Last Friday I went to the knitting and stitching show with a friend. This is the third or fourth time we've been, and there's so much to see we always split up to look round at things that personally interest us, then meet up for lunch to show each other anything we've bought.
We both like the exhibition hall which this year seemed to have fewer exhibits on show and more sellers, but some of the displays were absolutely stunning.
Jo Beattie's 'Precious Memories Exhibition' was so beautiful I bought one of her smaller works, although I won't be getting hold of it until November as it's off to a show in Dublin.
'Memories are those precious moments that tell our story'
Her work is a reflection on memories of people we love and how we associate them with what they wear. Their patterns and colours are embedded into our memory and become inseparable from our image of them. Our patterns and colours determine not only our character and how we want to be perceived by others but define us in a time, place and culture.
Her most recent work uses shadow to reflect the image of our patterns and identity. She is interested in the way her artworks enhance the idea of a memory by having a shadow of the image reflected onto a plain background a distance away from the actual work. This enables the shadow to become larger and more defined. The work is produced in anyway that best creates the atmosphere she is trying to evoke, predominantly using machine stitch with see through backgrounds such as wire mesh to allow shadows to become an integral part of the work.
'The Playground'
'Separation' is a homage to soldiers and their wives separated from each other by war.
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Some beautiful Julie Arkell figures...
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Body Knowing... 'Heads' - Jean Bennett
'Contained' - Jean Bennett
'Scapegoat' - Jean Bennett
'Shame' - Jean Bennett
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'Eynsham Morris' - Sue Latimer
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Digital imprisonment: 'Life on the inside' - Molly Williams
A woven, layered and felted textile.
