Sampling at Nottingham Castle
The Sampler (detail), Heather Belcher, 2008
Work by textile artist Heather Belcher is shown alongside historic embroideries on loan from the Embroiderers’ Guild in Nottingham Castle’s latest exhibition, Sampling (until 26 April).
As the exhibition title suggests, this show focuses on samplers, both historic examples from the Embroiderers’ Guild collection and Heather Belcher’s contemporary take on them. The earliest known samplers date from the 16th century and were made by needlewomen to practice their stitches and show off their skill. They often included rows of different patterns, letters and numbers as well as ‘spot’ motifs and, by the 19th century, a fairly formulaic house and an educational verse was often included.
Alongside these more decorative samplers, some were made by professional embroiderers as examination samplers showing their skill in essential techniques such as button holing or edging. It was one of these that inspired Heather Belcher to create _The Sampler _after she found it along with a dressmaker’s book of patterns and notes in Nottingham City Museums and Galleries’ collection. The piece, made up of 19 separate panels, was specially commissioned by Nottingham City Museums and Galleries and the current exhibition is designed to give it a historical context. Belcher’s panels are shown alongside samplers from the collection of the Embroiderer’s Guild, chosen by curator Lyn Szygenda to show the range of style, technique and date of historic samplers. Nottingham Castle curator Deborah Dean says, ‘We wanted to make links between the art of the past and art made today and to set up a dialogue between the two.’
A second exhibition Sampling II is scheduled for early summer (9 May to 12 July). It will feature more work from Nottingham Castle’s contemporary textile collection (including pieces by Caroline Broadhead and Maxine Bristow) shown alongside sample garments made by designer Margaret Bushby as part of a collaborative project between Nottingham Castle and Nottingham Trent University.
www.nottinghamcastle.org.uk
