When I submitted a paper to Extreme Making – the Glasgow hub of the five day European Academy of Design Conference 2023 (EAD 2023), one of my reviewers thought it was an exhibition submission. The work was accepted, and I was able to exhibit the 171 snowdrops by the 42 stitchers in the Reid Building, Glasgow School of Art for the exhibition running alongside the conference. This meant I went up one week earlier to set up before the October 14th opening, and then the next week to attend the conference and deinstall the work. It was fabulous to both show the snowdrops in such a lovely gallery, alongside other researchers work and experience all the care and attention of the dedicated exhibition team.
When I returned the following week and popped my head in before the conference to check the work, I was surprised to feel a little jolt as I saw the work, I was so familiar with, in a new way. A colleague David, on the opposite wall had music as part of his installation (Debussy Arabesque No1) and this gentle music and his grid presentation matched the aesthetics of the snowdrops. I wrote about and investigated music and textiles for my masters, so this curatorial combination was particularly pleasing.
On returning home with the snowdrops, I sorted them into packets and am in the process of retuning them to their stitchers. We had thought to have a charity auction, but as I am very busy with my two case study projects of rural place, I decided to return them all so the stitches can decide their future. The gallery team have had photographs taken for their archive and have said they will send me some images. To have the snowdrops documented in the GSA archive is truly a wonderful final ending to the Lugg Embroideries project!
The photobook is of the edition of 171 snowdrops stitched by 42 participants in The Lugg Embroideries project. I imagine the snowdrops strewn as a gesture of hope towards the threatened River Lugg. It includes poems by Maggie and Robert Crompton, Rose Tinted Rags and one that I wrote and performed in Manchester.
I was pleased to read in National news on 18th May 23 that the water companies have apologised and made a promise: “In 2022, raw sewage was dumped into rivers and seas for 1.75 million hours – or 825 times a day on average.” The promise is to decrease sewage releases into rivers by up to 35% by 2030, using triple funding for sewer system upgrades.
If you’d like to view a pdf of the book, please do drop me an email at jacqueline.morris@stu.mmu.ac.uk. I have sent the link out to all the stitchers.
I was kindly invited to show ‘Lugg Riverbend at Mortimer’s Cross’ at The Royal Three Counties Show in Malvern. The Church in the Countryside had a theme of ‘Protecting the Rivers’ for their marquee. They ran a cafe and activities during the show. The carved sculpture ‘Our Lady of the Wye’ was also shown. Following this we have been invited to display the works in Leominster Priory in August as part of an exhibition by The Woolhope Club.
I was invited to join the Community group in Collyhurst who have been meeting, walking and sharing lunch for several years at St George’s Community Centre. Joe Shute has involved them in his research of the River Irk and that morning they were meeting to walk and to reweave the strewing baskets, that were originally made to display the Lugg Embroideries, with new leaves and words. I had a lovely morning, walking and photographing the weaving, and shared lunch, and the work will be exhibited next year alongside other re-weaving’s by other Manchester community groups as part of Joe’s project. It is fabulous to see the basket boats repurposed and metaphorically linking the River Lugg with the River Irk. There was a magical moment when the group broke out into a local folk song.
Manchester Metropolitan University invited work for an exhibition by postgraduate research students. Writer and journalist Joe Shute, who is investigating the River Irk in Manchester, and I collaborated together to perform and display poems in a piece called ‘River Voices’. We each read a poem about our respective rivers at the opening night and displayed river poems on the plinths of the sculptural piece. We had put a call out for river poems with Manchester Poetry Library and were delighted with the resulting contributions. We also invited visitors to contribute their poem during the week long exhibit at the old Cornerhouse in Manchester. With their permission I displayed the poems of the stitchers for The Lugg Embroideries, namely Robert Crompton, Maggie Crompton and Rose Tinted Rags. As well as contributing and replenishing the flow of poems, the audience were invited to take poems away during the exhibtion and the remainder left over, were later given to the Poetry Library.
The images show the work of the 42 The Lugg Embroiderers who were stitchers from the community including the already established stitching group from Rose Tinted Rags. I also displayed poems by stitcher and poet Maggie Crompton and, a charm for the Lugg composed by Rose Tinted Rags – the illustrated poster here was made by Kirsty just after the group wrote the charm.
The final exhibition of the Lugg Embroideries has been set up at Herefordshire Archive and Records Centre as part of an exhibition with three other artists from my art collective Fold, plus a few of our friends.
The premise of our work together for this exhibtion was about folding the map between each others’ houses to find a centre point and then meeting at that point to walk and talk about art and all things rural. This was particularly good for us during lockdown when we could only meet outside.
The whole Lugg Embroideries project was inspired when I met artist Kate Green at the half way point between her house and mine, which happened to be at Mortimer’s Cross. That was the day I went looking for the Gospel Oak/Battle Oak recorded as being there, couldn’t find it and instead found another oak tree by a beautiful Lugg Riverbend. The Miller at Mortimer’s Cross showed us around his mill, gave me nine millsacks and told of his gesture of throwing snowdrops into the Lugg on the anniversary of the Battle of Mortimer’s Cross of 1461, when 3-4000 soldiers allegedly died and the river ran red.
Do visit the exhibition to see the nine millsacks I’ve embroidered as a response, and the 171 snowdrops displayed (stitched by 42 community participants) , alongside my colleague’s work with contributions from other friends too.
We will be having a morning celebratory event in October half-term to meet some of the artists. Details in my next post.
This is the celebratory event I put together with the help of many of the multi talented Lugg Embroiderers, which was kindly hosted by Echo at their beautiful Community Garden at Eaton Barn, that runs down to the Lugg. This coincided with the Mayor’s Save the Lugg Day and enabled it to be enjoyed by the public and Echo participants together. We had Jenny Pipes Morris dancers, musicians Mary, Carol and Kate, and our wonderful poets Robert and Maggie Crompton. It was all finished off with a Mayoral procession down to the Lugg, complete with a beautiful banner and our ribboned wands, with poetry readings by the Lugg by Robert and Maggie.
A huge Thank you to Dom Howe at Dom’s Bike Stop for the generous loan of his parking area. He has a great cafe there if you are ever in the area (At Stoke Prior, on A44 just before it meets A49) Everyone was welcomed with music from Carol and MaryHere are the poets Maggie and Robert with artist /musician Kate waiting to perform
Maggie had had the idea to read her 12 haikus in her poem ‘A year beside the river’ with music between each one, and Mary and Carol sorted it. It was wonderful. Maggie explained how the haikus started in the cold of Janaury and worked their way through the year; they follow below:
A year beside the river, Maggie Crompton, 2021.
Beneath the willow,
still leafless, dressed for winter,
snowdrops are nodding.
Maggie Crompton, 2021
Robert read his poem and then one Rose Tinted Rags has composed called ‘A Charm for the Lugg’. Then we explored the Community garden, followed the Dragonfly trail, and bought plants, produce and craft made by different Echo groups.
The river flows fast,
silent, swelled by recent rain,
the track strewn with twigs.
Maggie Crompton, 2021
Queueing up for tea, scones and frozen fruit smoothies
Black feathers ruffled
by the gale force, sweeping wind,
two crows paired for spring.
Maggie Crompton, 2021
Dragonfly and damselfly trail
A rippling river,
a green woodpecker laughing,
celandine carpet.
Maggie Crompton, 2021
CPRE volunteer water tester David demonstrating the seven tests for weekly water quality checks we use on the Humber Brook and Holly Brook, which feed into the Lugg
A wave of blossom
flows along the river bank,
two ducks rise in flight.
Maggie Crompton, 2021
Flower garlands made by Rose Tinted Rags
The river sparkles,
soft breeze ruffles the tree tops
sounding like the sea.
Maggie Crompton, 2021
Then the Jenny Pipes Morris dancers arrived. They are named after the last woman to be ducked on Leominster’s ducking stool into the Kenwater, which is part of the River Lugg. We are pleased to say she was feisty and came up shouting even though she was ducked twice. Her crime? Scolding her husband!
A flock of Martins
skim the golden barley field,
always chattering.
Maggie Crompton, 2021
With stately wing beats
the heron flies silently
over the meadow.
Maggie Crompton, 2021
Finding the shade
Mist hugs the river,
trees, cattle wrapped in silence,
damp grass, dripping leaves.
Maggie Crompton, 2021
Dancing in full sun
The stillest of days,
golden leaves waft gently down,
land on the water.
Maggie Crompton, 2021
Surise at my back,
a tiny, plump, brown field mouse,
a frost moon setting.
Maggie Crompton, 2021
Beneath slate grey skies
a buzzard calls as it flies,
the old willow bows.
Maggie Crompton, 2021
Then the Mayor arrived and we had a procession down to the River Lugg, complete with the ribboned wands, as used in the old tradition of beating the bounds on Rogationtide.
The Mayor in the procession (she forgot her ribboned wand!)Robert read a poem right by the LuggMaggie read another poem
And then we rushed back for a final cup of tea….
Alison, also one of the Lugg EmbroiderersTrish Marsh, Mayor of Leominster, enjoying a cup of teaA final dance by the Jenny Pipes with the audience invited to join in & the poets had a well earned rest!
A truly wonderful day, thank you to all the volunteers and everyone who came and celebrated the river with us, supported the event and helped raise some money for Echo’s Community Garden.
Do pop into Eaton Barn Community Garden next time you need some plants, fresh grown flowers, produce or eggs. You are sure of a warm welcome. It’s 1/4 mile off the A44, at the corner with Dom’s Bike Stop, down the road leading to Stoke Prior, and on the right.
Many thanks to Maggie Crompton, the poet and Lugg Embroiderer who generously allowed me to display her wondeful poems and helped me to carry the plinths and set up the strewing baskets and snowdrops. Some four hours later….
Also a big thank you to Sue Stevens-Jenkins, also a Lugg Embroiderer but also a fabulous printmaker who was introduced to and walked The Lugg Meadows by Chris, another Lugg Embroiderer, and was inspired to create this seven series of monoprints. This has led to her launching a much bigger project about these Lammas meadows, watch this space.
There were many appreciative comments about the work throughout this short exhibition, and on the night of the River Lugg talks, some 90 people saw the exhibition. I understand from the evening that the Lugg Embroideries Project had helped inspire all the work towards this fabulous day and timely, important event put togther by the Mayor Trish Marsh and her colleague Bryony John.
Advert in Broad Sheep Magazine July 2022
The next post will tell of the celebratory event I put together with the help of many of the multi talented Lugg Embroiderers, which was kindly hosted by Echo at their beautiful Community Garden at Eaton Barn, that runs down to the Lugg. This coincided with the Mayor’s Save the Lugg Day and enabled it to be enjoyed by the public and Echo participants together. We had Jenny Pipes Morris dancers, musicians Mary, Carol and Kate, and our wonderful poets Robert and Maggie Crompton. It was all finished off with a Mayoral procession down to the Lugg, complete with a beautiful banner and our ribboned wands, with poetry readings by the Lugg by Robert and Maggie, all filmed by Catcher Media. More photos and stories of the day to follow.
The Lugg Embroideries 