Guild Summer Show – an inside view of local crafts

Materials Matter, Summer Craft Exhibition
Runs Saturday 21 June - Sunday 7 September
at Devon Guild of Craftsmen, Bovey Tracey, TQ13 9AF

This annual summer exhibition is an important one for Members of the local craft Guild, as it is an opportunity to show new work together as a group. This year they tell us why they chose to use their particular raw material – whether clay, textile, wood or metal – so we are given an extra insight into the craftmaker’s life and work.
The Summer exhibition has always been selected just the week before, by the Members themselves. This means those taking part and what’s in the show, are a mystery until a few days before the opening!

There has been a summer show every year since 1955 when the Devon Guild began in and there were only 8 Members to choose from. There is now a membership of 230 craftspeople from the South West – a large community who work in very diverse materials.

This prompted curator Saffron Wynne, to focus this year’s theme on the many and unusual results produced from a fairly simple and traditional range of raw materials, for example makers may mix old paper with enamel (fired glass) or fabric with clay – creating unusual and contemporary designs. The People’s Choice winner of last year’s summer show, Amanda Richardson, creates huge but intricate textile ‘collages’.

The exhibits, once selected, will be displayed with personal statements, information panels and samples of the raw materials. Visitors will find out why each maker chose their medium to work in: they might live near where willow grows, or spin the wool from their own sheep, or have come to woodcarving after a career as a tree surgeon. This exhibition will give a unique insight into craftspeople, their work and why Materials Matter so much to them.

Free craft demonstrations every Saturday from 21 June - 6 September (10am - 4pm)
The Devon Guild is free admission, open 7 days a week 10am - 5.30pm
01626 832223

Devon Guild of Craftsmen is the largest contemporary crafts centre in the South West, exhibiting work by the best local makers alongside artists of national and international standing. Based in Bovey Tracey near Dartmoor, it also houses a large shop and café. The Guild supports 250 Members from the region and promotes creativity and making with a lively calendar of craft events. www.crafts.org.uk
Images: Amanda Richardson, ‘Sunflowers and Grasses; textile collage

For more information visit http://www.crafts.org.uk/home.aspx