Glorious Reflections

 

When Out of the Fold were invited to take part in the artcontex event at The Minories Gallery in Colchester I went along to look at the venue and was delighted with the space we were allocated by the organiser Lorraine Traer-Clark.

Out of the Fold were given a long wall in the first floor ballroom with white walls, high ceilings and natural light streaming in through the large windows. A perfect space to show off our series of 'Reflections'

The 'Reflections' work was unveiled a week earlier in an equally beautiful space, also a ballroom, at Bury St Edmunds Guildhall. Also with high ceilings and large white display boards. The light levels are a little different here with the traditional chandeliers.

With these two venues in mind members of Out of the Fold decided to make large pieces of work 40cm x 150cm and all to be displayed in portrait format. 

This way of working is unusual for the group and the size and uniform method of  presentation on stretcher bars proved quite challenging. 

But it was worth the effort. The end result is a spectacular series of ten works of textile art. 

You can see the 'Reflections' exhibition as part of ArtConTex at the Minories Colchester from 2nd - 5th October 2025

Read more about the inspiration behind the work on the Out of the Fold website outofthefold.com/blogsand don't forget to subscribe to receive our regular updates

There will be work on show from many East Anglian Textile groups and individual makers at ArtConTex - a real celebration of textiles in our region 

The Mirror Crack'd

 

When Out of the Fold selected the theme of 'Reflections' for our 2025 exhibition I spent some time thinking about how I might interpret the subject.

Literature, art and musical inspirations were considere; as well as self-reflection, introspection and even Plato's cave. However it was the poem by Tennyson "The Lady Of Shalott" which fired my imaginationwith the tragic tale of the lady cursed and trapped in a tower, only able to view the world through a mirror and passing her time weaving

She is content, but when the beautiful Sir Lancelot  rides by on his way to Camelot she is tempted to gaze upon him and all is lost.

"Out flew the web and floated wide;

The mirror crack'd from side to side;

"The curse has come upon me" cried

The Lady of Shalott"

The choice of materials for "The Mirror Crack'd" was key to the whole work. Reflective shiny fabrics, glitzy sheers, metallic silk, and laminated plastics were all selected to suggest the mirrored surface.

Words from the Tennyson poem were made into fabric using the paper lamination technique. Colours were restricted to a cool palette of blues, greys and purples., with a hint of silver.

"The Mirror Crack'd" will be exhibited alongside work on the same theme by members of Out of the Fold. These are large pieces measuring 16" x 60" so when displayed together will make a real statement.

The 'Reflections' exhibition will be on show at the Guildhall in Bury St Edmunds from 23rd - 28th September 2025

There will be a second opportunity to see the series as part of the ArtConTex event at The Minories, Colchester from 2nd - 5th October 2025

Also on show as part of the 'Reflections' exhibition will be our previous series of work from 2024 entitled 'A Splash of Colour' which was seen first at Snape Maltings in October 2024

This includes a whole series of Cubes made by all members of the group

There will be 19 groups and individual artists from all over East Anglia taking part in the ArtConTex event - a real celebration of textile art in our region

Out of the Fold will be in the first floor ballroom.