York Art Workers Association

13/10/2026

Our speaker this month was Madeline Evans of

Demonstration of spinning with lots of interesting questions taken and answered.

Laurence Tilley Photography

08/10/2026

Our speaker this month was Madeline Evans of She was full of intriguing information and very knowledgeable on the history of these crafts. The object with the red ribbon is a distaff.

Picture Laurence Tilley Photography

02/10/2026

Madeline Evans, textiles
Monday 5th October 2026
Southlands Methodist Church
7.30pm (please aim to be seated by 7.15pm)

Admission: members £3, non members £7. Half price for students. Membership is £22

Sadly our advertised speaker has had to withdraw because of illness, but we are delighted instead to welcome Madeline Evans from the York and District Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers, who had been scheduled to speak to us next year. We are enormously grateful to Madeline for stepping in at such short notice.

Madeline tells us:
"I shall talk a little about the Guild of Weavers Spinners and Dyers and what we do but mostly about the early history of textiles and especially the preparation, spinning and weaving of wool before the industrial revolution, with a demonstration of the preparation and spinning of wool on a spindle and wheel and weaving on a simple loom. I will have lots of samples of wool from a variety of sheep breeds, of spun wool and other fibres and knitted and woven items."

yorks-guild-wsd.org.uk

01/10/2026

30/09/2026

NEW SPEAKER
Madeline Evans, textiles
Monday 5th October 2026
Southlands Methodist Church
7.30pm (please aim to be seated by 7.15pm)

Admission: members £3, non members £7. Half price for students. Membership is £22

Sadly our advertised speaker has had to withdraw because of illness, but we are delighted instead to welcome Madeline Evans from the York and District Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers, who had been scheduled to speak to us next year. We are enormously grateful to Madeline for stepping in at such short notice.

Madeline tells us:
"I shall talk a little about the Guild of Weavers Spinners and Dyers and what we do but mostly about the early history of textiles and especially the preparation, spinning and weaving of wool before the industrial revolution, with a demonstration of the preparation and spinning of wool on a spindle and wheel and weaving on a simple loom. I will have lots of samples of wool from a variety of sheep breeds, of spun wool and other fibres and knitted and woven items."

yorks-guild-wsd.org.uk

25/09/2026

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/creative-collage-workshop-tickets-2001895264626

Get creative with collage, for pictures, cards or upcycling. Suitable for beginners, no painting or drawing skills needed.

22/09/2026

Our speaker for Monday October 5th will be Claire Wellesley‑Smith. Claire is a Bradford‑based textile artist, researcher and writer whose work centres on long‑term, socially engaged projects with community and care‑focused organisations, particularly those supporting underserved groups. Her practice explores how textile materials transform over time, drawing on place, heritage, and urban green spaces. She works with slow, durational processes—growing, making, unmaking and remaking—and her projects have been funded by major UK bodies including Arts Council England, the Kings Fund, Mind and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Her doctoral research, Crafting Resilience (Open University, 2022), examined cultural heritage and community engagement in post‑industrial textile regions. After an ESRC postdoctoral fellowship, she continues as a Visiting Fellow at the Open University.
She is the author and editor of several books, notably Slow Stitch (2015) and Resilient Stitch (2021), both of which feature her decade‑long Stitch Journal—a daily reflective textile practice.
https://www.clairewellesleysmith.co.uk/ https://www.instagram.com/cwellesleysmith/

Southlands Methodist Church, Bishopthorpe Road, York YO23 1NX. There is level access and the meeting room is on the ground floor.

Event starts at 7.30pm. Doors open at 7pm – please aim to be seated by 7.15pm.

Admission: members £3, non members £7. Half price for students. Membership is £22

17/09/2026

Our speaker this month was George Willmore .spacer Collage artist.

On starting out as a young student and being unable to afford what he wanted in art shops so having, "...sketch books that are basically tracing paper which will bend and warp and basically ruin your life as you work." 😂. But now he says, "The Recycle bin is an art shop if you look hard enough." 👏

11/09/2026

Our speaker this month was George Willmore .spacer Collage artist "co-opting the high art aesthetic into low art mediums".

Photography by .tilley.photography

06/09/2026

Stairs inside . It seems that the mural, and others inside, were done by an artist with the same name in 2014.

I am taking part in 'Steptember'.
In September, I am posting a photo of steps. This is to represent ascending steps towards the fundraising target to get Jenny Rowbory life-saving neurosurgeries that aren't available in the U.K. for complex EDS patients like her. Please consider donating towards that goal here:
gofundme.com/savejenny
You can watch a video about the situation with Jenny's neck, why she needs to raise money urgently, and what she's having to do every day to stay alive,
on the first pinned video in her profile