About this event
Celebrating artist Rebekah Wallace’s sensory archaeological journey from Norwich to Colchester. Her solo walk which begins on 1st July will retrace the route Boudica and her army marched in 60/61 AD. The artist will pass through Bury St Edmunds and Sudbury before finishing in Colchester on 12th July.
The exhibition will run from 2nd - 26th July in support of Rebekah’s pilgrimage along the Roman Pye Road.
Local artists will be exhibiting multidisciplinary artworks inspired by the historic story of Boudica and their own reflections of the land in this region.
Wyn Haythorthwaite - Ceramic Sculpture + Painting
Nico Harbridge - Painting
Caryn Noad - Drawing + Community Art
Dennis Coote - Ceramic Sculpture
Era Banzsky - Ceramic Sculpture
Tat Lass Nief - Drawing + Print
Karen Cater - Lino print
Christopher Northall - Mixed Media
Ilona Johnson - Oil Painting + Lino print
Peter Day - Metal Sculpture
Vendulka Battais - Fabric
Katharine Moore - Mixed Media
Terry Flower - Photography + Bookwork
Bec Bacon - Photography
Antonia Layzell - Painting
Rebekah Wallace - Lino print + Mixed Media
The collaborative show will combine ceramics, sculpture, paintings, textiles, photography, interactive art and printmaking including lino prints and 'Boudica Rising' oracle card decks designed by Rebekah Wallace. It promises to be a multi-sensory experience, including carefully composed drum sounds by the Chalice drummers group led by Era Banzsky and a unique scent for the gallery space created with natural perfumer Natalie Garden. Anyone interested in taking part is encouraged to come along and get involved with community artworks and workshops.
The preview will be held on (the full moon) Monday 29th June from 7.30pm and is open to all.
Gallery opening times are Thursday to Sunday 10am - 5pm.
You can support Rebekah Wallace’s Boudica Rising project via her crowdfunder: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/boudicarisingpilgrimage
About this event
An award winning collection of quilts by husband and wife duo Vendulka and Olivier Battais.
Vendulka and Olivier Battais are a husband-and-wife duo whose collaboration grew naturally from years of working together in the textile world. For 13 years they ran a fabric shop together in Monks Eleigh and developed a shared passion for materials and creativity.
In 2014 Vendulka embarked on a year-long self-discovery programme exploring identity and creativity through mandalas and journaling. From that inward journey emerged a first small piece. Then another. And the work began to grow into something neither of them had anticipated - eventually becoming the thirty plus wall hangings you see here today.
Olivier's skills as a French-trained patissier and chocolatier translated seamlessly into the quilting artwork they now create together - the steady hand, the practiced eye, the instinct for flow. Olivier designed each piece, drawing on mandala forms and, in some works, feather motifs. He has described the design process as meditative - a way of turning inward.
Vendulka then used her favourite technique - free motion quilting - literally drawing the outlines of the mandalas onto the fabric with thread. Once quilted, each piece has been painted by Vendulka and Olivier together - a final act of shared authorship that mirrors the partnership at the heart of this work.
An award-winning textile artist, Vendulka has received several accolades for her quilting - most notably, one of the wall hangings in this very series was awarded Best in Show at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham in 2021, the largest quilt competition in Europe.
Awards:
2025 – 1st place Contemporary category at the Festival of Quilts, UK
2024 – 2nd place Two person category at the Festival of Quilts, UK
2023 – 1st place Modern category at the Festival of Quilts, UK
2023 – 2nd place Two person category at the festival of Quilts, UK
2022 - 1st place Theme category, Spring Quilt Festival, UK
2021 - Best in show at Festival of Quilts, UK
2018 - 3rd place Large Wallhanging, Great Northern Quilt Show, UK
2017 – First Runner up Wearable art at Pacific Int Quilt Festival, USA