Pembroke Civic Trust Talk, 22nd April

Maker in Focus, Mission Gallery, Swansea until 5th May 2013

Until the 5th of May you can see a collection of my work at the beautiful Mission Gallery in Swansea. Amongst the collection of thread-wrapped wooden vessels and Resonate sculptures, there is a brand new laminated glass wall panel made especially for the space with the wonderful Innovative Glass Products.

Photo courtesy of the Mission Gallery

'Lattice' blanket joins the National Wool Museum collection

Delighted to report that one of my Lattice blankets has recently joined the permanent collection at the National Wool Museum. Its 100% lambswool and was woven at Melin Tregwynt. I have just a handful of cushions and one throw left in this design now, so you'll have to get in quick if you want one!

Second Chance, Craft in the Bay, Easter weekend

A chance to bag a bargain at Craft in the Bay this coming weekend: resin sculptures and miniatures half price, and handwoven stretched silk canvas' and scarves are amongst the treats available. I'll be manning the sale on Sunday: hope to see you there....

The Blodwen Heritage Collection

One of the first bits of work I did last year after Evan was born was to help out with this exciting heritage project for Blodwen. An amazing collection of hand drawn designs for double cloth blankets from the 1700s had been discovered, and I helped analyse which could be successfully woven within certain manufacturing parameters. With Evan in one arm (yes, literally) I drew up the fabric on ScotWeave software in the TTP centre at Coleg Sir Gar and worked with Denise the founder of Blodwen to explore scale, repeat and colourways.

Am delighted to share with you now, that the blankets and cushions are available to buy online..... contemporary heirlooms to cherish.

All images courtesy of www.blodwen.com 

Traditional Twisted, Unit 12, Stafford

photo courtesy of Iain Perry, Unit 12

photo courtesy of Iain Perry, Unit 12

Am delighted to share some images of four new Resonate sculptures made especially for 'Traditional Twisted' at Unit 12, a brilliant applied art gallery in Staffordshire. This exhibition celebrates designer-makers who work in traditional techniques and processes but with a contemporary twist taking the crafts into new territory.

The exhibition opens tomorrow, 2nd March 2013 and continues until the 25th May. I thoroughly recommend a visit (I can't wait to go see my work in situ!). As well as the exhibition, you can see studio makers at work, and there is also a very inspiring programme of workshops.

Each sculpture is made using my trademark techniques of cotton and silk threads in gradating hues cast in high quality acrylic resin. The sculptures each measure 20x20x6cm.

Gallery Opening Times

Thursday - Saturday 
10.00 - 4.00pm 

Unit Twelve Gallery
Tixall Heath Farm
Stafford
ST18 0XX

email: jcolliertextiles@yahoo.co.uk
tel: 07811 460494 

Hello Bournemouth

This coming weekend I shall be in Bournemouth. I am honoured to have been asked to speak about my practice at this exciting new conference: Design Your Career, alongside some very notable figures in the industry. I understand their are a few tickets left, so if you're planning a design / applied arts business, then this is the event for you.

Entirely unrelated, but very serendipitously, you can also see some of my work on show in Bournemouth University (Kimmeridge House) at the moment. They are showing a number of my framed jacquard artworks and some Resonate wall panels, including 'Grid Weave' (above). I also be part of a bigger exhibition there later this year entitled 'The Art of Making: Textiles and texture’ from 19 Sept – 7 Dec.

'Utility', Craft in the Bay, Cardiff, 12 Jan - 3 March 2013

Amongst the various 'hats' I wear, I sit on the Education and Exhibitions Committee at the Makers Guild in Wales. A year or so ago I proposed an idea for an exhibition..... and this is the result.  'Utility' opens next Friday, and quite frankly I want to buy all the exhibits. (Alas, my bank balance doesn't quite allow for this, so feel free to visit and buy.)

Claire Cawte

Enya Moore

Stuart Cairns

Cathy Miles

Sharon Adams

Kathryn Campbell-Dodd

Jennifer Collier

Lynda Shell

Ann Nazareth

Ann Catrin Evans

This is my introductory text for the exhibition catalogue:

The making of tools is regarded as one of the key milestones in human evolution. The development of more complex tools and utensils paved the way for new social behaviours, dietary change, greater dexterity and indeed the making of other objects.  Tools are fundamental to being human.

