Julie Sutton – 1945 – 2018 
Very sadly, Julie passed away in September.
She was one of our longest serving members and was always a passionate and committed member of our group. Julie served on our Committee for many years and was always a rational and sensible influence. She was always kind, quiet and unassuming but certainly stood her ground on matters that she felt passionate about. We will miss her very much.
Julies work was also very unique, skilful and beautiful. In all the years that Julie was a member, no new applicant up for selection ever presented work that was anything like hers. Members and customers alike appreciated the uniqueness of Julies ceramics. So it is also very sad that we have lost that too.
Julies husband Tom, has kindly allowed Julies work to continue to be for sale at the gallery until the New Year. Many thanks to Tom for giving us this final opportunity to own a piece of Julies work.
If you have any enquiries about Julies work –
please contact Gallery Manager, Hazel Morris, 07961 914 957 or enquiries@cotswold-craftsmen.co.uk
Royal Horticultural Society’s Awards for the Spring Festival – (10th– 13th May ) and the Autumn Show (29th-30th September) at the Three Counties Show Ground, Malvern 2018
We are excited to announce that one of our members, Yvette Green, was commissioned by the RHS to make their coveted new awards for the best in show in the horticultural categories at their Malvern events.
See the RHS Results page for full list of this years winners
Members of the Cotswold Craftsmen, have exhibited beautifully designed and skilfully hand crafted art works, at the annual RHS Spring and Autumn shows since they first began at Malvern. Yvette’s talents were spotted by the RHS organisers, who contacted her to commission some unique hand made awards.
The theme for the awards is the beautiful Malvern Hills, which are the dramatic backdrop at the Three Counties Show ground, making the awards very special indeed. These pieces of artwork are designed and hand made by Yvette to create a sense of time and place, that the winners will undoubtedly treasure.
The design process began back in December 2017, when Yvette began to draw up two proposals. One for the Spring festival and another for the autumn show reflecting the colours in nature for the different seasons. After submitting a number of ideas to the RHS, Yvette made up the first prototypes of the chosen designs, using ‘glacier stained glass tiles that have wonderful colour variations’ framed by a border of square tiles. After three design trials to perfect the design, Yvette’s final proposal has now been approved by the RHS.
If you would like to see more of Yvette’s, or other members of the Cotswold Craftsmen’s work, visit our Gallery in Nailsworth or see us at this years RHS Malvern shows and various exhibitions throughout the year
Thanks to Ian Sherman
A big thank you to Ian Sherman, painter and potter, for his dedication and hard work over the past 20 years, who left the group at the end of 2017. He will be much missed
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New Members
Martin Adamson- Sculpture
Guy Chapman- Illustrator
Dave Cockcroft – green wood furniture and spoon carver
Becky Dick- taxtiles
Summer Exhibitions 2017
The Three Choirs Festival July 21st-29th
Another successful show this Year at Worcester Cathedral alongside the Worcester and Herefordshire Guilds.
Blenheim Palace Flower Show June 23rd-25th
Our first show in the beautiful grounds of Blenheim Palace
Spring 2017
2017- Another fantastic RHS Spring Show at the Three Counties Show Ground, in the picturesque Malvern Hills.
The Cotswold Craftsmen exhibited their varied and unique, handmade work alongside the Herefordshire and Worcester Guilds. Historically the three local guilds have been invited to exhibit in the Wye Halls at Malvern since the 1960’s.
HEATHER OGILVIE -Hats by Heather
These are two of Heather’s very latest designs that have been selected by Fenwick of Bond Street to sell in their Ascot collection! The Fenwick buyer was invited to Kensington and Chelsea College, where Heather is currently studying on an internationally renowned one year Millinery course, to select six of the best designs.
Blenheim Palace Flower Show
Exciting News! A group of 8 Cotswold Craftsmen’s members will be showing their work at this years Blenheim Palace Flower Show FRIDAY 23RD – SUNDAY 25TH JUNE 2017
Lorna Rankin’s latest work
Lorna is one of our members whose latest work draws on images inspired by a poem about hares.
“I have always found them interesting because they are mystical creatures, rather elusive due to their speed of movement and the fact that they feed at night. In summer they may be seen at dawn as they fade into the shadows, so in some parts of England, they have a ghostly connection. They are very much associated with Spring rites, boxing with each other to assert their power.”
I took one verse of a poem by Sharon Shute, titled ‘Magical Mystery’:
By darkness a moonbeam that dances the night,
I am the spirit that runs with the Moon,
From Spring Time to harvest, in time
with Earth’s tune
OTHER NEWS
Our new DVD featuring makers at work can be viewed here.
The DVD gives a wonderful insight into the time, skill and effort makers put into creating beautiful handcrafted items.