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Farewell to Art in Action


Apologies for the delay in writing this but I have had to take a little time out recently.

Sadly this was the last ever Art in Action after 40 years but it certainly did not disappoint and was a fitting way to say farewell to this event which was held in mid July. The wonderful thing about A in A is being able to see the artists at work and discuss their techniques and processes with them openly and in detail.
Hannah Tounsend was very generous with her time and was happy to discuss her gorgeous ceramics with me. She had just finished exhibiting at New Designers in the 'One year on' section and is clearly going from strength to strength with her ceramic work.

Sarah Morpeth's work was as wonderful as ever and it was lovely to catch up with her again and have a chat. I have been so inspired by her work over the years.

In the International Tent it was the Polish paper cutting (Wycinanki) that amazed me. On the wall was a discreet newspaper cutting that explained the history of the craft which was fascinating. I couldn't believe such enormous scissors could produce such intricate paper cuts. Apparently they are sheep shearing scissors which are now over 100 years old and half their original size due to constant sharpening!

Another exhibitor in the international tent were the Tentmakers of Cairo with their incredibly intricate quilts which must take forever to make as there is so much detail in them. Lots of hand stitching and patience!

I was very excited to see Harriet Riddell in one of the tents, working her magic creating a stitched portrait of a member of the public. I have seen her work before and love the way she records her travels in stitch as she journeys around the world. Harriet has a pedal powered sewing machine which means she doesn't need electricity to create her amazing artworks - I'm sure that this was particularly handy when she travelled around India. 

It was lovely to see Sarah Burgess again after her Pinpoint II exhibition at One Church Street Gallery last year. She had some fabulous print and machine embroidery pieces on display along with her installation of branches, all very inspirational.


And so it is farewell to Art in Action.....thank you for giving us the opportunity to celebrate all that is wonderful about seeing 'Artists in Action' in such a wide variety of disciplines, you will be greatly missed.




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