Myrtles playday: Ancestors in rugs

The Myrtles are back with an update before their next playday and a sneak peek at some of their work. Here's Diane Cox: The Myrtles are having another Playday this week to work on our individual figures of Cornish women. Here is a pic of mine in progress....she will represent domestic tasks and also several of my husband's female ancestors,all ordinary working class women from the Newlyn area.

I am enjoying how much this project has stimulated my mind, and how I have discovered many little gems of information along the way, and met some wonderful people too!

Help us tell our story

Now we have got over the euphoria of winning a £10,000 Heritage Lottery grant it is time to start the hard work.

We need volunteers who are interested in contributing to a pioneering and creative project. You don't have to have any particular experience but just have a love of finding out and capturing interesting information on women. Most volunteers will work on the Elizabeth Treffry Collection in Penzance, but we are also looking for others to use collections and resources from elsewhere.

The kind of tasks we need help with are:

• researching the life stories of women who have lived, worked or come from Cornwall or Scilly
• photographing and scanning historical documents and artefacts
• creating art, music, poems or literature inspired by Cornish and Scillonian women
• work on our social media channels and blog (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube)
• writing short Wikipedia-style biographies
• entering information into the Cornish Women's Index (a free online database of words and images)
• participating in informal and fun workshops scheduled for venues across Cornwall in 2013.

What you will get in return

• free training
• a chance to undertake brand new historical research
• your name next to contributions on the Cornish Women's Index and website
• VIP guest at the History 51 party in November 2013.

Find out more about the women in your area or your family

Are you doing local or family history research? History 51 could be the project for you. We are looking for local and family historians to contribute new information on historical women they know about.

We would love to hear from you and help you collect and record information about these women.

Please share and display the History 51 poster!

If you think your group or organisation would be interested in History 51, please share and display our poster with them. Clicking on the poster will download a PDF version you can print out.

New Horizons on the Cornish landscape

We are delighted to announce the publication of the Hypatia Trust's latest book on Cornwall and its first ever ebook, New Horizons by Jane Gosney. Stalwart supporter of the Hypatia Trust and its publishing work, Jane has generously donated proceeds from the sale of New Horizons to the Elizabeth Treffry Collection campaign. Melissa Hardie MBE, Chairman-Founder of the Hypatia Trust said of this gift:

We are indebted to her for this pioneering and exploratory 'new light' on the arts scene of West Cornwall.

Online donor reward

Donors giving £10 or more to the cause of women in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly can request a FREE copy of New Horizons.

To obtain your copy as a donor reward, simply contact us after you have made your donation via Charity Choice ensuring you use the same email address so we can identify your donation and send the book to the correct place.

New Horizons is £7.50 and available as an ebook from Hypatia's Online Shop.

Inspired by Penwith

Travelling to the South side of Penwith gave me a new outlook. Penzance offered somewhere to learn new skills and a place to spend some alternative thinking time. (Excerpt from New Horizons)

Jane Gosney, lighting designer, photographer and artist describes her inspiration for writing New Horizons:

"I had first published photographs from my visits to Cornwall in “Reflections on Light” in 2002 (an anthology of photo essays about my work as a lighting designer and photographer which can be found in the Elizabeth Treffry Collection at the Hypatia Trust).

My images were often used to illustrate articles I had written in the press but I had never used words to “paint a picture”.

The invitation from Melissa Hardie to write a five thousand word monologue as the first 21st century contributor to the Patten People series was especially welcome as my work is a balance between new technologies and art.

“New Horizons” describes my life as a designer in London, idyllic summers with my mother in St Ives and my relocation to Cornwall in 2007 where my creative work has diversified. Shared memories of simple pleasures are recounted : sadly adjusting to a loss is also part of the story.

I would like to thank Sophie Bowness and The Hepworth Estate for permission to reproduce a photograph from The Hepworth Garden as one of the six full colour illustrations included with my own digital artwork."

What's in Hypatia's handbag?

A handbag?

An Interactive Exhibition celebrating and exploring the ‘mysteries’ and capacities of the handbag, opens on Sunday, 22 July 2012 for one week at Trevelyan House, 16 Chapel Street, Penzance.

Curated by artist and exhibitor Andrea Garrihy for the benefit of the Hypatia Trust’s Elizabeth Treffry Collection on Women in Cornwall and Scilly, the exhibitors invite visitors to discover different aspects of our handbag culture.

Download, share, print and display the posters

Hypatia's Handbag 1 (PDF, 51KB) Hypatia's Handbag 2 (PDF, 42KB)

‘What’s in your handbag?’ will be the big question

Delving into the handbag through art, literature, music, drama, news and fashion can reveal unique insights into our day to day lives and our individual personalities. In addition to Andrea’s handbag sculptures, writers, craftworkers and visual artists are opening their bags to reveal all manner of handbaggery!

Exhibitors include Jess Allen, John Garrihy, Jenny George, Laura Holliday, Susan Hoyle, David Kemp, Andrew Lanyon, Amanda Lorens, and Charlie Roff.

Handbags for sale for women in Cornwall collection

Handmade handbags will be on sale from local makers including Smart Tart, Poppy Treffry, Maurice Pearson and Shabby Cow. Vintage and contemporary handbags donated by supporters and friends will be on sale throughout the exhibition.

Proceeds will benefit the campaign for a publically-accessible home for the Elizabeth Treffry Collection.

So what's in your handbag? Take part!

Artist Mary Fletcher to document Penzance’s handbag culture

Mary will hold drawing sessions on: Monday 23 June (11-1pm) Tuesday (11-1pm) Wednesday 25th July (1-3pm)

Every object tells a story

Visitors can open and investigate the contents from the depths of their own and other handbags. Every object tells a story and the top ten handbag contents will be exhibited, as will some of the more bizarre contents.

Hypatia’s Handbag, A Fable

Local history author, Susan Hoyle, has written an original legend for the exhibition, entitled Hypatia’s Handbag, A Fable, which is being printed and hand-bound in limited edition. Purchasers of bags to the value of £10 or more will receive a free book. Others may purchase copies of the tale.

Opening hours

The exhibition opens on Sunday 22 July from 3pm to 5pm at Trevelyan House, 16 Chapel Street, Penzance.

Opening hours 23-29 July: 11am to 5pm.

The exhibition runs in parallel with the Penzance Literary Festival.

For more information, please call the Hypatia Trust on 01736 366597.