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16

FROM THE EDITOR
Q IT IS traditional to remember and support charities at Christmas time,
but have you ever thought of giving a gift to someone you don’t yet know
– and one that would make a huge difference? With our readers’ collective
wealth of talent, ‘sharing the love’ and giving the gift of embroidery through
volunteering your skills could make a positive change to someone’s life.
One remarkable charity is Fine Cell Work which aims to rebuild the lives
of prisoners with the transformative power of needlework to break the
devastating cycle of reoffending and repeated imprisonment.They have
over 100 volunteers, including embroidery enthusiasts and experts. On
rare occasions there are opportunities for skilled stitchers to go into
prisons to teach embroidery, needlepoint or quilting so prisoners can
reach a level where they can be paid to make Fine Cell Work products.
It takes a special person to undertake these prison visits and commit to
regular volunteering. Once trained, the prisoners produce items from
aprons, bags and cable tidies to glasses cases, lampshades and cushions. See
the cushion below featuring a wry Louise May Alcott quote, which would
make a lovely addition to the home.Visit ½RIGIPP[SVOGSYO
There are myriad ways to ‘share the love’, though. It may be possible
to volunteer your skills with a charity close to home, or to focus on
restoration work with a historical organisation, such as Oxford cathedral,
which has a dedicated embroidery group.Visit chch.ox.ac.uk
Elsewhere,The Great Tapestry of Scotland’s charity team is working to
produce an embroidered artwork that captures the Spirit of the Highlands
and Islands.Volunteers across the area are stitching bespoke community
panels. For details visit spiritofthehighlands.com
Sometimes it just feels satisfying to become part of a large project involving
many stitchers moving towards one goal.The Embroiderers’ Guild charity
occasionally puts out a call for members to become part of such projects,
which have included Cornelia Parker’s Magna Carta (An Embroidery) and,
more recently,Toni Buckby’s Unstitched Coif Project. Why not consider
becoming a member of the Guild?
For the kind of presents you can actually gift-wrap for friends and family
who stitch, see our inspirational ideas on pages 31–33, where some of our
supporters are listing special reader offers. In my experience, ‘self-gifting’
while Christmas shopping is never a crime. And, if you’re looking for the
perfect present please consider ‘sharing the love’ with a gift subscription
to Embroidery magazine. It is the gift that can be
opened again and again. See page 62 for a special
festive subscription offer.
We would like to wish all our readers a merry
Christmas and to thank you for your continued
support. We hope a bright
new year lies ahead for us all.
Louisa May Alcott
quote cushion, £135.
Finecellwork.com

Claire Waring
EDITOR
Embroidery magazine

embroidery
Embroidery is published six
times a year in January, March,
May, July, September and
November by Embroiderers’
Guild Enterprises Ltd, a wholly
owned subsidiary of The
Embroiderers’ Guild.
7KHPDJD]LQHZDVƓUVW
published in 1932 and is read
today by textile professionals
and enthusiasts around the
world. The Embroiderers’
Guild is a registered charity
(No. 234239), which organises
an annual programme of
events and awards. The
Guild’s Museum Collection
of embroidered items is held
at Bucks County Museum.
EMBROIDERYMAGAZINE.CO.UK

4

EMBROIDERY

7

44

12

PS... Treat someone
special to Embroidery
magazine this Christmas!
ļոņňĵņĶŅļŃŇļłŁņņŇĴŅŇ
ĹŅłŀĽňņŇқұҸсҹҹс
See page 62 for
more details...
ON THE COVER:
Floating Fly Stitch (detail)
(2022) by Isobel Currie.
Photo: Jack Armour

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Claire Waring
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November December 2023

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Embroidery magazine ISSN 1477-3724
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22

10

contents

41

31

28

front

NOVEMBER DECEMBER 2023

07 EMBROIDERY LOVES
Fiona Gill
08 NEWS
Some stories to take note of,
including the Unstitched Coif
project exhibition
09 GUILD CHALLENGE WINNERS
Winning entries in the Embroiderers’
Guild stitch challenge
10 IN PICTURES
Gaultier meets Picasso in the
Australian Wearable Art Festival

52

features

12 PREVIEW: HAND & LOCK
 ĸĸŇņłŀĸłĹŇĻĸձŁĴĿļņŇņļŁŇĻĸ
 ŀňĶĻфĴŁŇļĶļŃĴŇĸķĴŁķՔłĶľ
Prize for Embroidery 2023
14 THE SEWING ROOM
Hearth and home: Mandy Pattullo
opens the doors of her studio

reviews

27 OPEN BOOK
ĴŇŌ ĸʼnĴŁļņĶłфĴňŇĻłŅłĹĴĵłłľ
pushing for the revival of taught
 ĻĴŁķфņľļĿĿņļŁņĶĻłłĿ
47 OUT AND ABOUT
56 TAKE 5
A selection of books to explore, from
the wardrobe of Jane Austen to the
 ĻļņŇłŅŌłĹĴŃĴŁĸņĸŃĴŃĸŅфŀĴľļŁĺ
57 EXHIBITION
Sandra Meech and Elizabeth
Brimelow at AceArts, Somerton
58 WHAT’S ON
A look at the winter season

34

38

16 AN IRON FIST IN A VELVET GLOVE
Women in Revolt! at the Tate charts the legacy of
feminist art, railing against expectations placed
on women between the 1970s and 1990s. The
‘feminist crochet’ of Su Richardson led the way
19 OFFBEAT ARTIST: ANNIE TAYLOR
When Annie Taylor moved to live in the seaside
town of Whistable, it wasn’t long before she was
imagineering fantastical creatures, including
mermaids and fairy folk
22 PREVIEW: K&S SHOW HARROGATE
The Knitting & Stitching Show Harrogate looks
like one of the brightest highlights of the year
24 COVER FEATURE: ISOBEL CURRIE
Meet Isobel Currie, the winner of the FATA 2023
Prize for Innovative Use of Textiles
28 MOTHER OF INVENTION
Venetia Dale, a recent recipient of the Boston
ICA Foster Prize, is mum to three young children
but has found a way of combining family life
with her artistic practice
31 INSPIRATIONAL FESTIVE GIFTS
łŀĸĻłŊпŇļŀĸņĸĸŀņŇłշŌĴŁķŌłňņňķķĸŁĿŌձŁķ
yourself in the thick of the festive season. We aim
to make things easier with a host of present ideas
34 KEEPING A BEADY EYE ON SOCIETY
Pop Art star Sarah Gwyer is known for her beaded
portraits of music artistes, but her latest social
commentary works are a revelation
38 PAPER SHAPES
Artist Jennifer Collier is inspired to recreate
the attractive shapes of everyday designs in
paper, which she loves to embellish with lost
heritage stitches
41 SHOPPING THERAPY
łŁķłŁłծĸŅņĹłňŅշłłŅņłĹŇłфķļĸфĹłŅ
ŇĻŅĸĴķпŌĴŅŁĴŁķĻĴĵĸŅķĴņĻĸŅŌĴŁķŀňņŇфĻĴʼnĸ
accoutrements selected by the experienced eye
of owner Susan Cropper

44 A QUIET FIRE
South African artist Billie Zangewa’s silk
collages of the everyday life of a young
family elevate the feminine archetype
48 NO RULES TEXTILE SOCIETY
Jayne Emerson’s No Rules Textile Society
has been a revelation for its members
50 TRIBUTE: LAUREN SHANLEY
Friends remember Lauren Shanley, a
pioneer in the world of fashion and textiles
52 00ّy0߄m0y!0
Canadian artist Ava Roth has
developed work that relies on the
benevolence of local hives of bees
55 PRESERVING CULTURE
Matthew Parsons introduces
Ginger Jerry Studio which
łծĸŅņŇĻĸĶĻĴŁĶĸŇłŊłŅľ
alongside their artisans
in Kolkata

19
November December 2023

EMBROIDERY

5

Gorgeous knitting, crochet, embroidery supplies
& handmade treasure

LOOPKNITTING.COM
@LOOPLONDONLOVES

embroidery loves. . .

Say cheese!
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ERH¾S[IVW²WS-LSTI-´PPFIEFPIXSQEVV]XLIX[SMRER
interesting and cohesive way and that there is a gallery which
would like to show them.’
Fiona also moonlights as one of the Hawes Yarnbombers,
who created the giant Shrek and Princess Fiona at the
2022 Knitting & Stitching Show Harrogate. With the 30th
anniversary of Wallace & Gromit: The Wrong Trousers, a new
;EPPEGIERH+VSQMX½PQHYISYXMRERH;EPPEGI´W
beloved Wensleydale Creamery based in Hawes, this year
the choice of characters was easy.
Fiona says: ‘Wallace sits about 6ft tall
and the Wrong Trousers are waist
height with all the other characters
following in scale. It took six dedicated
women six months to make the seven
main characters, a tower of sheep, a
postbox topper of toppling sheep, not
to mention hundreds more sheep used
on the backs of benches, on railings
and sold individually as keepsakes.’
Wallace and Gromit were sitting
outside the Board Inn in Hawes during
the school holidays and at the time
of going to press had raised over
£10,000 for Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

HUTCHINSON PHOT
OGRAPHY

QFIONA GILL IS happy to call 2023 ‘a super year’.The
artist has seen one of her wet-felted images of a red squirrel
appear on the satellite TV show Meet the Richardsons; while
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portraiture has been featured on the cover of Embroidery
magazine (May/June 2023); at the Stitch by Stitch show in
Oswestry and at the Wirksworth and Staithes festivals of art.
8LIQYWIWXVYGOHYVMRKXLI'SVSREXMSR½VWX[MXLETSVXVEMX
of Her Majesty Queen Camilla, patron of the Royal School of
Needlework, which was created using British wool, and then
with a picture of His Majesty King Charles, titled The Gardener
KingERHWXMXGLIHSR¾SVEPJYVRMWLMRKJEFVMG
Fiona says: ‘From an artist’s perspective, they have such
wonderfully interesting faces, with wrinkles, lines and uneven
skin tones. Charles is stitched on a heavily-patterned
fabric which could easily show through my stitching, so I
had to experiment with layering plain fabrics beneath the
embroidery.There was no time for samples, I just had to rely
on my judgement and years of crafting experience.’
Each portrait took about four weeks to complete. The
Gardener King is stitched using stranded cotton, while the
portrait of Queen Camilla is stitched on a cotton/linen-mix
fabric, with the illustrated area of both portraits measuring
about 35cm high. The Gardener King is only Fiona’s eighth
embroidered portrait and she is keen to point out she is
still ‘busy exploring and experimenting’.

The Gardener King will be on display at the Knitting & Stitching Show Harrogate.
marmaladerose.com instagram.com/marmaladeroseart

November December 2023

EMBROIDERY

7

news

History detectives

At the end of 2016 a
patchwork was found
discarded in the attic by the
new owners of a cottage in
Crown Lane, Chislehurst.
It was photographed
extensively and much
discussed. What is unique
about this patchwork is that
the fabrics used to create
the front of it are of working
class origin, whereas the
templates on the reverse are
ĹŅłŀĴŊĸĿĿфŇłфķłļŁķļʼnļķňĴĿ
living in Chislehurst in
the 1890s. In the illustrated booklet Material Evidence: A
Chislehurst Patchwork by Eleanor Burkett and Kathy Baker, the
authors unlock the story of the people and places contained
within this extraordinary creation, plus what it reveals about
the social history of Chislehurst and how it functioned at the
turn of the 20th century.
Material Evidence: A Chislehurst Patchwork by Eleanor Burkett and
Kathy Baker, £7.50 + p&p, can be purchased at bit.ly/3EvjRAO

Biodiversity and the Unstitched Coif project
Artist Jen Cable, responding to our article ‘A historical whodunnit’
(Embroidery July/August 2023), writes: ‘It was great to see the
Unstitched Coif project by Toni Buckby featured. Despite no
training and little experience in embroidery, I am one of the
many people that responded to her open call.
юĴŀĴձĵŅĸĴŅŇļņŇļŁņŃļŅĸķĵŌŇĻĸĴĵņňŅķпĹĴŁŇĴņŇļĶĴŁķňŁķĸņļŅĴĵĿĸ
aspects of everyday life, so rather than focus on the perfection
łĹŀŌņŇļŇĶĻпĶĻłņĸŇłĶłŀŀĸŁŇłŁŇĻĸķļծĸŅĸŁĶĸņļŁŇĻĸ
natural world between when the pattern was conceived (in
Elizabethan times) and the present day. For example, my squirrel
is grey whereas they would have been red in Tudor times.
‘My adjustments didn’t stop there: I’ve added snails, ants, bees,
ŊłŅŀņпŅļŁĺфŁĸĶľĸķŃĴŅĴľĸĸŇņĴŁķŅĴŇņĴŁķŀłŅĸпļŁłŅķĸŅŇłņĻłŊ
what I see outside, rather than what I might have seen.
‘Sadly, the UK’s leadership in industrialisation has also caused
other changes, such as the loss of 47% of our biodiversity,
so I’ve only embroidered half the coif in colour.’
If you’d like to see more of the stitched coifs (head-coverings) from the project,
LIEHXS&PSG4VSNIGXW+EPPIV]MR7LIJ½IPH¯(IGIQFIVblocprojects.co.uk

