'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!

Open Studios at Model House, Llantrisant, 8/9 Dec

Do come and visit Model House Craft and Design Centre on the 8/9 Dec for our Christmas Open Studios event (although you can visit any time!)  I'll be weaving away in the studio that weekend, and will have some festive nibbles for you to sample as well!  Lots of the other tenants will be there too AND its also the Llantrisant Parish Church Christmas Tree Festival that same weekend.

(Please note that unfortunately we don't have a cash machine in Old Llantrisant - the nearest is in Talbot Green. Most of the individual artists and makers resident in Model House don't have card payment facilities  so please bring cash or cheques to finish your Christmas shopping.)

Look forward to helping you 'shop local' and support independent makers and retailers this Christmas :-)

Warp & Weft by Jessica Hemmings

Oh, am sooooo delighted to announce that the latest book exploring contemporary woven textiles by Jessica Hemmings has now been published, and yes, it features some of my work. I got my copy last week and its brilliant - lots to inspire and intrigue for all interested in textiles. Put it on your Christmas wishlist!

Made By Hand, Tredegar House, Newport. 30 Nov - 2 Dec

Tis that time again...... for the third consecutive year, I'm delighted to be exhibiting at Made by Hand in Tredegar House, Newport. I'll have lots of new works to share with you which I'm finishing making as we speak.... some photos to follow very soon!

As an extra incentive to visit, you might be interested to know that I'll be giving a talk about my work on Saturday at 1pm.

Very much hope to see you there :-)

'Beauty is the first test', Pump House Gallery, Battersea, London. 12 September - 25 November 2012

Am really honoured to have had two pieces of work selected for inclusion in this brilliant exhibition exploring the links between craft and maths that has just opened in the Pump House Gallery in London. Curated by craft specialist Liz Cooper, this is a thoughtful and elegant exhibition which will intrigue and delight in equal measure.

From the website:

A group exhibition that will explore how mathematical concepts underpin craft techniques and artistic development, in an attempt to demystify a subject that intimidates both adults and children, by showing unique and stimulating works of art. ‘Beauty is the First Test’ will draw together existing and new artworks to invite in-depth consideration of contemporary craft practice in this wider context. Beauty and playfulness will be evident in the exhibits to illustrate what delights craftspeople and maths geeks alike.

Leading US mathematician Keith Devlin’s recent publication ‘The Language of Mathematics’ describes maths as ‘the science of patterns’ , a description which hardly seems terrifying given that many patterns have pleasing and decorative elements. Yet mathematics is so often the subject that pupils most dread and adults express discomfort with, despite extensive 21st century use of technology based on mathematical models. Perhaps the friendliness of current technology has not only permitted but in fact acerbated this distance from a subject that frightens and overwhelms people. Beauty is the First Test will show that the arts and mathematics are more closely bound together than many perceive and that the enjoyment of one can enhance the understanding of the other.

Exhibitors: Michael Brennand-Wood, Suresh Dutt, Janice Gunner, Lesley Halliwell, Lucy McMullen, Janette Matthews, Peter Randall Page, Ann Sutton, Laura Thomas

There is also a very full programme of accompanying educational activities.

The Beaney, Canterbury

The Beaney windows

And so after being awarded one of the Museumaker commissions in 2010, the resulting triptych windows for The Beaney House of Art and Knowledge are finally unveiled.

The windows were commissioned by The Beaney in Canterbury as part of the Museumaker programme which was supported by Arts Council England, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, and the Renaissance programme. Whilst most of the Museumaker commissions were temporary site specific works, I was invited to make something permanent to be integrated into the building as part of its extensive refurbishment and new extension. Having seen my ‘Resonate’ work whereby seemingly loose threads are encapsulated in acrylic resin to make wall panels and sculptures, I was encouraged to think about scaling up this principle for a triptych window. Practical needs meant that I also had to translate the aesthetic from cast resin into laminated glass.  

The selected design sees a transition from deep dark reds densely packed at the bottom of the window, gradating into scarlet then finally very openly spaced orange threads at the top of the panes. A combination of cotton, silk and linen threads of varying thicknesses and twists were used so that the interaction of light varies with the fibres, and to so give a greater sense of visual tactility. The unspun silk filament in particular seems to positively glow, whilst the slubbed linen gives a sense of weight and density.

I was delighted to work with Innovative Glass Products to realise this project where I was able to be very hands on in the workshop, literally ensuring each thread was positioned as I wanted. The largest pane in the triptych measures 210x90cm, and remains the largest work of the ilk I have made to date. 

The Beaney reopened to great fanfare on the 5^th September. The windows mark the juncture between the old building and the new extension, and so can be viewed from either side in different contexts – the cafe/shop is on the old building side, and the information and reception desk is on the new building side. I am particularly delighted that the colour palette of the windows has been used as a basis throughout the building – from the staff uniforms to the upholstery on the library seats.

Love the red light highlighting the desk to echo the windows

Staff uniform colour has been choosen to pick up on the orange threads in the windows

Information desk in the new extension

From the cafe side of the window in the old building

 

Gratuitous baby picture :-)

The Culture Awards 2012

Following on from The Beaney / Museumaker commission, I was invited to produce the awards for this years Culture Awards. The awards 'were created to recognise the important role of culture as part of the history and fabric of the Canterbury District, to highlight individual achievements and to celebrate the quality, diversity and vibrancy that makes up the cultural scene here and across East Kent.'

The 10 awards are composed of gradating tones of cotton and silk threads encapsulated in acrylic resin..... and below you can see the happy winners! For the full list of winners check out the Culture Awards website