Craftspeople have a particularly profound relationship with tools and utensils for obvious reasons. The tools of the trade are treasured objects in their own right as they mould to the makers hand revealing their years of servitude and the unique demands they are faced with.  A weaver would intimately know the intricacies and differences of all their weaving shuttles, scissors and hooks, whilst the distinctive dents and worn patina of a jewellers’ hammer, pincers, pliers and files might hint at what they've been used to make.

This exhibition presents some of the UKs finest makers’ curiosity and reverence for tools and utensils. Whilst everything can be used for something, these aren’t functional objects in the traditional sense: they are aesthetic celebrations of the tools of making. They are designed to raise a smile, evoke a sense of familiarity and encourage a fresh look at a maker’s transformation of basic materials into something new, regardless of ‘what it is for’.


With thanks (as always) to Charlotte Kingston, Education & Exhibitions Officer at Craft in the Bay.

Melin Tregwynt blankets on Celebrity Big Brother!

Back in the second year of my BA Constructed Textiles in Birmingham Met Uni (1998), I undertook a 2 week work placement at Melin Tregwynt. I then went on to work at the mill in my subsequent academic holidays and have been designing for them in a freelance capacity ever since. Their products not only grace private homes around the world; they also supply design-led hotels and TV props departments. I often catch a glimpse of a MT blanket on adverts and TV programmes, but rarely have they had such prominence as the latest series of Celebrity Big Brother. I saw this photo on Facebook earlier on today, and needless to say, I had to tune into the show this evening:

Celebrity Big Brother 2013 bedroom
via https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151171351681491&set=a.10150579756981491.380669.54402846490&type=1&theater

I designed the Carew blanket a couple of years ago for Melin Tregwynt and also worked on the Ember colourways for many of the MT archive designs including the St Davids Cross and Roundcross.

Carew in ember colourway
http://www.melintregwynt.co.uk/colours/ember/

St Davids Cross in ember
http://www.melintregwynt.co.uk/colours/ember/7334778

Roundcross in ember
http://www.melintregwynt.co.uk/colours/ember/7334780

Retro/Prospective: 25+ Years of Art Textiles and Sculpture, Brown Grotta Arts

I was delighted to recently have the above new work included in the Brown Grotta Arts exhibition entitled Retro/Prospective: 25+ Years of Art Textiles and Sculpture  A subtly gradating palette of about 20 different yarns in cotton, silk, rayon and lurex was used in my trademark 'Loose Threads' arrangement. The threads are encapsulated in acrylic resin and cast into a gently curved arc. The exhibition can now be viewed online - do go check out the inspirational gallery photographs and, as ever, I'm rather humbled to have work seen alongside some seminal names in the world of fibre art.

With thanks to the Arts Council of Wales: this work was made as part of my Creative Wales Ambassador Award.

Open Studio this coming weekend

Hope to see you at Model House this coming weekend! Mince pies and chocolates available as extra temptation in my studio......

Made by Hand, Tredegar House, Newport

Just wanted to share some photographs with you of my stand at the Made by Hand craft fair in Tredegar House, Newport. Its been rather frenetic making lots of new work over the last few weeks in time for this show, but very much worth it as its such a good event for me. I've created a new collection of jacquard woven framed works, all based on photographs on the Welsh landscape, meadows, trees and hedgerows. There are also lots of new Resonate sculptures and some brand new turned wooden vessels, wrapped with silk, cotton and linen threads: a new way to transform threads into something three dimensional.

Tomorrow (Sunday 2nd Dec) is the final day of the fair, so hotfoot it down there if you can! There is so much inspiring and affordable work to treat yourself or loved ones this Christmas. Its open from 10-5pm and there is a lovely on-site cafe selling tempting food. Hope to see you there.....

Tickets:

Adult Day Ticket £6

Accompanied children under 14 FREE

Concessions (aged 15-18, students, unwaged & OAPS) £5

Family Day Ticket (2 Adults & 2 Children aged 15-18) £16

House Beautiful Best of British Awards

Was delighted to learn that my Heals Discovers collection won a silver award at the House Beautiful Best of British Awards last week.  Lovely news - thank you House Beautiful!