COMPARE AND CONTRAST
History in the Making: Stories of Materials and
Makers, 2000BC to now, at Compton Verney until 11
February 2024, will share the stories of the people and
processes behind outstanding examples of historic and
contemporary craft, by bringing together a treasure-trove
of objects from the Woburn Abbey Collection, the Crafts
Council and Compton Verney.
Historic masterpieces from Woburn Abbey include the
Mortlake Tapestry after Raphael, The Miraculous Draught
of Fishes, c.1660; 18th century Indian bed textiles; and
fragments of hand-painted Chinese silk dating from 1752.
On loan from the Crafts Council are painted silks by
award-winning artist and designer Christian Ovonlen and
works by Matt J Smith, including Hide and Seek (2019) and
Study in Pink and Grey (2019), plus the artwork Craft Kills
(2022) by artist-knitter Freddie Robins.
comptonverney.org.uk
Botanical Silk (Burnt Orange), Christian Ovonlen (2018)
© Christian Ovonlen. Crafts Council Collection 2022.4.
PHOTO JESSICA ELIZA ROSS.

8

EMBROIDERY

November December 2023

GIFTS FIT FOR A KING
The Embroiderers’ Guild members’ project,
on the theme Fit for a King, produced
some inspiring artworks. As well as Fiona
Gill’s The Gardener King (see page 7),
other notable works included, above left,
Bunting, Butties and a Brew by Catherine
Hill (featured in Embroidery September/
October 2023); above, Sovereign Nature
by Pam Keeling; and, top right, Transparency
and Justice by Ksenia Semirova.
You can view these works at the
Knitting and Stitching Show Harrogate.

1

2

guild news

3

4

GUILD CHALLENGE
WINNERS
After another turbulent year, the Embroiderers’ Guild 2022/2023 members
challenge had the following brief: ‘Many of our normal routines have been
altered and we have had time to look around at the world and see it
up close and personal.Take a look at the many layers that make up our
understanding and experiences; the way that life has evolved and continues
to do so, but also look at the beauty of nature.’ Some of the inspirational
winning entries are shared here.
-The Julia Caprara Award for Best Use of Colour went to Nikki
Parmenter. Now you see me..., her chameleon artwork, has been created
using layers of plastics and cellophane with the chameleon blending into its
background. Nikki also won the prized Constance Howard Award. (5)

5

-The Beryl Dean Award for Best Hand Stitching went to Loetitia Gibier
with Lotus, inspired by ornamental carvings in Iran and India. From the rigid
geometric layer, the organic biomorphic shape of the lotus is born. (1)
-The Valerie Campbell-Harding Award for Best Use of Machine
Embroidery went to Janine Pound with Leaf Litter, a bird’s eye view of
autumnal leaves in silk paper, silk organza and cotton. (6)
-The Margaret Nicholson Award for Composition went to Lesley
Wood with Stash Joy.Two magpies (for joy) hover over layers of fabric and
embellishments that form a stash. Hand-stitched. (2)
-The Jane Lemon Award for Drama and Creativity went to Astrid
Dudgeon with Funky Fungi. Inspired by turkey fungi, this work was handstitched using a variety of threads including Perle 2 and 3. (3)
-The Artistic Director Award went to Catherine Hill with Darning
Sampler. Layers of Madeira red thread have been hand-stitched, woven and
darned on to a vintage child’s cotton garment. (4)

6
November December 2023

EMBROIDERY

9

1

2

4

5

Main image:
SUPREME WINNER
sponsored by the Sunshine
Coast Council
WINNER: Isabelle Cameron
with Dear Babushka
1.  ч 
sponsored
by the DeDeyne Family
JOINT RUNNER UP:
Galina Mihaleva with
Into the Wilderness
2. EMERGING WEARABLE
ARTIST sponsored by Helen
Perry and Wendy Roe
WINNER: Rae Saheli/Rhiannon
Thomas with Perfectly Tarnished

3

6. TRASHION sponsored
by In Noosa Magazine and
Hello Sunshine Magazine
WINNER: Tatiana Sheverda
with Awakening
3. RUNNER UP: Elzbieta
ļłņфłŁĴņŊļŇĻCitric Chic
4. SUSTAINABLE NATURE
sponsored by 92.7 Mix FM
RUNNER UP: Eloise Galea
with Flor-Rhaya
5. HAUTE COUTURE sponsor
Converge Marketing
WINNER: Andrea Pollock with
CAPtivate

6
10

EMBROIDERY

November December 2023

7

7. SUSTAINABLE NATURE
sponsored by 92.7 Mix FM
WINNER: Karen Lynch
with Recurvata

in pictures

Out there!

The Australian Wearable Art Festival 2023,
held in Queensland in August, was a
spectacular fusion of sculptural art and
fashion – Gaultier meets Picasso

QBRISBANE-BASED ARTIST Isabelle Cameron
emerged victorious at the Australian Wearable
Art Festival in August, taking home the festival’s
highest honour, Supreme Winner.
Held in Queensland, the spectacular display of
38 national and international boundary-pushing
wearable artworks were made by participants
from Poland, Germany, the USA, and other parts of
Australia, demonstrating the festival’s reputation as
a growing international art and fashion spectacle.
Isabelle Cameron said her crochet piece, (IEV
Babushka, was ‘a love letter to my Ukrainian heritage
and the happy childhood moments I spent with my
Babushka in her garden. I wanted the look to draw
anyone back to childhood nostalgia.
³8LIPEVKIPMP]¾S[IVW]SYWIISRXLILIEHHVIWWGSYTPIH
with the purple and yellow colouring are in tribute to my model
who is a proud intersex woman. It was really important for me to share
her pride and story because a lot of the time the ‘I’ in LGBTQIA is overlooked.
Stephanie also shares Ukrainian heritage so the traditional ‘vinok’ [a type of
¾S[IVGVS[RLIEHHVIWWA[EWWMKRM½GERXXSLIV´
The winning artist commented that it was a supportive vibe backstage, rather
than the competitive environment one might expect.
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[MXLXLIGVIEXMSRERHGSRWXVYGXMSRSJ-WEFIPPI´WMRGVIHMFP]GSPSYVJYP¾SVEPKEVQIRX
The absolute joy it brings to the wearer and the audience is evident, as well as
being a heartfelt creation made with so much love.’
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australianwearableart.com.au
November December 2023

EMBROIDERY

11

preview

Anticipation is building for
the biannual exhibition of
the Hand & Lock 2023 Prize
ĹłŅ ŀĵŅłļķĸŅŌпŊļŇĻձŁĴĿļņŇņ
featured here and the winners
revealed during the show

EYES
ON
TH E
PR IZE

PHOTOS BY JUTTA KLEE

12

EMBROIDERY

November December 2023

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established in 2000, returns from 10 to 12 November
for its international showcase exhibition, this time
at West London’s Omni Gallery, 56–57 Eastcastle
Street. With displayed entries split across four distinct
categories – Open Textile Art, Student Open Textile
Art, Open Fashion and Student Open Fashion – the
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judges, who include artist Cornelia Parker CBE, The Great British
Sewing Bee’s Esme Young, Embroiderers’ Guild artistic director Anthea
Godfrey and Alastair Macleod, the chairman of Hand & Lock and
the prize’s founder. With gallery space allocated to a total of 50
embroidery artists, best emerging designers and makers, including the
winners of the 2022 prize, the upcoming exhibition showcases an
inspirational array of work.
Prize entrants, many from the UK but also those from the USA,
Europe and Oceania, have responded to a set brief which this year is
focused on the topics of spirituality and belief. Jessica Jane Pile, Hand
& Lock director, explains that ‘the brief speaks about the spiritual
meaning of your work and the process of its creation. It asks what
these ideas mean to people individually, as well as looking at them in
social and historical contexts.’
‘I think one of the common themes we have seen this year is the
importance of the meditative stitch. In recent years we have seen a
rise in how many entrants talk openly about the importance of
stitching in their life. It is a form of meditation, escapism or relaxation.
When creating the brief for this year we were keen to see how
people would interpret ideas of spirituality, religion and mystic arts.
Embroidery has become a religion for a lot of people and a form
of meditation in and of itself. It is interesting to see the investment
people make in the process of producing embroidery. Sometimes this
is not even about what will be achieved at the end but how it made
the artist feel during the creation of the work.’
The prize, originally open for entries made using hand embroidery
solely, has been opened up to embrace machine and digital
embroidery, beading and other forms of embroidery, with entries
layering fabric and using a more diverse range of materials.This
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Burrows, Kate Pankhurst, Mariia Khmelnytska and Katie Tume, all
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The intricate beadwork and ribbon embroidery of Yuasa, who studied
Luneville lace net embroidery in France, draws upon motifs such as
½WLIPITLERXWERHWGSVTMSRW8LIWIWYFNIGXWEVIIGLSIHMRXLI[SVO
of USA-based Field, a maker who reimagines animals – such as a tiger
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works by Field draw out dream-like narratives replete with soaring
birds, boats and repeated human eyes.
Burrows’ beadwork, produced in her log cabin in Northern Canada,
incorporates dramatic, semi-religious motifs, reminiscent of Catholic
and pagan symbolism, such as human eyes and skeletons. Burrows’
WOMPPWMRTEMRXMRKERHQM\IHQIHMEMR¾YIRGILIVIQFVSMHIV]
Pankhurst, meanwhile, won the prize in 2021. She is a versatile maker,
and was part of the embroidery team that worked on Coronation
robes for His Majesty King Charles and Her Majesty Queen Camilla.
She is a specialist in box work, 3D shading and goldwork.
Looking ahead to the exhibition, Jessica Jane Pile notes that colour is
EWMKRM½GERXHVMZIVEQSRKXLIIRXVERXWXLMW]IEV³3FZMSYWP]GSPSYVMWE
big part of the brief that was set.The use of colour is often a way to
interpret an emotion, something used to express a whole range of
JIIPMRKWXLEX]SYQE]RSXFISXLIV[MWIEFPIXSHS´WLIVI¾IGXW³;I
are seeing bold colour choices which have not always been the case
in previous years of the prize.’
'SPSYVMWTEVXMGYPEVP]IZMHIRXMRXLI[SVOSJ9OVEMRMER½REPMWX
Khmelnytska, who works with free-motion hand-guided machine
embroidery to produce bold and graphic work with nods to comic
books, contemporary art and art history.Tume, based in West Sussex,

Opposite page: Essence
Unveiled: A Journey of
Revelation by Ji Young
Kim, 1m x 25cm, silk
and cotton threads.
ĸչс ŃŃĿĸķĸŇĴļĿ
from The Chawton
House Project by Emily
Barnett, 1.5m x 1.2m

favours vibrant colour too, working with a range of materials and
techniques to create 3D embroidery work that can be worn as
masks or headpieces.The work she makes has helped her come to
terms with grief. Her work is built from layers of beadwork, thread,
felt and sequins and is inspired by insects, lizards and leaves and is
reminiscent of the stylisation found in ceremonial iconography, for
example, from West Africa.
The Student Open Textile Art category is similarly packed with talent
and highlights the new and exciting wave of young artists. Ji Young
Kim is a thinker, maker and artist. Originally from South Korea, Ji Young
is studying an MFA in textiles at Parsons in New York. Her work is
EREQEPKEQEXMSRSJ½FVIXI\XMPIWGYPTXYVIMRWXEPPEXMSRERHTEMRXMRK
Through traditional textile techniques, her aim is to create new and
innovative three-dimensional art.
Emily Barnett is a textile artist specialising in hand embroidery for the
PY\YV]MRXIVMSVWWIGXSV7LIMWMRWTMVIHF]REXYVIMR¾YIRGIHF]LIV
childhood in the Hampshire countryside. Creating a sense of place is
important, allowing her to bring the areas she is inspired by to life.
%QSRKXLISXLIVWXYHIRX½REPMWXW,ERREL+PSWWSTYWIWZMFVERX
colour to produce mixed media fantasy art; Fiza Shahid works with
centuries old mediums in a fresh manner; Hannah Jaumot from
*PSVMHEIQTPS]WQM\IHQIHME*VERGIWGE4S[IV[MPPXEMPSVLIV½REP
piece for a performance setting; while as a Guild Graduate chosen for
her innovation, you can read about Lizzie Gray’s art on page 22.
Entries are shortlisted by dint of their ‘wow’ factor, technical skill and
their response to the brief. Prize winners will be announced during
the exhibition. Watch this space… e
Anneka French
8LI,ERH 0SGO4VM^IJSV)QFVSMHIV])\LMFMXMSRMWEX3QRM+EPPIV]
)EWXGEWXPI7XVIIX0SRHSR;;)+¯2SZIQFIV
instagram.com/handandlock_theprize
November December 2023

