Tadek Beutlich: On and Off the Loom

A great visit to Ditchling Museum

We enjoyed an excellent talk by Steph the Curator.  She gave some background to Ditchling's position as an artistic centre and spoke about Beutlich's lfe and work.

The photos (click on the arrows at the bottom of the image to see all of them) are just a sample of the different materials that he used across his career.  He did not add any particular 'signature' to his pieces but as they are so distinctive and with the knowledge of the piece it can be possible to attribute an item to him. 

Steph also noted that for some pieces he helpfully added a tag with instructions as to how the piece should be hung e.g. 'hang from here' and one rug had a tag saying 'This is the wrong side of the hanging'!  These tags are also used as markers of authenticity.

The large Dream wall hanging has undergone very careful restoration and can now be hung safely on a wall and be seen as it was designed to be.

We were lucky to be joined by a lady who had been taught be Beutlich and the museum had examples of texts from Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts - she remembered them well!