Call to gather around giant tablecloth to mark Cork Craft Month

East Cork’s Greywood Arts has invited members of the public to ‘gather round’ for a picnic around a massive handmade tablecloth next Sunday to mark Cork Craft Month.

Over the last month, volunteers have been busy creating the giant hand-dyed, embroidered, and appliquéd tablecloth for the special community gathering and picnic, which will take place on Sunday in Glenbower Woods at 6.30pm.

Running for the month of August, Cork Craft Month is an annual celebration of craft and design across Cork city and county.

The ‘Gather Round’ textile project has been spearheaded by Greywood Arts, which has held workshops on upcycling heirloom fabrics, natural indigo dyeing techniques, embroidery, and raw edge appliqué across August.

Greywood Arts is an East Cork-based artists’ hub set in a historic Georgian house in the centre of Killeagh Village, which organises community art projects, offers educational workshops, and provides studio space for local professional artists.

Jessica Bonenfant, creative director at Greywood Arts, said the tablecloth project is all about “bringing people together, exploring why we gather and how we connect with one another”.

“Over a series of workshops, we have really enjoyed a creative journey, from gathering special fabrics and giving them a new lease of life, to reflecting on the stories of heirloom objects passed on through the years.

“Through our dyeing and embroidery workshops, we have begun to create a new story, where there is space for everyone around the table. The Gather Round celebration in the woods marks harvest time, and will be the first of many gatherings, as the tablecloth grows in size.”

The newly-created community tablecloth already measures three metres by four metres in size, and will continue to grow as an array of different fabrics, textures, and threads are worked together. Greywood Arts will be offering further hand-stitching workshops, with the aim of the tablecloth stretching to more than eight metres in length.

MYRIAD ACTIVITIES

Marking both Heritage Week and Cork Craft Month, this final August weekend will see myriad activities and events in Glenbower Woods, co-ordinated by Greywood Arts.

The final in a series of keening walks (caoineadh pobal) filled with music and song in remembrance of Glenbower Lake will take place at 5pm, as part of the Idir An Dá Linn project for Heritage Week.

The Gather Round picnic will follow the walk. Both events are open to people of all ages.

Gather Round is supported by Cork County Council, and co-ordinated by Greywood Arts, with workshops facilitated by Katie Nolan, Sarah Buckley, and Victoria Tammadge.