Looking Forward (with a little looking back)
It always surprises me how quickly my year can fill after just a few weeks into a New Year. First I decide which shows to apply for, hope that I am accepted – wonderfully I’m back at The Contemporary Craft Festival in Bovey Tracey this year, now fingers crossed for a Christmas show. I’d also like to do an open studio event this year, so watch this space. So once my show dates are set, I can set term dates for my weaving classes at Coldharbour Mill and consider when I can run weekend workshops during the holidays. Then there are exhibition dates that I hope to meet through the Devon Guild of Craftsmen and a showcase at the Totnes Fashion and Textile Museum in the Summer. Then suddenly the diary looks a whole lot fuller and I start wondering when I can take a holiday!
My current project – a range of light weight, woollen scarves, wraps and smaller products.
Last weekend I gave a talk to the Devon Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers about my kersey project, which I think went well, or they were very kind to a waffling, nervous weaver! Interestingly one lady recalled her father saying that men in the shipyard where he worked, wore kerseys, which were a little stiffer on the outside than mine – more like canvas, but that they were weather proof.
The kersey is also getting an airing at the end of March, when it will be shown in The Walronds in Cullompton as part of the Cullompton Cloth Town project. I will be ‘in residence’ on Saturday 29th March and Saturday 5th April, so if you missed it at Cotley Barn last year – there is another chance to see, and feel, my hand-woven kersey on these dates between 11am & 4pm.
To round up the end of the Skills Unearthed project , a film was made as part of our exhibition pack. I, of course, cringe when I see myself, but it is a very good film of all the artists talking about their work. This link takes you to the Bhaam website where you can find the film. There is also a wonderful podcast by Blackdown Hills musicians Maxine Green and Charlie Hearnshaw, where I am so flattered to have a reel named after me!