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INSPIRED BY MACHINERY

Inspired by Machinery was first presented at Forge Mill Needle Museum, Redditch, Worcestershire September to October 2017, followed Edinburgh and Whitchurch (Hampshire) in 2018.  

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To view work as a slide show, click on an image

Coal from the clouds, detail

Coal from the clouds, detail

by Pat Gibson This is Pat’s tribute to the harsh conditions of the miners on the Denniston Plateau, New Zealand. Needlelace stitches embellish the photographs. 23x25 (each panel)

Coal from the clouds, detail

Coal from the clouds, detail

by Pat Gibson This is Pat’s tribute to the harsh conditions of the miners on the Denniston Plateau, New Zealand. Needlelace stitches embellish the photographs. 23x25 (each panel)

Cogs, detail

Cogs, detail

by Ann Collier Inspired by the open back of a watch and the way the cogs interlocked, Ann experimented with Tenerife lace and found it could produce cog shapes in different sizes. 22 diameter

Cogs II, detail

Cogs II, detail

by Ann Collier Having worked cogs in Tenerife lace, Ann experimented on a larger scale inspired by large clock workings. 45 diameter

Cogs, detail

Cogs, detail

by Margaret Clark Inspired by the Derbyshire dales where disused water-powered machinery is overgrown by flowers and grasses, the panel hangs over a doorway or window to admit light but exclude insects. 200x90

Dilemma 1 - Dancers, detail

Dilemma 1 - Dancers, detail

by Gil Dye Turbines are taking over the world, marching across the world. Good or bad? Cleaner and more elegant than coal, safer than nuclear, but what damage is done by their installation? 72x40 (each panel)

Descending Spiral, detail

Descending Spiral, detail

by Ann Wheeler Inspired initially by worm cogs (loved the name) spirals in all their forms then took over. Worked in bobbin lace and paper yarn. 40x40x20

Dilemma 2 - Tracks, detail

Dilemma 2 - Tracks, detail

by Gil Dye Unexpected benefits of marine turbines are the artificial reefs formed around the bases which provide feeding stations for seals and other marine life. 45x30x10

Disarticulated Barmen, detail

Disarticulated Barmen, detail

by Mary Coleman Lace machines cleverly imitated hand-made lace leading to the demise of the industry. In a Luddite gesture, the machine has metaphorically been taken apart and put together randomly. 36x60 (frame)

Disarticulated Barmen, detail 2

Disarticulated Barmen, detail 2

by Mary Coleman Lace machines cleverly imitated hand-made lace leading to the demise of the industry. In a Luddite gesture, the machine has metaphorically been taken apart and put together randomly. 36x60 (frame)

'Drumming out time...', detail

'Drumming out time...', detail

'Drumming out time without ever knowing what time it is' (under Milk Wood) by Anne Dyer When time goes out of control, so do men’s thoughts. This is portrayed in Dylan’s play. 28x34

'Drumming out time...', detail

'Drumming out time...', detail

'Drumming out time without ever knowing what time it is' (under Milk Wood) by Anne Dyer When time goes out of control, so do men’s thoughts. This is portrayed in Dylan’s play. 28x34

Flight, detail

Flight, detail

by Alison Tolson Humans took countless years to invent machinery to enable flight. Insects get the thrust to go forward and lift to stay aloft by beating their wings using nature's prime engine - muscle! 24x15x10

Lacemakers?, detail

Lacemakers?, detail

by Ann Wheeler Using paper, stitch and antique lace to show how the rapid development of lacemaking machines led to the loss of income for the rural lacemakers. 52x20

Lacemakers?, detail

Lacemakers?, detail

by Ann Wheeler Using paper, stitch and antique lace to show how the rapid development of lacemaking machines led to the loss of income for the rural lacemakers. 52x20

Machine made by..., detail

Machine made by..., detail

by Pat Gibson Pat bought a Wilcox and Gibbs chain stitch machine. The history of the sewing machine has been brought up to date showing modern uses including machine made lace. 26x18 (each panel)

Machines replace men, detail

Machines replace men, detail

by Anne Dyer Sitting in a meeting, the bars of the chairs looked like men, turned into husks, jobless and hopeless. 120x35

Pearl's a singer..., detail

Pearl's a singer..., detail

by Deborah Robinson Twisted swarf machine waste provided the basis for works for Inspired by Machinery − crochet collages representing song titles form the 1960s and 70s, constructed from curly individual shapes. 40x30 (each panel)

Pearl's a singer..., detail

Pearl's a singer..., detail

by Deborah Robinson Twisted swarf machine waste provided the basis for works for Inspired by Machinery − crochet collages representing song titles form the 1960s and 70s, constructed from curly individual shapes. 40x30 (each panel)

Propeller, detail

Propeller, detail

by Ann Allison One section of Ann’s earlier piece ‘Twirly Whirly’ looked like the blade of a fan; repeating the segment created a propeller. 110 diameter

Propeller, detail

Propeller, detail

by Ann Allison One section of Ann’s earlier piece ‘Twirly Whirly’ looked like the blade of a fan; repeating the segment created a propeller. 110 diameter

Rust and Renewal, detail

Rust and Renewal, detail

by Robina Melville Weeds growing through discarded farm machinery inspired Robina to make a piece celebrating the resilience of the natural world in the face of the destruction wrought by machinery, and mankind. 44x24x21

Turbine, detail

Turbine, detail

by Anne Dyer Piping threads from the hot glue gun onto coloured paper, the glue absorbs the dye. These threads became lace, inspired by the view into a turbine engine from behind. 29x29

Waterwheel, detail

Waterwheel, detail

by Anne Dyer Anne doesn’t feel that soft textile and hard metal echo each other. So she thought of the soft swirl of water going past a wheel, contrasting with its hard surface. 32x90x47

The Unseeing Eye, detail

The Unseeing Eye, detail

by Kitty MasonThe clockwork mechanism of lighthouses was removed when they were automated and the lighthouse keepers no longer exist. Kitty’s piece is based on someone looking out from the light towards the sea but in fact there is no-one there and the eye is empty and unseeing. Strips of lace represent the waves lit by the lighthouse. In front of them is the unseeing eye. 48cmx48cm

Weaving Shed, detail

Weaving Shed, detail

by Pamela Layzell Inspired by threads on a loom, each component represents the shed, through which the shuttle passes. The repeated components represent industrialisation and the many looms in the weaving sheds. 30x100x25

Warped, detail

Warped, detail

by Pamela Layzell Pamela was fascinated by the lace-like quality of threads on a warping machine. What if these threads misbehaved and made bits of lace along the way? 103x60x145

Lace - Lacemaking - Modern lace - Contemporary lace - 21st century lace - Textile art - Textile artists - Westhope Group

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