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It was a delight to be showing our work at the Round Tower Gallery at Frome in Somerset before Christmas. We met lots of interested and interesting visitors. The work we showed was a eclectic mix of our usual creations, pieces which support our main stream of work and are part of our development and work that we do to keep our hands busy or to experiment or are a second stream of creativity.
Thank you, Black Swan Arts, for this unexpected opportunity.
We will be exhibiting later this year - first at the West Barn in Bradford-on-Avon from the 16th to 31st of July and at Ilminster Arts Centre from September 27th to October 15th 2022.
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Our member, Angela Knapp and her exhibition - ‘Thriving and declining on the Somerset Levels’ A story in Stitch.
11 th September – 23 rd October 2021
Having entered the British Wildlife Open at Ace Arts in 2018, I was approached by the gallery asking if I would like to do an exhibition in 2020. This was an amazing opportunity to hold my first significant solo exhibition and due to its location in the Somerset levels I decided to base the work on the birds thriving and declining in the area.
This was three years in the making due to the illness and loss of my mother and Covid. Finally, we were able to go ahead, and I spent 6 wonderful weeks chatting to visitors and sharing my exhibition. I love making the birds, but my work has increasingly attempted to tell a story and engage with the viewer to illustrate the plight so many of these bird’s face. The opportunity to focus on my local area, the Somerset Levels was fabulous, and I enjoyed researching and raising awareness of the birds plight through stitch.
The exhibition included 17 stitched bird pieces, stitched maps of the main local reserves and painted skulls of the birds featured. I trained as a Radiographer and have always been fascinated in skulls, I hoped to show the variation in their beaks and scale as well as having an image of all that will remain of many of these species if action is not taken.
The greatest pleasure was sharing my work and discussing the threat to many of these species and of course, discussing my techniques and approaches with the visitors.
 
A couple of the stitched birds and the lovely skulls as displayed
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Maps of the Somerset Levels above
and Angela's Catalogue below
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Our members, Claire Passmore and Alicia Merrett, have had work accepted for the 8th European Quilt Triennial exhibition, which opened on 10th October 2021 until 16th January 2022 at the Textil Museum Max Berk in Heidelberg, Germany. The Triennial is possibly the most prestigious exhibition in Europe. Fifty different quilts and textile objects from 15 countries were displayed, and their quality and originality demonstrate that artistic creativity is not reserved just for painting, sculpture and other media.
The exhibition then started touring and was at the Kreismuseum Zons, in Dormagen, Germany, until April 2022. The next venue is the Textile Museum St Gallen Switzerland. November 2022 - January 2023 - https://www.textilmuseum.ch/en/category/exhibitions-en/
Claire’s work is called Light, Life, Love and was made during the dark days of coronavirus. She wanted to make an uplifting and optimistic work, that gives us strength and presages better times to come. You can read full details about the work and her process in Claire’s blog - www.clairepassmore.com/blog
Alicia’s work is titled Code XYK and is a piece digitally collaged from a number of modified photos and iPad designs. Code words and letters are partially hidden, tantalisingly asking us to interpret their meaning. The code needs to be deciphered, like it had to be done with coronavirus to be able to develop a vaccine - www.aliciamerrett.co.uk
To see more of the work in this exhibition, visit https://www.textile-forum-blog.org/2022/04/deutsch-8-europaische-quilt-triennale-2021/
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Light, Life, Love by Claire
Code XYK by Alicia
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Meet Our Members - Jane Brooks
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As a mature student I studied for a degree in graphic art at UWCN, specialising in printmaking. Following the degree I continued to make and exhibit abstracted landscape prints. Combining this with working in commercial galleries and, in the early days teaching at a nearby further education college. However, the world of textiles and art quilts is alluring. During Collagraph print runs I began experimenting with printing on pieces of fabric rather than sheets of paper. This textile printing encouraged me to take some textiles courses and attend workshops. To follow my enthusiasm and work solely with textiles.
Winter Landscape
My ideal day is spent working in my studio. I also enjoy walking in rural landscapes and working in our wild garden. When I’m out and about, I draw and collect natural materials. Then saving these until a warm sunny day when I can work outside. I use glue, handmade papers and the amassed natural matter, making Collagraph plates to ink up and print from. The drawings and plates go on to be used to print one-off pieces of fabric.
Orchard Plate 1
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With wild plants currently the source of my inspiration, I’m taking a close up look at these. Being inspired by a catch of light on a thorny dog rose stem, the wonderful crinkle texture and colour of lichen, or the negative shapes of leaves. These are all feeding into my creative thinking. So now, rather than the previous representational landscape drawings I’m making abstract drawings which have pattern and curving lines all over them. The drawings inspire pieces of printed, painted or stitched fabrics which will, eventually, some day, end up in quilts.
Wild Flower Meadow
Developing an interest in hand stitch has been one of the joys of the last twenty two months. I’ve worked with a daily hand stitch practice to improve technique and my skill level. This enthusiasm for hand stitching has been nurtured and encouraged by being a part of the CQ West, Slow Stitch, sub group. I’ve been a member of CQ West for seven years and have taken part in the ‘Unfolding Stories’ exhibitions, and the recent ‘Untold Stories’ exhibition.
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Meet an International Textile Friend - Gillian Travis
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Gillian always wanted to study textiles. She was a bright, creative active pupil who spent many hours drawing, designing and making clothes using Laura Ashley fabrics. She also has a love of outdoor life and travel taking zillions of photographs which she publishes on Facebook. This often result in quilts using her trademark technique - Interchange Applique.
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After teaching at Huddersfield Technical College for many years, Gillian started running classes from her home studio and started entering work in exhibitions and competitions. She won prizes and her work was accepted into juried exhibitions. She has received invitations to exhibit her quilts all over the world and has exhibited and taught in France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Czech Republic, Canada and South Africa where she has made many textile friends.
During the Pandemic, Gillian was one of the first tutors to adapt her courses to run online Zoom classes. On her website, you will also find her books at https://gilliantravis.co.uk/ or follow her on Instagram at gilliantravis.
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Links and other Resources
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This year the Festival of Quilts is late -18th – 21st August 2022. Tickets are already on sale. Visit https://www.thefestivalofquilts.co.uk/
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Our Members:
Alicia Merrett, Ana Kirby, Angela Knapp, Christine Seager, Claire Passmore, Dot Carter, Fran Griffths, Jane Brooks, Judith Barker, Judy Stephens, k3n, Kara Chambers, Lucy Poloniecka, Maria Harryman, Rachele Dickie, Stephanie Crawford, Sylvia Hammond, Wendy Weller.
CQ West are a group of award-winning Quilt and Textile artists/makers who come from a wide area, including Somerset, Bristol, Gloucestershire and South Wales. Many have work in both public and private collections and show and teach nationally and internationally in their own right. They formed as a group in 2013 as a means to share and push the boundaries of their personal practice.
More information can be found on our website http://www.cqwest.uk or on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/cqwestuk/ or use the links at the top of this email.
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