21 November 2006
Journey with Textilia III
Farfield Mill Arts and Heritage Centre, Sedbergh, Cumbria
9 December 2006 - 7 January 2007
Take 15 women who share a love of textiles. Add life-times of different experiences and then ask them to respond to the word "journeys".
The result is a wonderfully thoughtful and diverse selection of art by an experienced group who have been together and exhibiting for the past twelve years.
"Journeys" by Textilia III opens in the Howgill Room at Farfield Mill Arts and Heritage Centre, in Sedbergh, Cumbria on 9 December.
Each artist uses her own style and favourite materials - from felt, to intricate embroidery or paint and stitch - to tell a story of a journey that has profoundly affected her life.
For some this is deeply personal. Joan Newall uses waxed papers, stitch and words to convey her recovery from breast cancer and her adjustment to a future she thought had been snatched from her. Margaret Moorhouse fondly recalls regular childhood walks from her home near Skipton across paths and countryside to her village church. Linda Dewart has just returned from a charity trek along the Great Wall of China which she undertook as a challenge to become fit enough to face being 50! Her work is inspired by both China and facing the changes that age inevitably imposes.
Other artists have responded by recalling their own travels to different cultures and landscapes that have caught their imagination in some way. This has led to felt work based on the underwater life and light in Marmari Bay in Paxos, Greece, by Catherine Slater, and to stitched and embellished images evolved from slate rooftops in France, by Sue Allan.
Alongside the main "Journeys" the group will be selling additional textile work for Christmas gifts, including pictures, books, needlework cases and accessories.
Textilia III currently has 16 members who meet monthly to exchange ideas, work towards exhibitions, and keep up to date with contemporary textile work. Last year it launched a website - www.textilia3.co.uk - to showcase members' work and post information about current and future events.