MAKER'S EYE: STORIES OF CRAFT AND THE WELCOME RETURN OF THE CRAFTS COUNCIL GALLERY

Just as the Crafts Council was opening it’s revamped space on London’s Pentonville Road, Covid struck and it had to close. How timely then to visit this wonderful new public space dedicated to craft. It’s been a time when many of us have discovered or re-discovered the joys of making; craft has become an important source of therapy, creativity and personal adventure in these challenging times of pandemic. The opening exhibition is called Maker’s Eye:Stories of Craft in which 13 makers were asked to consider the question: ‘What does craft look like and mean to you'?’. The show runs until 21 August 2021.

Throughout the year, the gallery has planned a programme of exhibitions and events designed to tell the many stories of craft and making. Craft is everywhere, from the clothes we wear to the cast of a toilet seat-there’s one on shaw from the Armitage Shanks factory in Staffordshire. This show enthrals as we are immersed in the art of making and the making of art.

Michael Brennand-Wood,Construct-Space Whispers,fabric,metal,beads,thread and ink ,2019

This is one of my favourite works on display:a reflection of the artist’s view of how distorted, twisted and fractured our society has become. We are looking at the imagining of a nightmare-a mess of tangled messages, governments’ ineptitude, emotional turmoil, and the shared vulnerability of life in the time of international pandemic. And yet, Brennand-Wood’s use of thread symbolises something more hopeful too-connection and repair in the midst of disarray. The work is inspired by a painting by Caspar David Friedrich from 1823, Sea of Ice which is shown below.

Caspar David Friedrich, Sea of Ice, 1823-24, Kunsthalle,Hamberg

Maker’s Eye:Stories of Craft at the Crafts Council on Pentonville Road. Nearest tube is Angel. Runs until 21 August 2021