"Through our Hands"

The work of ten textile artists from the UK and worldwide is exhibited at Leamington Spa Gallery and Museum now and until January 13th.

I visited on Friday for a lunchtime talk about the exhibition and to hear some of the artists talk about how they work. The initial talk was very disappointing - they had hugely underestimated the interest there would be in the event, which meant there wasn't enough space for the talk and the Gallery staff doing the talk was clearly not used to doing it and hadn't run through the speech often enough to feel at home with the content - sad - given the stunning quality of the work that Annabel Rainbow had selected and curated.
I was really struck by Bethan Ash's pieces, exciting and fluid and probably very complex to construct! I also admired Elizabeth Brimelow's piece "Drawing Day" which was such a painterly quilt full of interest and interesting construction. Dijanne Cervaal's "Travellers' Blankets" was heavily hand stitched and embroidered and I was very drawn to this given my passion for surface decoration at present. Sandra Meech's "Silent Voice ii" was a restrained and calming piece so full of imagery that spoke to me of the quiet of the forest. Linda and Laura Kelmshall's pieces were technically stunning but I found their subject matter less appealing than the others.
If yoy get a chance to visit, it will repay your efforts.