I think most people would agree that it’s been a most unusual year so far! The Coronavirus has changed so much of our day to day lives and we are now all living in the ‘new normal’  with lockdown, social distancing, zoom meetings and face masks.

For me as a textile artist it has also meant the cancellation of exhibitions and fairs where I can show my work. This has finally led me to bite the bullet take the online route, so I am very pleased to say I now have a Folksy shop. If you have a moment, please do take a look, just click the link…   https://folksy.com/shops/hobbsy

The last couple of years have been busy assisting with the Gathering Memories project which is now finished. Whilst it has taken up a lot of time it has given me a tremendous amount of experience and satisfaction. The project has raised a very good amount of money for the Alzheimer’s Society, and this final total will be announced shortly on their website and their Facebook page.

I have also been busy exhibiting with ‘Visual Marks’, a stitched textile group that I co-founded five years ago and which aims to exhibit at least once if not twice a year. There were two exhibitions in 2018, one at Hanger Farm, Southampton and the other at The Oxmarket, Chichester. This year we will be at Fisherton Mill, Salisbury, for the month of October.

I’m currently very interested in using my textile art to create awareness of the loss of our Bees and the world wide problem of plastic in our oceans some of which can be seen in the Gallery.

For the last year or more I have been very involved with the community project ‘Gathering Memories’ which is raising funds for the Alzheimer’s Society.  My main role is that of treasurer and the upkeep of the website. The project has gone from strength to strength and we are now heading into the final phase of exhibitions and a silent auction. Further information and the chance to see some beautiful textile artwork can be seen at: http://www.gatheringmemoriesuk.wordpress.com

I am also currently working towards two Visual Marks exhibitions to be held later this  year.

Really didn’t realise how long it’s been since I updated my website and much has happened since my last post.

The Red Knots aka ‘B95 – the Moonbird’ was successfully exhibited at the Mall Galleries, in London.

Since then I have co-founded an exhibiting stitch textile group, called Visual Marks, which has been successfully running for almost four years now. I have gained a lot of experience from organising and setting up exhibitions to being a treasurer for the group. It has given me the opportunity to create new work and has put me in touch with many talented textile artists. Photos may be seen on the Exhibition page

I was contacted by Meredith Gutowski Morehouse (WHSRN Conservation Specialist) recently about my installation depicting the B95 Red Knot migration and she has written an excellent article for their newsletter which is published on their website. The Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN) is on a mission to conserve shorebirds and their habitats through a network of key sites across the Americas. They are doing fantastic work and I do hope some of you will take a look at their website.

Here is a direct link to the article:

http://www.whsrn.org/news/article/b95-inspires-uk-textile-artist