Exhibition celebrates weaver’s colourful life
A showcase honouring award-winning local weaver Peg Moorhouse (1917 to 2024) and her artworks has opened at the Marlborough Museum in Blenheim. It runs from 27 February to 14 April.
The ‘Peg Moorhouse: A Life in Colour’ exhibition features15 artworks displaying her unique style, using colour and texture to create eye catching pieces. Moorhouse was the first recipient of Marlborough’s Living Cultural Treasure Award in 2012.
“The works, each in different patterns, colours, materials and textures, highlight Peg’s versatility and vision as an artist. The showcase includes some damask pieces and her award-winning cloak from the World of Wearable Arts,” Marlborough Museum manager Liz Ward said.
Moorhouse won the wool section of the inaugural World of Wearable Art Show in 1987 with her piece 'Tribal Cloak'. She later modelled in the show to celebrate its tenth anniversary in 1998, at age 81.
From her home in Sunshine Bay near Picton, Moorhouse began her spinning and weaving journey some years after she and her husband relocated there in the 1960s following his retirement. “In the 1990s, Peg set off to Sweden and learned about damask weaving, importing a special loom from Sweden to master the craft,” Liz said.
Marlborough Museum’s hours are Tuesday to Friday 10.00 am - 3.00 pm; Saturday and Sunday from 12.00 pm to 3.00 pm.