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The Textiles 21 exhibition was held at Voirrey Embroidery Centre in the Wirral. The exhibitors were: Liz Ashurst, Cheryl Bridgart (Australia), Freda Brierley (New Zealand), Lucy Brown, Vivienne Brown, Frankie Creith (Ireland), Ing Flint (Australia), Liz Harding, Sue Harrison, Deirdre Hawken, Margi Hennen (Canada), Cindy Hickok (USA), Rachael Howard, Amanda Jones (Canada), Alice Kettle, Alison King (Scotland), Sue Macarthur, Ann McTavish, Carol Naylor, Samiah Saaed (Pakistan), Gabriella Verstraeten (Australia).
Scroll down
to see five examples of the riches that were on show during Textiles 21
and read an account of the Weekend from participant Margaret Roberts.
This really was 'our' weekend - The Readers' Weekend, where our every need was catered for at a comfortable venue, The Village Hotel, Bromborough in the Wirral. We came from as far away as New Zealand, Denmark, Ireland, The Isle of Man, England and Wales. Maggie Grey, our Editor, and Katherine James, the Copy Editor, were waiting to greet us with a welcoming smile as we arrived. Clive, the Editor's husband, was also ready with his helpful assistance.
Every new arrival sat down for a chat and a look at the interesting folders that had been prepared for us about the weekend and the participating artists at the Voirrey Embroidery Centre. In this friendly atmosphere you could feel, as each new member arrived, the individuals becoming a happy group. This atmosphere was to last the whole weekend and I'm sure many lasting friendships were forged.
During our first meal, we enjoyed interesting conversation on politics, our different cultures, embroidery, World Cup Rugby, all spiced with humour. Then Maggie, who was our after dinner speaker, prepared us all for the exciting work we would see at the exhibition with an interesting talk and slides, not forgetting the lovely examples of her own work.
After an early start on Saturday, we visited the Lady Lever Gallery in Port Sunlight, where we saw a wonderful collection of raised-work embroideries from the 17th and 18th centuries; some were so fragile that they were displayed on tables. We had plenty of time to inspect the work and discuss how they were stitched.
We then went to the award-winning Conservation Centre in Liverpool, where slides were shown of the work done to preserve the examples we had just seen at the Lady Lever. We were then taken to see work in progress by the enthusiastic and talented staff.
Our next stop was Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral where we went up to the Elizabeth Hoare Gallery to the sound of the powerful Church organ, but nothing could have prepared us for the work we were about to see. Barbara Moore, our guide, explained to us how this wonderful ecclesiastical work was about to be destroyed but was saved by Elizabeth Hoare who found a permanent home for the collection here in the Cathedral. To crown this visit to the Cathedral, we were met by Ann McTavish who took us to see her embroidery of the "Redemption" permanently sited here in the Lady Chapel. This work was a background to a bronze sculpture of Christ, by Arthur Dooley, a friend. They worked together on this project, but he unfortunately died before the work was displayed.
After an early evening meal we went to Hulme Hall, Port Sunlight, where we were entertained and inspired by Deirdre Hawken and Liz Harding, two delightful speakers, who complemented each other so well. Liz 's theme was 'Words' and she told us how she always uses words when she is preparing to design. She had brought with her many examples of her work which she used to illustrate her talk. Deirdre had four members of the audience to model her hats. Each had a delightful story behind it and she shared many of her secrets with us, for example, she used an Easter egg mould to shape some of her designs. There was time to visit the Fron Isaf stand, the Embroiderers' Guild Bookshop and the Computer Textile Design Group before and after the talks.
The climax to this wonderful weekend was the Exhibition at the Voirrey Embroidery Centre which brought together the best in contemporary embroidery and textile art from all over the world. I will only mention the work of one of the exhibitors, Freda Brierley from Auckland, New Zealand. She was a member of our group for the weekend and I thought her work was so expressive. Many of the artists were present and said a few words about their work.
Too soon the Weekend came to an end and we all said our sad goodbyes, promising to keep in touch. I have already started saving for the next Readers' Weekend.
© text: Margaret Roberts and Maggie Grey, embroideries: as stated.
highlights from November 1999 issue