EMBROIDERY

13

14

EMBROIDERY

November December 2023

the sewing room

HEARTH & HOME

Mandy Pattullo relishes her studio time in a small arts centre,
set in a tiny village surrounded by glorious countryside
QTHOUGH ONLY A 20-MINUTE drive from her home in
Newcastle upon Tyne, textile artist Mandy Pattullo’s studio seems like
a world away. Located in Horsley, a diminutive rural village in the Tyne
Valley, her workspace is one of eight artists’ studios in The Hearth, a
small arts centre and café established in 2004 in a restored, wattle
and daub, 17th-century manse.
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ERHXLIFYGSPMGFIRI½GMEP³-X[EWEGSRWGMSYWHIGMWMSRSRQ]TEVXXS
get a studio in the countryside. I don’t particularly want to live there
but I like dipping in and out of it. And I like the journey, it gives me a
good separation between home and work.’ But it’s not only the drive
and change of landscape
that nourishes her but the
slowing of pace, the sensual
experience and aesthetic it
offers. ‘I looked at studios in
the city that I could walk to and I sometimes think that if I’d taken one
there my work might have been very different,’ muses Pattullo, ‘but the
rural thing is really important to me.’
Overlooking the hills surrounding the valley, Pattullo’s studio, with its
PS[GIMPMRK[MHISEO¾SSVFSEVHWQEVFPIXSTTIHQERXIPTMIGIERH
three-paned window complete with seat, in what was once one of
the manse’s bedrooms, still evokes a domestic space. As a setting for
EQEOIV[LSYWIW³SPHXLMRKW´¯WTIGM½GEPP]ZMRXEKIXI\XMPIWERHUYMPXW
from Northumberland and County Durham – it’s ideal.
Evidently particular about all that she does, using this space as a
showcase rather than just a workroom is intentional. ‘When I left
full-time teaching I sat at home for a year deciding what I wanted to
do. I knew that I wanted to make my living through textiles so when
I got this studio I set it up so as to say this is me now, this is what I
do.’ Using The Hearth’s open-door policy which encourages public
interaction with artists and their practices to her advantage, Pattullo
talks about the presentation of her studio and the ‘ornaments and
scraps’ she places in there as being part and parcel of her trademark.
‘It’s very much a curated space. I only put out things I want visitors

to see.The objects that I have in there are things that feed into my
textiles, my aesthetic and my brand – like the very precious First
World War lovers’ pin cushion made by a sailor – but that I don’t
particularly want at home. It all helps me to sell my work and the
courses I run.The people who attend my workshops at the Hearth
or visit my studio often want a bit of me, a little bit of that feeling of
using old and vintage fabrics.’
Admitting to being ‘a very organised, high-achieving sort of person’,
Pattullo describes her studio-days’ routine which – after she’s said
LIPPSXSXLILSVWIWMRXLI½IPHRI\XXSXLIGEVTEVOERHIWGLI[IH
the temptation of a cheese scone from the café – begins with the
making of a cafetière of
coffee. ‘While my coffee is
sinking through, or whatever
you call it, I read an Emily
Dickinson poem. I’ve really
got into her poetry and it puts me into a zone where I’m not thinking
about things at home.Then I make a list of what I want to achieve
that day. I’m a great list-maker and get a great deal of satisfaction from
crossing things out.’ A self-confessed ‘morning person’ with her prime
working hours between 8am–11am, Pattullo always takes a walk in
the nearby woods afterwards, a podcast playing in her headphones.
Though somewhat ambivalent about the intrusively public nature
of her studio, Pattullo clearly relishes the sense of community the
Hearth offers, whether it’s hearing the sounds of the other artists
at work, their occasional shared meal or bouncing-off of ideas. ‘It’s a
joyous set-up really. I’d be here seven days a week if I could. It’s my
absolute favourite space.’ e
Ellen Bell

‘Using this space as a showcase rather
than just a workroom is intentional’

mandypattullo.co.uk
instagram.com/mandypattullo
Mandy Pattullo will be exhibiting her work at The Knitting
and Stitching Show Harrogate 16–19 November.
theknittingandstitchingshow.com/harrogate
November December 2023

EMBROIDERY

15

AN
IRON FIST
IN A
VE LVE T
GLOVE
Feminist textile art pioneer Su Richardson’s
symbolic and subversive crochet railed
against the expectations placed on women
when she began to make it in the 1970s.
Her legacy is explored in a new exhibition
of feminist art at Tate Britain this autumn,
Women in Revolt! Art and Activism in the
UK 1970–1990. Here, curator Linsey Young
speaks to Richardson about her work

Su Richardson, Burnt
Breakfast and Packed Lunch,
1976. Plus detail above
right.© Su Richardson, All
Rights Reserved, DACS.
Courtesy Richard Saltoun
Gallery London and Rome

Q&A

QYou’re known for your use, celebration and subversion of
traditionally ‘feminine’ skills such as crochet to make works
like the brilliant Burnt Breakfast and Packed Lunch (1976). How
would you describe your work?
I would describe my work as domestic, female-friendly,
subversive, attractive, humorous, issue-based, political. It’s an
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What attracted you to working with textiles? Did you have
any training or go to art school?
Since childhood, I’ve always enjoyed fabrics and colours:
designing and dressmaking, recycling, re-purposing, collecting
materials. I did a two-year foundation course at Newcastle
College of Art and Design, then a three-year diploma in art
and design, specialising in graphic design, at Leeds College
of Art and Design, as well as a one-year Post Graduate
'IVXM½GEXIMR)HYGEXMSR
Why does crochet appeal to you?
Crochet appeals because it’s associated with women, and I
learnt it while on my PGCE course from a friend whose zigzag
stitch I admired. I found it easy to do, and due to there being
only one loop on the hook at a time, it was easy to build up
shapes and create soft sculpture, rather like dressmaking from
a paper pattern. I could draw round myself and crochet me. I
EPWS½RHXLEXMX´WEKVIEXWXVIWWVIPMIZIVERHWSQIXLMRK]SYGER
do anywhere, no studio needed.
There is often a friction between whether textile art is
HIWGVMFIHEWE½RIEVXSVEGVEJX,S[HS]SYJIIPEFSYXXLMW#
It’s a craft if it’s useful. It’s art if it is ideas-based, has a message

Above: Su Richardson, Postal Art
– Me, 1976-88. © Su Richardson,
All Rights Reserved, DACS.
Courtesy Richard Saltoun Gallery
London and Rome
Right: Su Richardson, Postal
Art – Lyn Pin Cushion, 1976. © Su
Richardson, All Rights Reserved,
DACS. Courtesy Richard Saltoun
Gallery London and Rome

November December 2023

EMBROIDERY

17

эŇюņĴĶŅĴոļĹļŇюņňņĸĹňĿс
ŇюņĴŅŇļĹļŇļņļķĸĴņуĵĴņĸķо
ĻĴņĴŀĸņņĴĺĸĴŁķĶĻĴĿĿĸŁĺĸņю

and challenges. If it’s also useful then
that’s a bonus.
Your work Bear it in Mind (1976)
(which has been acquired by Tate)
as well as a selection of Postal Art
objects which had been thought
lost, are in the upcoming exhibition
Women in Revolt! at Tate Britain this
autumn.The exhibition focuses on
the art women were making between
the years 1970–1990.What was this
period like for you as an artist?
Exciting! I moved to Birmingham and
met Monica Ross, a sister artist, at the
local baby clinic and then her neighbours,
Phil Goodall and Suzy Varty.Together we
formed the core of Birmingham Women
Artists Group.Then Monica and I met
Kate Walker at a feminist art history
conference in London in 1974. Kate had
started the Women’s Postal Art Event
when her friend Sally Gollop moved to
the Isle of Wight, and they wanted to
keep in touch.
You became a key member of this
Postal Art Event, which grew to involve
women across Britain, and even one in
New Zealand and Australia, making and
sending small artworks to each other
through the post. How did it work?
We were making art between the
nappies and the washing up on the
kitchen table, with whatever was at hand,
and sending it to our friends, some artists,
some not, through the post.They would
send a work back, sometimes a reply,
sometimes something about themselves
and their lives.
This story of the Postal Art Event
is told in Women in Revolt! Some
of your works made for this project
demonstrate techniques like crochet
(Postal Art – Me 1976-1988) or
haberdashery (Postal Art - Lyn Pin Cushion,
1976).What was in your mind when you
made these works?
I used mainly crochet haberdashery, found
objects, DAS clay, recycled and repurposed
materials.The ‘ME’ crochet, speaks for itself.
Through the Postal Art event, we were
exploring sex, relationships, food, identity,
history, politics and the work was sad, funny,
humorous and angry.
Su Richardson, Bear it in Mind, 1976. Tate
© Su Richardson, All Rights Reserved,
DACS. Image © Tate

18

EMBROIDERY

November December 2023

The Postal Art Event culminated in a major touring
exhibition called Feministo: Portrait of the Artist
as a Housewife and you later collaborated
with fellow postal artists Monica Ross
and Kate Walker on the travelling
installation Fenix between 1978–
1980.What do you feel was the
impact of these events on you
and your fellow artists?
These collaborations gave us
GSYVEKIXSFISYVWIPZIWGSR½HIRGI
to make art our way and then exhibit
it, and a chance to explore cooperative working, ideas sharing and
building installations in venues, that
developed and grew.
What happened to your Postal Art
Event pieces?
Some works were kept, others
VIXYVRIHXSEVXMWXW[LIRVIUYIWXIHJSV
exhibiting. It was optional, and all work
was exhibited anonymously.
An emerging theme from many of the
artists in this new Tate Britain show
is their involvement in activism or
pushing for change. Does this ring true
for how you approached art making in
this period?
Totally. We were reclaiming our ‘selves’,
not just as wives and mothers, but as
artists and feminists working together
towards change.
Even today, we still see textiles
techniques undervalued and
underappreciated as art because of their
domestic associations. Do you think
much has changed in the way these
WOMPPWEVIVIKEVHIHWMRGI]SY½VWXWXEVXIH
working with them?
No, I don’t think much has changed,
TEVXMGYPEVP]MR&VMXEMR8I\XMPI½FVIEVX
and political art has always been more
appreciated, understood and valued in the
rest of Europe and USA.
What’s next for you?
This autumn, I will have a solo show
of my 70s, 80s and current work at
Wolverhampton Art Gallery called Soft
Power, running from 16 September – 10
December. After that, I have work in an
exciting group show with details being
announced soon, as well as a solo show
of my 70s, 80s and current work at
MAC, Birmingham. e
Su Richardson’s work can be viewed at
Women in Revolt! Art and Activism in the
UK 1970-1990 at Tate Britain
8 November – 7 April 2024.
tate.org.uk

freshly caught
mermaids

offbeat artist

ANNIE TAYLOR’S NEEDLE AND THREAD
PRODUCES FANTASTICAL CREATURES AND, AS
!„ّI„Çy(0ª„IÀR0§ª„IyXÀæ0w ª„X(0ªæ
GROUP, EXPLETIVES NOT DELETED

