Art in the Frame's week-long festival certainly started with a bang, with near hurricane force winds battering the island of Jersey and delaying the arrival of some of the delegates. The organisers coped with this well and all ran smoothly when the ferries re-started. The event consists of a series of exhibitions based around the Harbour Gallery, St Aubin, on Jersey's south coast and extending into venues around the town. Six days of workshops with top-flight tutors were enjoyed by everyone with lots of visitors coming over from the mainland. The 'Diversity' exhibition at the Harbour Gallery celebrated the environs of St Aubin. . . and produced some extremely interesting work. 'The Barnacles Beneath' by Janet Willis was mounted on driftwood and succeeded in giving an accurate flavour of this sea-faring community. I just loved the flimsy, sea-weedy jacket of 'Stoned' by Di Richardson (below).  |
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Shona Mulhern's delicious pieces, ingeniously framed in clear perspex, were a delight (see right). They seemed to float in mid-air free from any support. Shona also organised the exhibition of children's work which showed amazing promise. Among the other exhibits, I loved the work of Lisa Macdonald (right) and the inclusion of her sketchbook (below) allowed visitors a more in-depth understanding. |
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The second gallery showed the work of Jersey artists, each very different - and what a talented bunch they were. The quilts of Naomi Ranouf (see below) combined colour and texture to make a glorious whole. I also enjoyed the textile jewellery of Adele Denton, huge chunky pieces, more for display than for wearing, with incredible colours.  The work of Sarah Jordan was particularly interesting and I loved the 'Geisha' shoes (below). The combination of wood, metal and organza worked really well.  Ruth Lee gave the keynote talk 'Webs of Intrigue', which saw the audience oohing and aahing over her wonderful samples and finished pieces. We all left determined to buy our needles and get knitting. Pat and Liz of 'Art in the Frame' have proved conclusively that if you put on an exciting event with really good tutors, a chance to see innovative textiles and a range of supporting activities, people will come, even if they have to brave storm force 10 winds to do so. |
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Somebody made a comment on my blog that they thought this exhibition was more art than stitch. I found this quite thought provoking - isn't this what we want if we are to be considered textile artists rather than 'just' embroiderers? Does the term embroidery downgrade the pieces we produce? This argument, along with the art versus craft debate, will run and run. The Embroiderers' Guild attempts to reconcile the dichotomy by promoting two major exhibitions 'Art of the Stitch' and 'The Riches of Stitches'. Of these, the latter, as the name suggests, is an event with stitch well to the fore. This approach does seem to demote stitch and there is no doubt that 'Art of the Stitch' is the flagship show. Enough of the musings - on to the review. Yes, there were some weird offerings that didn't seem to fit with art or stitch and I always have a problem with hastily constructed doll-like figures. However, overall I thought it was great - one of the best 'Art of the Stitch' exhibitions we have ever had. There always has to be something to jar or the thing would be too bland and, often, the weird bits haunt you more than the ones that have greater eye-appeal. One thing that really stood out for me was the part played by drawing. Good drawing appeals to everybody; it should underpin all that we do and there was so much here that was good. In fact, the far corner of the room was a wonderful treasure-trove with the monochrome works all complementing each other and thus making a greater impact than the sum of the pieces. I loved the idea of Ilaria Margutti and Rosalba Pepi combining their talents, with Pepi emphasising Margutti's beautiful drawing with well-considered stitch. 'Cath', by Andra Cryer, was also an outstanding idea with the two portraits of her mother-in-law, showing her in youth and old age. They were exquisitely drawn with stitching using threads withdrawn from the subject's clothing. A strong sense of the affection of the artist for her subject engaged the viewer. |
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Here too, Rosie James captured an essence of Durer with her version of his famous Hand. Her other work, chosen as the publicity image by the Guild, was also breathtaking and, in 'Tourists Contemplating the British Museum' (detail right), she had caught the feel of a crowd: the individuals merging into a whole, the way those retreating were depicted in colour with little detail, most of all in the lively portraits of the girl with the backpack, the guy grabbing a hasty drink - the chap fed up with waiting. This piece had it all.  | |
I always enjoy the sketching style of Shizuko Kimura and she delivered the goods in style with 'Studio View. And the cat came too!' It was well observed, with an interesting double-layered approach and her usual impeccable drawing skills. Other examples of the drawing theme were seen in work by Tilleke Schwarz with her graffiti, this time generated by newspaper cuttings, while Maria Ryan's 'Skaland Bedehuf' evoked childhood and fantasy. Suzanne Gregg's 'Vases' continued the sketchy theme with intriguing work using monofilament thread on soluble fabric. Continuing the drawing theme, I liked the tea-towel observations of both Mary Cozens-Walker - looking at the obsolescence of the tea-towel and using it as a canvas for a tongue in cheek portrait of wartime utility. Then there was the endless tea-towel of Caren Garfen, this time used as a metaphor for all the tasks women had to do. We can all relate to that and the witty little notes were a clever touch. The title, 'Womanual, All Done and Dusted', struck a chord too. Sarah Burgess's work continues her theme of hands and gloves with 'Pulling on, Slipping off' (detail right) demonstrating the correct way to don and remove gloves.  | |
Cindy Hickok's work is always fun and this sometimes masks her incredible skill and technical brilliance. In 'The Past Supper', it is a challenge to the viewer to pick out figures (and sometimes food) from famous paintings. Michael Brennand-Wood's entry was called 'Art of the Stitch' and used strips of woven words which related to artists, art movements, philosophies etc. I loved the way in which woven tapes intersected, mixing up these subjects as they overlapped. Beth Knight's quilt 'Drunkard's Path' (detail below) was made from Guinness cans using the drunkard's path pattern - a clever touch.  | |
This review is already too long so I can only give the briefest of mentions of other work I enjoyed: Jane Kenyon's colour study, Jill Flower's ruffs, Elizabeth Couzins-Scott with her wicked 'Sinner's Handbag' and Sarah Brown's amazing book. Zara Merrick's fairytale, cartoon-style story of Queen Bernice was so good at telling its tale that one almost forgot the technical excellence. A small girl and I were both very taken with this and she confided that she was going home to draw some of her stories in a similar way. Full marks for inspiration, Zara. Eleri Mills's work goes on evolving and her submission was a dream-like landscape entitled 'In the Garden' (right). Long stitches over a painted base gave a real sense of movement and the landscape appeared to glow with an unearthly light - wonderful stuff. The Coats Crafts Anchor Awards were well judged with first prize going to Inga Liksaite from Lithuania. Her 'White and Blue Lines' (below) showed an amazing use of stitch with lines evoking waves and a serene face floating in a breathtaking triptych. Second prize went to one of my favourite artists, Jane McKeating, for 'How to Sleep in Half a Bed'. This eight-page rag book was a biting social observation of the adjustment required at the end of a long marriage. Third prize went to American Scott Ellegood with some of the most amazing hand-stitching I have ever seen. Was it more art than stitch? I found it interesting that my husband (very fond of abstract art, less turned on by stitch) didn't disappear as he usually does when I review exhibitions. In fact he raved and was reluctant to leave when our parking time was up. So, lots of inspiration, lots of stitch and, most important, lots and lots of art.  | |
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