Some of the events will be free to enter at any time; others will be by ticket only. The suggested starting point for your Discover Creative Campden Weekend is the exhibition of works by members in the Upper Town Hall. Here you will get a glimpse of the creativity which exists in Chipping Campden. But this is just a taster; to really appreciate both the weekend and the creativity visit the open studios and other events and to be announced in a creative trail around Chipping Campden. On Saturday you can enjoy teas, coffees and light lunches, together with some crafts in action by Chipping Campden’s Country Markets, in the Lower Town Hall.

Events include Abstract Art is Rubbish, Creative Cows, Chocolate Workshop, Made in Campden, Throw Your Own Pot, Painting in Action, and many more.

As a way of launching the Festival the village streets will be closed for a parade of extraordinary creations designed to excite our imagination, and the event starting at 12pm will be compeered by well known actor Keith Allen. The models will be twirling to music by local composer Jacqueline Kroft, and the creations judged by celebrities in the world of art and fashion Dan Chadwick and Selina Blow.

The winning entries will be displayed in shop windows in Painswick throughout the month of August. During August there will be exhibitions and open studios throughout Painswick.

What on earth is wearable art you may ask? It is the interpretation of one of the 3 chosen themes to create an extravagant, imaginative, bizarre, and maybe humorous but yet wearable creation with a real show stopping quality.

The themes for this year are:-

LAMB TO LOOM

QUEEN OF THE COTSWOLDS

POWER DRESSING (to reflect sustainable energy)

There will be categories for Primary schools, Secondary schools, College/Fashion/art students, Individual artists & Veterans.

There will be some very generous prizes to entice participants in the various categories, including work placements for art/fashion students, designer fabric, and some sizeable cash prizes, to name only a few.                

Entry free if registered before June 1st; £10 between June 1st & July 2nd (entries close July 2nd).

For more details on participating, contact libbygraesser@clara.co.uk

River Severn ‘Art Walk’ - guided, creative walks with Walking the Land – Friday 11th June & Saturday 19th June.

As you photograph and sketch, our Walking the Land artists will offer creative guidance about subject choice, technique and process.

This month sees the launch of a exciting new photography competition celebrating the beauty of the Cotswolds and giving you the chance to have your image showcased in a six week high profile exhibition at O3 gallery, Oxford Castle.

The competition is the idea of local landscape photographer Sarah Howard, supported by the Cotswolds Conservation Board and Blueprint Imaging of Witney.  Sarah has lived in the Cotswolds for much of her life and has a particular affinity with the region.  She is especially keen to promote its photographic potential;  “Photography has seen a surge in popularity recently and with spring now here there’s no better time to get out there with your camera, make use of its wonderful creative potential, and engage with our lovely surroundings”.

Officially designated as the largest Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the country, the Cotswolds is known for being one of the most quintessentially English and unspoiled regions of the UK.  With its gentle hillsides, river valleys and delightful honey coloured villages there is plenty to offer the photographer.  

The overall winner will take away a 2 night stay (including dinner on one evening) at the historical White Hart Royal Hotel in Moreton-in-Marsh, plus a one day one to one photography workshop in the Cotswolds with Sarah.   There are plenty of other fantastic prizes to be won too, including a fabulous Ricoh R10 camera for the overall youth winner, a half day Photoshop tuition with digital imaging expert Claire Reika Wright, a Manfrotto 190 XDB tripod and Lowepro mini trekker, courtesy of Morris Photographic plus a one years subscription to Outdoor Photography magazine and over £300 worth of Image Seen gift vouchers.   There will also be an opportunity to win a commission for local Cotswolds publication The Four Shires in 2011. 

The competition is open until 15^th October & entries will be judged at the end of October.

Full details can be found at www.imageseen.co.uk/cotswolds-photography-competition

GET OUTDOORS AND INVOLVED THIS SPRING

Spring events for everyone at Westonbirt – the National Arboretum

Westonbirt – the National Arboretum, which is managed by the Forestry Commission, has launched 2010 with a packed calendar of spring events.

New for visitors is the International Garden Photographer of the Year Exhibition. During April and May, an exclusive collection of photography from the trees category of this prestigious international award will be on display on the historic Downs area.

The Easter Challenge, Mothering Sunday ‘Family Trees’ and ‘Awakening Woods’ events will give families the chance to explore the outdoors, as Westonbirt’s flowers and trees awake from the winter. 

Visitors will also get a rare and exciting opportunity on April 12-13 to discover the whole historic Westonbirt estate. Guided tours and access to the house, gardens and Arboretum are included in the normal admissions price across these two days.

There’s also guided wildflower walks, photography courses, wood sales and charity events. Throughout April and May, visitors on Wednesdays will receive 50 per cent discount on admissions.

