A Stitch in North Shields Time – an exhibition by textile artists inspired by the fish quay and the town’s heritage, environment, and wildlife.
The exhibition by Northern Threads, at the Old Low Light Heritage Centre on North Shields Fish Quay, will run from Tuesday 25 July to Saturday 23 September 2023. Some of the works of art will be for sale.
Entrance is £4 (free to Old Low Light members). The centre is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 3pm.
Chris Dixon, who facilitates meetings of Northern Threads, exhibited works of art at the heritage centre several years ago with another group. She felt it would be a good venue for an exhibition by Northern Threads and began discussions with centre director, Guy Moody, 18 months ago.
“He suggested that we use the fish quay and the town as inspiration for our works of art and take the opportunity to celebrate the area’s heritage, environment and wildlife,” she said.
“Once we started, there was no shortage of ideas. Some of our members had family from North Shields so were familiar with the area while others came on visits, including to the heritage centre where they viewed exhibition material which was helpful. They also visited their local libraries to find out more about North Shields.”
The works of art, which have involved a wide variety of processes, reflect the fishing industry, boats, the coastline, local landmarks and scenes, sea life and marine birds.
Chris has been supported by fellow member Lesley Hagon, who said: “We hope that people will come to our exhibition and be inspired to pursue their own craft and broaden their horizons.”
All members of the group, which celebrates its tenth anniversary in September, have a background in traditional quilting and embroidery. They meet six times a year at Stannington Village Hall, Northumberland, travelling from across the region.
This is the group’s third exhibition, but individual members have exhibited their works of art as far west as Canada and as far east as Kazakhstan.
Chris continued: “Our group includes highly talented textile artists and working together over the past decade has allowed us to explore different themes and share techniques. This has introduced members to new ways of thinking and developing their own style.”
Guy Moody added: “We are delighted to host this exhibition and are very impressed at the quality of work that will be included. We know it will be popular not just with our regular visitors but with others including from outside the local area who have an interest in textile art.”