I’m pleased to announce that “Moors of Home ” has been selected by Alice, Lenny & Vanessa curators at Dwell Time, for the Special COVID-19 Edition online publication .
This ongoing virtual exhibition collects art, writing and poetry reflecting on mental wellbeing in the COVID-19 pandemic- and is available to view via this link.
Screen shot – Dwell Time Special COVID-19 Edition
Size 21 x 27 cm. Hand embroidered and hand stitched with vintage Sylko thread onto cotton cloth Eco printed with leaves and petals from my lockdown garden in Summer 2020.
Dwell time: The time a train spends at a scheduled stop without moving. Typically, this time is spent boarding or alighting passengers, but it may also be spent waiting for traffic ahead to clear, or idling time in order to get back on schedule. In these unprecedented and worrying times, our mental well being and creativity is paramount. Whilst we are confined with limited social interaction, we want to offer online space to explore our responses to the pandemic and social isolation. It’s OK to not be OK and anyone who has any reflections about this is welcome to send them for inclusion on our website. Dwell Time is an award winning, not-for-profit arts publication reflecting on mental well being.
Produced and curated by Alice Bradshaw, Vanessa Haley & Lenny Szrama in collaboration with Penistone Line Partnership. Founded in 2018.
I’m pleased to announce that “Moors of Home ” has been selected by Shannon Skye Robinson curator at Curating Futures, for the Arcadia Exhibition. This virtual exhibition will be available to view from 1st August 2021 via this link.
Arcadia Exhibition Poster
Moors of Home
Size 21 x 27 cm. Hand embroidered and hand stitched with vintage Sylko thread onto cotton cloth Eco printed with leaves and petals from my lockdown garden in Summer 2020.
Screenshot – Inside the gallery
Screenshot – Inside the gallery
Inside the gallery – Moors of Home on the virtual wall
A snapshot of the Exhibiting Artists
“Curating Futures is the brainchild of Shannon Skye Robinson- a curator, designer, and project coordinator.
The project was planned to bring together artists, create a supportive network of like-minded individuals, and generate an inspirational environment for creatives- and their practices- to grow.
The Curating Futures community are a multi-disciplinary group of creative individuals from around the world. We are passionate about art, creativity, culture, and sustainability; together, we work to learn new skills, gain new experiences, and seek new inspiration.
Within our community we collaborate, share ideas, and support one another to produce blogs, workshops, exhibitions and online events.”
One of the many things I have rediscovered in the past year is my love of books and in particular reading Lancashire dialect poetry. This new piece of work titled Worker Bees was designed after reading one of these poems.
A little about ‘Worker Bees’.
The growth of cotton manufacturing during the industrial revolution changed the landscape of Northern towns forever. Workers lived in rows of terraced homes within earshot of the Mill they worked in, each long day of work starting with the call of the factory bell. By 1860 there were 2650 cotton mills in Lancashire, employing more than 440 000 people and producing half of the World’s cotton.
The outer border of the piece features an excerpt from a poem by Lancashire Dialect poet W. M. Billington – first published in The Blackburn Times in July 1864. The poem tells the tale of a chap who overslept and was abruptly awoken by the sound of the factory bells. The central panel of worker bees has been symbolic of Manchester’s historic textile industry since 1842.
In the 1800’s Manchester was full of cotton mills and hundreds of hard-working people went to work in these buildings. The mills came to be described as ‘hives of activity’ because they were so busy, and the employees were likened to worker bees as they put so much effort into their jobs.
Reverse of the workWorker BeesHand embroidered words from a poem written in 1864
This piece is a nod to James and Jane Nixon, my ancestors who worked as weavers in the Mills in Blackburn at the time this poem was written.
Worker Bees is part of a body of work about my Lancashire roots.
Size 11.75 x 11.75 cm. Hand embroidered and hand stitched using vintage Sylko threads onto cotton cloth which has been eco rust printed.
Update
Worker Bees are off on exhibition with Swiss Fibre Art in Germany and Switzerland.
Update
Worker Bees have been invited to take part in ‘A Tall Order’ at Touchstones Rochdale.
Update
Worker Bees have been accepted for exhibition in Brazil!
‘In Natura‘ is a captivatinggroup art show that delves into the profound beauty and fragile interconnection between humanity and the natural world. As a celebration of the World Environment Day (5 June 2023), the exhibition serves as a powerful platform to raise awareness about pressing environmental issues and promote positive action.
By bringing together 23 artists from 13 different countries, ‘In Natura’ presents a diverse range of perspectives and artistic expressions that transcend borders and cultures. Established and emerging artists are showcased side by side, fostering a vibrant dialogue that illuminates the urgent need for global collaboration in addressing environmental challenges and envisions a future where humans and nature exist in harmonious balance.