Exhibitions
'Eastern Journeys'
Oriental Museum
2007
An exhibition by Durham Guild of Spinners, Weavers & Dyers, of work inspired by the Museum's artefacts was held earlier ,
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'Eastern Journeys'
Durham Guild’s first exhibition at this venue was in 2004, and on the strength of that we were invited back to view the Museum’s collection again, as inspiration for this exhibition. Rather than take individual artefacts, this time we decided to choose the wider canvas of ‘Eastern Journeys’.
The items which were on display represented knitting, crochet, loom, rug and tapestry weaving, hooky, proggy, felt, kumihimo, patchwork, embroidery, sculpted paper and many aspects of dyeing, showing how innovative the textilers had been in exploring the chosen theme.
Who would have thought to surround bright little rectangles of weaving with frames from discarded film slides. The warps in between the woven parts had been left open but were decorated, embroidered and beaded. These dainty wall hangings attracted a lot of attention as did woven lengths of sumptuous red silk, fashioned into a jacket, a stole, and various small oriental objects.
Just to underline the diversity, another stole, quite different from the silk but equally stunning, had a design adapted from that on the Rameses III girdle. The main part was woven in plain cream lambswool, but the deep borders in natural dyes of greens, oranges and yellows authenticated the Egyptian design source.
The Guild’s tartan expert had researched some woollen twill burial plaids found with mummies dating to 1200-700BC and had replicated exactly the light blue and shades of brown in the original articles.
Others’ journeys had taken the weavers and knitters to Istanbul, New Zealand, Mongolia and China. Colours and textures were reminiscent of sand and sea, of glazed tiles, of painted porcelain, of nomadic trappings, executed in woven rugs and tapestry, jewellery, knitting, crochet, felt and kumihimo braids.
Another’s was a more spiritual journey, pursuing Buddhism’s Four Noble Truths. The woven hemp wall hanging in shades of green and blue, entitled ‘Joy of Spring’ , interpreted Buddha’s “all is impermanent – everything arises and passes away”.
The illustrated folder, beautifully produced by a Guild member, told that the weaver of the framed, loom-woven tapestry of a ‘Minka House’ had taken his inspiration from the one in the Bamboo Garden at Kew. A minka house is constructed from Bamboo, wood, mud-plaster and thatch and can be dismantled, transported to another site and rebuilt.
A children’s weaving workshop took place and the Association of Guilds’ National Week of Spinning, Weaving & Dyeing was celebrated during the run of this exhibition, with an Open Day when families came to try their hands at an assortment of textile skills.
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'The Four Seasons'
Exhibition at the DLI Museum.
Guild members Norma Butcher & Susan Foulkes, displayed a rich assortment of woven and coloured textiles.
On display were Rainbow rugs, Fringed double weave scarves, natural silk and linen yarns and textured fabrics.
Interface Arts
Launch and Exhibition Unit 1, The Gates Shopping Centre, Durham City
28th March – 4th April
Monday-Saturday 10am – 5pm, Sunday 11am – 4pm
An exhibition of artwork produced by Interface members, incorporating a wide variety of styles and media – from sculpture, painting, printmaking to weaving, installation, ceramics and glass, there will be something to inspire and excite everyone!
Space for Creative Practice to flourish in Durham Interface Arts is a network for artists in County Durham, open to all people for whom creativity forms a significant part of their lives.
After April 2009, the Members will manage and develop the group, and it is anticipated that this County Durham restriction will be widened to include all areas of the North-East.
There will be a wide variety of events throughout the year, so join us and have some fun!
We aim to make links and collaborate with other organizations in a concerted effort to enable artists/craftspeople/musicians to get together and put Durham on the Creative Map.
So, if you are a creative practitioner or group in the North East, we welcome you.
A fantastic website has been developed where members can edit their own micro-site and will provide a useful resource for visitors to find artists and events in Durham.
Website: www.interfacearts.co.uk
For more information, please contact Acting Chairperson Chrissie Morgan:
Email: morgana@macace.net Phone: 07791 680 139
The project is currently managed by DCA (Durham City Arts) on behalf of the County Durham Strategic Arts Officers’ Group (CDSAOG).
DCA will be managing the project until March 2009, after which point the network will become member-led and managed.
Updated 2 March 2010
Sec: email:
angela.colbridge@tiscali.co.uk
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