Getting an endorsement for my textile art

Setting out on a new endeavour, largely self-taught and with just the encouragement of family and friends to gauge its quality and appeal, it is helpful to have some form of professional endorsement. It was for this reason that I submitted my textile art picture "Crooked Spire at Night" to the Harley Open run by the Harley Foundation at their gallery in Wellbeck, near Worksop.

Just a little background to this piece of artwork. Late one evening in February 2023, I was walking past St Mary's church in Chesterfield and took a photo of it. I had been contemplating doing a fabric collage of it; my previous two pieces were each rural scenes and I wanted to try my hand at a built environment and the Chesterfield's iconic crooked spire. Other photos taken during daylight hadn't grabbed me as potential stimuli but this photo did.

In a previous blog I have explained the processes involved in my method of creating this form of fabric collage. It is a slow process, requiring patience and a degree of trust that the overall effect will turn out as I envisage. This piece was the largest that I have created and took many months for me to complete, often only adding a small amount each day as neck-strain allowed. I started it in May 2023 and finally completed it in February 2024.

The picture got its first public showing in May this year when I had a solo exhibition in the Little Gallery which is part of the Derbyshire Makers shop in Peak Village at Rowsley. You can read about my experience of this in the previous blogs. In June, I noticed an announcement about the Harley Open calling for entries and started to investigate this. Textile art was one of the allowed disciplines of wall art and I fitted the criteria as regards distance from the gallery so I decided to enter "Crooked Spire at Night". The first stage was to submit a digital entry from which the judges would create a short list of those to be taken to the gallery for the next stage of judging.

On 12th July, I got the endorsement I was hoping for. An email telling me that from the over 1200 entries mine had been selected to go through to the next round of judging. This felt like a win to me, especially when on delivering the picture on 20th July, I learnt that the number had been reduced to 300, and I came away from the gallery buzzing with the praise that the receptionist had heaped on my work! Then there was the agonising wait for the result of the final judging!

And now I've got the promised email and Woohoo! I've got through and "Crooked Spire at Night" will be on display at the Harley Gallery from 27th July to 13th October! I'm blown away by this news and will be so excited to see it exhibited alongside the other 185 chosen artworks.

I'll be sharing images of the exhibition on my Facebook page - if you're not already following me, please do - and if you can get along to see the exhibition, I hope you will.