This year’s Suffolk Craft Society Summer Exhibition at Ickworth will also feature work from Crossing Crafts, an exciting collaboration between Suffolk Craft Society (SCS) and the Society of Designer Craftsmen (SDC).
Crossing Crafts brings together makers from different disciplines, encouraging them to share materials, techniques, ideas and creative processes. By stepping into another maker’s world, participants have discovered fresh perspectives, developed new skills and found unexpected sources of inspiration – often leading their work in directions they might never have explored independently.
From ceramics and textiles to wood, jewellery, glass, printmaking and mixed media, every partnership has developed differently. Some makers have subtly influenced one another’s individual practice, while others have worked closely together to create truly collaborative pieces.
Following an enthusiastic launch earlier this year, visitors to Ickworth will be among the first to see many of the outcomes of these creative partnerships. Alongside the finished work, Crossing Crafts offers a fascinating insight into the experimentation, exchange of ideas and shared creativity that have taken place between the makers.
The project has brought together the following makers:
Marie Coomber, SCS – Ceramics with Julie Harper, SDC – Stitched & Constructed Textiles
Liz Chester, SCS – Woven Textiles with Libby Daniels, SDC – Ceramics
Sarah Woodcock, SCS – Leatherwork with Sophie Ambelas, SDC – Ceramics
Raeleen Gladwell, SCS – Leather with Sarah Waters, SDC – Feltmaking
Hassina Khan, SCS – Glass with Margaret Jones, SDC – Woven Textiles
Cindy Gidney, SCS – Basketry with Ellis Stacey, SDC – Furniture
Diane Levitt, SCS – Jewellery with Fiona Wyse, SDC – Woven Textiles
Mary Anstee-Parry, SCS – Sculpture / Wood Carving with Moira Searle, SDC – Feltmaking
Neville Tatham, SCS – Ceramics with Sylvie Millen, SDC – Stitched & Constructed Textiles
Ruth Holt SCS – Woven Textiles with Wendy Greaves – Stitched & Constructed Textiles
Naomi Jacques, SDC – Glass with Ksenia Semirova, SDC – Stitched & Constructed Textiles
Alexandra Motiu, SDC – Printmaking with Mandy Nash, SDC – Feltmaking / Jewellery
David Rodgers, SDC – Woodturning with Diana McKinnon, SDC – Stitched & Constructed Textiles
Carlyn Lindsay, SDC – Woodturning with Sam Gleeson, SDC – Bladesmithing
Anne Amosford, SDC – Mixed Media with Harriet Walford SDC – Metalwork
Molly Williams, SDC – Feltmaking with Claudia Luque SDC – Ceramics
Sumi Perera, SDC – Paper / Printmaking with Jessica Palmer, SDC – Paper
Together, these partnerships celebrate the value of sharing knowledge and crossing the boundaries between different craft disciplines. The resulting work demonstrates what can happen when makers step outside their familiar practice, exchange ideas and allow another craftsperson’s skills and approach to influence their own.
Visitors can discover Crossing Crafts as part of the Suffolk Craft Society Summer Exhibition at Ickworth Estate and explore the stories, experiments and collaborations behind the work.
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