Up Close and Personal Exhibition Starts

Intastitch is a group of textile artists that meets weekly at Bollington Arts Centre. The group was formed to offer friendship and support, to share skills and ideas, and to hold exhibitions to promote textile art. Members are from a wide range of backgrounds and experience, and work in a wide variety of media and techniques including quilt, felt, hand and machine embroidery, applique, weaving, and silk painting, and produce both 2D and 3D art works. The group holds regular workshops led by members or guest tutors to extend and broaden their knowledge and stimulate ideas and to this end also welcomes new members.

PERSONAL STATEMENTS

VERONICA WELLS

My background is in both Art and Design. I have been a member of Intastitch since it’s founding.

The transformation of surfaces by time, and the layers of history revealed in discarded, abandoned, and time-worn objects is one of the main themes in my work. I take a lot of photographs of surfaces and textures and use them as source material for my pieces.

I have always been interested in the intersection between ‘Fine Art’ and ‘Craft’ and have recently started exploring painting and how the painted surface can influence and inform my work.

BARBARA COPE

From my earliest memories as a young girl, I loved feeling the textures of fabric and admiring vibrant colours and patterns. When I was fourteen I received an old but functioning treadle sewing machine which started my journey with stitch and fabric.

As a teenager I began by making my own clothes – making shift dresses and long gypsy dresses.

While training to be a teacher, I studied Art focussing on painting, pottery and textiles. I have also worked within the textile/silk industry designing and painting logos and crests for club ties.

After retiring I put much more of my time and energy into producing unique and interesting textile pieces.

EVA THOMAS

Experiencing nature with its seasonal changes is a constant source of inspiration for my contemporary, unique designs.

I up cycle old fabrics by dyeing, screen printing and mark making. Afterwards I use traditional methods of patchwork, appliqué and quilting by machine or hand stitching.

JENNY THORPE

I grew up surrounded by fabrics, wools and threads of all types and colours and. inspired by my mother, I learned to sew, by hand and machine.

However, it is only since my retirement that this interest has been rekindled when I was introduced to the “Intastitch” group.

My stimulus for this exhibition “Close up and Personal” is derived from a variety of personal connections relating to fabrics from my mother’s lifelong stash, garments, events, and the natural world.

Using different techniques and media is thrilling, satisfying, relaxing and enhances observation of the wonders of nature.

GLYNIS JACOBS

I studied Textile and Design during my Teacher Training but went on to mainly teach Humanities subjects and later in my career I taught these to  Special Needs students. When I retired as SENCO I revisited my interest in textiles, art and stitching in general. As I had collected materials and ideas, I needed to learn more techniques. So I joined an art and craft group and visited exhibitions and demonstrations to widen my experience. As a result I saw the work being done by the Intastitch group and since joining I’m bursting with ideas and love trying new techniques. 

SUSAN LLOYD

I am an artist maker living in Bollington.

I am currently completing a BA in textiles which has introduced me to many exciting new concepts and materials such as resin, plaster, and assemblage work, with an interest in story telling and identity.

However for this series of work ‘Up close and personal’ I have chosen to return to my original love of pieced, printed and stitched cloth with hand stitched designs based on close up images of cells. These cloths have travelled with me on various trips and journeys, gradually evolving into these 6 framed images. They are a reminder of how personal a piece of cloth can be when held and worked on over a period of time.

JANET PARKINSON

I have dabbled in pottery, silver jewelry and other crafts before, during and after a career as an Architect. More recently I began exploring textile art and now I am combining textile with porcelain pottery.

For this exhibition most of my pieces are ‘up close and personal’ with nature, details of plants and their cell structures.

HILARY YATES

I learnt to draw, embroider, sew, knit, and crochet from an early age and have always liked to try new things such as tatting, lacemaking, etc. Starting at the age of 11 making clothes for my dolls, and then for myself, I loved creating the unique and different. Even at school I had made three outfits when my fellow students were still on the terms challenge!

In latter years I began to explore art using textiles: felting, applique, paint, dyes, and other media.

Inspiration comes from anywhere and everywhere – even in the mundane.

The Gallery will be open from Wednesday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm each week, and the first Sunday in each month, 11am to 4pm.