London Craft Week: ‘Table Tapestries’ by Jaixia Blue

The tablecloth serves as the common grounding thread for where people come together, share, and converse over food or drink,resulting in a patchwork of stories. Embroidery is a therapeutic shared activity.

In this workshop, participants are encouraged to embrace any mistakes that may occur and steer away from perfection. It is intended as a safe space; away from the added pressures of everyday life, which women and those of the global majority are often subject to.

Each person will be given their own square of material & will be guided through a brief meditation/visualization exercise to connect with a joyful memory or personal motto that they would like to leave behind. A brief demonstration of embroidery techniques will be given, with a chance to brush up/practice stitches.

By the end of the first session, each person should be left with a completed textile ready to be patchworked. Introductory sharing circle/show & tell of individual works & the stories behind them. Leading into joining the singular textiles together to form a joint patchwork with a cover stitch edge, new materials can be added in if desired.

Please note, there will be film and photography at this event. If you do not wish to be filmed, just let a member of the NOW Gallery team know.

Jaixia Blue is a storyteller across multiple mediums, ranging from textile art to music and poetry. Born in West London, she completed her BA (Hons) in Textiles and Business Studies at the University of Brighton. Here she formed the basis of her debut collection ‘Jigsaw Heritage’ which explores the artist’s dual British and Caribbean heritage, as well as the unique life experience of her grandmother and her journey from Jamaica to London, UK toward the end of the Windrush period.