Open in the Machine Room at the Silk Museum during its opening times on Wednesdays - Saturdays (and May Treacle Sunday), May 11th - June 22nd, 2024.
WOVEN is a 1:12 scale exhibition of 3D artwork by three Macclesfield-based artists, Lorna Ellen, Marianda T and Tyra Till, who explored woven techniques in different materials including clay, found objects, histories, words, and using the ancient technique of tablet weaving.
The exhibition opens in the 1:12 scale The Doll’s House Art Gallery and Museum from May 11th in the 1:1 scale Machine Room at the Silk Museum in Macclesfield. There will be a preview on Friday May 10th from 6-8pm, open to all (including under 16s) with drinks and nibbles and the opportunity to meet the artists and mingle with other art, miniature and heritage lovers.
LORNA ELLEN
Lorna Ellen is a multidisciplinary craftivist whose artistic work revolves around environmental consciousness and creative reuse. Grounded in a deep respect for the planet, she masterfully intertwines man-made waste materials with natural ones, highlighting the stark contrasts and symbiosis between them. Trained in textiles, Lorna demonstrates a unique blend of traditional techniques, like felting, crochet, and embroidery, within contemporary art contexts. Her works not only shed light on pressing environmental issues but also push the boundaries of textile art, advocating for both sustainability and the evolution of craft. Through her pieces, Lorna challenges perceptions, urging viewers to rethink their relationship with the environment and consider the impact of their choices on the planet.
HOW LORNA RESPONDED TO WOVEN
Intertwined is a collection of work that encapsulates the interplay between old and new, merging the ancient craft of weaving with contemporary 3D ceramic printing technology. Each piece in the collection begins with failed 3D-printed ceramic structures from Staffordshire University, objects once destined for landfill, now given new life through artistic intervention. The vessels, with their natural clay tones, provide a stark, earthy contrast to the vibrant hues of scrap cotton threads used in the weaving process. This juxtaposition not only highlights the visual contrast between the bright threads and muted ceramics but also emphasises the tactile differences between the hard, brittle nature of fired clay and the soft, flexible threads. The colour palette of the threads is left to chance, dictated by the availability of scrap materials, which adds an element of unpredictability and uniqueness to each creation.Â
Through Intertwined, Lorna explores texture, colour, and form, where the rigidity of modern 3D printed ceramics meets the fluidity of traditional weaving, whilst crafting a narrative about the beauty and potential of reclaimed waste.
Follow Lorna on Instagram @Lorna.Ellen
MARIANDA T
Marianda T is an artist making small sculptural objects with meaning and stories from things found along the way... In the past year she has spent a lot of time investing in her artistic future by building her own studio from the ground up, and it’s lovely!
HOW MARIANDA RESPONDED TO WOVEN
Marianda worked with a range of materials that aren’t usually found together, weaving them into tiny sculptures. She is a volunteer at the Silk Museum, working with the machines in this very space, so she knows what wonderful weaving these looms can produce. Rather than try out similar techniques, I have chosen materials that often don’t go together; wire and seed heads, pins and acorns and made (woven) them into new miniature artworks.
The cotton reel with writings reaching upwards combined with a spiralling wrapped wire reflect the weaving together of deep gratitude in the midst of deep sadness; unlikely companions.
Generations of DNA are represented by a brightly coloured tree growing up through a staircase: interspersed with leaves of how we choose to live our lives, nature and nurture.
Follow Marianda on Instagram @GalleryInMyGardenÂ
TYRA TILL
Tyra Till is an artist who is preoccupied with Unity; reaching and enabling people from different walks of life. Her work is about breaking down barriers between things and between people. She counters the fragmentation of human society into ‘individuals’ and her practice concerns joining and bridging contrasting elements & constituencies.
HOW TYRA RESPONDED TO WOVEN
WovenDNA is a miniature portrait of Tyra’s female ancestry, where tradition was to name every firstborn female of each family branch ‘Tyra’.Â
In 2023 she set up Maccreate to build connections between diverse community groupings whilst at the same time raising the standard and profile of the Arts and Culture in Macclesfield by prioritising collaboration between local artists, including those involved WOVEN.
The first Maccreate project is called The Women’s Line; a portrait of Macclesfield’s women showing their female family trees as portraits and memories. ‘Trees’ on A0 size paper will hang from gold-coloured pegs like treasured ‘washing’ around the Silk Museum and Library galleries this autumn. The line will be a beautiful silk cord made in the Silk Museum with museum volunteers on the period equipment that has been restored to working order in these very rooms.
In WovenDNA Tyra brings together her own miniature Women’s Line using inherited textile skills by tablet weaving the ribbon that holds her portraits together.
Follow The Women’s Line on Instagram @The_Womens_Line
