Blog

Posted on

Bankley 2021 Opening Night

Exhibition preview evenings are full of artists, hustle and bustle and lots of wine. The Bankley 2021 Opening Night was no different, only this time I was was one of the nervous artists sharing my work. The venue has three floors of artist studios and has a wonderful creative energy – a perfect place to host the exhibition.

Bankley 2021 Opening Night - The outside of the Bankley Studios - a former industrial mill in the centre of Manchester
The outside of the Bankley Studios – a former industrial mill in the centre of Manchester

So this was a very nervous me at the Bankley Open Exhibition preview event .

Bankley 2021 Opening Night - me standing next to my red hand embroidered artwork
Me standing next to my artwork
list of artists displayed on a wall inside the gallery space
Exhibiting artists

The standard of work was very high. I looked around the gallery and realised I was the only textile art in the exhibition!

hand embroidered textile art featuring writing about my childhood in the 1970's
Sound of the Kenwood Chef
Bankley 2021 Opening Night - people in the gallery space pausing to read The Sound of the Kenwood Chef
People paused and read the piece

A few days after the Bankley 2021 Opening Night a brilliant online review appeared in The Northern Quota, written by Eddie Toomer-McAlpine. You can read the full article below.

review of the exhibition
Quote: Northern Quota review of the exhibition
Bankley Gallery in Levenshulme showcases work from 20 artists selected from annual open call _ The Northern QuotaDownload

The exhibition is on throughout October. Please check the gallery for opening times. Bankley Studios & Gallery, Bankley Street, Levenshulme, Manchester M19 3PP.

Thank you fellow members of the Society for Embroidered Work and the Embroiderers’ Guild for giving me the confidence to enter!

Posted on

Sabi Westoby – Meet the Artist

A little textile inspiration from my YouTube ‘Meet the Artist’ Collection. Today it features art quilts of textile artist, Sabi Westoby.

Sabi designs her own fabrics with dye & print. Her expressive and experimental approach to textiles can be seen in her ‘Uprooted’ exhibition – layers of print, paint and hand stitching.

The artworks are based on the ‘United for Intercultural Action List’, which appeared in The Guardian newspaper on 20 June 2018, World Refugee Day, recording 34,361 known refugee deaths over a 25 year period between 1993 and 2018. The works reflect her desire to acknowledge and give form and shape to the unknown men, women and children who died fleeing climate change, civil war and persecution, seeking safer lives in Europe.
Filmed at the The Festival of Quilts 2021.

In this video Sabi shares her latest work and explains the ideas and design concepts behind the collection.

Catch up with Sabi and her stunning Textile Gallery at The Festival of Quilts 2021.

Images courtesy: http://www.sabiwestoby.com

View the Video by clicking Here

Artwork by Sabi Westoby - Names , numbers of deaths and cause of death - The List - priinted onto cotton cloth and embroidered - overprinted with images of 'reugees' walking in crowds
Page from The List printed onto cotton cloth
Artwork by Sabi Westoby - Names , numbers of deaths and cause of death - The List - priinted onto cotton cloth and embroidered
Artwork by Sabi Westoby

Watch this space! – join the mailing list and be first to see some wonderful artist interviews.

Posted on

Embroidering the Everyday

Embroidering the Everyday book cover - wording

The secrets out! I’m so happy to share my big news with you! “Take Time to Smell the Roses” has been selected to appear in Embroidering the Everyday: Found, Stitch and Paint Book.

Embroidering the Everyday Book - shows a layered cloth backgroud in red and a machine embroidered kettle
Embroidering the Everyday Book

In March 2020 at the the start of the first UK Lockdown, I received a message from by Cas Holmes. She was in the planning stage for a new book and wondered if I’d be willing to have a piece of my art published in it. The chapter she had in mind was about words and memories and how they are captured in cloth. I was delighted to be asked and I’m beyond words to see my work in print.

Take Time to Smell the Roses appears in the book
Take Time to Smell the Roses
Take Time to Smell the Roses

The book looks amazing. I’ve copies of each of Cas’s previous books and I’ll be be adding this one to the stash too.

Books by Cas Holmes: Stitch Stories – Personal places, spaces and traces in textile art; Textile Landscape: Painting with Cloth in Mixed Media; The Found Object in Textile Art: Recycling and re-purposing natural, printed and vintage objects; Connected Cloth: Creating Collaborative Textile Projects.

You can secure your own copy by ordering it here.