North Tawton gallery artwork draws attention as smocking project completes

A large-scale textile installation covering the front of Ruth Smith Gallery in North Tawton has now been completed and is attracting increased interest from visitors, organisers have said.

The Smocked Building Project, created by New York-based artist Annie Coggan with support from Red Mud Arts, was installed last week and will remain on display until 15 February 2026.

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The artwork transforms the gallery’s exterior using smocking, a traditional textile technique that involves pinching and stitching fabric into repeated patterns to create a thick, sculptural surface. 

Hessian and a honeycomb smocking pattern are used for the pattern, a stitch historically linked to English rural workwear.

Smocking was originally used in farming and manual labour clothing because it was durable, warm and flexible. 

Over time, it also became associated with decorative clothing and ideas of the “rural idyll”.

The Moorlander previously reported on the installation beginning to take shape on Tuesday 13 January, and Ruth Smith, organiser for the project, said the artwork had been well received since going up.

“The installation went well and the artwork is now up. It has certainly been turning heads and there’s been a lot more interest in the gallery since it was installed,” Ms Smith said.

ABOVE: The smocking being setup (Image credit: Oren Ford, Spirit Sounds Studios)

Two public workshops linked to the project have also now taken place at North Tawton Community Centre. 

The sessions were led by Ms Coggan and introduced participants to different smocking stitches, including honeycomb and bird beak techniques.

According to Ruth Smith, the workshops were well attended and sparked wide-ranging discussion. “They were full of really interesting conversations,” she said. 

“People went home enthused with having learnt a new skill and with ideas and plans of how to incorporate it into their own current creative projects.”

Inside Ruth Smith Gallery, visitors can also see examples of different smocking stitches, alongside a small display of silkscreen prints by Ms Coggan created in collaboration with Russell Janis. 

ABOVE: The workshops which took place proved very popular (Image credit: Ruth Smith Gallery)

Research images showing smocking in historical and contemporary contexts are also on display.

Ms Coggan’s work often explores how people relate to buildings and spaces through materials. 

For the North Tawton project, she has described the installation as a way of pushing a traditional sewing technique and building material to an extreme, while playing with ideas of decoration, protection and function.

A Red Mud Arts spokesperson previously said: “We hope the project encourages people to look again at familiar buildings and materials, and to see how traditional skills can still have relevance today.”

The Smocked Building Project can be viewed on the exterior of Ruth Smith Gallery in North Tawton throughout the display period.