Visit www.forestry.gov.uk/westonbirt for full details on Westonbirt Arboretum events listings.

‘Make Do & Mend’

An interactive textile installation presented by Studio Seven textile artists

Showing until 28 February 2010 at The Museum in the Park, Stroud

Presented by the Studio Seven textile artists, ‘Make Do and Mend’ first appeared at Stroud Valleys Artspace in 2008. It has now been carefully brought out of storage, dusted off and re-invented to delight visitors once again.

The installation focuses on the themes of weavers and weaving, woollen mills, the use of Stroud Scarlet cloth for military uniforms, women working during wartime, and the ethos of ‘make do and mend’. These threads are brought together by the seven artists into an atmospheric world of images and ideas which the audience is invited to explore.

Enter an Alice in Wonderland-like rabbit hole world of ‘eat me, drink me’ instructions; of objects out of scale and out of place; of looms and pulleys, fragments and whispers; of animated dummies and mechanical garments; or warp and weft weaving and unravelling across a textile landscape.

Admission £3 on the door (£2 concessions and free re-admission with badge). Open Tuesday to Friday 10am to 4pm, Saturday and Sunday 11am to 4pm.

The Museum in the Park, Stratford Park, Stroud GL5 4AF

Tel: 01453 763394

www.museuminthepark.org.uk

 The seven artists are: Liz Lippiatt, Kathryn Clarke, Jenny Bicât, Anne Rogers, Sarah Cant, Sarah Cooke, Corinne Hockley.

www.studio-seven.net

Stroud International Textiles in partnership with the Museum in the Park, Stratford Park, Stroud GL5 4AF

Linking the past to the present and the future

Stroud International Textiles will be unveiled an exciting new project on January 5^th 2010 at the Museum in the Park.

‘In the Making’ will showcase contemporary designer craft from leading nationally acclaimed craft makers in a Museum setting. 

One discipline will be exhibited at a time and reflect the innovation and high quality of British craftsmanship and will cover the broad range of disciplines that make up contemporary crafts today.

The work selected by Stroud International Textiles will be from established makers as well as new emerging makers.

We hope to offer opportunities to visitors of all ages who may not see leading contemporary work and to encourage debate and fresh observation for crafts and design.

Alongside this there will be talks and opportunities for people of all ages to engage with the work and be drawn to a greater understanding of contemporary crafts today. 

Stroud International Textiles in partnership with the Museum in the Park’s Learning Officer will be organising school visits and encouraging young people to engage with contemporary craft and to take that learning and understanding back into the classroom.

There will be teaching notes and information on each discipline available for young people and visitors.

5 January – 21 February Cast Glass from Sally Fawkes, Richard Jackson & Monette Larsen

23 February -17 April Willow from Mary Butcher and Dail Behennah

1 May – 30 May Textiles with Needle felt artist Annie Hutchinson (part of the annual festival)

You will discover ‘In the Making’ in the foyer of the Museum.

Entrance Free

Opening Times:

January – March Tuesday – Friday 10 am- 4 pm Saturdays & Sundays 11 – 4 pm

April – June Tuesday – Friday 10 am – 5 pm Saturday & Sunday 11 – 5 pm

Contact: Stroud International 01453 808076 & Museum in the Park 01453 763394

www.stroudinternationaltextiles.org.uk

www.museuminthepark.org.uk

Gallery Pangolin’s Christmas show brings together some forgotten treasures and exciting new sculpture by gallery artists including Anthony Abrahams, David Backhouse, Jon Buck, Lynn Chadwick, Ann Christopher, Terence Coventry, Abigail Fallis, Anita Mandl, Charlotte Mayer, Peter Randall- Page and Almuth Tebbenhoff. To add just a hint of spice, we’ve also included work by artists new to the gallery, Robert Aberdein, David Bailey, Adam Binder, John Sydney Carter, Dorothy Cross and Jason Wason.

See www.gallery-pangolin.com for more details.

It offers the chance to enjoy and be inspired by the rich variety of textiles, both historic and contemporary, in stately homes, churches, cathedrals, castles, cottages and studios across the UK.

Stroud International Textiles has close associations with Textile Holiday Tours (which works across Britain) through its incredible textile heritage and contemporary scene.

Lorraine Traer-Clark (above) started the business to reflect her own passion for the subject and to remedy the lack of ways to discover all things textile. More details can be found at www.textileholidaytours.co.uk.

Head for this pretty town on the edge of the Cotswolds between 11-13th of September for some great events.

As part of the Festival, the artdepot  will be holding an exhibition in the Town Hall featuring 19 talented local artists, with a variety of paintings, sculpture, photography, prints and textiles, on hand throughout the exhibition.