Cottage crafts on show

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33434, 16 January 1974, Page 6

Cottage crafts on show

New Zealand cottage crafts ranging from intricate lace work to pottery and painting are part of an exhibition being held at Mona Vale in Christchurch this week.

The organiser of the exhibition, the Mona Vale management, has planned it to coincide with the Commonwealth Games “to show visitors some of our New Zealand cottage craft.” the manager (Mr W. Williams) said.

Exhibitors are from groups who have shown work at Mona Vale on Sundays during the year as well as a few who are showing their crafts for the first time. A similar exhibition had been held last March in conjunction with the Christchurch Arts Festival and had attracted more than 8000, said Mr Williams.

A wide range of cottage crafts is shown — and some exhibitors are working at crafts on the spot, examples being lace-making, spinning, and vegetable dyeing. A Christchurch group which hand-paints china has its wares on show, and there are examples of macrame work, crochet, ceramics, candle-making, and pottery. Displays by a lapidary group and a herb garden planted by the Christchurch

Herb Society are also part of the exhibition.

Mr Williams hopes that the exhibition will attract many visitors from overseas as well as New Zealanders. Response so far had been difficult to gauge, he said. “We did not have very many in on Monday, but it was an unpleasant day,” he said. “Numbers were up on the second day, but we hope that many people will come through the exhibition.”