Woodstock Museum has been turned into an Aladdin's cave rich in colour and design. From the traditional to the innovative, from the modest to the dramatic, there is something here for every taste and pocket in the Christmas exhibition from the Oxfordshire Craft Guild.
A skilled woodturner, Chris Webb, brings style and imagination to his work. A ring holding a candle is created by gluing six strips of plywood together, while his chequered bowl, made of laminated teak and beech, reveals the grain of the wood. His luxurious twisted 24ct gold-plated pens, made of London plane, each nestle in a box made of beech with walnut sides - a lovely gift.
All eyes will be drawn to Judith Gussin's display of glowing silk and devore scarves that blend into subtle shades. Her beautifully formed' hand- and machine-stitched evening bags will grace any outfit. Valerie Opher is another artist working with natural materials. Commission her warm rugs and hangings, based on abstract patterns, to suit your own designs, colour and situation. Anyone who enjoys the delicious slow cooking of lamb, apricots and almonds will recognise the tagine, an essential cooking pot made by Berbers from Morocco, whose traditional way of life is being eroded by modernisation, such as electricity. Hilary Fehr feels passionate about the loss of identity of these tribes; she decorates her tagines by scratching out age-old tattoos and symbols on a blue slip copied from the Museum of Marrakech.
Liz Teall is another gifted potter. Her earthenware, decorated with clay slips and decorated using stencils and resists, is coloured with natural metal oxides like copper iron and manganese and decorated with sycamore leaves that glow against the dark blue of her bowls. Her triple nut dish and unglazed salt pot and spoon make neat presents.
Silversmiths come in all shapes and sizes. Rose Colvin, an original artist, combines the cool of silver and the soft warmth of red and tortoise felt to make unusual necklaces and rings. Sally Spencer fashions her jewellery from organic forms, like ammonite fossils, found on the Dorset coast. Her latest creations are pendants made by fusing cut glass pieces that are then encapsulated in Precious Metal Clay, a substance made with water and a non-toxic organic binder mixed with fine particles of pure silver.
Gabriella Blakey takes classical techniques like trompe l'oeil and intarsia, a decorative mosaic of inlaid wood developed in the Italian Renaissance, to enhance beautifully made objects. Her small occasional table painted to resemble the garden of delight is very appealing. An artist who brings allegiance to a lost art.
Opening hours: Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 5pm, Sundays 2-5pm, until January 6.
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