This logo will be used on all Out of the Fold materials. A fresh new look for our developing group.
Many thanks to Jenny Lam for all her work designing the website which features all twelve members of the group
In future all Out of the Fold news will be communicated via the website so this little blog will be discontinued.
Thankyou to all our blog followers. I hope that you will continue to support Out of the Fold
The raveninghamsculpturetrail.com/ features 65 artists, in a wide range of media, displaying work outside in the three acres of wild garden.
Venue: Raveningham Centre, NR14 6NU
Dates: 16th July until 7th Sept 2025
Open 10am - 4pm, Weds - Sunday
Entry £8, under 18s free
Mary will be showing a brand new piece of work as part of the 'Bridging the Gap' exhibition with E.A.S.T. at The Minories in Colchester.
Founded in 1972, Norfolk Contemporary Craft Society (NCCS) is the leading Norfolk association of designer-makers. Members encompass traditional to cutting-edge designer crafts
https://www.norfolkcontemporarycraft.co.uk/
Nicola says
"My exhibition ‘Calm’ in June 2025 is an opportunity to reflect on my time in nature. Exploring my natural surroundings, looking at natural dyes from plant matter and creating with natural fibres. Using my senses to respond to and portray the essence of the place and my presences in it.
Working mainly with preloved and silk fabrics and threads, natural dyes, rust and earth pigments, water colours and natural fibres"
You can see more of Nicola's work on her instagram @quiltingthreads
As part of the publicity campaign to promote the event we have been asked for one or two sentences about each member. Plus one photo.
This is quite difficult!
These are the words supplied by each member - interesting to see how we describe our different inspirations and way of working.
Sarah Boardman
Sarah uses art to connect her with herself and life. Through
the mediums of hand embroidery, printmaking and applique Sarah uses bold colour
and shape to explore the world around her.
www.sbtextileart.co.uk @sbtextileart
Caroline Brown
Caroline is inspired by her collection of vintage fabrics
bringing them to a new life, in the form of images that evoke memories and an
appreciation of traditional materials.
Jenny Butcher
Research is an integral part of Jenny’s artistic practice as
she continues to explore the impact of adoption on birth mothers and their
children during the 1950s and 1960s.
@jennybutcherart
Heather Evans
Heather has been developing her textile art after completing
a creative textile course. She enjoys experimenting with materials and colours
to develop her own personal style.
@heatherevanstextileart
Penny Evans
Penny is an award-winning fibre artist who loves experimenting with wet felt, for its textural and structural properties. Her work ranges from the delicate and fragile where paper is incorporated with a fine layer of wool, to structural felt pieces whose strength is derived from the wool itself.
www.pennyevansfibreart.co.uk @pennye.fibreart
Jenny Lam
Much of Jenny's work is in 3D and has focussed on the
natural world and the unseen life force within it. Her pieces are organic
and suggestive of roots, branches, blood vessels, bronchioles - channels
through which life giving elements flow.
@jennylamtextiles
Mary McIntosh
Reading and research is always the start of new work for
Mary. Looking for a story to tell through textile art. The choice of materials
is also key to convey meaning and message.
www.marymcintosh.co.uk @maryelmcintosh2018
Dee Nicholson
Dee’s inspiration comes from nature and landscapes including
the Norfolk and Suffolk coastline. She also specialises in shibori using woad
and indigo.
@deenicholsontextileart
Frances Overy
Frances uses visual sensations, diary scribbles and memories
of time spent when travelling.
Rather than photographic images, words and recollections are her inspiration.
www.francesovery.com @franovery
Phillip Rees
Phillip has a wide range of interests in textile art from
fabric embellishment by printing and dyeing to hand and machine embroidery. He
enjoys creating work in two and three dimensions.
@philliprtextiles
Nicola Whayman
Nicola is a textile artist who is inspired by and responds
to the natural surroundings; exploring and enjoying nature’s resources to
create work and encourage well-being.
@quiltingthreads
Beverley Youngman
Beverley’s creative journey and explorations involve her
getting outdoors, experiencing and responding to her local surroundings and
coastlines capturing a thought, memory or an emotion in her work.
@beverley_youngman
 |
| Drawing by Heather Evans |
 |
| Drawing be Jenny Lam |
 |
| Lino print (underneath) by Mary McIntosh |
 |
| Design by Heather Evans |
 |
| Design by Sarah Boardman |
 |
| Design by Phillip Rees |
Out of the Fold has a long and lovely tradition of exchanging handmade Christmas cards at the final meeting of the year. Here is the selection for 2024.
May we wish all our friends and followers a very Happy Christmas and best wishes for 2025
Sat 16th and Sunday 17th November 2024
10am - 4pm each day
For the new series of work to be designed and created by all twelve members of Out of the Fold in 2025 the theme will be...........
