Friday 16 October 2015

Sew and Sew

Tracey Harris, fine art student at the University of Derby, worked with the mill to produce some wonderful interpretation material for the basement. Material is the right word! Photographs and words are printed onto Victorian nightdresses, bolster cases, pinafores and fabric to provide colour and interest.
There are also memories of learning to sew from our visitors, displayed hanging from bobbins, written on fabric. Men and women, old and young, everyone who visited that day had a tale to tell. I have just come back from visiting the Art_Textiles exhibition at the Whitworth in Manchester. It's an amazing opportunity to see where art and craft meet, and to see how fabric, embroidery, quilting, felting and all forms of needlework can be used to tell a personal and a political story. Items range from Tracey Emin's appliquéd blankets, to a traditional Malian warrior's tunic. One of Grayson Perry's tapestries is on show too. Well work a visit. It also made me realise how lucky we are to have such innovative work at Strutt's North Mill. Tracey was one of the University of Derby interns over this summer. I look forward to seeing future projects from her.

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