artists and tutors sharing ideas imagination and skills
I am primarily a hand stitcher, enjoying the comforting rhythm of working the same stitch over and over again, combining printed and dyed fabrics, building up layers of colour and finally stitch.
The chalk down lands and coast where I live continue to be the main inspiration for my work although I usually work in response to an idea rather than a particular image. One source of constant interest is observing where the sea and land meet as I walk around the shore; the colour of the sea constantly changes, one day greys and ochres, sometimes vivid blues and silver. Marks in the landscape intrigue me, weathered by time. Ice, mud and frost, hard shadows and bare hedges, hazy summer sunlight, birds flying overhead all have important roles in my work.
Colour and cloth are obsessions of course. Dyeing, in particular indigo, and printing and pattern making have formed an integral part of my working practice. I usually start new work with a collection of fabrics: they tell a tale of a journey and how to go about it, patching and piecing, covering with stitch and moving on.
In recent years I have become a printmaker of sorts, trying to combine my textile background with print techniques, usually relief printing processes. I enjoy the challenge of having to use a more limited colour palette.