I was very brave and took my sketchbook over to the Manchester Art Gallery. I went to see the Mary Greg Collection which I'd read about on the internet and is housed in the 'Gallery of Art and Design', my favourite room of the whole gallery!!!
I sketched a cabinet I liked, followed by the image of a bird on a piece of fabric.
I love the shape of this bird, and the pattern of circles on his body. My next stop is Platt Hall Costume Museum which has recently been renovated and has loads of fabric designs.
Mary Greg, the wife of Thomas Greg who owned Quarry Bank Mill in Styal, collected a variety of objects that most people considered 'everyday' such as spoons, keys, wooden animals... which gives great insight into everyday life of the time, and means many of these objects are now quite rare.
I'm including these as part of my sketchbook exploration of the theme 'Highly Prized'.
