In Focus Stitching is open!

My silence has continued rather longer than I intended as I worked under some pressure to produce work for an exhibition by Great Western Embroiderers at Swindon Museum and Art Gallery *. I find I am not good at posting small updates - and anyway the changes I make to my digital images are, to anyone else's eye, very repetitive and don't make for good posting. Also, because of family issues before Christmas, I was working against time and cut out many of my usual more varied explorations.

However, all is now finished and, hopefully, blogging will resume with more commitment!

All the work for the exhibition is on the wall or in cabinets, accompanied by an intersting selection of relevant artefacts from the Museum's collections and a range of the photographs used by members in their work. It will open officially on Tuesday 28 May.

For the last year, we have explored and interpreted the Museum's rich archive of local photographs. These have included examples going back to the very beginnings of photography and all covering the history of the town. Members made personal and very individual responses to the photographs. 

I will show both examples of my own work and those that particularly catch my eye from the exhibition in coming days but yesterday the Deputy Mayor came and a Private View was held with coffee and cakes. For members it was the usual occasion with family and friends for enjoying those first views of their long-slaved-over work in its intended setting - always a pleasure and frequently full of surprises.

The Deputy Mayor's arrival and meeting with Maggie Harris, our chair; members discussing work; and Sophie Cummings, the Museum curator explaining the project. 

Members in discussion ...

... and talking to visitors.

And finally the required group photograph! For members and friends reading this, I only hope I haven't forgotten anyone. 

We will be here in the galleries all summer until Saturday 7 September so there is no excuse to miss it if you live locally! Full details are given in the poster in the side bar of this blog.

We are delighted to be exhibiting for so long in this most interesting of local venues which is home to one of the country's most extensive collections of 20th and 21st century British art outside London. So as well as our work in the community galleries downstairs, there is much else to see in the small but beautifully curated changing exhibitions in the main gallery. Sadly though, because of its size, only a small proportion of the Museum's art collection can be seen at any one time because of lack of space, but it is always worth a visit.

* A word of warning, at the time of writing this post, a search of the museum's website is not very profitable as it is currently much reduced and in the middle of a major rebuild. I'm sure it will reappear shortly in a new, informative and revamped state!