The Art Workers’ Guild
The Art Workers’ Guild
Tapestry by Margaret Jones
Loraine will explore the inspiration for making her palm-sized Pocket Globes (made to a scale of 1:170 000 000); from museum displays of 18th century artefacts to conversations with an Apollo Astronaut. She will share insights into her making process, the two years of trial and experimentation, and the delight of the cartographic journey from museum archives that have led to the Art Workers Guild!
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Join Margaret Jones, skilled tapestry weaver, as she embarks on an historical excursion through the history of her chosen medium; from its roots in 4th Century Coptic weaving on garments to its current status within the professional tapestry studio. Tapestry weaving has often been misidentified as other disciplines such as embroidery or needlepoint; any large-scale textiles are frequently ascribed the label ‘tapestry’.
Geographically our journey will lead us through Egypt, France, Flanders, and Spain before concluding in England with the influence of William Morris. We then move onto contemporary studios collaborating with talented fine artists from Graham Sutherland, Tracey Emin, and Chila Kumari Singh Burman, each incorporating traditional narrative themes into their work. Throughout her presentation, Margaret will touch upon her own pieces which depict European myths and elaborate on how these timeless stories continue to hold relevance even in the year 2026.
Thomas Ford & Partners celebrates its centenary in 2026. For an architectural practice that you have probably never heard of, it has built, extended and conserved many of the most interesting buildings in the land, from royal palaces and cathedrals to homes created by past masters William Morris, Emery Walker, and Edwin Lutyens. Over the past hundred years they have collaborated with a huge variety of artists and craftsmen, many of them Guild members.
Karen Butti, one of the current directors of the practice, will illustrate a selection of these collaborations, with drawings and photographs from the practice archives and will give an insight into how the collaboration between architecture and the crafts continues the aims of the Guild through into the present day.
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Jonathan Gibb’s recent exhibition Blues for the Eel Catcher took place at the Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh, in November 2025. He will talk about this collection of two year’s work: paintings, drawings and wood engravings in their subjects and methods of making.
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