Texture tutors travel for show

Halls Gap is again getting ‘stitched up’ this month as part of an annual Grampians Textures workshop program.

This year’s program, which started on Saturday and ends tomorrow, features 19 Australian and international tutors offering two-day, fourday and six-day workshops.

Workshop tutors are from England, Canada, the United States and Norway as well as Bendigo, Perth, Tasmania, Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne.

Grampians Textile co-ordinator Marion Matthews said the event’s profile had steadily risen during its 12-year history.

“The event that started in a small way has grown enormously in reputation and now attracts a large and very keen group of students interested in exploring new and diverse skills in textiles,” she said.

“These textile mediums vary from felting, dyeing, jewellery, printing, handmade books and papers, stitching by hand and machine, knitting, fabric and fibre, some traditional and others more experimental and contemporary.” Ms Matthews said along with the workshops program, students coming from across Australia and internationally also have a chance to see ‘brilliant’ textile exhibitions by district artists and work with an annual artist in residence.

The program started with a Saturday twilight market at Halls Gap Community Centre where students and tutors sold their wares.

“As the reputation of Grampians Textures has grown among craft enthusiasts, one of the really nice things that is happening is we are seeing a lot more day visitors in Halls Gap during the event,” Ms Matthews said.

“People are seeing the exhibitions, exploring the market and visiting a traders area at Halls Gap Community Hub where on sale are hard-tosource textile supplies such as silks, hand-dyed yarns, textile books, buttons, dyes and inks and so on.”

People can find out more information about the event at website textures@grampianarts. com.au.