'Faded Memories' inspired chair 1
Biog
The aim behind by handmade textiles is to produce pieces which look timeless and enrich the environment in which they are placed. My collection of textile pictures 'Faded Memories', was initially inspired by wallpaper peeling away exposing a lost past. I wanted to create pieces inspired by the layering of different patterns combined with personally significant images.
I have used a lot of floral and lace designs in these pieces as they are very feminine and I love drawing flowers, many of the flowers I use have appeared in arrangements given to me at certain significant times, from the first bunch of flowers my husband gave me to my wedding bouquet, the poppies I would pick from the hedgerows for my mum to the flowers my own daughters now pick for me. Whilst the scent of a flower can evoke a memory so can their image. I create commissioned pieces that record these memories, for example wedding flower arrrangements, including poetry used in the ceremony or lyrics featured in the songs sang in celebration.
I have included lines from poetry or lyrics in many pictures, I imagine that they may of been overheard through paper thin walls, as I often hear the voices of my daughters as I am designing. My pictures are a collage of images, some look like aspects of a still-life arrangement, others look purely decorative.
The designs for these textile pictures originate from drawings and chalk pastel studies. Drawing is a fundamental starting point, working with fine liners and pencils of different sizes, the marks I make when interpreting floral images and symbolic feminine motifs are then translated using different types of stitched lines. Using free machine embroidery as a drawing tool is very spontaneous and permanent, echoing the marks created by the pens I use. Extra detail is then added with traditional hand embroidery stitches.
I hand roll the felt fabric I work onto. Lace is trapped between the layers of this fabric, parts of the lace designs are hidden whilst others are exposed, forming a base of different textures to work upon. Patterns from different eras, floral arrangements and the occassional quote or lyric form a collage of images , applied using hand and digital printing, applique and needle felting techniques. Making these felted fabrics by hand and using a collage of techniques gives them an uneven shape and interesting surface decoration, so that they look like fragments, delicate and eroded by time.
My collection of textile pictures has inspired a range of interior products and accessories. I am designing a range of upholstered chairs. I source different style chairs from antique fairs which I then strip back to their frame before being restored and re-upholsterd in my hand rolled felted fabric, which is embellished using the same techniques as in the 'Faded Memories' textile pictures. Each design is created specifically for the shape of the chair. Some have petals and flowers cascading down and laying on the seat, others have flowers growing over the chair or are formerly arranged. I also create bespoke designs for clients who want to bring a chair they have had from childhood or which they have inherited back to life. I can create a design which is personal with images, poetry, lyrics, names or dates that relate to them individually.
My love of patterns and the techniques I use have been developed since I graduated with a BA (Hons) in Fashion and Textile Design from Winchester School of Art in 1995. I have worked as a freelance textile designer producing fabric designs for fashion and interiors before becoming a qualified secondary teacher in Art and Design in 2000, teaching textiles. Over the last ten years I have focussed on the use of stitch to draw with and convey different qualities of line to illustrate a memory, story or capture an image. I now divide my time between designing and making my textile pieces and lecturing part time at Warwickshire College.
60 second interview
Q: What is your favourite colour?A: PurpleQ: Who first inspired you to start making/ creating and what words of advice did they give you?A: I used to watch my Dad painting and drawing when I was very young, he was always being resourceful, creating things out of nothing, from pieces of furniture to costumes. I remember using the wooden case from his old fashioned Singer sewing machine for a cot for my dolls. I'am lucky both of my parents have always encouraged me to follow my dreams and work in a profession I really enjoy. The desire to create is inbuilt, there is no denying the need to make, I just have to!!Q: Where and when do you most like to work?A: I love to sketch outside in great weather in front of the flowers I am using for a particular design. I enjoy working in the morning with the whole day ahead of me, excited to see what it brings or late at night completing a piece in my studio.Q: Which season of the year most inspires you?A: SpringQ: What can't you work without?A: My Roberts radio, music is essential.Q: Whose work do you most admire?A: I find a whole array of artists, designers, sculptures and architects inspirational, favourites come and go and then reappear. I love discovering work for the first time, its so exciting seeing work by an artist or designer that evokes an emotional response. I love Tilleke Schwarz embroidery on linen and her mixture of contemporary influences, text and images from traditional samplers. I can gaze at her work for ages, a bewitching combination of words and imgaes.Q: What is your favourite piece of fiction and why?A: I was completely absorbed by Lyra's world in Philip Pulmans trilogy - His Dark Materials, his writing created vivid images that took me to another world.Q: What do you do to relax?A: Doing a making project with my two beautiful daughters or going for a run.Q: Describe your artistic style in 3 words. A: Romantic Timeless Elegant
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