Western Morning News (Saturday)
Having designs on Christmas
The coming festive season brings with it the delights of the Devon Guild Christmas selling exhibition MAKE 2018, filled to the brim with seasonal contemporary craft.
The work is by designer-makers from across the UK.
MAKE 2018 features textiles, mixed media, paper, glass, ceramics, automata, printmaking, jewellery and metal by the very best makers.
There is a Christmas Celebration Day on Saturday, December 1 (10am-4pm) with free festivities, promotions, mulled wine and food tastings.
A free craft demonstration by Jenny Amon is on Saturday 15 December (10am-12.30pm and 1.30pm-4pm) when Jenny will demonstrate the coiling technique used to create her ceramic candle sticks in the MAKE exhibition.
Among the featured makers and their cutting-edge creative processes is award-winning jeweller Rachel Brown. She explores the technique of drawing on enamel. This unusual enamelling process involves simply drawing onto the surface of the enamel with a graphite pencil.
The theme of her work is mark making, exploring repetitive patterns, lines and textures. Familiar shapes often appear but no two pieces of work are alike – making each item of jewellery a unique one-off piece.
Emma Williams makes decorative, low fired ceramic bowls in her studio from black and red clays using the press-moulding process. Following a biscuit firing to 1000ºC, she dips, pours and brushes on a range of glazes. Emma draws inspiration from observations of the natural world, from childhood memories of seaside holidays spent beachcombing and rockpooling.
Frances Noon’s shapes are snipped and sawn from sheet metal. She then hand textures the surface using the rolling mill or by hammering and using a variety of punches to draw with.
Most of Frances’ sculptures have integral wooden parts now, especially the boats and trees.
Frances spends equal amounts of time sawing and sanding wooden shapes. Then applying layer upon layer of paint to build up the coloured surface, and sanding it again so it looks aged and worn.
Her interest has always been in telling a visual narrative including the role of humour and exaggeration that caricaturists would use to communicate an opinion or a cautionary observation.
MAKE 2018 is from Saturday November 17 to Sunday, January 6.
Devon Guild of Craftsmen, Bovey Tracey; tel: 01626 832223 crafts.org.uk