Woven Textile Designer, Handweaver
I have just taught my first course, Weaving for Beginners, as part of the Rural Skills Program that Cotswold Conservation Board/AONB offer to ensure that country skills survive.
The course offers hands-on experiences on a range of looms, from the simple rigid heddle and back strap, to a floor loom.
My floor loom has been relocated to the visitors centre where it will be on display and used in the weaving courses. The next course will take place on Saturday, 28th November.
I was approached by the Cotswold Farm Park to come and weave with the public during Wool Week. I took several rigid heddle and back strap looms, ready warped up. Within minutes the children were weaving cheerfully and well. I also took a four shaft table loom on loan from Stroudwater Textile Trust for adults that wanted to explore ‘proper’ weaving.
The bench upholstered with my hand-woven fabric travelled to London with the collection. I met lots of lovely people at the launch, and everybody loved my bench!
I have been short-listed for the Bristol Cloth Design Competition. My design was inspired by the large chains on the dockside in Bristol. The chain link design represents links in the community – links to the past, links between local producers e.g. the sheep farmers and dye maker who provided the raw materials for the competition.
The chains are rusted on the surface but beneath this the metal is strong, clean and shiny.
The finalists are now on display at Bristol 2015: Green Capital LabSpace on the Harbourside in Bristol until the end of September, for the public to vote for their favourite. If you are in the vicinity, please vote for me!
My work can be seen as part of the Creative Forum Group of Artists exhibition at the Corinium Museum, which opens Saturday 8th August and runs until 6th September. Many of the artists will be available to discuss their work at the private view on Thursday 13th August.
On Thursday 16th July, after 6 years of study, I graduated with a First Class Honours degree in Textile Design for Fashion and Interiors from Bath School of Art and Design (Bath Spa University)!
On Friday 10th July I attended a reception and private view of the Cambrian Mountains Wool Challenge collection. This was held at Nanteos House, Aberystwyth in the presence of the Cambrian Mountains Initiative, HRH Prince Charles.
Our local newspaper, the Wilts and Glos Standard published the following article.
I spent four days on the stand at New Designers Part 1 in June 2015. The quality and diversity of all the other universities was truly inspirational, however our stand was said to be one of the most eye-catching due to its large scale, dramatic coloured screen-printed designs.
I have been selected, along with 15 of my fellow graduates representing the BA in Textile Design at Bath Spa University, for the New Designers 2015 Showcase at the Business Design Centre, Islington, London. I will be in London for the event which runs from Tuesday 23rd through to Saturday evening.
The stand is a curated display and the pieces that have been chosen are my experimental double cloth flooring weight fabric woven from Shetland wool. The motif disintegrates or morphs gradually. On a floor runner, this could happen over a much longer length (in the style of M.C. Escher), which I think would be visually very exciting.
After six years of learning and hard labour(!) my degree show has now been installed. The show opens to the public on Saturday 6th June, with the private view the night before.
My pieces form two collections, inspired by Urban and Natural Iceland; volcanic rock greys, lichen yellows and paintbox red, blue and white.
To see more images, look here
rebecca connolly design 