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Georgie Rees Golden Shears Finalist
Textiles End of Year Review 2009
2nd July 2009
Textiles
End of Year Review 2009
The Textiles department has once again been busy, with this year having seen its biggest intake to date. The students have worked hard to produce exciting and original work.
Visits
During their first week of the autumn term the A2 students visited a prestigious textiles exhibition at the NEC where many contemporary artists were exhibiting. This has been of great value, inspiring students in both their practical and written work.
Students were also lucky enough to see an exhibition of work by The Cheshire Textiles Group at the Courtyard. To see such quality and diversity of styles on home territory is always a bonus and provides students with the opportunity really to study the work up close without the pressure of rushing through an exhibition.
We made our annual visit to Hereford’s own costume store at the museum’s resource centre in Friar Street. Students were able to view a vast range of historical textiles and fashion. The newly built education rooms have improved the facility enormously, providing us with an excellent space to view the wonderful samples. We are so lucky to have a resource such as this on our doorstep, offering students the opportunity to get close to artefacts. Students can make a personal appointment to view specific items related to their own personal topics and many Textiles students over the years have made excellent use of this resource. We are always grateful to Althea Mackenzie, costume curator for her enthusiasm and guidance.
At the end of term we will visit the New Designers exhibition at the Business Design Centre, London which showcases the top graduate work from around the country. Students will be able to see the standard of degree level work, talk to students about the universities and get a broad view of the range of courses available.
Student Profile
Student Georgie Rees has worked hard over the last two years, gaining an additional City and Guilds level 2 qualification in Tailoring from Inkberrow Design Centre. Her drive to gain as many skills as possible in preparation for university has already paid off. Her tailoring skills and designs beat off competition from around the country to be one of the 25 finalists in the prestigious Golden Shears competition. Her 1920s inspired garment was shown at a glittering catwalk show in London, attended by leadingfigures from the tailoring world.
“The Golden Shears competition is a valuable showcase for talented students and apprentices with a prestigious prize and financial rewards,” said chairman Simon Cundey.
Well done to Georgie who has proven that hard work and determination really pays off. She should do very well in her exams this year and next.
Visitors
Collette Gray, costume historian and collector came in on a Wednesday afternoon for a six week study programme. Her expert knowledge and vast collection of garments and artefacts provided students with a wonderful hands-on experience. Having local experts who have such enthusiasm and interest is something that we value and appreciate.
Ex-students now studying Textiles at Falmouth and Swansea came in to talk about their courses and Uni life. It was wonderful to catch up with them and to get a first hand insight into their current work. Current students gained enormously from this and were able to make more informed choices about their university places.
Exhibitions
A small exhibit of work by AS and A2 students has brightened up one of the many shop fronts now closed due to the recession. It is always pleasing to be able to find the space to exhibit and showcase the work done by the students.
The Small Gallery in Cappuchin Yard, Church Street, kindly exhibited second year work and received excellent reviews with two students selling their pieces.
Study Visit to Venice
The highlight of the year however, was the Art department’s very successful visit to the beautiful city of Venice. This year we took 57 Art and Textiles students and managed to miss the terrible flooding by just a week! Once again the students were enthralled by the magic of the ancient buildings and by the wealth of textures, colours and viewpoints which have been successfully translated into paint and stitch.
For the Textiles students in particular, the visit to the Fortuny museum is always a highlight. Just wandering around the ancient building where such a creative textile genius lived and worked was an absolute joy. The gallery hosts many exhibitions during the year and we were fortunate to be there at the time of the exhibition by George Barbier, world renowned fashion illustrator.
See the photos at: