Silken Line Gallery

A collaboration between Nina Squire and Debby Kirby

'We are both motivated by similar ideas, Debbie was inspired by the landscape pastels that I had been working on and talked of her own interest in colour and line. We are similarly inspired by Dorset's rugged landscape.

I work in pastels which weren't practical to use in the weaving process. We set about investigating high quality prints as an alternative. With these prepared Debbie produced our first experimental pieces, carefully cutting the images to best suit the silk. It was an exciting time and we were encouraged by the positive reaction the pieces received from Debbie's regular collectors. Each one of the prints had silk dyed individually in the colours that Debbie thought best complimented the image.'

Read below for the entire press release

The day before Harvest, Duchy Farm.

Detail from above picture.

Ringstead Bay, Dorset.

Detail from above picture.

Poppy field, Wimborne, Dorset.

Dandilion Clocks, Stourpaine, Dorset.

Detail from above picture.

Sunstar, West Morden, Dorset.

Detail from above picture.

Lulworth Cover, Dorset.

Detail from above picture.

Wild Meadow Flowers, Wimborne, Dorset

Press release

The latest exhibition at Walford Mill Craft Centre, Wimborne is an unusual collaboration between artist, Nina Squire, and Silk weaver, Debbie Kirby. The work, inspired by a shared interest in the Dorset Landscape, is a striking combination of colour and pattern. They explain how the project began.   Debbie and I met through Walford Mill, I was teaching children's classes while Debbie is the resident weaver where she has been based since 1986. She has an established practice and exhibits her silk and paper weaving both locally and nationally. We both spent the early part of this year putting together a body of work for Dorset Art Weeks. It was during Dorset Art Weeks that we both discussed our own idea for developing our work in different directions. Dorset Art Weeks is a time for many artist's to reassess their work and great opportunity to share ideas with contemporaries. The idea of collaboration dawned on us slowly, and as we sat drinking tea in the sun the concept grew.

We are both motivated by similar ideas, Debbie was inspired by the landscape pastels that I had been working on and talked of her own interest in colour and line. We both are similarly inspired by Dorset's rugged landscape.

I work in pastels which weren't practical to use in the weaving process. We set about investigating high quality prints as an alternative. With these prepared Debbie produced our first experimental pieces, carefully cutting the images to best suit the silk. It was an exciting time and we were encouraged by the positive reaction the pieces received from Debbie's regular collectors. Each one of the prints had silk dyed individually in the colours that Debbie thought best complimented the image. The final pieces were displayed in Debbie' studio for customers to comment on and the response was very positive. All the pieces were sold within weeks. Walford Mill was extremely supportive and gave us the opportunity for an exhibition in November. The long summer gave me opportunity to capture more of Dorset's scenery and Debbie a chance to weave in response to these images.   The warmth of the landscapes is reflected in the iridescent qualities of the silk. The silk changes as you approach each piece and is reminiscent of shifting light dappling the landscape.

The resulting work will on display at Walford Mill in The Bistro until early January . Both artist's are excited about the project's next developments and will be exhibiting further work in the New Year .    Unframed pieces are on show at Debbie's studio on the mezzanine gallery at Walford Mill.