Posts Tagged ‘textiles’

• Textile Fever in Stroud

  Date: 2010.05.06 | Category: Crafts | Response: 0

  Stroud International Textile Festival – May 2010

  Having read through the selection of events and talks in the Stroud International Textile Festival brochure, I was thoroughly looking forward to our visit to this event, but what I was also particularly looking forward to was spending some time with the designer/makers who were exhibiting and selling their work at the festival and were also coming along on this trip.

  Those makers who attended were Mhairi Killin from Iona, Jenny Deschenes from Spean Bridge, Lizza Hume from Westray in Orkney, Andrea Williamson and Wendy Inkster from Shetland (Jennifer Cantwell from Inverness was exhibiting her work, but was unable to attend the festival). Also attending the trip was Hazel Hughson from Shetland Arts and of course Pamela Conacher, our Crafts Development Coordinator at HI-Arts.

  

  Highlands and Islands Makers at Stroud

  As everyone was travelling from a variety of locations throughout the Highlands and Islands and arriving at various times on the Thursday evening, we agreed to meet up at breakfast on the Friday morning. It was clear from the start that this was going to be a very enjoyable way to spend a couple of days, everyone very quickly got to know each other as the makers talked about their plans for the next few days, what they hoped to get from the visit and how it would be interesting to see how their work looked ‘in situ’ and what the other work would look like in comparison.

  We had been invited to the opening of the textile festival which was being held at a gorgeous location called the ‘Museum in The Park’ in Stroud.

  The opening itself was very busy and was held in a gallery space within the Museum. There was work on display from several of the artists who were exhibiting as part of the festival, this was also a great chance to mingle with other exhibitors and take in the splendid surroundings. I have to say that I was quite smitten with the work of jewellery designer Angela O’Kelly, whose work is quite sculptural and crosses the boundaries of jewellery, textiles and sculpture. I also loved seeing Jo Barkers tapestries – such a fantastic use of colour, and also loved the fantastic range of felt animals by Annie Hutchison, which were on exhibition in the foyer of the museum. I also particularly enjoyed hearing Sir Christopher Frayling talk as he officially opened the festival; he was so inspiring and talked about craft with such a passion.

  Deirdre Nelson has been working as Artist in Residence in Stroud in the lead up to the festival and her installation of swing-ball on the front lawn outside the museum was really great fun – she also had installed her embroidered tennis balls throughout the museum exhibits and it really worked well.

  We then ventured in to the town of Stroud as a group and went to find the Made in Stroud shop where the Made in Highlands work was being exhibited and was for sale. Thanks to the very handy festival brochure, we found the shop quite easily. It was a little nerve racking waiting to she how the work looked, as you appreciated that the makers have invested quite a lot of time and money in sending their work to Stroud and attending this visit and that they wanted their work to be shown in the right environment, surrounded by products of similar quality.

  Thankfully when we arrived we were told that some of the work had been sold already and that there had been a great level of interest from everyone who had come in to the shop. I have to say that the quality work for the Highlands and Islands makers was fantastic, I was familiar with each of the makers’ work, having seen it online or having featured them on the HI-Arts website, but you really have to see the work in real life to appreciate how great it is. We all commented on how great all of the work looked together, although it was felt that perhaps a little more space could have been provided and I know that Mhairi Killin felt that she felt her work may have looked better in more of a gallery-type venue.

  

  Made in Highlands at Stroud International Textile Festival

  After making a few purchases in the shop (well, you have to treat yourself!!) we returned to the hotel and proceeded to have a great evening full of conversation and laughter. I have to say that on a personal level I really enjoyed spending time with a group of people who have a similar background, we had lots of fun conversations about our experiences at art college and it was great to hear how they went on to then progress in to running their own businesses – a route that I often wonder whether I should have gone down at the time of leaving college. No regrets now though, as working with HI-Arts I still get to indulge my love of design and work with some of these great makers.

  Saturday

  As the festival was now officially open, many of us had planned which of the exhibitions and talks we wanted to attend. Pamela and I wanted everyone to have the freedom to attend the events they wanted to so once we arrived in Stroud, we all agreed to ‘do our own thing’ and meet up later in the day.

  Along with Pamela and Jenny Deschenes, we went to visit Losing the Thread Textile Artists which was held on the top floor of the Kendrick Art Shop, it was a tiny space, but I really liked the idea of having the exhibition in this venue. Then on to the exhibit by the Cork Textiles Network at Stroud Subscription Rooms, a good selection of work, in a great bright space.

  What I liked about the exhibits is that many of them were in unusual locations, shops such as Millets and Oxfam had installations in their windows and they really made an impact. I felt holding a textiles festival in a town that has such a rich textile heritage was an important part of the impact of the festival too, this would be an important aspect to consider if planning a similar event in the Highlands and Islands, that and somehow making all the venues an accessible distance from one another, with a great map etc to guide visitors from venue to venue.

  Pamela and I had pre-booked tickets for a couple of talks in the afternoon – Material Activism by Dr Jessica Hemmings and ‘In Conversation: Contemporary Tapestry’ with Jo Barker and Sara Brennan.

  I thoroughly enjoyed the talk by Dr Jessica Hemmings, she really opened my eyes to the range of works being done throughout the world, and how powerful a medium textiles can be to point out injustices and issues that are going on in the world now.

  Again it was good to hear about processes and influences from Jo Barker and Sara Brennan – perhaps it would have been more powerful to have this talk staged in the exhibition space so that they could have talked about their work whilst us being amongst it.