A

ŁŁļĸĴŌĿłŅĻĴņĴŁĴղŁļŇŌŊļŇĻŊĴŇĸŅѰĴŁķŀĸŅŀĴļķņѰ
despite being a poor swimmer. During her childhood in
South London her family’s running joke was that there
wasn’t a local stretch of water that she hadn’t fallen into. ‘There are
family photos of my mum, dad and brother but I’m not there because
I’m wearing my dad’s jumper with all my clothes strewn out on the
bulrushes drying, again.’
Seventeen years ago Annie and her husband moved to live by the
sea in Whitstable, where her artistic career began to coalesce. The
artist started imagineering fantastical mermaids and fairy folk.
Diminutive initially, popped into jars and teacups and tagged ‘freshly
caught mermaids’, they sold well in her Whitstable Tails Etsy shop,
ĵňŇĿĴŇĸŅŊĸŅĸŇłķĸʼnĸĿłŃļŁŇłюĿļĹĸфņļōĸķяҶչŀĴŁŁĸńňļŁņтŇŇĴľĸņ
a ‘special person’ to become their owner, the artist laughs, adding:
юĻĸŀĸŅŀĴļķņŀĴľĸĴŅĸŁłŇņŊĸĸŇрŇĻĸŌĴŅĸńňļŇĸĵĴķĿŌĵĸĻĴʼnĸķ
ĶŅĸĴŇňŅĸņтя ŁŁļĸŃłļŁŇņŇłĴҶչюĸʼnļĿяļŁķļʼnļķňĴĿпĿĸĴŁļŁĺĴĺĴļŁņŇĴņĸŇ
of shelves in her studio, sporting antlers and based on bindweed.
ŁŁļĸłչĸŁŅĸŃňŅŃłņĸņŇĻĸĶłŁŇĸŁŇņłĹĹŅļĸŁķņяŀňŀяņĿļŁĸŁ
cupboards. ‘I get phone calls saying: “Can you use this?”’ Recycling
old linen gives her freedom, she explains: ‘I still have that fear of the
fresh white page, so if I’m reusing something that’s worn or damaged
it takes away the anxiety of messing it up.’
ĸŅņļņĴŁłŅļĺļŁĴĿŀļŁķпŊļŇĻļŇņĶŅĸĴŇļłŁņļŁշňĸŁĶĸķĵŌŇĻĸŅļĶĻ
seam of her upbringing. She describes her parents as ‘make do and
menders’, with her mum having ‘a very bad jumble sale habit’. She
would make funky jackets for her children out of 1950s curtains,
lining them with towelling. Annie’s nan was a ‘brilliant knitter’,
while her gran was a ‘fantastic crocheter and lace-maker’
but Annie couldn’t pick up their skills, describing herself
as ‘possibly dyspraxic’, though it remained undiagnosed.
ŁŁļĸяņķĴķձŋĸķĸĿĸĶŇŅļĶĴĿļŇĸŀņĴŁķŀĴķĸĻĸŅĴĵłłľĶĴņĸ
out of the wooden television cases discarded when colour
television came along. He always made sure the children
ĻĴķŃĴŃĸŅŇłķŅĴŊłŁпŊĻļĿĸĹĴĵŅļĶłծĶňŇņŊĸŅĸĴʼnĴļĿĴĵĿĸĹłŅ
Annie to make clothes for her dolls (‘badly’).
Her parents took her to nearly every library in the
borough where she pored over the fantasy illustrations
in fairytale books and became obsessed by a title on
the Russian-French artist and designer Romain
ķĸļŅŇłծпľŁłŊŁĴņ ŅŇųтĻĸĵłłľķĸŃļĶŇĸķ
showgirls and fed her childhood dreams: ‘I
would have liked to go to Hollywood to be in a
Busby Berkeley musical, dancing in feathers!’
չĸŅņĶĻłłĿп ŁŁļĸŊĴŁŇĸķŇłņŇňķŌŇĻĸĴŇŅĸ
wardrobe but says, ‘I didn’t come from the
sort of background where it seemed possible
to earn a living from being an artist’ and
ended up studying shorthand typing so she
had ‘something to fall back on’.
չĸŅŊłŅľļŁĺĹłŅ"ĴŁķŅĴĻłķĸņпŇĻĸ
ŅĴչņ łňŁĶļĿпĴĶľŁĸŌŅłĵĴŇļłŁпĴŁķ
then The Guardian for 11 years, in 2000

‘My creations are my
companions, talking to me,
putting their oar into
the making process’

November December 2023

EMBROIDERY

19

she was invalided out of her occupation with RSI. Seizing the
opportunity, she took an access course, completed a BTEC in
ĺĿĴņņпĴձŁĸĴŅŇĹłňŁķĴŇļłŁĶłňŅņĸĴŁķĴŁĴŃŃĿļĸķĴŅŇņķĸĺŅĸĸт
‘I probably didn’t do illustration or textiles because of a fear of
being found out as not being good enough,’ concludes Annie,
ŊĻłĶłŁņĸńňĸŁŇĿŌĶłŁņļķĸŅņĻĸŅņĸĿĹņĸĿĹфŇĴňĺĻŇĴņĴŇĸŋŇļĿĸĴŅŇļņŇт
Once in Whitstable, she would draw people on the beach along
ŊļŇĻĹĴļŅŌŇĴĿĸļĿĿňņŇŅĴŇļłŁņюŊļŇĻĴŇŊļņŇяпĵňŇĴչĸŅĴĶłŁʼnĸŅņĴŇļłŁ
about copyright knew she had to create her own characters.
The ‘textile thing’, as Annie calls it, only started about 10 years
ago and was incubated by the Profanity Embroidery Group,
ŊĻļĶĻņĻĸĶłфĹłňŁķĸķĴչĸŅĻĸŅŃĴŅĸŁŇņŅĸķļņĶłʼnĸŅĸķĴŁķŃłņŇĸķ
on Facebook a cartoon by Rina Piccolo from The New Yorker.
ĻĸŌĻĴķĹłňŁķļŇĹňŁŁŌŊĻĸŁ ŁŁļĸĻĴķձŅņŇņĻłŊŁļŇŇłŇĻĸŀт
It depicts an older woman sewing, surrounded by hearts and
շłŊĸŅņĶňņĻļłŁņпņĴŌļŁĺсю҈҈ľŇĻĸŊłŅĿķшяŊļŇĻŇĻĸĶĴŃŇļłŁсюŅņ
Winchester found a creative outlet for her frustrated negative
energy.’ Pretty soon an online conversation between Annie and
PEG co-founder and friend Wendy Robinson had broadened,
with others joining in. They decided to meet at the pub. ‘This
disparate bunch of women of a certain age kept sidling through
the door. I think we had a group of about a dozen people.’
łłŁĴչĸŅłŃĸŁļŁĺŇĻĸļŅձŅņŇĸŋĻļĵļŇļłŁŇĻĸŌĻĴķĴĶłŀŃĿĴļŁŇ
ŇĻĴŇŇĻĸļŅʼnĸŁňĸŊĴņłŁĴņĶĻłłĿŅňŁѰюĻļņŇĴĵĿĸļņńňļŇĸņŀĴĿĿп
everything is on a school run’ – but nevertheless duly covered
the windows in bubble wrap. ‘We had more people disgusted
and disgruntled when we began. In 10 years there seems to have
been so much more swearing.’

PEG demanded embroidered textural comments so fuelled her
use of stitch. ‘I use simple basic stitches, ones remembered
from school: running, back and chain stitch mostly. I love
ŇĻĸŊĴŌĶĻĴļŁņŇļŇĶĻņłչĿŌĶŅĸĴŇĸņŇĸŋŇĴŁķĻĴņĴŁĸĴņŌշłŊ
through the hand as though actually writing, and gives lovely
swirling lines for hair curls. Not long ago, I was introduced to
split backstitch and that rattles along beautifully.
‘I now use my sewing machine a lot to sketch with, although
I love working in hand stitch. I use a lot of single threads and
ŊłŅľńňļŇĸձŁĸĿŌŊļŇĻŀŌĻĴŁķфņŇļŇĶĻļŁĺтŊłŅľļŁņŇļŁĶŇļʼnĸĿŌ
and will unpick. My mother had a best friend who was an
embroidery teacher and she used to say: “You’ll never be any
good if you aren’t prepared to unpick” and I hear her in my
head which makes me laugh as I reach for the scissors.’
Her embroidered fabric mermaids are painted in watercolour
ĴŁķпŁłŊŇĻĴŇŇĻĸŌĻĴʼnĸĵĸĶłŀĸņňŃĸŅņļōĸķпņĻĸĶĴŁłչĸŁ
be spotted visiting a friend or on the beach, carrying a limb
or head. ‘I’ve always loved mermaids. As a child, I didn’t like
the story of The Little Mermaid as I didn’t want her to give up
her tail but the attraction to them has always been there. Old
familiar stories come out of the end of the needle altered, and
ŇĻĸķłĿĿņłչĸŁĻĴʼnĸŀļŁķņłĹŇĻĸļŅłŊŁтŌŊłŅľļņŃĴŅŇłĹŀŌ
life; my creations are my companions, talking to me, putting
ŇĻĸļŅłĴŅļŁŇłŇĻĸŀĴľļŁĺŃŅłĶĸņņтŃŅłŀļņĸŀŌĿłŁĺфņňծĸŅļŁĺ
husband that I won’t make any more big dolls and then I have
this slight problem with size and it’s another big one.’
ĻĸŇĴĿľņķļņŃĴŅĴĺļŁĺĿŌłĹĴŁłŇĻĸŅҶչŀĸŅŀĴļķļŁĻĸŅ
workroom. Recently completing an online puppet-making

‘We had a troublesome
neighbour so Jesus had a sign
saying “Love thy neighbour”’
course with the Little Angel Theatre, she says, ‘my dolls
ĺłŇŅĸĴĿĿŌņŇļծтяķĺłŇļŁŇłķŅĴŊļŁĺĴŁķĸŀĵŅłļķĸŅŌпĵňŇŇĻĸ
puppet course got me thinking about making them move.’
ĻĴĿĿĸŁĺļŁĺŇĻĸņŇĴŇňņńňłпŊĻĸŇĻĸŅŇĻĸĹĴļŅŌŇĴĿĸņĴŁķ
legends we’ve rewritten to be so saccharine or the need to
avoid expletives, not surprisingly the artist has got involved
ŊļŇĻĶŅĴչļʼnļņŀпŅĸĶĸŁŇĿŌĶŅĸĴŇļŁĺłŁĸłĹĸļĺĻŇĵňņņĻĸĿŇĸŅ
posters to draw attention to the perceived inappropriateness
of the Isle of Wight Festival’s sponsor.
Finally, I feel I have to broach the subject of Jesus. Her
brother found him with a broken hand in a skip outside a
church and Annie stood the statue in the window of her front
room. ‘We had a troublesome neighbour so he had a sign
saying “Love thy neighbour” and then it got to New Year and
Jesus had a party, and then a hangover and it went from there.
Jesus is still in the window. He doesn’t do much these days.’
Christmas makes its presence felt in other ways. One of
Annie’s bestsellers on Etsy is an embroidered textile angel
with the wording: “As festive as f**k.” ‘I’ve also created ones
ŇĻĴŇņĴŌѐ ņĹĸņŇļʼnĸĴņĹĸĶľёĹłŅŃĸłŃĿĸŊĻłĶĴŁяŇńňļŇĸĶłŃĸтя
ļŇĻĴņŃļŅļŇĸʼnĸŅŌĵļŇĴņķĸձĴŁŇĴņŇĻĸŇĸĸŁĴĺĸ ŅļĸĿĹŅłŀThe
Little Mermaid, I can’t wait to see what Annie does next. e
Claire Waring
instagram.com/WhitstableTails
etsy.com/uk/shop/WhitstableTails
facebook.com/profanityembroiderygroup
instagram.com/pegwhitstable
20

EMBROIDERY

November December 2023

Page 19:Top, Merna Pause; Bottom, Mermaid in a Tea Cup
Reading is one of Annie’s earlier works;
Page 20: Threepenny Opera Dolls in Annie’s home with
Merna the cat and a version of the Mona Lisa behind.
This page, clockwise from top left: Every Mermaid has a Tale;
Domestic F**king Bliss; Annie’s work is inspired by fairytales,
such as Not All Wolves; The Vanity Case;The Craftivist piece
Stitched up by Barclays? was one of eight bus stop posters
protesting at the Isle of Wight Festival’s choice of sponsor

