Each year, an Art Exhibition is held at the Church of St George the Martyr in Ramsgate, Kent. The church is a 19th-century building with a lantern tower. Lamps are lit in the tower, so every evening (once it is dark) a light shines out from the tower over the town. It also serves as a navigation point for shipping, as the town is on the coast. This is a large church which, like many historic buildings, is at times in need of repair and restoration. The annual Art Exhibition is one of the fund-raising events organised by the Friends of St George’s to support the church.
I enjoyed the exhibition last year and we bought a painting, entitled ‘Woodland Walk’ by Mike Samson.
The image reminds me of the many walks we did along the Durham Railway Paths during the time of the pandemic, before we moved to Kent. I did not enter any work last year but this year I have put six pieces in the exhibition and they are all quilts! (Perhaps I am emboldened by the inclusion of Textiles in the Royal Academy Exhibition – see the post here.)
The paintings are hung on boards along each side of the church. Most of the quilts are too big for this, so they will hang from the balcony rails.
Here is a closer look at ‘Diamonds for Days’ which is hanging in the centre towards the back of the church.
Over on the right-hand side is ‘India’:
Further along is ‘Heart-felt’:
Opposite this is ‘Joy’:
Next to that quilt is ‘Bright Garden Borders’ which is completely hand-pieced and hand-quilted.
The sixth piece is a small embroidered quilt ‘Oranges’ which will hang on the boards next to the paintings:
All of the quilts are for sale. All have hanging sleeves, so they can be used as wall-hangings. Some are also suitable for bed-quilts.
My quilts are in good company. St George’s has two very distinctive double-sided quilts made at a time of intensive fund-raising in the period 1998-2004. They were made by Canon Quilters. The red-on-white scheme is particularly striking. Here are the two banners, as seen on entering the church.
These are the sides seen within the church:
The Art Exhibition is open from 12-23 July 2023, 11am – 5pm Monday to Saturday and 12pm – 5pm on Sunday.
The address is: St George the Martyr, Broad Street, Ramsgate, Kent CT11 8QY
You can see more about the church at: https://stgeorgechurchramsgate.uk/
This content was originally published here.