THE rich tapestry of Wiltshire’s culture and countryside has formed the inspiration for a group of textiles students from New College as they present their latest exhibition of work.

HNC Textiles students are showcasing their work at McArthurGlen Designer Outlet Swindon as part of their Exploration and Textiles unit. The students had to research into the county's history and draw inspiration from a place, event or person.

Once the students decided on their subject matters they began sketching and taking photographs to draw further inspiration and create concepts. A variety of textile techniques were then used including embroidery, weaving, textured print and digital photo manipulation. Items on display included screen prints, cushions, weaves and a tie and pocket square.

Among some of the works on display are GWR-themed textile prints by Robyn Drew, scenes inspired by Marlborough’s Mop Fairs by Rebecca Deane and the deserted Imber village by Eilish Lynan.

Ling Fang drew her inspiration from Savernake Forest and the Big Belly Oak, while Elyse Philpott looked at the impact of the industrial revolution on Wiltshire. In a similar thread, Nicole Soutar looked at the health implications for children working within the mills while Michelle Smith looked at the importance of the Great Bath Road.

Stacy Crastro explored the life of suffragette Edith New, and after speaking with family members as part of her research, she was delighted to see Edith's great niece visit the exhibition earlier this week.

She said: “Through my initial research I discovered the story of Edith New and couldn’t believe that such an amazing woman was so unknown in her local community. I felt really inspired by her fight for women’s rights in the early 1900s and made it my goal to bring her story as a suffragette to life through my textiles.

“As I looked into her background I found myself in contact with her family and feel really honoured that her great niece, Tamara Dugale, took the time to come and see my work at the exhibition. It always amazes me how through textiles, I can create something I’ve imagined and bring it into the real world.”

Having moved to Swindon in the late 1960s Diane Hipkiss drew on her own life experience in the town for her part in the exhibition. “Back then it was very much a boom town with lots of raw concrete,” she aid. “Any town you go into in the UK you will find examples of this brutalist architecture and Swindon was full of them.

“Unfortunately a lot of this type of building are now being torn down, although not in London where there are being recognised as a piece of art.”

Some of her work features the former Sussex Square development prior to its demolition along with Geoffrey Wickham’s cubist water fountain, installed in the town centre in 1966 before being removed just a decade later.

Karen Pau, senior practice leader for art and design said: “Our students have really dug deep to explore Wiltshire and find their own individual inspiration for this project. I’m so proud of how they’ve worked as a collective throughout this project, culminating in putting together a really professional show. Hopefully it will inspire others to explore the huge diversity in textiles and maybe even try out the HNC course for themselves.”

The Delving Deep textiles exhibition will remain on display until Sunday. The outlet will also be hosting a student night on Thursday evening from 5pm until 8pm offering discounts at certain stores.