PARENTS

Year 11, AS and A2 Textiles students travelled to Alexandra Palace in London recently to visit the prestigious Twisted Threads Textile Show. This annual event is now considered to be the best textiles exhibition in Europe and features a range of established artists such as Alice Kettle and Jan Beaney. It provides a platform for up and coming textile students in the Graduate Showcase and also features a range of traditional textiles exhibits such as Quaker Tapestries and Shibori from Japan.

Textiles has now firmly become an art-form along side painting and drawing, being, in this case, less about fashion but more about experimentation and utilising materials. Students were given the opportunity to meet many of the artists exhibiting and talk to them about their work. Valuable inspirational material was gathered at the show, which will enable students to further enhance their coursework.

Following their experience at the show, students were given the opportunity to work alongside visiting artist, Angie Hughes, who led them through a practical workshop exploring foils, velvet and machine embroidery. Angie teaches in her studio, Ledbury Artplace and for Guilds and groups all over the country. All students were able to create an individual piece of textiles, learning new skills and developing their own ideas into new forms.