A STUNNING exhibition of intricate and wearable textile insects by a leading North Yorkshire-born designer and milliner will set the North York Moors National Park’s Inspired by… gallery at Danby abuzz this spring.

Absolutely Buzzing, which can be seen at the gallery from Friday, May 26 to Sunday, June 26, will feature wearable art fashioned from luxurious fabrics, feathers and other materials by Bridget Bailey, and will be supported by a programme of events including a show of wearable art and workshops.

Bridget Bailey grew up in Sandsend and spent much of her childhood on the North York Moors seeking out northern eggar and emperor moths. She trained in textiles at Farnham College of Art and formed Bailey Tomlin Millinery in 1989, specialising in flowers. Her insect-making began in 2011, with a commission for a garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show – filled with wild meadow flowers, it was, she says ‘crying out for a bee’.

She now works as an artist, making for exhibitions and commissions and shares her skills and experience through teaching masterclasses. Her work has recently been shown at London Craft Week at Fortnum & Mason, and at the highly prestigious Walpole Crafted, Makers of the Exceptional, at the Royal Academy.

Bridget said: “Insects make up more than half of life on earth, but they’re often too small to observe – even those we know can still feel undiscovered. This leaves room to explore, invent, and speculate about how to describe them through making.

“Millinery straw is coaxed into sharp thorns, and tiny feathers are layered, making iridescent beetles. Wires are bound with silk threads to make insect legs, or swirled to represent flight-paths.

“This new exhibition is a special combination of going somewhere new as an artist, but returning to where I grew up. A beautiful space in a beautiful place, with all the challenge of making new work, but with the resonance of a real homecoming.”

One of the highlights of the Absolutely Buzzing programme will be The Show – a show of wearable art on Saturday 24 June, featuring Bridget’s designs supported by some of the region’s best textile designers. Tickets cost £20, and include wild food canapés by award-winning chef Rob Green, insect-inspired ‘mocktails’ by Tree Top Press, entry into a prize draw, and parking.

Other events include:

Flight Path (Saturday, May 27, noon to 1pm): Bridget shares images of her work and discusses her career. Tickets £5; booking essential.

Meet the Maker (Saturday, May 27, 2pm-5pm): Bridget will demonstrate how to make moth and butterfly wings, using fine fabrics and embossing and wiring techniques. Free entry.

Flight of the Bumblebee (Saturday June 25, 10am-4pm): learn how to use Bridget Bailey’s textile and millinery techniques to create delicate insects using feathers, fibres, silks and velvet. Places £50; ages 14-plus. Booking essential. Includes all materials.

There will also be a programme of art events for children inspired by Absolutely Buzzing – please visit www.northyorkmoors.org.uk/inspiredby for further information.

Bookings for any of the events, including The Show, can be made at www.northyorkmoors.eventbrite.com/

The Inspired by… gallery, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2017, hosts temporary exhibitions of work by contemporary artists and craftworkers who draw their inspiration from the landscape, life, light and colour of the North York Moors.

The gallery is open daily from 10am to 5pm throughout the Absolutely Buzzing exhibition; entry is free.