Had a few days in Norwich last week - really interesting city with a medieval centre of 'Lanes' reflecting the trades and commerce that helped build the city. Many 'strangers' came such as the Huguenots and craftsmen from the Low Countries who brought their weaving and dyeing traditions with them . Local names such as Maddermarket reference their work and Strangers Hall, one of the oldest buildings was once home to wealthy merchants and mayors who helped to make the city great.
In the Cathedral I saw the work of a modern craftsman - abstract artist John McLean. The exhibition charted his design work for three new windows that were installed in the cathedral in March. He works with blocks of colour and collages his designs rather like Matisse before the windows are cut and assembled. The windows themselves were hard to photograph because of the light but I think you can get an impression of their impact from these two photos taken as you walk down the North transept towards them.
Also in Norwich, in the modern Forum ,was an exhibition by a group of less acknowledged craftspeople - knitters ! A knitted pergola was constructed with contributions from near and far (see sign !) and was being greeted with delight by young and old - my excuse for blogging lots of photos !