November December 2023

EMBROIDERY

21

’TIS THE SEASON

GUILD GRADUATE

If it’s November, it must be the K&S Show
ĴŅŅłĺĴŇĸтĸŅĸпŊĸձŁķłňŇŊĻĴŇяņļŁņŇłŅĸ

QTHE KNITTING & STITCHING SHOW, the UK’s biggest textile art, craft
and design event, is at Harrogate Convention Centre, 16 – 19 November. A
dream day out for crafters and makers, there is creative inspiration at every
turn. The show’s Learning Curve programme (ticketed) offers hundreds of
hands-on workshops, including needle felt reindeer and mice, winter-themed
Dorset buttons, overlocker gift bags, beaded decorations and knitted and
stitched baubles. Top tutors will be sharing their knowledge.
Want to make your own stylish, sustainable wardrobe? The Dressmaking
Studio, sponsored by Brother, offers dedicated dressmaking classes, while at the
Creative Living Theatre, knit and stitch personalities will be hosting free demos,
such as hand-stitched English paper piecing and Bargello basics.
Showcasing new work by leading textile artists and groups, look out for:
Made in Britain (Illuminate), Jan Beaney and Jean Littlejohn (Rhythms and
6I¾IGXMSRW), Ailish Henderson (Maker: Mended), Mandy Pattullo (Well Worn
Work), Batool Showghi (Talking Threads), The Quilters’ Guild Collection (A
Diverse Patchwork), Sabine Kaner (Hand Stitched Stories), Susie Chaikin, Susan
Chapman and Sue Dove (Head, Heart, Knees and Hands), plus the winner and
shortlisted entries for The Fine Art Textiles Award 2023, and winning entries
from The Festival of Quilts 20th Anniversary Quilt Competition.
The Embroiderers’ Guild will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of its
Graduate Showcase, following the inspiring stories of Guild graduates and
scholars from their selection in 1993 to their careers today.
Iconic embroidery company Hand & Lock will be celebrating their prestigious
4VM^IJSV)QFVSMHIV][MXLERI\LMFMXMSRSJ½REPMWXWERH[MRRIVW;MXL
years of history, Hand & Lock are the UK’s oldest embroidery house, providing
embellishment and embroidery services to royalty, fashion designers, the
Armed Forces, Savile Row and private clients. Hand & Lock will be discussing
their work for The King’s Coronation at the Creative Living Theatre at 3pm, on
Thursday 16 and Saturday 18 November, sharing unique designs from their
archive and selling a range of embroidery products.
For Christmas craft shopping, there are hundreds of retailers selling thread,
sewing machines and equipment, accessories, crafts kits and gifts, from wellknown global brands to small artisan companies.
Early booking is recommended. theknittingandstitchingshow.com/harrogate

łŅ ĻŅļņŇŀĴņĶŅĴչ
shopping, the K&S
Show is the best
place to explore

22

EMBROIDERY

November December 2023

Lizzie Gray’s artworks
Encaged by DesignпĿĸչп
and Sheer Gaze, right

EYE, EYE!

Graduating this year with a BA in hand-embroidery
from the Royal School of Needlework, the
ŀĵŅłļķĸŅĸŅņяňļĿķŊĴņņŊļչŇłŁĴŀĸļōōļĸŅĴŌ
as a Guild Graduate. Gray gets a small grant to pay
expenses and the opportunity to exhibit her work at
the Knitting and Stitching Shows.
We asked the artist how she designed such stunning
artwork. ‘I’ve always been inspired by the human
experience and wanted to explore aspects of the
human connection through the use of anatomical
imagery. My eye piece, Sheer Gaze, explores how we
are given the same biological blueprint yet the way
we see the world, and how we present to the world, is
individual. My skeletal hand piece, Encaged by Design,
explores the limitations of the body and the feeling of
being trapped in a physical vessel.’
ŇяņļŁŇĸŅĸņŇļŁĺŇłŅĸշĸĶŇłŁŇĻĸŇĸĶĻŁļńňĸņŇĻĸĴŅŇļņŇ
has chosen to use: ‘Sheer Gaze was made by using
padding to create three-dimensional forms. I played
around with a lot of scrap fabric to create a range of
eye colours and skintones. Most of the embroidery on
the piece is crewelwork, with hints of silk-shading,
beadwork and goldwork.
‘Encaged by Design was created using tambour
ŇĸĶĻŁļńňĸņтŊļŅĸķŇĻĸłňŇņļķĸŇłĴķķņŇŅňĶŇňŅĴĿ
integrity to the piece. This also allowed it to mould
to the body. I created surface texture and dimension
by using stranded cotton in a swirl pattern. Finally, I
used seed beads in a range of colours for the outline
and details in the hands.’
ĻĸĶłŀŀĸŁŇņļōōļĸŅĸĶĸļʼnĸķķňŅļŁĺĻĸŅ
graduate show are telling, with many visitors saying
her work was very ‘eye-catching’ and not what they
might normally expect from embroidery.
We also wanted to know what was the best element
of the artist’s degree. ‘The best thing about my
degree at the RSN is how much I was encouraged to
ĸŀĵŅĴĶĸŀŌłŊŁňŁļńňĸņŇŌĿĸтяŀձŁĸĴŅŇфĵĴņĸķļŁ
the way I explore projects and my tutors encouraged
me to push my boundaries.’
As for the future, this innovative young artist says: ‘I
hope to work as a freelancer, as well as continuing to
work on my own projects.’
lizziegray.co.uk

The Knitting & Stitching Show Harrogate
BRITISH ART
TEXTILES

Cas Holmes and Stephanie Redfern,
both members of Art Textiles:
Made in Britain, discuss their
forthcoming exhibition.
Art Textiles: Made in Britain will exhibit their
show Illuminate at the K&S in Harrogate.
Member artists include: Bethan Ash, Louise
Baldwin, Jessica Grady, Cas Holmes, Rosie
James, Edwina Mackinnon, Sandra Meech,
Sylvia Paul, Stephanie Redfern, Christine
Restall and Sarah Waters.
What can visitors expect to see at your
exhibition, Illuminate?
We celebrate our diversity of approach
EWXI\XMPIEVXMWXWERHXLI[SVOJSVSYV½JXL
GSPPEFSVEXMSR-PPYQMREXI[MPPVI¾IGXXLMW-X
[MPPVI¾IGX¯IUYEPP]EWMREQMVVSV¯LS[
we each have responded to the theme to
celebrate the unique approach of individuals
in the group. So, expect to see everything
from transformed high-vis workers’ jackets
XSLMRXWSJ½VI¾MIWERHQEKMGEPGVIEXYVIW
on Japanese kimono-inspired work; and
the sparks and patterns of outer planetary
MR¾YIRGIWXSXLSWISJXLIMRRIV[SVPHSJ
the brain. We aim to have a good range of
interpretations of the theme as everyone
approaches the challenge differently.
Your purpose is to promote British art
textiles and to ensure their future by
introducing them to new audiences. How
do you navigate the balance between
preserving historical textile traditions and
stretching the boundaries of contemporary
artistic expression?
All of our approaches have a foundation
that is deeply rooted in historical tradition
which is harnessed, subverted and
transformed to connect making with
meaning to communicate our ideas and
thoughts anew. Look hard enough and you
will identify hundreds of techniques and
processes employing a range of materials.
Felting, quilting, works in paper, weaving, found
materials, embroidery, dye, paint, the list goes
on. Within our group we encompass a wide
variety of knowledge, skills and references to
traditional textile techniques. We are artists
and individuals who work with and within
these techniques and valuable traditions to
support our own creative personalities while
each building a lifelong body of work.
As you evolve, what do you see is the
future of textile art and its role in shaping
broader artistic and cultural conversations?
Since its inception in 2013, Art Textiles: Made
in Britain through its members, has chosen to

focus on British talent. We remain committed
through our members to comment about
and discuss the continuing role textile art
plays in the broader art world.The exhibition
tours to other gallery venues after its launch
at The Knitting and Stitching Shows, and
so reaches a wider audience. Some of the
members are authors and teachers providing
a good platform for further discussion about
the role textiles play in the shaping of our
creative arts futures.
Imperfection often adds a unique charm
to textile art. How do you embrace
the organic nature of the materials and
techniques you use?
Conceptually there is the needle and
there is the cloth. What happens between
hand, eye and mind can manifest in many
different forms. At a time when digitalisation
of the art world seems to be gaining
traction, embracing the ‘imperfection’ of the

Top: Glimmer by Cas Holmes, an artist, author and
tutor working with found cloth
ĵłʼnĸĿĸչсĸņņļĶĴŅĴķŌяņŇĸŋŇļĿĸņĴŅĸĴĵłĿķĴŁķ
tactile exploration of colour and pattern through
hand stitching and embellishment
Above right: Stephanie Redfern, a ceramist for 20
years, began working in textiles and mixed media in
2003 and now concentrates entirely on these media

handmade is to be celebrated in the creation
of textile art.There is no doubt that what
we make is handmade. Experimentation,
a willingness to try something new
and to stretch the possibilities of your
chosen materials, working methods and
creative resources, and not worry about
ETVIHIXIVQMRIHHI½RMXMSRSJWYGGIWWEW
you work through your ideas seems to be
the basis of developing the experience to
embrace the organic quirks of your materials.
arttextilesmadeinbritain.co.uk
November December 2023

EMBROIDERY

23

STITCHING
THROUGH
SPACE

Isobel Currie recently won the FATA
ҳұҳҴŅļōĸĹłŅŁŁłʼnĴŇļʼnĸņĸłĹĸŋŇļĿĸņт
ĸķļņĶłʼnĸŅĻĸŅŊļŁŁļŁĺŇĸĶĻŁļńňĸņ
Q‘IF I CAN DRAW IT, it isn’t ready to be stitched,’ remarks Isobel
Currie of her complex 3D embroideries celebrating the structural and
sculptural potential of stitch. Isobel is driven by a desire to see how
her ideas translate into completed works.The near-impossibility of
sketching the designs before making means that each work is an act
of exploration. When Isobel starts a piece she doesn’t know whether
it is technically achievable or how it will look.The effort involved in
overcoming the challenges in creating each piece is rewarded by a kind
of alchemy. As each work progresses, unexpected and beautiful shapes,
patterns and interactions start to emerge. For Isobel this process of
discovery is one of the joys of working in 3D.
Coming from a home where making things was the norm, Isobel
HIZIPSTIHERMRXIVIWXMRWXMXGLMRKJVSQERIEVP]EKI,IV½VWX
embroidery attempts at four years old marked the start of a lifelong
passion that led her to study embroidery at Manchester Polytechnic
(now Manchester School of Art). During her degree she became
24

EMBROIDERY

November December 2023

interested in the shapes that threads make as they travel through fabric
to form stitches. She experimented with bending wire to form stitch
‘sculptures’, so you could see each stitch without the fabric, and from
this she gained an understanding of their shapes and interconnections
and saw the artistic potential.
Since graduating in 1990 she has continued this exploration, gaining a
growing knowledge of the techniques and materials needed to create
increasingly complicated designs. Her aim is to explore the 3D beauty
of stitch in an innovative and contemporary way, and to investigate the
unique interaction that stitch has with its supporting medium.

