Ruthin Craft Centre - brilliant!

After a splendid day walking around Llangollen, I found that I had time to spare after it got dark around 4pm, and before a meeting in Caerwys concerning the Pilgrim Way North Wales, which began at 7:30pm. The default activities are of course shopping or eating, but on the 11th of November I decided to do something different - visit a craft centre. Fortunately there was one opposite Tesco in Ruthin which had an excellent café serving afternoon tea. So, rested, fed and spent up, I ventured into the art gallery and was immensely pleased with what I found - a beautiful light and airy building with excellent staff and a current display which was amongst the best textile exhibitions I have ever seen.

"Beach Woman" by Audrey Walker. A great study of a momentary glance on painted textile.

This is a major exhibition which celebrates the work of Goldsmith's College textile department during the period 1975 to 1988 when Audrey Walker was Head of Textiles. She has been 25 years retired in West Wales but is apparently still going strong. It must have been an exceptional time because the output displayed here is magnificent.

"Dream No 8 - The Seeker", 2013 by Michael Brennand - Wood. A collage of embroidery, mosaics and other materials on a wooden panel.

The cleverly titled "Basket" and "Odd Basket Case" by Cleo Mussi, a pair of ceramic mosaics.

"Oranges and Lemons" by Jennie Moncur. A hand woven tapestry of wool and linen.

A pair of "Nouveau Bleu Sketch Vases" by Amy Jayne Hughes, one of which is for sale for £860. Beyond my pocket, but they would make an interesting display piece in the right setting.

"The Odyssey" by Alice Kettle

"The Fabulous Clip Joint" by Michael Brennand - Wood. I've no idea why it's called that, but doubtless for the asking price of £12,500 you could find out.

"Storm" by Dawn Dupree. I can't quite see it myself, but the piece has interest.

The Craft Centre from the outside. The centre comprises a series of high class shops in addition to the gallery and the café. It has a great car park and I strongly recommend a visit.

Many of the gallery's exhibits can be seen on their Flickr page. The opening hours are 10am to 5:30 pm. The car park is free, and admission is free.