Elmslie Embroiderers’ Exhibition ‘Stopping and Starting’

Elmslie Embroiderers was formed by Caroline Parks in September 2020 with the plan to meet at Elmslie House each Wednesday, with the aim to:

Explore individual and/or collaborative approaches to embroidery, textiles, and related media in a mentored environment, with awareness of contemporary context, and potential to exhibit at Elmslie House and other venues.

Here’s what Caroline says about it:

“We are delighted to be able to put on this exhibition, celebrating the Elmslie Embroiderers and demonstrating that our aims are being met. It is called ‘Stopping and Starting’ because a combination of completely unforeseen contextual factors made it a running theme.

We started due to stops...I was made redundant from my role as Head of the School of Art and Craft at Malvern Hills College, and was teaching a City and Guilds Machine Embroidery course there when the college was shut down for the first Covid 19 Lockdown. This course was completed online and very sadly the College has since been closed. Elmslie Embroiderers started in September 20, but we were only able to meet 6 times before the second lockdown when many of us started working together on Zoom. We met briefly in person in Summer 21, and in September 21 we eventually managed to work together for a full term!

We have explored creative starting points through sketchbook practice and addressed the theme stopping and starting as one of our projects. During lockdown we worked collaboratively on both portraits inspired by our Zoom screen presence, and on a piece inspired by the supportive group WhatsApp chat. Although a core group has been together for the duration, termly enrolment allows for lots of individual starts and stops, and the Covid context also enforced many individual unplanned stops. Some group members worked with me years ago and we have enjoyed making fresh starts, others are starting new to embroidery. I am incredibly impressed by the support group members have given each other throughout this bumpy creative journey, and very proud to exhibit alongside them”.

We are starting the New Year by stopping briefly to create an eclectic exhibition including:

• ●  City & Guilds Embroidery unable to be exhibited before Malvern Hills College closed.

• ●  Individual work by Elmslie Embroiderers on the theme ‘Stopping and Starting’

• ●  Individual work by Elmslie Embroiderers inspired by Elmslie House itself.

• ●  Individual work by Elmslie Embroiderers on individually chosen themes

• ●  A collaborative Zoom inspired Group Portrait

• ●  A collaborative WhatsApp inspired Hanging

• ●  And as a bonus.... Painting by The Elmslie Art Group mentored by Julia Beard.

Here’s a list of all the exhibitors:

Elmslie Embroiderers:

Caroline Park

Caroline Wood

Chris Bourne

Chris Vale

Elizabeth Heather Engel

Jackie Ludlow

Judy Dames

Kate Arnold

Lynne Russell

Maureen Davis

Rachel Hankins

Ros Gray

Sally Kidd

Susan Hutchings

Theresa Clarke

Valleri Jillard

Vanessa Page Lloyd

and Elmslie Art Group exhibitors:

Annette Billson

Caroline Careless

Diane Thomas

Jane Rimmel

Linda Clerk

Mary Brittain

Penny Vere

Sally Field

Sarah Dixon

Wendy Tasker