This exhibition will be unveiled at the exhibition in The Guildhall, Bury St Edmunds on 23rd - 28th September 2025
The shop is open Monday - Saturday 10am until 5pm
Art Unequalled Ely
9th and 10th November 2024
Saturday and Sunday 10.30am -5pm
The Malting’s
Ship Lane
Ely
Cambs.
CB7 4BB
For more information look at the website artunequalled.co.uk/november
As contemporary textile artists much of the work we make is for exhibition and designed to be displayed on a gallery wall. However for the last few years we have included an ‘Off the Wall’ challenge to design and make three dimensional work to be displayed on tables and plinths. Originally it was to fill the gallery space. The Guildhall in Bury St Edmunds, which is our main exhibition space, is a beautifully restored Georgian building and does not allow pieces to be fixed to the walls but does have some lovely Georgian side tables. It was a practical solution. But could it also be a creative solution?
The first of our challenges also developed from a group
outing to Sudbury Suffolk which still has three working silk mills and weaves
96% of silk in the UK. We enjoyed a guided Silk Walk around the town and a
visit to the Gainsborough Silk Mill archive. We purchased large wooden reels
from old looms from the mill shops. Each member was then allocated a colour by
random ballot and charged to make a piece of work to be displayed on the reel.
In a way this was quite easy – just a piece of textile in a very long thin
form. But how best to display? If unrolled they lose their form. If rolled then
they cannot be fully seen. The reels themselves roll – right off the table!
The challenge for the ‘Unfolding’ exhibition was linked directly to the theme and was to make fans.
Again we
planned a group outing and arranged to visit the Fitzwilliam Museum in
Cambridge to view some of their fan collection from the archive. This gave us
the opportunity to handle the beautiful fans and see up close the different
styles and construction methods. Some members also visited the fan museum in
Greenwich and one used it as an excuse for a research trip(holiday) to Seville!
The fans proved to be a highly technical challenge. Some members made them from scratch, others deconstructed and reconstructed existing fans, and lots of different media as you would expect from a mixed media group were employed. Fans were made from paper, cotton, silk, vilene, lutrudur, lace, felt and wood. They were stitched, painted, printed, dyed, dissolved, burned, manipulated and quite often rescued from the bin!
This is what some of our members said about the fan challenge:
Phillip
Rees “Making fans
was a technical as well as an artistic challenge. It pushed me to work in a
different way”
Heather
Evans “The challenge
to make a working fan took some research and some failed attempts but it felt
great to finally succeed”
Frances
Overy “Making the
fan was one of the most fun challenges. What a huge variety of techniques,
colours and types achieved for the display. They were a real talking point
among visitors”
Sarah
Boardman “The
challenges are a way of taking you out of your comfort zone an creating
something you would not have down otherwise”
The fans were exhibited in 2023 in Bury St Edmunds and at the Big 24 exhibition in Suffolk
The six
sided cube allowed for a really varied range of media to be used with members
exploring the form. Some members selected to work ‘inside the box’ to make the
most of the hollow form and others using the cube frame almost as a mini
gallery. There were some complete matching sets but others used the challenge
to produce individual standalone cubes. Our three new members also joined in
this challenge at very short notice and added their individuality to the
eclectic mix. Easier to display – cubes do at least stack! Not so easy to
store, another consideration for future challenges
So do Out of the Fold members like the challenges? Are they a restriction or a call to creativity and innovation?
Penny
Evans “Coming
together as a group to discuss the challenges has many benefits, not just
overcoming the technical aspects. Ideas spark off design ideas and the set of
fans, cubes or whatever are produced which are all so different”
Nicola
Whayman “I enjoy the
challenge of having to think differently where there are some constraints”
Jenny Lam “It gives me a focus. Producing 3D
work involves thinking about structure, support, materials and the best method
of displaying to advantage”
Dee
Nicholson “I like
being challenged to think outside the box”
Jenny
Butcher” As a new
member it was good to be included in a collaborative project. 3D work offers
the viewer another interesting perspective to textile work”
Beverley
Youngman “The
challenges are good fun. Great way to explore new techniques together”
The cubes were exhibited at Snape Maltings in 2024 and will be able to be viewed again at the next exhibition in Sept 2025 at The Guildhall, Bury St Edmunds
A version of this article will be published in the Contemporary Quilt Magazine
A huge thank you to everyone who visited our 'A Splash of Colour' exhibition at the Quay Gallery, Snape Maltings in October 2024.
For those not able to visit this time Jenny filmed this short video to give you a flavour of the pieces on display.
'A Splash of Colour' will be shown again at our next exhibition at The Guildhall, Bury St Edmunds in September 2025, alongside a brand new series of work on a new theme.
The Grundisburgh Gallery exhibition runs until the 29th October and so overlaps with the Out of the Fold exhibition until 23rd October. You could do both in one day!
Open 10am until 4pm each day
Free entry
