A community art project which began in June had its official launch last night (Thursday, September 22).

The Gleaning has been co-curated by Cranmore artists Gill Sakakini and Fiona Campbell, working closely with writer Polly Hall, with workshops running all summer.

And after months of work, by the artists and the community, the final pieces are on display in the Church of St Peter and St Paul – with the large-scale translucent textile and paper artworks suspended in front of the windows.

Fiona said: "This is the culmination of months and months of work. Huge amounts of people have joined in and contributed. It was a really wonderful experience and we all learned from each other."

The works deal with different themes including Earthlings, War/Conflict, Calm/Peace, Gratitude, Ruth's Story, Shepton Mallet: the place, Care and Repair, Journeys, Generosity and many different techniques have been used to create the finished pieces, including drawing, collage, stitching and dyeing using natural dyes.

The exhibition forms part of Somerset Art Weeks, which this year has the theme of "Sanctuary".

"I really responded to that," said Fiona. "The project addresses the theme with its key strands of the Spiritual, Sustainable and Social. 

"I am very passionate about sustainability in my work. As part of this experience we all learned new dye making techniques. For example, I found that I could use buddleia from my garden to create an amazing bright yellow dye."

From the very start Gill and Fiona were determined to involve people from all sectors of the community in Shepton, from the young to the old, from people that were born and bred in the town to those that have moved here from other places in the world.

"It was very important to us that everyone felt that they could be a part of this," said Fiona. "We translated posters and put them in shops so that it was accessible to everyone in the town."

The finished pieces are huge, hanging the full length of the imposing windows in the church, and creating art works on such a large scale presented its own set of challenges.

Fiona said: Because the pieces are on such a large scale we didn't always know how they would look until they were finished. Of course we had ideas, but it wasn't until they were up that we could really see them. The final result was a surprise really, but we are delighted with the results."

For further information, visit www.gillsakakini.com/the-gleaning-shepton/instagram: @thegleaning_shepton