just their thumbs! She encouraged us to have events at least once a year where youngsters get the opportunity to learn. After considerable discussion, both the Propositions brought by the GPC were carried with a large majority. It amazed me that there were such long discussions about relatively tiny matters. Montgomeryshire Guild’s two Points for Discussion were also thoroughly considered and answered. Following a query, there was a a general discussion about how various Guilds organised Guild outings, weekends away, etc. The meeting ended at 3.00 p.m. All in all, an interesting day, and a good way to meet members of other Guilds and to get a feel for all the work done by the GPC on behalf of all the Guilds. Mary HIcks I went to see the Anni Albers Exhibition at the Tate Modern shortly before it closed at the end of January 2019. It was a busy exhibition and a friend who tried to go a week later was unable to get tickets as it had sold out. The audience viewing the exhibition covered a variety of ages gender and nationalities. Walking through the exhibition, it was interesting overhearing conversations about “how did she get that bit there? - Oh, I see, it’s joined here” and people counting the number of ends in a piece. Not your usual gallery conversations. They had pieces from early in her career, through the design process and items from her commercial furnishing work in a New York Hotel. Anni Albers was born in Germany and studied at the Bauhaus . She took over as the Head of the Weaving Studio in 1931. After it closed in 1932 following pressure from the Nazi party. She and her husband fled to North Carolina and they taught at Black Mountain College. Anni became the first textile designer to have a one person show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City This was the first piece to greet you on entering the exhibition and from the close up, you can see that even Anni didn’t make straight edges. In a recent copy of the Observer Magazine, I found an interesting article about four young weavers. Each one has brought a modern twist to the craft as well as manage to make a living from their weaving.
I have written a very brief summary of each weaver but have included their websites if you wish to see examples of their work. Maria Sigma (mariasigma.com) Maria’s zero-waste textiles use undyed, British Wool, alpaca, linen and recycled cotton, which are woven into cushions, rugs, upholstered stools and garments. They are either woven as one-off or limited edition designs. Hannah Robson (hannah-robson.com) Hannah creates sculptural artworks on her loom in a most unconventional way. With materials such as horsehair, metal, paper and monofilament nylon, which she scavenges from a variety of sources, she weaves them to begin with but then allows them to break free before returning them to the formality of the loom. Jo Elbourne (jorobynelbourne.com) With braided cotton, Jo wraps geometric patterns on to her furniture pieces, which are not intended for everyday use. She uses soft colours together with either red or black to give a strong contrast in the design and uses synthetic dyes to create an interesting colour palette. Christabel Balfour ( christabelbalfour.com) Christabel uses two old looms to weave her rugs and wall-hangings in wool, cotton and linen. Her abstract designs are taken from nature using simple imagery and calm colours when weaving. Lesley Ottewell Several of our members were involved in Remembrance Day activities in 2018, contributing to some amazing displays. Two that have received a lot of attention were at Hertford and Great Dunmow.
At Hertford, local crafters (including members of The Secret Society of Hertford Crafters, school children, people in care homes and other local volunteers) made 15,000 poppies and hand-stitched them to camouflage netting. The result was draped from Hertford Castle - simply stunning and very moving. This display made national and local headlines - read more on the BBC website and on the Hertfordshire Mercury site. As well as the knitted flowers, the crafters made a wreath made up of 352 poppies - one for every Hertford serviceman who died in the conflict and a mini-wreath for each of the 31 graves from World War One in the county. All funds raised from the installation will go towards The Royal British Legion. |
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