Exhibition: Whitchuch Silk Mill & American Museum

I visited the Whitchurch Silk Mill today.  The mill is the last working silk weaving mill in the UK.  Whilst quite small, it does show the various stages of silk weaving from taking the dyed hanks of silk and winding onto bobbins; then preparing the warp of the fabric from the various colours; before finally weaving the fabric weft on a traditional loom.  The amazing range of vivid silk colours were on show together with examples of the various silk fabrics –
taffetas, twills, organzas, satins, etc.
An exhibition of work by Anna Nowicki was also on show when I visited.  Seven fairy costumes inspired by a MidSummer Nights' Dream were displayed and you could see all the various fabric treatments and surface embellishments.  This included recycled shirts, garden wire covered in stitches, rusted cotton and blue silk, torn t-shirts and hand-dyed cottons.  Downstairs was a small display of Muse wall hangings, which had an appliqued quilt-style surface.
I also visited the American Museum in Bath.  This museum houses a wide range of decorative and folk art including native beadwork and quilts.  You can get quite close to most of the exhibits and see the way most of the pieces are constructed.   I found the log cabin and Amish quilts particularly interesting.  At various points throughout the house the different periods of American home interiors are displayed including the furniture and textiles.  There are a large number of domestic pieces on display such as tablecloths, bed linen, bedspreads and samplers.  The mill and museum are well worth a visit.

Exhibition: Tracey Emin

I went to the Tracey Emin exhibition 'She lay down deep beneath the sea' at the Turner Contemporary in Margate today.  This exhibition shows a large range of expressive and free drawings, mainly featuring the reclining female nude.  Most  of the drawings are in blue gouache, which somehow give the drawings a lighter touch and feel.  The truly amazing feature of the drawings are the way lines which trail off in space and do not complete the outline still define the form of the nude.  

The exhibition also has a number of translations of the drawings in embroidery.  Blue satin stitch of various widths on a calico background define the strength of the line in the original drawings.  In some of the embroideries four sheets of calico are joined with blue and red running stitch, giving the images a cross symbol which resemble a flag.  Also included in the exhibition are four tapestries including Rose Virgin, which was my favourite piece.  All four tapestries had a watercolour feel and the originals were painted using quite a muted palette.   

Erotic images by Turner and Rodin are also included in the exhibition and this made me realise how certain subjects in art continually revolve.  

I really enjoyed this exhibition - the seemly quick, sensual, expressive drawings and the realisation on how a direct translation of a drawing into another medium can add another dimension to the image.  The exhibition runs until 23 September and is well worth a visit, detail can be found on www.turnercontemporary.org