  That evening we were all invited to attend a supper with fellow exhibitors and Lizzie Walton who organises the festival. This was a good opportunity to chat with makers from other areas in a very relaxed environment – we were sat beside some of the makers from the Cork Textiles Network, it was interesting to hear about their stories, what they made and a little about where they lived. It is so important to have these sort of opportunities to mix with makers in a more social occasion.

  Sunday – unfortunately I had to leave early to next day to travel home, but I was left wanting more.

  Avril Souter, May 2010

• Travelling Makers

  Date: 2010.05.04 | Category: Artforms, Crafts, Regions | Response: 0

  

  Our makers at Stroud, with Hazel and Pamela

  Travelling Makers

  From Shetland, Westray, Iona, Lochaber and Inverness, we arrived by trains, ferries, buses, taxis, planes and in some cases, all five!

  Organising Highland invasions like this seems to be an integral part of my job and one I relish. By the very nature of our location, we usually work in isolation and although this can be wonderful a lot of the time, sometimes we need to get out of our comfort zone and look at the rest of the world. The chance to meet with like minded people, to discuss and plan, inspire and enthuse and then to return home exhausted with a head filled with new ideas, friendships and contacts is essential for those of us who live here.

  Our group to attend the Stroud International Textile Festival was such a visit – all makers who were exhibiting as part of this year’s festival plus Hazel Hughson from Shetland Arts, Avril and myself from HI-Arts.

  We were also going to see how we could be involved in the festival in coming years and to look at ways we could translate this to the Highlands.

  Attending the festival was a great way to get our band of well travelled makers together and then to watch what happens as they realise that they are not alone in their struggles, that they  have all to leave and organise their workshops, families and life. That wherever we live, we have similar needs and demands.

  Where the Highland and Islands are different from most of the rest of the country is that we have serious transport issues to address; getting supplies, organising exhibitions, meeting other makers and organisations take on a whole new dimension when you have to deal with ferries,planes, weather and single track roads.

  Our Stroud trip confirmed that this is something that people in other parts of the country have really no idea about. I heard one comment at our networking supper that seemed to sum this up, ‘Shetland, is that where they make Harris Tweed?!

  Hazel usually takes out her map at this point and then shows the bemused person where Shetland sits in relation to the rest of the country, and when they also realise that the Highlands are a huge area geographically and I tell them that my commute to Inverness is a 5 hour round trip, they get some idea of the scale of the area we cover!

  Perhaps this is why our makers work really demonstrates such a sense of place. Looking at our groups work at Made in the Highlands at Made in Stroud you are struck by the way the colours reflect our area, the quality is outstanding and the designs are  contemporary but still retain the essence of our heritage, something that was commented on by so many people.

  I hope by taking groups to other areas, our makers go home feeling less isolated and that the places and people they visit have a better understanding of where we come from and what we do. And best of all, I look forward to makers getting back in touch to tell me about their new plans and projects as a result of their trip!

  Next week we are off to London and Collect with a new group, so watch this space for my update on that visit!

  Pamela

  www.stroudinternationaltextiles.org.uk

• Stitching Together

  Date: 2009.08.05 | Category: Crafts | Response: 0

  

  Studio Seven

  At the beginning of August I travelled to Stroud on the edge of the Cotswolds to meet with the Director of the highly regarded Stroud International Textile Festival, Lizzi Walton as well as members of several groups in the area.
  
  The landscape is very different from the Highlands but we have a lot in common including issues around rural isolation, strong textile traditions and their makers struggle as ours do to raise the profile of their work, get new audiences and keep inspired.

  Their Textile festival is a wonderful example of what can be achieved when a group takes a germ of an idea and runs with it.

  Now moving into its fourth year, the festival encompasses an ambitious and inspirational programme of events to do with all things textiles – many of them not as you would imagine! When they first started the festival they got a lot of stick from traditional groups saying – ‘this is not textiles!’ So it has been a struggle to get people to understand that they are trying to demonstrate that textiles are not just textiles as we usually think of them and to engage with new and diverse audiences. This year a member of one of the groups that was upset about the first festival said – ‘I get it now!’

  From small but very ambitious beginnings, the festival now attracts over 12,000 visitors from all over the world and transforming this small town over a period of 21days in May with a heady mix of exhibitions, talks, music, performance, residencies, circus, debate and with work from jewellers, basket makers as well as textile makers from woven to printed and everything in-between!

  One of the most inventive translations of ‘textiles’ comes from a group of 7 textile artists who have combined their talents as makers to take their work to a new audience through performance. Studio Seven combines textiles, dance and sound and the work is performed in stunning locations from buildings to gardens with each work responding to the location and having an interactive audience participation element. You need to be there to really understand how the journey from a flat pattern to a finished garment can be a transformed into a something so innovative!

  The way that this group work together, pool ideas and skills, think creatively and then create an event that is so far reaching in its appeal that it pushes the boundaries of all their combined talents is a real inspiration.

  From Stroud, Lizzi took me to visit the Gloucestershire Guild of Craftsmen annual show. Alongside their own show they had a curated exhibition of work from invited makers and artists. This was a wonderful way to combine both inspirational work from new people and work from the guild members. One part of the show really appealed to me – delicious lunches and cakes made by members of the group and served with beautiful ceramics, woven napkins, wooden bowls and interesting staff who really know the work on display – they make it!

  The festival, exhibition and the diverse programme demonstrates what can be achieved when you really think about how to get a new audience and how to make your group a success, when you take a small idea and then build on it.

  The leadership and vision of Lizzi must go a long way to pulling it all together but the work achieved here left me inspired, enthused and even more determined to ensure that our makers continue to make things happen in our own small part of the country!

  Pamela Conacher , 5 August 2009
  

  Links:

  www.stroudinternationaltextiles.org.uk

  www.studio-seven.net