COMING SOON . . . .

30th Nov 2011 - 20th Jan 2012. The Hive Gallery, Shrewsbury, SY1 1TE

'Collaborate is an exhibition showcasing the crème de la crème of Shrewsburys creative talent, who by sharing their skills with each other have enhanced their commercial design practice. From a mixture of creative backgrounds; photography, fine art, fashion, textiles, digital media, and illustration, collaborate looks to document the creative process behind these exchanges. The result is a story of interdisciplinary projects.'


This is an exhibition I am curating. You can read more about the exhibition on the new blog.

in the studio . . . .

It has been a busy month in the studio for me.  I have been making warps and getting the loom set up for scarf production.  I also have new cushions in production.  All these new products will be available to purchase at the Designers / Makers shop in London (25th November-23rd December) and at Made by Hand in Newport, South Wales (2nd-4th December).  But if you cannot make these dates, fear not because there is a new online shop coming to my website very soon. 
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A sneaky preview of one of the colour ways, hot off the loom.

Here are my new tags, business cards and labels.

house of beasts . . . .

On Friday afternoon I escaped the stuffy hot studio for a research trip with tailor Kate Millbank.  Kate and I are gathering inspiration galore for a collaborative project we are embarking on and I shall be talking more about this over the coming months.  We headed out to Attingham Park, a National Trust property just outside Shrewsbury.      The house and grounds are currently hosting a contemporary art exhibition called House of Beasts, which has been organised by Meadow Arts.  Seamlessly integrated into the rooms are wonderful macabre installations, illustrations and animations.  I'm slightly in love with the whole exhibition but my favourite piece was by Alastair Mackie. 

"The owl, having swallowed its prey whole, slowly digests the nourishing, softer parts.  It then regurgitates the indigestible bones, feathers and fur in the form of a pellet.  To create his sculpture Alastair Mackie extracts mouse skulls from the pellets. with meticulous craftsmanship turns this natural product into an object of fascination, beauty and scientific curiosity.  A hint of the initial violence lingers in the fragility of his work."

words from exhibition catalogue

Alastair Mackie - Untitled (Sphere)

image from here