Felt at Central Hall - Naomi Southon

Naomi Southon - Artist's Statement


"Inspired by biological forms, in particular a world hidden from the naked eye, my felt works have been created using traditional wet felting techniques and use rich and vibrant colours. The fine, intricate detail seen through a microscope is emulated in the pieces using hand and machine embroidery in a vast array of glorious threads. Further detail has been added using needle felting and beautiful glass beads embellish the colour and forms within the work".

Naomi's felt work will be at Central Hall, Alice Street, Keighley until Friday 6th April 2012.

Felt at Central Hall - Lucy Bowring

Lucy Bowring - Artist's Statement

The George and Lilly range is designed and created by Lucy Bowring. It consists of a large collection of handmade felt gifts and accessories including decorated purses, felt brooches, baby booties and book covers.  Accompanying these is a variety of special one off felt framed pictures which are completely original in both design and concept.

“ I have always been interested in designing and making textile products and really enjoy selling my items to the public as it’s nice to hear first hand feedback and see people enjoy what I have made. I get the influence for my pictures from stories, nursery rhymes and fairy tales and landscape round me. Ideas for badges, purses, booties and covers come from things around me experimenting with  different techniques and materials.”


Lucy's felt work will be at Central Hall, Alice Street, Keighley until Friday 6th April 2012.

Felt at Central Hall - Clare Ashton

Clare Ashton - Artist's Statement


"I came to feltmaking without planning, but once I had discovered it I have grasped, grappled, embraced and wooed this creative process to discover all its possibilities and all I can create and express through it.
"There is a wonder in the process of making felt as loose fibres fuse and knit themselves together under my hands, becoming a fabric of as many varied shapes and textures as I can imagine. In the past I have build up my images during the half-felt stages, but recently I have begun printing onto the felt and then felting it further before adding more print and repeating.  This process is enabling me to add depth and atmosphere to the artworks as the wool pulls the image into it.  By printing again on top I’m building up a field of focus with the foreground sharp and the background becoming less and less focused.  Only felt swallows and absorbs the print in this way, making each piece unique.
I use British sheep wool in my felt.  This way I can know the story of the wool, where it comes from, the landscape the sheep walked in, the weather it endured.  I also know it did not have to pollute the skys or oceans to reach me". 

"Knowing the source of my materials leads my thinking onto the subject of the images I am then imposing onto it.  To me it calls out to be the plants and animals, landscapes and structures which share the countryside the sheep inhabit.
When all these elements come together my work has integrity.  It has been true to my creativity, my environment, my inspiration, my soul and my creator".  

Clare's printed felt work will be at Central Hall, Alice Street, Keighley until Friday 6th April 2012.

Felted Cloth Update

Exhibition Poster

Our latest Artists in Business exhibition at Central Hall is going really well and we are getting lots of positive feedback. Take a look at the latest pictures below. 

The exhibition is in Cafe Central until 6 April 2012. 

Future Exhibitions

The next Artists in Business sponsored exhibition will be Felted Cloth, in collaboration with Central Hall in Keighley. (Please come and see it for yourself).

Naomi Southon

I have been setting up exhibitions and arts markets for 10 years - most of them when I worked at The Arts Factory - but when the gallery closed in March 2011 there was nothing in Keighley to fill the gap.  Keighley is a small town with a growing community of artists, two musician support centres and an arts organisation for young people (Small World). I really missed the exhibition side of my job and Keighley needs a dedicated gallery. So I was delighted when the CEO of Central Hall asked me to put together an exhibition of local visual artists for the opening of Central Hall last year.  This space is in the cafe area and it has a high footfall. 

Arts Factory, Keighley

I see the purpose of the exhibitions to show a wide range of contemporary visual art, including textiles, photography, fine art and print. Art should both inform and interest its audience so I try to include an explanation of processes and display artists' statements. The exhibitions are aimed at people who enjoy art and people who would not normally visit a gallery (visitors are a mix of cafe users and people who come specifically to see the work). 

Cafe Central Exhibition Area, Central Hall

These exhibitions are not necessarily challenging rather that they are informative.  This exhibition - Felted Cloth - shows the work of three textile artists who are very different in style yet they each use wet felt.  Their work is affordable, tactile and fun.  

Lucy Bowring 

Please keep checking back at the Artists in Business Blog to see more exhibitions and, if you are in Keighley, please pop into Central Hall and enjoy a cuppa whilst viewing the art.

Felted Cloth at Central Hall

The next Artists in Business exhibition at Central Hall is Felted Cloth from Monday 27 February to Friday 6 April 2012.

Naomi Southon

Felted Cloth is an exhibition of three textile artists who turn fleece into fabric to create tactile art.

Clare Ashton

Central Hall is open to the public from 8.30am to 4pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 2pm on Saturdays. Central Hall is on Alice Street, Keighley West Yorkshire BD21 3JD

Lucy Bowring