The Stratford-upon-Avon Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers is a member of a group of six WSD guilds that hold a number of joint activities.
The Members of the Six Guilds are;
1. Stratford-upon-Avon WSD Guild
2. Worcestershire WSD Guild
3. Gloucestershire WSD Guild
4. Oxford WSD Guild
5. North Oxfordshire WSD Guild
6. Birmingham & District WSD Guild
Every two years the Guilds hold a joint meeting. The 2009 meeting is on 24 October!
The next Six Guilds Day will be on 24 October 2009 on the theme of a “Kaleidoscope of Colour” and is organised by the Gloucestershire WSD Guild.
It will be held at Brockworth Court, Brockworth GL3 4DQ.
Coffee from 10am, first speaker at 10.30. The speakers are Tim Parry Williams and Bobby Kociejowski. Suppliers stands will be open at various times of the day. Ample parking. Tickets £20 for coffee, lunch and afternoon tea, will be available in April through each Guild.
Tim Parry-Williams is a Senior Lecturer at Surrey Institute of Art and Design having trained there. He also went to the Okinawa Prefectual University of Arts, Japan. He is a hand weaver and much of his work is inspired by Japan. Bobby Kociejowski is a Dyer and weaver.
The whole day is devoted to colour and the Stratford WSD Guild has been given the colour BLUE. We are asked to produce small textile samples in any shade of that colour and attach them to the cloth which Audrey has (so no white, black or other colours!). On the day, we will assemble it on a 6' table. Along with the other guilds, we will have a colour wheel and one of the Guild will explain what the colour meant to us or to the theme of the exhibition. It should be very colourful!
Gloucestershire Guild are doing Orange and Birmingham are doing Red.
Visitors are very welcome!
Worcestershire and Stratford WSD Guilds co-hosted the 2007 meeting, which was a day of talks entitled ‘Inspiring Textiles’, and was held at the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust building on 29 September.
Some members (and their husbands) were there from 8 am to help set up trade stands and a book stall, whilst others were busy preparing lunch. After coffee we assembled in an impressive timbered barn and were welcomed by Pat Crook, the Worcestershire Guild chairman. The two speakers, Sue Lawty and Jane Callender, were excellent and between them covered a wide range of interests. Sue, a tapestry weaver, showed slides of her work, ranging from groups of small pieces to very large hangings commissioned for overseas embassies. More recently she has been making natural installations using rocks, pebbles and fragments of coral.
By midday the sun had come out and we were able to enjoy a lavish ploughman’s lunch outside. There was then ample time to browse the trade stands.
The afternoon speaker, Jane Callender, outlined the history of Shibori. Although ‘squeezing together’ and dyeing may sound a fairly simple process, we now better appreciate the patience required to mark out, stitch and gather the fabric to achieve such detailed and intricate designs.
Tea, cakes and a final look round the trade stands ended a most successful and enjoyable day in delightful surroundings. We went home with lots to think about, a truly inspiring day.
Back to Home Page
Last updated on 01 March 2009
Website designed by Mike & Teresinha Roberts