Also currently showing in the Brew House until Saturday 20 August: an exhibition of oil on canvas paintings by Italian naïve style painter Antonino Stroscio.

2011 is the 400^th anniversary of the publication of the King James Bible. Guildford man George Abbot (1562-1633) who became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1611, was one of its translators. During summer 2011 exhibitions at Guildford House Gallery and Guildford Museum will mark this major event in the religious and cultural history of Britain.

At Guildford House Gallery, Inspired by the Past will feature contemporary art and craft which references the Tudor and Stuart periods through which George Abbot lived. Contemporary artists Jill Flower and Rozanne Hawksley will be exhibiting textile work, and in collaboration with students from George Abbot School a creative community project will also be on display to complement this unique event.

Experimental artist Jill Flower has an interest in all aspects of Embroidery. She has developed a concept involving the formality of Elizabethan ruffs using a unique manipulation of stitch and scraps of printed matter trapped into a crusty lace-like fabric. Using this method, Jill has created three light-hearted pieces to form a theatrical Trinity of Ruffs - man, woman and child.

Each 'age' is interpreted by the use of pages from magazines depicting the influences, developments and interests as we mature. For example, sections from comics for the schoolboys, girly magazines for the young men/lovers; financial papers for the business man through to weather reports and crosswords for retirement...finishing with the obituaries page! Similarly, the Ladies ruff contains abstracts from glamour, careers, brides, and housekeeping magazines. The small ruff which completes the formal portrait contains the words written by Shakespeare intertwined within the lacy paper fabric. Together, these large pieces are purely installation art.

Rozanne Hawksley combines textiles, found objects and embroideries to create small-scale textile installations. Though she works predominantly in textiles and embroidery, there is nothing soft about her work. Rozanne's extraordinary art covers the great themes of life; love and loss, war and suffering, isolation and the abuse of power, by focusing in on intimate details of what they mean to a specific individual.

Found gloves have been part of Rozanne's oeuvre for the past 30 years. Those on display in the exhibition strongly reference Elizabethan costume. Her interest in them predates the 'empty dress phenomenon' and she finds them far more personal, "because each takes on the shape of the person's hand - loving, protecting, signaling 'go away', aggression, friendship, everything. They also become used as symbols, as trophies, so they can tell a complex story."

At Guildford Museum,  will look at aspects of George Abbot's life and the legacy he left behind. It will include historical items from Abbot's Hospital, the almshouse he founded for elderly and unemployed Guildford residents, and textiles from the Embroiderers' Guild Museum Collection. Also on display, and giving us a direct link with the past and the king who commanded the newly translated Bible, will be a pair of ornate embroidered hunting gloves worn by King James of England and VI of Scotland.

Events

Meet the Artist

Artist Jill Flower is currently exhibiting in Inspired by the Past at Guildford House Gallery.

Jill will be in the Gallery between 11am - 2pm on Thursday 5 August and Wednesday 7 September to talk with visitors who drop in to the exhibition about her work and to demonstrate some of her special stitch techniques.

Why not pop in to meet Jill and ask a question about her fascinating textile creations inspired by Tudor ruffs.

Other events are being planned in association with these exhibitions. Bookmark this page and check back for further updates.

Celebrations will be running throughout the year and will involve a wide number of partner organisations all focusing on Abbot and the King James Bible. Abbot's Hospital will be running special tours, lecture lunches given by experts and costumed events for the public. The Guildford Institute is to run a course on Abbot and his achievements during the spring term, the Castle Grounds will be planted with a celebratory carpet bed. In addition, Guildford Chamber Choir and Occam Singers will be celebrating in song at related Abbot venues while Guildford Cathedral Education Department will be running drama workshops for schools. There are lots more activities in the pipeline (plays, book launches and creative opportunities) as other groups and local churches join in with the celebrations.

See also George Abbot - A Guildford Man at Guildford Museum.

Part of Guildford Summer Festival.