I like to go to the Platform 1 gallery in Clitheroe when I’m up in t’North of England because it usually has some quirky art on offer (e.g. working wood) and last weekend was no exception.
When I was at school the closest I got to any textile based arts and crafts was making a three-dimensional Garfield picture out of coloured felt. Felt seemed to be the mainstay for kids messing around at home too – not that I did a lot of stuff like that at home – I was far too busy building Lego or Airfix aircraft models to be bothered with soft girly crap like making stuff out of felt. I guess because it can be glued and stitched it’s quite user-friendly for kids and its versatility appeals to adults too if “Black Sheep: the darker side of felt” is anything to go by.
“Black Sheep: the darker side of felt” is a touring exhibition by the National Centre for Craft and Design and shows just what you can do with this fabric if you’ve got some dress-making, model making or hat-making skills. The eclectic mix of exhibits from European, Canadian and North American artists push felt to its limits. I’ve said before (in this post) that textiles aren’t really my bag, but my childhood affinity to felt (perhaps engendered by The Muppet Show) outweighed the dislike, and besides it was pissing with rain outside.
Here’s a link to a lot more detail about the exhibition than I can muster here.
couchmagpie 