I have always been interested in art and textiles, working for many years as an Early Years teacher, delivering a fun and creative style of learning.
My turning point came when I rediscovered textile art, after joining a local stitched art class, this ignited my passion for experimenting, particularly during lockdown allowing me to focus on creating textile art that represented the nature and the natural environment. Joining the MTF has given me the opportunity to interact with other artists, from different backgrounds and their enthusiasm and commitment to producing and promoting textile art of a high standard is very inspiring.
My work continues to evolve and develop and is very much as an emotional response to nature and the natural world. Using free-motion machine embroidery, recycled materials and foraged dried plant fibres, I take a ‘no rules approach’ daring to push the traditional boundaries of machine sewing to a different level, by creating stitched sculptures that represent the very essence of fragility of nature and life.
Working intuitively with fibres that ‘Speak to me’ I use free-motion machine embroidery, stitched into a solvable fabric, trapping and embedding the fibres using the needle, just as an artist would use a paint brush or pencil.
The process of dissolving the stabilising fabric in the water, reveals an exciting organic combination of textures and natural form. The unpredictability of how the stitching will blend into the fibres is part of the process, and once the lace like stitching is dried over a form, it takes on a new life, producing ethereal pieces of contemporary sculptures, that challenge the concept of using a sewing machine as a domestic tool to produce practical items.
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