TECHNIQUE

Inspiration begins with a traditional embroidery stitch.The artist
analyses the chosen stitch to reveal its shape and form, which
KIRIVEXIWMHIEWEFSYXXLIHIWMKRSJXLI½RMWLIH[SVO7LIGEVIJYPP]
picks colours to enhance the work. Fine threads are used, usually
Mettler Poly Sheen for both its durability and vibrant colours, or DMC
stranded cotton for its wide variety of more natural shades. Her use of
transparent acrylic boxes and translucent supporting materials reveals
the 3D shape of the stitches, creating continually changing perspectives
and allowing the paths of the threads to be viewed from a variety
of angles. She prefers to keep her works small scale, so that, like a
precious miniature, close study is rewarded by a wealth of detail.
Isobel plans her designs in detail on a computer.This generates
accurate drill hole templates so she can drill the acrylic boxes herself
before stitching directly into them. Each new work presents new
challenges: ‘When I start a piece I am not sure if it will be physically
possible to achieve what I envisage; I often re-start a piece many times
FIJSVI½RHMRKEWYGGIWWJYPQIXLSHXSGVIEXIXLIMHIE-LEZIMRQMRH´
Keeping the threads correctly tensioned is always a challenge, as is

The Knitting & Stitching Show Harrogate
‘CYCLING THE
MAWDDACH TRAIL
NEAR BARMOUTH,
SHE “SAW” THE
LANDSCAPE
AS STITCH’

ĸչсInterlaced and Fly Stitch Estuary, 34cm x 10cm x 34cm, winner of FATA’s 2023
ŅļōĸĹłŅŁŁłʼnĴŇļʼnĸņĸłĹĸŋŇļĿĸņтĻłŇłĵŌĴĶľ ŅŀłňŅ
Top: Fly Stitch Sand Ripples (detail) (2013), 25cm x 10cm x 25cm, made for a 62 Group
ĸŋĻļĵļŇļłŁŊļŇĻŇĻĸŇĻĸŀĸюĸĵĵĴŁķշłŊятĻłŇłĵŌņłĵĸĿ ňŅŅļĸ
Right: Floating Fly Stitch (detail) (2022), 27cm x 2 7cm x 2 7cm, an abstract work in
ŅĸņŃłŁņĸŇłŇĻĸҷҳŅłňŃĶĻĴĿĿĸŁĺĸюĸņņĸŁĶĸятĻłŇłĵŌĴĶľ ŅŀłňŅ

VIEGLMRKMREGGIWWMFPIEVIEWSJXLIFS\:IV]PSRK½RIX[II^IVWEVIYWIH
EWERI\XIRWMSRSJLIV½RKIVWERHWLILEWGSPPIGXIHEZEVMIX]SJRIIHPIW
and tiny tools to assist with tricky manoeuvres.
7IZIVEPSJ-WSFIP´W[SVOWYWI¾]WXMXGL7LIPMOIWXLI[E]XLEXE³:´MW
formed when a stitched line of thread is pulled down in the middle by
EWIGSRHPIRKXLSJXLVIEH-WSFIP½VWXYWIHXLMWWXMXGLMRFly Stitch Sand
Ripples (the titles of her works always include the stitch name).This was
made in 2013 in response to a brief for the 62 Group exhibition of
³IFFERH¾S[´-XHITMGXWEWQEPPWIGXMSRSJFIEGLSR[LMGLXLIIFFMRK
tide has left ripples.The stitches are built up in rows through a drilled
acrylic box to form the undulating surface of ripples emerging from the
waterline, which is represented by a piece of organza.
It was clear this technique could be effectively employed to depict a
whole landscape, so in 2018 she made Fly Stitch Autumn Landscape,
developing techniques further to create a more organic shaping, with
the stitches changing direction across the work. ‘I am interested in
reinterpreting the traditional embroidered landscape in a modern way
and the work is stitched largely in stranded cottons, just as a crossstitched landscape picture would often be.’This work is based on the
Peak District’s Howden Reservoir, near Isobel’s Stockport home.
Several landscape works have followed since.The latest is Interlaced and
Fly Stitch Estuary, winner of the 2023 Prize for Innovative Use of Textiles
MRXLI*MRI%VX8I\XMPI%[EVHW%W[IPPEW¾]WXMXGL[LMGLJSVQWXLIVMZIV
channel and sandbanks, this work includes a variation of a composite
MRXIVPEGMRKWXMXGL[LMGL-WSFIP½VWXYWIHMRXLI[SVOInterlaced Aurora
(2012).Three different threads are used to create the stitch: one forming
loops on the fabric layer, another linking through these and being pulled
YT[EVHWXS[EVHWXLIXSTSJXLIFS\F]XLIXLMVHEZIV]½RIMRZMWMFPI
thread. Although she had been considering using this stitch again, the
inspiration for the work came suddenly on a visit to mid-Wales. Cycling

the Mawddach trail near Barmouth with the forest rising up the valley
beyond the sandbanks of the estuary, she ‘saw’ the landscape as stitch
and realised both techniques could be used effectively in one work.
In 2022 the 62 Group, of which Isobel has been an exhibiting member
for 11 years, was asked to respond to the title ‘essence’, and create a
work which encapsulated the most important aspects of their practice.
-WSFIPGLSWIXSYWI¾]WXMXGLXLMWXMQII\TPSVMRKMXWKISQIXVMGTSXIRXMEP
to create an abstract work.The result is Floating Fly Stitch where three
‘V’ stitches form a triangle hanging in space, held in tension purely by
threads stitched through the box with no fabric support.
This work also illustrates the vibrant colour interactions that are
another important part of Isobel’s work. She has synaesthesia, which in
her case manifests as a subliminal attribution of colours to everything,
including abstract concepts. ‘I always know instinctively what colours
a work is going to be from the beginning of the design process,’ she
WE]W-WSFIPMWGYVVIRXP][SVOMRKSRHIZIPSTQIRXWSJXLI¾]WXMXGL
technique to create a series of geometric abstracts further exploring
the boundaries of 3D stitching.
isobelcurrie.com instagram.com/isobel_currie_artist
Isobel Currie’s Interlaced and Fly Stitch Estuary (2023)
will be on show at The Knitting & Stitching Show Harrogate.
November December 2023

EMBROIDERY



The Knitting & Stitching Show Harrogate
CULTURAL LAYERS

Batool Showghi’s recent work is centred on the
struggle of Iranian and Afghan women
Your cultural background forms the narrative behind the textile artworks in your
exhibition Talking Threads.What do you hope visitors learn about your life?
The body of work that you see is the accumulation of years of gathering and
making. I have used photographs, drawings, illustrations, painting and documents in
my textile work and artist’s books. Each textile piece has a weight of its own where
XMQIWXSTW[MXLMRIEGLWTIGM½GJVEQIXLIVIMWEWIRWISJ[LMWTIVWXSV]XIPPMRKERH
WSQIXMQIPEQIRXEXMSR1]WYFNIGXWEVIXV]MRKXSSZIVGSQIXLIMVKVMIJERH½KLX[MXL
their circumstances. As a young girl I faced many obstacles. I didn’t have the freedom
of choice my brothers had, so I turned to reading, poetry and art.This was the start
of a beautiful journey for me.This is how I found myself and learned about my roots.
Your work focuses on the experience of women and cultural and religious
boundaries, notably in response to the recent Iranian uprising.What is it about
stitching that works so powerfully to evoke emotion in the viewer?
For many years I have used thread as a symbol of restrictions, binding and as a veil.
In my recent work in response to the Iranian and Afghan women’s struggle and
uprising, I decided to use textile to create my characters as it was more physical and
my needle became my weapon: although I was creating my women with tenderness
and love, I also wanted to make them look proud and fearless. Each time I pricked
Q]½RKIV-JIPXXLIMVTEMRERH-GVMIH[LIR-[VSXIXLIMVWXSVMIW
Can you tell us about your process?
I am aware of many layers in myself and my work: I am the lost young girl, the lost
city, the lost family but I can create my stories by digging into my memory.They are
all there full of colour under the hot sun. I can hear them. My layering connects the
present to the past. Sometimes they change places. I try to create a deeper meaning
by making these layers.
batoolshowghi.com
ĸչс Women in a Box by Batool Showghi

MENDING THE MAKER

Ailish Henderson celebrates how the act of making can be
restorative and relishes in repairs that are not perfect
Mending matters. Making matters.Yet what happens when it is the
maker themselves who is in need of repair? It has taken many years
of making and discovery and research, but now I have concluded that
through the use of my hands, through creative practice, I can spark
a vein of recovery, a kind of therapy and, yes, a salve for any negative
emotions and mindset.
This premise will be old news for many who have already found their
own calm through making and creativity. But how can you shadow
this interpretation in an exhibition setting? This is the theme I will be
presenting at this year’s Knitting and Stitching Show Harrogate in my
solo exhibition Maker: Mended.
As a child I thrived on being told stories, generally by my beloved
Narg (grandmother). It was this early introduction to the world of
the narrative which has become the foundation of my practice. In my
younger ‘art newbie’ days, this manifested in a literal visual fairytale
of works. Let’s face it, we all want our own ‘happily ever after’. As I
matured, the Prince Charmings became textural mixed media selfportraits, insights into my emotional state, in an approachable form.
In my latest body of work, though, I have become fascinated by the
Japanese concept of kintsugi; that of making something beautiful
which has been broken, not trying to recreate it or make it perfect,
instead making the mends golden, celebrating the sad, as it were.
I have also become interested in trying to say a lot with a little.
26

EMBROIDERY

November December 2023

What could fabric say without colour? Could the texture speak for
itself? Using white Irish linen as a foundation fabric (harking back to
my birthplace), as well as other undyed silks, cashmere and precious
materials, I began to build intuitive works.These were expulsions
derived from my own historical familial traumatic experiences, once
held in my heart as a negative, now being vocalised visually in a
positive manner and displaced from deep within.
At my solo show you will see a series of three human form sculptural
works, the I am 5ft 3 and ¾ series, designed to celebrate the human
race.You will also observe a selection of pieces using a juxtaposition
of a substance much like concrete, called Jesmonite, built into fabrics
themselves, with garments that were once wearable now becoming
three-dimensional, surprisingly heavy forms.
I hope visitors will quietly trace the walls of my show, with a positive
and questioning heart
and leave with only
one thought: What is
my repair?
Maker: Mended shows
life is to be lived and is
beautiful. Let’s all wear
it well and never let
it become a full stop;
only a comma, a brief
pause allowed. e
Ailish Henderson
Ailish Henderson
explored her initial
ailishhenderson.com
ideas through
Instagram.com/ailish_h
printmaking

Skills for life

open book

Katy Bevan is the co-author of a new book pushing
ĴĺĴļŁņŇŇĻĸշłŊĹłŅŇĻĸŅĸŇňŅŁłĹĻĴŁķфņľļĿĿņпĸņŃĸĶļĴĿĿŌ
among the young, and suggests the hands can feed the
brain and even help create new neural pathways

skateboards, and from plaster carving
to chair-making.
Many of the students lucky enough
to gain a place on one of the
workshops do go on to work in
the craft industry, but the charity’s
remit is broader than that. Their
workshops help the teenagers
develop visual sensitivity, to think in
three dimensions, and to problem
solve – transferable skills that have
XEOIREPYQRMMRXS½IPHWEWHMZIVWIEW
architecture, science and medicine.
Making is good for us. Slow stitching can be
meditative and having a creative outlet is
therapeutic. What is less well understood
MWXLEXMX´WEPWSFIRI½GMEPJSVSYVGSKRMXMZI
development and helps to stave off mental
decline in later years, so carrying on with
your hobby is good for your brain too.
It’s obvious that we need our hands to
feed information to our brains about the
physical world, such as texture or heat, and
our brains to tell our hands what to do.
However, developments in neuroscience
mean that we now know this is a two-way
WXVIIXEWMRJSVQEXMSR¾S[WMXGLERKIWXLI
neural pathways and can even create new
ones, while the brain is developing and
giving the hands more things to do.
It is our accumulated embodied knowledge
that enables us to understand how
materials are likely to behave. Through
our experiences of the material world,
we create mental images that we rely on
in the design process; therefore, the body
also provides information in the planning

IMAGES COURTESY OF THE CREATIVE DIMENSION TRUST

W

e’ve all heard anecdotes about
young people turning up to do
a fashion or craft degree and
not being able to thread a needle. More
recently teachers tell us that some young
children starting school can’t even hold a
TIRGMPEWXLI]PEGO½RIQSXSVWOMPPW8LIVIMW
a skills gap here, but is poor dexterity more
WMKRM½GERXXLERXLEX#
Creative education has been in decline
for some years and the ripples are being
felt in wider society; disruptive behaviour
MRWGLSSPERHEHI½GMXSJEXXIRXMSRLEZI
reached unprecedented levels. As we try
XSYRHIVWXERHXLIMQTPMGEXMSRWSJEVXM½GMEP
intelligence and hurtle into the fourth
industrial revolution, we risk losing the craft
skills that make humans unique.
Society values work we do with our
heads more highly than work we do with
our hands. Parents want their children to
be lawyers or doctors and to be able to
command a steady and good remuneration,
but what if we valued the embroiderer
as much as the marketing director, the
seamstress as much as the CEO? What if
becoming an apprentice was as celebrated
as going to university?
Intelligent Hands: Why making is a skill for
life (by Quickthorn Books), co-written with
Charlotte Abrahams, looks at stories from
people who have found satisfying careers by
using their hands. One of those is ceramic
conservator Penny Bendall, who went on to
set up a charity to help young people have
access to practical learning.
When Penny Bendall said she was going
to art college rather than university, her
decision was met by some teachers and
peers with sceptical silence. However,
that early reaction to her decision left its
mark: ‘I’ve always had a real thing about
the academic snobbery around working
with your hands,’ she says. That ‘thing’ is the
motivation behind The Creative Dimension
Trust (TCDT), the charity she founded in
XSLIPT]SYRKTISTPIHIZIPST½RI
hand-skills as a way of inspiring careers.
The workshops are free and take place
in the school holidays; 80 per cent of the
students come from areas of social or
economic deprivation.
There is a waiting list of 14–19-year-olds
keen to give up their free time to learn skills
ranging from embroidery to sign-writing on

