Upcoming events at the Devon Guild of Craftsmen
Tue 3 May 2011
The Summer Exhibition at the Devon Guild of Craftsmen has a special
emphasis: the Silver Anniversary of its location in the Grade II listed
Riverside Mill in Bovey Tracey, with the appropriate theme of a ‘Silver
Thread’.
Alongside the exhibition, local artist and member of the
Guild, Bridget Arnold, is running a Community project to celebrate the
development of the Guild and to say ‘Thank you’ to Bovey Tracey for supporting its
presence in the town. The theme of the Community Project is: ‘Fabulous Bunting’,
following the theme of Silver Thread – where a variety of large and small,
handmade and recycled textile bunting pieces will be created by various
community groups and also by Guild Members and Friends who are professional
makers. Together they will decorate the outside and inside of the Riverside Mill Building
during the Summer Exhibition, and possibly into the Town for the Carnival.
So far, Members of
Bovey Tracey Activities Trust have knitted some fabulous Bunting. Rumour has it
that the Guild’s Director, Erica, has been knitting too. Copies of the knitting
patterns are available from Bridget Arnold. If anyone wants to take part and
make some bunting themselves should also contact Bridget or the Devon Guild.
For the younger generation, Bridget has come up with a way
of recycling crisp packets (those with a foil Lining) as they are perfect for
the Silver Thread theme. So far she has shown groups at Bovey Tracey’s youth
café how to produce DIY crisp-packet (weatherproof) bunting. Walkers Crisps
sell 11 million packets a day, but because crisp packets don’t biodegrade, they
will be around for ever. Bridget says that if the empty packets can be used as
a creative resource for her project, it might help to remind people of how much
waste there is, while some of it can be re-used.
She will be leading similar sessions in Bovey Tracey
Primary School and St
Catherine’s Primary School in Heathfield as well as other drop in events (listed below).
For groups that want to get together and produce DIY bunting
for the Silver celebration, Bridget suggests you can use other recyclable
material, such as old cotton sheets which can be dyed. She recommends using
materials that have a history in your family and mean something to you. To
create a personal memory which can be displayed, is a better solution than
discarding them to the 2 million tonnes of waste textiles that goes to landfill
every year.
You can come along to
some of the planned sessions around the project at, for example Yarner or the
Craft Fair. (See below). Bridget says: ‘I want to give young people the
opportunity to learn skills like sewing and knitting, embroidery and printing which
are not used so much anymore as we are living in such a ‘throwaway’ society. Learning
how to ‘upcycle’old clothes or even how to sew on buttons or knit a scarf can
help people value their own making skills. This project can also be an opportunity
for people who have these skills, to pass them on to others so they aren’t lost
forever.’
Janet Wingate, another Guild Member and professional textile
artist and embroiderer will be joining Bridget in local schools in March and
May, and helping teach applique and other fantastic decorative textile
techniques. If other Members or Friends would like to help with the Silver
community project at similar sessions or at the Craft Fair, please contact Bridget
bridgetarnold66@aol.com
Dates:-
Saturday 9th April Bovey Tracey Town Hall Drop in Session for
all ages and groups 10-12 noon come and help sew the Bunting into shape and
make your own unique piece of Bunting to hang at the Riverside Mill.
Saturday 23rd April part of the Drop in
Printmaking at Devon Guild of Craftsmen
Sunday 15th May Open Day at Yarner Wood
Wednesday 18th May AGM Time for Members and
Friends to join in
Friday 10, Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 June Contemporary Craft
Fair Children’s Tent
There will be other events occurring you can keep in touch
with what is happening on Bridget’s Blog
http://bridgetarnold.blogspot.com/
You can connect to the blog via a link to on the home page
of the Devon Guild of Craftsmen Web site.
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