Collect: The International Art Fair for Contemporary Objects

Stephen Bird - War on Pottery - seen here

I went back for a proper look around at Collect on Saturday, it's a real treat to see so much top quality work in one venue, I really enjoy the international aspect of the fair. Jewellery had a strong presence this year along with ceramics; textiles generally seem to be less well represented, however two Fibre Arts Wales members were showing, Laura Thomas with Ruthin Craft Centre and Michelle Griffiths with Lesley Craze Gallery. I was also delighted to find some pieces by ceramicist, Stephen Bird at the Bluecoat Display Centre stand.

Bettina Speckner - seen here

I really like Galerie Ra and Galerie Marzee, both Dutch based jewellery specialists. At Galerie Ra I made my (purely) fantasy purchase - a brooch from Bettina Speckner! Gallerie Marzee have a plan chest alongside their main display full of exquisite pieces from their gallery artists.

Galerie Marzee at Collect 2011 - seen here

Made by Hand - Tredegar House

Julia Parry Jones - Embellishments - seen here

I went to visit Made By Hand, a brand new craft fair for Wales at Tredegar House in Newport today. Organised by the same folk who bring us The Contemporary Craft Fair at Bovey Tracey in Devon, it's  fabulous to find so many of Wales' and the UK's top makers showing their work under one roof. Definitely worth a visit if you can make it this weekend - it's on until 5 December, excellent opportunity to support the exceptional work of our craft community with your Christmas purchases. Congratulations to weaver Laura Thomas for being awarded Best Welsh Maker at the fair yesterday, and Cardiff's Ruth Harries for collecting Selvedge Magazine Award for Textiles - both members of Fibre Art Wales.

warp+weft: from handloom to production

Dashing Tweeds

The show we have currently at Oriel Myrddin Gallery celebrates the fine art aspect of contemporary weaving. In The National Wool Museum in Drefach Felindre, Carmarthenshire a sister show - warp+weft: from handloom to production, looks at those weavers who have expanded to take their work into production. No more needs saying - just feast your eyes!

Eleanor Pritchard

Tim Parry Williams

Wallace & Sewell

Margo Selby

warp+weft:contemporary woven textiles

warp+weft:contemporary woven textiles (foreground work by Laura Thomas)

We finally opened our long awaited exhibition at the Oriel Myrddin Gallery, warp+weft: contemporary woven fabrics last night. It has been funded by The Laura Ashley Foundation and the curator is Cardiff based weaver, Laura Thomas. Laura has curated a sister show at The National Wool Museum which is also in Carmarthenshire.

Priti Veja - photograph: Toril Brancher

We have been working on this project for a long time and it includes a really fabulous catalogue (£12.50 in the gallery!) for which we commissioned photographs from Abergavenny based photographer Toril Brancher, she has made a stunning series of images for us.

Ainsley Hillard - photograph: Toril Brancher

Laura is nothing short of a powerhouse! She has not only curated and hung these two shows, but also arranged a symposium which happened today, warp+weft: cross-disciplinary approaches to weave which was directed by Dr Jessica Hemmings from Edinburgh School of Art. Not content with these achievements, she also organised a retrospective student show for the textile department of West Wales School of the Arts in Carmarthen where she lectures AND a Fibre Art Wales (she is the Secretary) show, Exposed: textiles in the open, both at The National Botanic Gardens of Wales which were opened yesterday.

The discipline of weave is a difficult area - it seems to lack the sexiness of other textile disciplines and carries a bundle of unhelpful stereotypes with it. In fact it is a really exciting area of craft development, cutting edge ideas and technologies are at the forefront of practice. That is what this show celebrates - it is fantastic that in the historical heart of the weaving industry here in Carmarthenshire, we are getting a glimpse of exemplary contemporary work.

The show features work by makers well known in their field, many are considered pioneers amongst their peers: Peter Collingwood, Sue Hiley Harris, Ainsley Hillard, Makeba Lewis, Lucy McMullen, Ptolemy Mann, Ann Richards, Ismini Samanidou in collaboration with Gary Allman, Kathy Schicker, Reiko Sudo, Ann Sutton, Hiroko Takeda, Laura Thomas and Priti Veja.

Ismini Samanidou - photograph: Toril Brancher

Carmarthenshire has, without a doubt been the hub of the weaving world this weekend!

Fibre Art Wales

Louise Bird - Black Hole of Carmarthen - seen here

I am delighted that I have just been selected to join Fibre Art Wales, a group of professional artists working in Wales "...with the aim of raising the profile of Welsh contemporary fibre art, to educate and stimulate the public regarding new developments and challenges in the current visual fibre art climate".

It is an energetic group with an strong exhibiting presence, and I hope to be able to show in the next exhibition coming up at the National Botanic Gardens in Carmarthenshire.

Here is work from a few of my new colleagues!

Ruth Harries - The Path - seen here

Michelle Griffiths - Endogenus series (Neurons) - seen here

Alison Mercer - Babygrow No: 8 - seen here

Laura Thomas - Haze - seen here

Ruth McLees - Pixel Girl 1 - seen here

All Tied Up

All Tied Up - an exhibition of scarves at Ruthin Craft Centre

We had an email in the gallery today about the forthcoming show at Ruthin Craft Centre in North Wales. All Tied Up features some of our favourite textile weave artists in a show featuring scarves. Gaurav Gupta (Akaaro), Mica Hirosawa, Alpa Mistry, Margo Selby and Wallace Sewell have all shown with us.

I particularly like the work of Delhi based Gaurav Gupta; so incredibly elegant.

Gaurav Gupta, Akaaro Studio - Crack - seen here

We will be hosting a weave show ourselves later in the year, Warp and Weft, curated by Laura Thomas, which will look at the applied work of contemporary weavers.