‘We risk losing the
craft skills that make
humans unique’
phase of devising and designing, even before
material manipulation.
Throughout history educational theorists
understood the value of experiential
education, not just for those who will work
in the trades, but for everyone. Rudolf
Steiner thought beauty and usefulness
should be combined in objects, that the
development of a child’s aesthetic sense
[SYPHFIRI½XXLIMVEHYPXLSSHMRWSGMEPWOMPPW
and resilience to change. He thought: ‘Simple
needlework… in imitation of what grownup people do, prepares both hand and
heart for later life.’ e
Katy Bevan is a trustee of Heritage Crafts
and co-author of Intelligent Hands: Why
making is a skill for life, published by
quickthornbooks.com

November December 2023

EMBROIDERY

27

mother of invention
VENETIA DALE IS MUM TO THREE
CHILDREN AND A TALENTED
MAKER WHO HAS WORKED OUT
A WAY OF COMBINING THE TWO
SO FAMILY LIFE AND HER ART
HAVE BECOME INDIVISIBLE

There’s no more sombre enemy of good art
than the pram in the hallway.
Cyril Connolly (1938)
Enemies of Promise

QA RECENT RECIPIENT of the prestigious Boston
Institute of Contemporary Art’s Foster Prize, artist
Venetia Dale is testimony to the wrongheaded nature of
Connolly’s now infamous quote. For Dale, her family is
her artistic practice.They are one and the same. Indivisible.
They feed and nourish each other. A precious act of
presence, of bearing witness, of paying minute attention to
the daily motion of her domestic life, Dale’s oeuvre is one
SJGSPPIGXMRKGEWXMRKERHVIMQEKMRMRKXLI¾SXWEQNIXWEQ
ERHYR½RMWLIHREXYVISJSYVI\MWXIRGI
Mother to three children between the ages of three and
eight, Dale’s home-life is a demanding one: ‘I’m the keeper
of time in my family, the keeper of our daily schedules –
getting the children to school, to sports – and the keeper
SJXLIMVGLMPHLSSHSFNIGXWQIQSVMIWERHLS[XLI]
interact with their environment.’
Originally from Stoughton, Wisconsin in America’s
Midwest, Dale now lives in Boston where she teaches
part-time at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design.
Unequivocal about choosing to be actively present during
her children’s formative years, she talks about her time at
home with them as a privilege.Though clearly a marvel,
Dale is no Pollyanna. Equally articulate about both the
NS]WERHXLIGLEPPIRKIWWLIVIGSKRMWIWXLIWYVVIRHIVXLI
yielding of self that such a choice involves.
Trained in metalsmithing and specialising in pewter, Dale
knew that when she became pregnant in 2014, she’d have
to put her casting practice on hold. ‘I was worried about
XLIXS\MRWWS-WXITTIHE[E]JVSQMX´
)WGLI[MRKXLILEVHJSVXLIWSJXWLIWXEVXIHXSI\TPSVI
XI\XMPIW³-[EWRIWXMRKERHFIKERQEOMRKXS]WFPEROIXWERH
FSSXMIWMRERXMGMTEXMSRSJXLMWGLMPH-VIEPP]GEQIXS½FVIEW
a way of centring this life that was going to be.’

8LIFMVXLSJLIV½VWXWSRLS[IZIVORSGOIHLIVWMHI[E]W
‘I had such a dizzying sense of the fragmentation of time, in
E[E]XLEX-´HRIZIVI\TIVMIRGIHTVMSVXSXLMW-´HPIEZIQ]
coffee to go cold, I’d forget to complete an email.’ Assailed
by a nagging guilt that she somehow wasn’t ‘keeping up’
with what she describes as ‘a larger capitalist productivity’,
Dale felt as if she was failing, while at the same time
recognising the importance of her new role.
Tuning in to what she calls a ‘dissonance of feeling’, Dale
FIKERWIEVGLMRKEPQSWXWYFGSRWGMSYWP]JSVSFNIGXWXS
represent her state of fragmentation. ‘I started looking for
WSQIXLMRKXERKMFPIXLEX[SYPHIQFSH]Q]I\TIVMIRGI
of this sort of beautiful interruption. And that’s when I
stumbled upon the incomplete embroideries on eBay.’
*SV(EPIXLIWIYR½RMWLIHXETIWXVMIWGVSWWWXMXGLIW
needlepoints and rugs represent what she refers to as ‘a
celebration of pause’. ‘Coming from that place of feeling
inadequate or lacking, for not being able to complete tasks,
I saw in these embroideries the value of process, of circling
around, of celebrating attention and care.’
;MXLMXWYFMUYMX]SJLEPJ½RMWLIHIQFVSMHIVIHXIHH]FIEVW
TYTTMIWFYXXIV¾MIWERH¾S[IVW(EPI´WVEXXPIFEKGSPPIGXMSR
of the kitsch, the schmaltzy and the clichéd is the material
for an ongoing series of work called Piecing Together.
=IXLIVMRXIVEGXMSR[MXLXLIWISFNIGXWXLIMVQIPHMRKERH
IZIRXYEPVIIRZMWEKMRKMWSRISJVIWTIGXRSXNYHKIQIRX³-
believe each maker. I believe that each maker believed, as
they embroidered those stitches, that either their life was
like the images they sewed or that they wanted it to be.
When you choose to take on a labour-intensive and timeGSRWYQMRKTVSNIGXWYGLEWERIQFVSMHIV]]SYLEZIXSFI
thoughtful about what you choose to do. For me there is
a tenderness to them.’
She is equally respectful of preserving the evidence of
³MRXIVVYTXMSR´MRLIVVINSMRMRKVIQEOMRKTVSGIWWSJXLIWI
anonymous works. ‘I try to keep the positioning of the
incompleteness. Like the Siamese cat in this new piece,
I’ve tried to keep it the same distance so that the viewer

‘I’m the keeper of time in my family’

28

EMBROIDERY

November December 2023

profile

November December 2023

EMBROIDERY

29

‘Dale’s oeuvre is one of collecting, casting and reimagining the
նłŇņĴŀоĽĸŇņĴŀĴŁķňŁհŁļņĻĸķŁĸņņłĹłňŅĻňŀĴŁĸŋļņŇĸŁĶĸю
understands the original interruption.’ But she is quick to deny a need
to make a narrative out of the randomness. ‘I’m not interested in
creating a story, I want to keep things open-ended.’ Dale also refers
to it as ‘circling back’. It’s hard to fully comprehend this choice to not
½RMWLSVGSQTPIXIXLMRKWWMRGIJSVQSWXSJYWMXMWEHIJEYPXTSWMXMSR
For Dale though it’s a response to how her life is, how it has to be, as
the ‘care-taker’ of her young family.
³-[SVOMR½XWERHWXEVXW-´ZIGVIEXIHEREVXTVEGXMGIXLEXYWIW
fragments. It’s practical because I can pick up an embroidery, do a few
stitches and then put it down if the children need me. Over the last
seven years I’ve made work in 15 minute-to-two-hourly increments.’
Her seemingly sanguine acceptance of this forever-interrupted state
is verging on saintly, even to the point of seeing it as a blessing. ‘By
allowing my art to be a conversation with my life it’s given that carework a lot of meaning.’
This practice is a kind of child’s view of the world, seen and
understood through the coming-upon of detail by touch, smell and
taste. It’s about the small things, writ large. Like the orange peel, Ritz
crackers, raisins, snap peas and gum waste she collected from her
children’s meals during the pandemic which she cast in pewter; one
of these Food Balls, Keep from Falling, has recently been acquired by
Boston’s Museum of Fine Art for their permanent collection. Or the
daily love notes that they leave for her. Or the slightly skewed phrases
they come out with which she’s currently replicating in a stained-glass
mobile, using their hand-drawn bubble alphabet letters. ‘I’ve written

Venetia Dale, Piecing Together:
bless our home go (2023).
ŁձŁļņĻĸķĸŀĵŅłļķĸŅŌпҳҶҺтҲĶŀ
ԵҳҴҲтҲĶŀԵҴұтҶĶŀт
ŁņŇĴĿĿĴŇļłŁʼnļĸŊпҳұҳҴĴŀĸņĴŁķ
ňķŅĸŌłņŇĸŅŅļōĸпŇĻĸŁņŇļŇňŇĸ
łĹ łŁŇĸŀŃłŅĴŅŌ ŅŇѪ łņŇłŁп
ҳұҳҴтĻłŇłĵŌĸĿĴļŁĺт
© Venetia Dale
ŅĸʼnļłňņŃĴĺĸс ĸŇĴļĿņĻłŇпĶŅĸķļŇ
ĴŁķĶłŃŌŅļĺĻŇĴņĴĵłʼnĸ

30

EMBROIDERY

November December 2023

them all down, such as my son saying “Call the Highway Beehive” or
my daughter referring to my bra as “a Rib-Safety”.’
8LIEXXMGVSSQWLIGEPPWLIV³½FVIWTEGI´HSYFPIWEWETPE]VSSQERH
guest room. ‘I have a corner which my kids are constantly in.They’re
involved with the materials and tools that I work with, such as the pins
I use for pinning up the embroideries. My kids are forever making pin
HVE[MRKWRI\XXS[LIVI-[SVO´
Dale talks about her practice as a ‘quiet protest’. But it’s hard to see
[L]8LIVI´WRSVERGSYVLIVI4IVLETWMX´WETVSXIWXEXSYVTVS½X
driven Western society’s non-valuing of acts of taking care, of being
present, and the weighty guilt they inspire. Ultimately, it’s an artistic
TVEGXMGIXLEXVI¾IGXWFEGOXLITVIGMSYWQMRYXMEISJEHSQIWXMGPMJI%R
I\TVIWWMSRSJPSZISJTVIWIVZEXMSRSJFIMRKXLIVI³%VXQEOMRKMWWYGL
a companion to me, such a friend, especially through the pandemic
when I felt so isolated and that I was giving away my whole self to my
family. Collecting and casting the orange peel gave meaning to it.’
Despite Cyril Connolly’s prophesy of doom, the strollers are in the
hall and Dale’s practice is thriving.This is good art. And hers is
a beautiful surrender. e
Ellen Bell
venetiadale.com
instagram.com/venetiadale
Venetia Dale’s work can be seen in the 2023 James and Audrey Foster
Prize until 28 January 2024 at the ICA, Boston. icaboston.org

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November December 2023

EMBROIDERY

31

A chic Boite de Broderie

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November December 2023

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ĻŅļņŇŀĴņņňĵņĶŅļĵĸŅłծĸŅłŅʼnļņļŇ
mymagazinesub.co.uk/embroidery
ĴŁķňņĸĶłķĸс  ҳҴ

Alternatively, consider gifting a
membership to the Embroiderers'
+YMPHJSVNYWX†
embroiderersguild.com/membership

Tattoo style

This novel embroidery kit from awardwinning artist David Morrish fuses the charm
of hand embroidery with the marvels of
the digital age: digital components are by
David with the hand-stitching crafted by
the kit recipient. All essential tools and
QEXIVMEPWEVIMRGPYHIH†I\GPYHMRKT T
The essence of this kit revolves around
healing, hope, and rediscovery following
David’s recovery from PTSD. OMRK¾]GSYO
READER OFFER! ŀĵŅłļķĸŅŌŅĸĴķĸŅņ
ŊļĿĿŅĸĶĸļʼnĸҳұ԰łծŇĻĸľļŇѼĶłķĸс
  ѽĴŁķҲұ԰łծĸʼnĸŅŌŇĻļŁĺĸĿņĸ
łŁŇĻĸŊĸĵņļŇĸѼĶłķĸс   !ѽ

The Noël stocking

ĻļņŃňŅŃĿĸĴŁķĴŁŇļńňĸĺłĿķņŇłĶľļŁĺŀĴľĸņĴ
ŃĸŅĹĸĶŇĹłĶňņŃłļŁŇĹłŅŌłňŅĹĸņŇļʼnĸŀĴŁŇĸĿŃļĸĶĸт
ĴŁķĸŀĵŅłļķĸŅĸķňņļŁĺŇĻĸĴŁĶļĸŁŇĴŅŇłĹ
ĺłĿķŊłŅľĴŁķŀĴķĸĹŅłŀĶłŇŇłŁʼnĸĿʼnĸŇпŇĻĸłŷĿ
ŇłĶľļŁĺĶĴŁĴĿņłĵĸŃĸŅņłŁĴĿļņĸķŊļŇĻĴŇŊłłŅ
ŇĻŅĸĸĿĸŇŇĸŅŀłŁłĺŅĴŀłŁŇĻĸŅĸʼnĸŅņĸтҜҳҴұт
handembroideryshop.com/discount/EMBGIFT15
READER OFFER! Embroidery readers can
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24 December.

