Feel inspired by textile displays

Textile work by Rose Stanley, on display at the Bailiffgate Museum, Alnwick.

Alnwick’s Bailiffgate Museum is welcoming back the It Happens collective for a display of Borders, Boundaries and Beyond.

Three talented textile artists, Gillian Arkley, Chris Dixon and Rose Stanley, will be presenting their inventive artwork.

Textile work by Chris Dixon, on display at the Bailiffgate Museum, Alnwick.

And visitors will also be able to view their workbooks to see how the finished pieces came together.

Bailiffgate volunteer Jane Mann, who enjoys working with textiles herself, said: “It Happens has exhibited here several times before, and each time the artists’ work is quite different, but always colourful, intriguing and highly accomplished.

“I am always intrigued to see how far, and in what different directions, each of these three artists will take their work. I love to look at their workbooks, as well as the finished work.

“Visitors will not be disappointed.”

Textile work by Gillian Arkley on display at the Bailiffgate Museum, Alnwick.

The exhibition was premiered in Glasgow, and has also been shown in Harrogate, North Shields and Newcastle Civic Centre for the Quilters’ Guild AGM.

Gillian takes her inspiration from the wild, and historically lawless, border of Scotland and England, while Chris looks to tales of mystery and magic, and Rose is inspired by her travels at home and abroad.

The artists are well-known across the UK for their highly skilled work and have a loyal following of supporters who will travel far to see it.

The Alnwick exhibition will include art and craft activities for youngsters to develop their own ideas from the work on display, and there will also be small items for sale, such as books, bags and cards – ideal for Christmas gifts.

In addition, Gillian will be running two textile classes on Contemporary Japanese Boro Work.

Each Boro cloth tells its own unique story, with patches carefully sewn on and reinforced with stitching, often over generations of a family.

Participants will be using colourful fragments of silk kimono to patch a collage using a darning stitch.

The classes run on October 6 and 15, and are suitable for beginners and more experienced quilters. They cost £35.

Gilian said: “It’s great to be back at Bailiffgate.

“Our group was formed in 2006 to help us push our own boundaries as quilters, and we have always been inspired by both the industrial heritage of the North East and the dramatic and wild landscape of Northumberland.”

The exhibition runs until October 28. Normal museum admission charges apply – adults £4, concs £3, children £1. It is open Tuesday to Sunday each week.

For further details and class booking see www.bailiffgatemuseum.co.uk or phone 01665 605847, or just call in.