Illusion knitters from Colne have spoken of their honour after landing themselves an exhibition at a popular art gallery.
Steve Plummer (60) and his wife Pat Ashworth (65), who make up the Woolly Thoughts design team, are showcasing their unique work at Accrington’s Howarth Art Gallery.
This comes after their pieces, which need to be seen to be believed, came first in the gallery’s annual open competition for the second time. Some of their work also features in Ripley’s Believe It or Not! venues all across the world.
The illusions, which each take around 100 hours to produce and 100 hours to knit, change dramatically as you go from looking at them from the front to the side. What may appear as just vertical strips, can transform into famous faces before your eyes.
Among the 16 large scale illusions, and smaller mathematical pieces, are images of The Mona Lisa, Marilyn Monroe, and Charlie Chaplin.
Former Walton High School mathematics teacher Mr Plummer, of Keighley Road, said: “The Howarth Art Gallery itself is a lovely building that also holds the largest collection of Tiffany Glass outside America. To have an exhibition there is a real pleasure.
“In displaying any of the illusion knits it is always very gratifying to see the look on peoples faces as they suddenly come to realise that what they are seeing is changing before their eyes. The look of pleasure on peoples faces as they are faced with the conundrum of these puzzling pieces is a real joy and reward for Pat and I.”
The illusion knitting display is part of Howarth Art Gallery’s Open Focus Exhibition, which also includes Anthony Ogden’s fine art, and Tony Bingham’s wood and metal sculptures,
The exhibition runs until March 16th. For details visit www.woollythoughts.com
