Travelled exhibition: conversation with Anne Kelly and Wilma Simmons

Fuel your thirst for travel and adventure at a new exhibition by UK-based artist Anne Kelly and a group of Newcastle textile artists opening at Newcastle’s Timeless Textiles Gallery in late June.

Kelly connects the themes of travel and migration in the Travelled exhibition. As well as previously unseen pieces, it will include work from her 2021 solo exhibition at the Ruthin Craft Centre, entitled Well Travelled.

Kelly, an accomplished artist, author and tutor, draws for this exhibition on her recently published book, Textile Travels.
Anne has used textiles collected and donated on her visits to Australia as part of the exhibition. They have come full circle and make up two of the larger pieces in the show. Although Anne is unable to attend the physical exhibition she is delighted to be planning her next travels to Australia in 2023
The Timeless Textiles Gallery Wednesday Makers Group will collaborate on the Travelled exhibition, showing works based on the theme of travelling. The group are excited to have been invited by Kelly to exhibit their small textile artworks. All of their postcard-sized artworks focus on portraits.

The group members drew for inspiration on past travels, as they yearn for the days when they travelled freely and extensively. They have distilled a special memory - a moment, place or time - into a portrait. Many have used treasured photographs. Others have stitched portraits of interesting people they have encountered, fellow travellers, friends and family. There are even some self- portraits. Some of the works have included mementoes in the form of fabric swatches, souvenirs, words, symbols or motifs using a variety of textile surface decoration techniques and stitches.

These postcard portraits are reminders of happy times, shared with others. The joy in creating and exhibiting them is in remembering and recreating good memories of holidays and travelling.
read more www.timelesstextiles.com.au