The Textile Study Group

Mary Sleigh

Mary Sleigh, Hard Graft. Six sacks in a series, each representing a day of women’s work in one month at The Ropewalk, Barton-upon-Humber. Artist’s paintings digitally printed on linen, braided hemp. Photograph by Electric Egg.
Mary Sleigh, Reading the Rings 1 (detail). Mixed media, fabric, stitch, paper, needle case, text, paint, ink, and gesso on canvas. Photograph by Roger Sleigh.
Mary Sleigh, Reading the Rings 2 (detail). Mixed media, fabric, stitch, paper, needle case, text, paint, ink, and gesso on canvas. Photograph by Roger Sleigh.
Mary Sleigh, Sketchbook Reed Beds. Drawn on site and further developments. Photograph by Electric Egg.
Mary Sleigh, Reading the Rings 5. Fifth panel in a series of panels depicting five decades of Mary’s creative practice. Dyed fabric, stitch, ephemera, paint, and gesso on canvas. Photograph by Roger Sleigh.
Mary Sleigh, Reading the Rings 6. Sixth panel in a series of panels depicting five decades of Mary’s creative practice. Dyed fabric, stitch, ephemera, paint, and gesso on canvas. Photograph by Roger Sleigh.
Mary Sleigh, Peat Lands. Concertina book. Stitch, dyed silk and cotton, kozo paper, leather. Photograph by Kevin Mead.
Mary Sleigh, Found and Bound. Part of a collection of tile and wood fragments from the water’s edge along the Humber estuary. Tile and wood fragments, thread. Photograph by Electric Egg.
Mary Sleigh, Sketchbook Tile Fragments and Drawings. Sketchbook, tile fragments with map and drawings. Photograph by Electric Egg.

Artist Statement

Discovering connections with places and people, traces and narratives within the landscape and ephemera are significant to my work. I feel passionately that our textile heritage and that of other cultures should be celebrated and passed on to future generations.

I enjoy the creative process of making, using drawings, notes and photographs. Through samples, experimentation, unexpected ideas and resourceful use of materials I aim to transform the mundane into something special. Working by hand with fabrics and thread as well as the use of mixed media are central to my practice, responding to change through construction.

My love of textiles began in childhood and deepened through my career in education and as a tutor and verifier for City & Guilds courses. Currently, I pursue my own work, exhibiting, teaching and serving as a Textile Advisor to the Lincoln Diocese and York Minster.

Available For

  • Courses
  • Talks
  • Commissions
  • Writing articles
  • Exhibitions
  • Collaborations

Location

East Midlands

Member Since

1996

Email

mary.sleigh@lizard-dance.com

Links

Related News

New Work by Mary Sleigh for UNmaking

14 September 2026
See More News

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