Sue Lawty and Bhutan

October 2024

Members and visitors were treated to the new annual Betty Brame memorial talk. The inaugural year brought us the brilliant artist, tapestry weaver, designer and teacher, Sue Lawty talked about her weaving and textile experiences from many trips to the stunning, fascinating and remote country of Bhutan in the Himalaya.

Sue, whose art she brought consists of carefully selected and sorted tiny stones in stunning arrangements, talked about one of her tours of the country across challenging terrain, sometimes on foot through the jungle, to find fascinating and hidden cultures only now becoming accessible to the outside world.

Sue talked about the warm welcome she has received from the Bhutan people over the years who often took her into their own homes and were happy to share their experiences of weaving and other crafts, like basketry and paper making across the country. Sue’s slides and videos showed wonderful examples of the people, their homes and buildings, their clothes, their work, their festivities, religion and their food. I don’t think there was a soul listening and watching that didn’t feel the urge to pack their bags and go!

Tours can be found at mountainkingdoms.com and examples of Sue’s work can be found on Instagram @suelawty and @lawtylandscape