Double Weave: Bourne and Allen’s Modernist Textiles

Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft are marking the ten year anniversary of their major redevelopment with an exhibition about the museum’s co-founder Hilary Bourne (1909–2004) and Barbara Allen (1903–1972), her partner in life and work. Hilary and Barbara lived, travelled, designed, made, studied and sold textiles as a couple from 1936 until Barbara’s tragic…

Colours from Nature – A Natural Dyeing Celebration

Last weekend we caught the 4 day pop-up show that celebrated the work of recent and former graduates of Jenny Dean’s popular 6-month natural dyeing course. Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft’s collection is rich with natural dyeing and textile craft. The likes of Ethel Mairet, Valentine Kilbride, Hilary Bourne and Barbara Allen all helped…

Signs of the Seaside

As Ross was teaching Contact Printing for the Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft Natural Dyeing course, I had the opportunity to catch the wonderful and perfectly formed exhibition ‘Signs of the Seaside’ on its last day. The show looks at the signage synonymous of the British seaside resort, with examples of the typefaces used,…

Handmade Experimental Brushes and Botanical Inks

On Saturday, Ross delivered a hugely successful Handmade Experimental Brushes and Botanical Inks Workshop at Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft. We were asked to deliver the workshop as park of a season of events to go with the excellent current exhibition Shōji Hamada: A Japanese Potter in Ditchling. Much like Ross… ‘Hamada developed a…

Natural Dyeing Course with Jenny Dean

Applications are now open for the 2022 Natural Dyeing Course at Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft, with renowned expert Jenny Dean, supported by our very own Ross Belton. This is the fourth time this incredibly popular course has run, and this year it will consist of 6 ‘in person’ Sundays at the Museum and…

#CreateToRelate – Solar Jars on IGTV

Tomorrow, the wonderful Ross Belton will give an introductory workshop on creating your own solar dyes! The video will go on the Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft’s IGTV tomorrow (Thursday) at 6pm UK, and will the post stay up there for you to refer to at any time. This is part of the museum’s…

Colour Journeys

As a culmination of the year, Colour Journeys: Natural Dyeing in Contemporary Practice showcases pieces from artists and makers who have been studying with Jenny Dean, one of the country’s foremost natural dye practitioners at Ditchling, with over forty years’ experience in this specialised field. The variety of work on display includes weaving, paper, textiles…

Natural Dyeing at the Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft

This year, I was lucky enough to be accepted on the first Jenny Dean natural dyeing course at the Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft. The Museum itself houses a collection consisting of the work of artists and craftspeople who were based in the village, including calligrapher Edward Johnston (responsible for the typeface used by…