An exhibition of textile art pieces and an introduction to creating beauty out of fabric and thread will be featured at the Redland Art Gallery in July.
Connected by Thread is a celebration of the SmartArts Creative Textile group’s 20th anniversary. The current collective grew from an original group of three, each of whom had won prizes in a challenge at Bayside Stitchcraft at Ross Court, Cleveland. This grew into a more structured group of seven and membership now stands at nearly twenty.
The exhibition, which will run from 15th July to 5th September, comprises 18 works; at least one entry from each of the group members and two collaborative works to which each artist has contributed a separate component. Marj Long, a member of SmartArts, says that one of the collaborative works is a display of each member’s self-portrait.
“The portraits will be hung close together, all the same size but totally different applications,” she says. “The other collaborative work is a grouping of more than four hundred Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) that form the number twenty for our anniversary. ATCs are only 64mm x 89mm; they are usually textile based and include many different techniques and themes. We hope both collaborative displays will be of interest to visitors.”
The crafts incorporated in the artworks include collage, 3D creations, batik and eco-dying, embroidery, appliqué, beading, free machine stitching/thread painting, lace making and felting. For those who find the various techniques enticing – but baffling – a participatory workshop will be held on July 20th, when some of the arcane mysteries will be unfolded for participants.
Each participant will be given a kit to work with then guided through the various creative techniques.
Lynne Williams, one of the three original members, will give a floor talk after the workshop.
Note: the workshop is fully booked but the gallery is running a wait list for late applications.
For more information about the exhibition https://artgallery.redland.qld.gov.au/.
