Author: Alice Fox

Our forthcoming exhibition UNmaking at the Constance Howard Gallery, Goldsmiths, London, is a wonderful opportunity for the group to acknowledge our links with the celebrated textile artist Constance Howard.

Constance was instrumental in establishing the Textile Study Group “to nurture embroidery as an art form and as vehicle for self-expression”. She was mentor to the group for a number of years. The last two pieces that she stitched provide a unique way of celebrating the close relationship between Constance and the Textile Study Group. We’re thrilled that these pieces can be included in the exhibition.

The Goldsmiths Textile Collection, founded in the 1980s by Constance Howard and Audrey Walker, is now home to Constance’s textile collection, along with the work she created for commissions and exhibitions, and her own teaching archives. We are honoured to be showing our work at the Constance Howard Gallery and to be part of the on-going story of her influence and legacy. 

 

The Lady, the last embroidery Constance exhibited, was given to TSG member Dorothy Tucker by Constance’s daughter Charlotte. 

 “My aim was to create the appearance of transparency entwined with threads and stitches. Mainly couching, some detached buttonhole and French knots.” CH 

Constance had almost finished stitching The Second Lady, and it remains unmounted. It has been in Dorothy’s safe keeping, along with Constance’s working tools and materials (shown below), just as she had left them in Dorothy’s home shortly before she died in July 2000.

The portrait of Constance Howard (above right), photographed by FI McGee, was commissioned by CRAFTS magazine to accompany a feature entitled “Sources of Inspiration” by Tania Harrod for the 21^st Anniversary Issue March/April 1994.  

You can read more about how the Textile Study Group works with our mentor on our website here.

UNmaking: An Exploration of Process and Practice

Constance Howard Gallery, Goldsmiths, London SE14 6NW
16 February – 27 March 2026

Please see the gallery website for opening times and accessibility.

Happy new year from the Textile Study Group.

We’re delighted to announce a new exhibition:

UNmaking : An Exploration of Process and Practice

Why UNmaking?

We build our skills through experience, and as a result, our material knowledge and understanding become embodied in the work itself. There is a deep connection here: materiality explored over time through repetitive action builds tacit knowledge—an embodied understanding that textile artists can often take for granted.

UNmaking challenges this. It is not simply about taking something apart; it is a deliberate act of deconstruction that can become a powerful journey of discovery. It asks us to question our assumptions and explore new directions by embracing the processes of unravelling, cutting, and unpicking. UNmaking invites us to consider whether a work poised on the verge of disintegration or collapse can be accepted as complete, and what it means to an audience when a piece exists somewhere between made and unmade.

UNmaking is a thinking process. It is an act of revealing and understanding. Through unmaking, we can unravel the history of a technique or fibre, explore where a process originated, and question whether an essential part of our practice lies in the act of cutting up or unpicking. By engaging with unmaking, we can learn when something is truly finished and how to push our creative boundaries. As a community of curious, inquisitive makers, we believe in sharing ideas about process with intention. UNmaking offers an opportunity to review, reflect, and refine our work, allowing us to pause and interrogate why we create.

The works in this exhibition will deliberately evolve over time and across venues. By presenting artworks at different stages of the making and unmaking journey, the exhibition embraces change as an integral part of practice. As the artists continue to develop their work, the exhibition itself transforms, expanding the possibilities of a touring show and ensuring that each iteration is distinct and responsive to its context. 

Constance Howard Gallery, Goldsmiths, London SE14 6NW
16 February – 27 March 2026

Museum in the Park, Stroud GL5 4AF
12 September – 8 November 2026

The second of our two new members who recently joined the Textile Study Group is Gillian Cooper. Gillian is based near Glasgow and joins us with a practice based across patchwork, quilting and sketchbooks.

Gillian explains:

“One step, one mark, one stitch.  On their own, they are fairly meaningless, but repeated and gathered together, these ordinary everyday gestures become part of a rhythm that connects body, place, and process, forming the foundation of my creative practice.   

My work investigates the shifting rhythms that emerge as I move between these media. Each transition generates a new iteration, a new way of seeing and interpreting place and experience.  

Many of my pieces are constructed from fabrics with history and often coloured or altered by the environment which inspires them. These materials carry memory, grounding the work whilst they are transformed with new narratives.

Teaching runs alongside my art practice and it informs much of what I do. Both rely on experimentation, and the willingness to explore new techniques and ideas — an ongoing dialogue between process, material and discovery.”

And what it means to Gillian to join the Textile Study Group:

“I am delighted to be joining the TSG.  For many years I have been inspired by the work of its members –   their art practices and their generous approaches to sharing with others.  The group’s commitment to maintaining an active art practice alongside teaching deeply resonates with me, and I’m thrilled to become part of such a like-minded and creative community.”

Images:

2,512

2020, Botanical-contact-printed and rust stained fabrics.

A Walk in the Woods

2023, 72 x 110cm. Cotton, linen, flax, hemp and silk. All botanical-contact-printed. Cyanotyped. Hand and machine stitch.