A few weeks ago I visited the Whitworth Art Gallery in my home city of Manchester. I was so inspired by the exhibitions that I was going to write a post, life kind of took over and it's been sitting in my drafts. Since we are now on lock down and most of us are staying home, I thought you might like to see a bit of artistic inspiration from the 'Tapestries' and 'Unreformed: Wallpaper and Design Diversity' exhibits, amongst others. 
The colourful mural above was created by Ibukun Baldwin, showing a little about how tapestries are made and reinforcing the skill involved. I also really love the colours in this piece.

From bold and modern to an absolute classic beauty from Morris & Co. ...



"A tapestry is a coming together of people or things, usually thread, to make an intricate whole. This exhibition shows the breadth of the textiles at the Whitworth that are made with this method of weaving. Morris and Co., Grayson Perry, Marta Rogoyska and Eduardo Paolozzi hangings sit alongside thick kelims from Central Asia, fine silk kesi from China and early fragments from Peru and Egypt: the first known civilisations to have made tapestries. Sacrifice and celebration, hunting and the hunted, female ideologies and class, politics and taste are threaded through the many versions of this global technique." - Tapestries, The Whitworth





Look at the details in this amazing Grayson Perry tapestry, there's even some patchwork squares!




'Two Punk Dolls' by Candace Bahouth is a mix of tapestry, metal wire, paper and paint. This makes me want to create and I think the faces are brilliantly done, actually everything about these dolls is so cool!


The Whitworth is an incredible building and I am happy meandering through the rooms, taking it all in. These works in other exhibitions caught my eye:



Elizabeth Price: A LONG MEMORY





The final exhibition we saw was Unreformed: Wallpaper and Design Diversity. It was fascinating and possibly my favourite of the day. This display looked incredible, the papers were so rich and the patterns were beautiful.






Lithographic poster representing wallpaper showroom c.1910
W. J. Morgan and Co. (manufacturer) est.1864



'Cabaret' Cole and Son (manufacturer) est. 1875 
Digitally-printed wallpaper 2019, Made in England


Looking at these pictures again rejuvenates me, it's wonderful seeing work from all these talented creators and it inspires me to keep stitching, sketching and making.

I have more posts planned to give some relief reading from the news. I know how serious this virus is but I have nothing much else to offer. I am very grateful for this community and the hobby of sewing and quilting that is keeping many of us sane through these difficult times. Check out my tutorials or shop pages if you need some sewing tips or a project to make. I do hope you are safe and well xx