Handmade jewellery
Diana Morrison makes one-off pieces using
mainly hand-dyed silks. Choosing printed
fabrics that allow her to create a vintage style
EIWXLIXMGXLIEVXMWXMWMRWTMVIHF]XI\XYVI
everyday images and by magazines, galleries,
WLSTWERHFSSOW³-NYWXPSZIXSGSQFMRI
colour and pattern
in all its vibrancy
or in subtle soft
gradations of
tone,’ says the
artist. Items range
from £16–£17.
JEV½IPHQMPPSVK

Intermediate needlelace

ĸĸķĿĸĿĴĶĸķĸʼnĸĿłŃĸķĹŅłŀҲҷŇĻĶĸŁŇňŅŌ
ĶňŇŊłŅľĴŁķĸŀĵŅłļķĸŅŌтĻĸķĸņļĺŁņ
ĴŅĸłňŇĿļŁĸķŊļŇĻĴŃĴļŅłĹŇĻŅĸĴķņп
ĶłňĶĻĸķłŁŇłŃĴŅĶĻŀĸŁŇтĻĸձĿĿļŁĺņ
ĴŅĸĶłŀŃĿĸŇĸķŊļŇĻĴձŁĸŅŇĻŅĸĴķŇĻĸŁ
ŅĸŀłʼnĸķĹŅłŀŇĻĸŃĴŅĶĻŀĸŁŇŊĻĸŁ
ŌłňŅķĸņļĺŁļņձŁļņĻĸķтNeedlelaceļņ
ĴŁĸŋĶĸĿĿĸŁŇĵłłľŊļŇĻķĸŇĴļĿĸķ
ļŁņŇŅňĶŇļłŁņпҜҸтҶұтclaireslace.co.uk

Festive
Christmas
Sampler
Join RSN tutor Helen McCook in this self-paced online course as she leads you through
XLIXIGLRMUYIWERHWXMXGLIWVIUYMVIHXSGSQTPIXIENS]JYPJIWXMZIFERHWEQTPIVE
traditional form of embroidery used for practising new techniques.This is how stitching
was taught for generations, with knowledge shared between women as their skills
developed, £130. rsnonlinecourses.com

Themed travel guides

Arrange a digital download for your gift recipient, with
EGGIWWXSEXVEZIPKYMHIJSGYWMRKSRLYRXMRKJSVXI\XMPI
gold in London or Paris, £10 each, or both, £18.This
series of guides is for the intrepid traveller in need of a
fantastic list and at least the beginnings of a good map.
-X´WHIWMKRIHJSVER]SRI[LSXVEZIPWMRWIEVGLSJXI\XMPI
treasures, but despairs they may be out of the loop.
textiletoursofparis.com

Gothic scroll scissors

łŅŇĻłņĸłĹŌłňŊĻłĿłʼnĸņłŀĸŇĻļŁĺĴĿļŇŇĿĸĵļŇŀłŅĸ
ķĸĶłŅĴŇļʼnĸĴŁķķĴŅľпŇĻĸņĸĺłŅĺĸłňņĿļŇŇĿĸņĶļņņłŅņĴŅĸ
ŇĻĸŃĸŅĹĸĶŇŇłłĿтļŇĻĸĿĴĵłŅĴŇĸĻĴŁķĿĸņпŃłĿļņĻĸķ
ĺňŁŀĸŇĴĿձŁļņĻĴŁķĹĴŁĶŌĸŁĺŅĴʼnĸķĵĿĴķĸņпŇĻĸŌĵŅļŁĺ
ĴĿļŇŇĿĸĵļŇłĹĺłŇĻļĶņŇŌĿĸŇłŌłňŅņĸŊļŁĺľļŇтĴķĸļŁ
ŇĴĿŌрҺтҶĶŀпҜҲҴтshopbeyondmeasure.co.uk
November December 2023

EMBROIDERY

33

keeping
a beady eye
on society
Pop artist Sarah Gwyer
uses thousands of beads to
create portraits of music
artistes, but recently felt
moved to create work
engaging with social issues

N

łŇŀňĶĻĺĸŇņŃĴņŇŇĻĸюĵĸĴķŌяĴŁķŊļņĸ
ĸŌĸņłĹĴŅĴĻŊŌĸŅтĸŅĸŋŇŅĴłŅķļŁĴŅŌ
ŃłŅŇŅĴļŇņłĹŃłŃņŇĴŅņĴŁķŀłŅĸņłĶļĴĿĿŌф
ĸŁĺĴĺĸķŊłŅľļņļŁŇŅļĶĴŇĸĴŁķշĴŊĿĸņņ
ļŁļŇņĶłŁņŇŅňĶŇļłŁт ňŇĻłŊķļķņĻĸ
ĴŅŅļʼnĸĴŇĵĸĴķļŁĺĴņĻĸŅĶĻłņĸŁĴŅŇĹłŅŀы
ŁļŇļĴĿĿŌŇŅĴļŁĸķļŁձŁĸĴŅŇķňŅļŁĺĻĸŅňŁļʼnĸŅņļŇŌ
ķĸĺŅĸĸļŁ ĴŅķļծпĹłĿĿłŊĸķĵŌĴĴņŇĸŅяņļŁ
ŃŅļŁŇŀĴľļŁĺĴŇŇĻĸŁļʼnĸŅņļŇŌłĹŇĻĸ ŅŇņпłŁķłŁп
ĴŅĴĻŊŌĸŅŀĴķĸŇĻĸņŊļŇĶĻŇłĸŀĵŅłļķĸŅŌĴչĸŅ
ņĸĸľļŁĺĴŊĴŌŇłĺłĵĸŌłŁķŇĻĸշĴŇŁĸņņłĹŃŅļŁŇт
ĻĸĻĴņņļŁĶĸķĸʼnĸĿłŃĸķĴŁĸŋŃĸŅŇļņĸļŁņŇļŇĶĻĸķ
ĴŁķĵĸĴķĸķŊłŅľłĹĸŋŇŅĴłŅķļŁĴŅŌķĸŇĴļĿпĶłĿłňŅĴŁķ
ĶłŀŃłņļŇļłŁŇĻŅłňĺĻĴŃŅĴĶŇļĶĸŊĻļĶĻļŁĶłŅŃłŅĴŇĸņ
ĶĸĿĸĵŅļŇŌŃłŅŇŅĴļŇŃļĸĶĸņĴĿłŁĺņļķĸŀłŅĸņłĶļĴĿĿŌ
ĴŁķŃłĿļŇļĶĴĿĿŌļŁņŃļŅĸķŊłŅľņпŊĻļĶĻĵŅļŁĺļņņňĸņłĹ
ĶłŁņňŀĸŅļņŀļŁŇłŇĻĸŀļŋт
юŁŀŌձŁĴĿŌĸĴŅņŇĴŅŇĸķĸŀĵĸĿĿļņĻļŁĺŀŌŃŅļŁŇņпя
ŊŌĸŅĸŋŃĿĴļŁņтюŊłŅľĸķĴŇ ĶĶĸņņłŅļōĸĴŇŇĻĸŇļŀĸп
ņłŊĴņĴŅłňŁķĵĸĴķņĴŁķņŃĴŅľĿŌŇĻļŁĺņтŅĴķňĴĿĿŌ
ŀŌŊłŅľĵĸĶĴŀĸŀłņŇĿŌĸŀĵĸĿĿļņĻŀĸŁŇĴŁķŁłŃŅļŁŇт
яʼnĸĴĿŊĴŌņĵĸĸŁĴĵļŇłĹĴŀĴĺŃļĸпņłļŇŊĴņŅĸĴĿĿŌĹňŁ
ĺĸŇŇļŁĺŇłňņĸŀŌĵĸĴķĶłĿĿĸĶŇļłŁĴŁķŇĻĴŇĶłĿĿĸĶŇļłŁ
ĽňņŇŊĸŁŇĴĵļŇŁňŇņт
юĻĸĹňĿĿŌĵĸĴķĸķŃļĸĶĸņŊĸŅĸŊĻĸŅĸĹĸĿŇŀłņŇĴŇ
ĻłŀĸтŇĻļŁľпĹłŅŀĸпļŇяņŇĻĸŀłņŇŁĴŇňŅĴĿŊĴŌŇł
ŊłŅľĵňŇĿłʼnĸŊłŅľļŁĺŊļŇĻŇĻŅĸĴķĴŁķņłŀĸŇļŀĸņ
ķłĵłŇĻтŇŀļŋĸņŇĻļŁĺņňŃĴŁķňņĸņķļծĸŅĸŁŇŃĴŅŇņ
łĹŀŌĻĴŁķņņłŇĻĴŇķłŁяŇĺĸŇтя
ŊŌĸŅяņņŇňķļłĵĸĴķĶłĿĿĸĶŇļłŁļņĶĴŅĸĹňĿĿŌ
ĶĴŇĸĺłŅļņĸķĵŌņļōĸĴŁķĶłĿłňŅņпŊļŇĻҳҶŇłҴұņĻĴķĸņп
ļŁŇŅĴŁņŃĴŅĸŁŇķŅĴŊĸŅņņłŇĻĴŇĻĸŅŀĴŇĸŅļĴĿņĶĴŁĵĸ
ĸĴņļĿŌĹłňŁķтňĶĻŃĿĸŇĻłŅĴĴŁķŃŅĸĶļņļłŁļņŅĸշĸĶŇĸķ

ļŁŇĻĸŊłŅľņĻĸŀĴľĸņпŊļŇĻ
ĻļĺĻĿŌķļņŇļŁĶŇļʼnĸļŁķļʼnļķňĴĿ
ĵĸĴķķĸņļĺŁņļŁĶĿňķļŁĺ
ĸʼnĸŅŌŇĻļŁĺĹŅłŀĵĴľĸķĵĸĴŁ
ŇļŁņпłŊĿņпĿĴŃŇłŃņĴŁķķłĿĿĴŅ
ĵļĿĿņŇłŃĿĴŁĸŇņпĸĿĸŃĻĴŁŇņп
ĻłŇĴļŅĵĴĿĿłłŁņĴŁķŃĿĴŌļŁĺ
ĶĴŅķņтĸŅĵĸĴķĸķŃłŅŇŅĴļŇņ
łĹĴķŌĴĺĴĴŁķ ĿŇłŁ
łĻŁпĹłŅĸŋĴŀŃĿĸпĶłŁŇĴļŁ
ĿļŇŇĿĸŀļŁļĴŇňŅĸŀňņļĶĴĿŇĴŃĸņпŀļĶŅłŃĻłŁĸņĴŁķ
ŇŅĸĵĿĸĶĿĸĹņпŀłŇļĹņŇĻĴŇŅĸļŁĹłŅĶĸŇĻĸņĸĴņŃĸĶŇņłĹ
ŇĻĸŀňņļĶļĴŁņяĿļʼnĸņтňĶĻĴŇŇĸŁŇļłŁŇłķĸŇĴļĿļņĴĿņł
ĸŋĸŅŇĸķļŁĶłŁŇŅĴņŇļŁĺĵĸĴķŀłŇļĹņѰĴŇļŁŌĵĸĴķĹłŋп
ĹłŅļŁņŇĴŁĶĸпŃłņļŇļłŁĸķŊļŇĻļŁĴŊłŅľŇĻĴŇĶĸŁŇŅĸņ
łŁĴŃĻĸĴņĴŁŇѰŇĻĸŅĸņňĿŇņłĹŊĻļĶĻŀĸĴŁŇĻĴŇĸĴĶĻ
ŃļĸĶĸĶłŁŇĴļŁņŁĸŊĸĿĸŀĸŁŇņŇłĶłŁŇļŁňĴĿĿŌłĵņĸŅʼnĸ
ĴŁķĹĴņĶļŁĴŇĸĴŁŌʼnļĸŊĸŅтюĻĸŁņłŀĸłŁĸĵňŌņĴ
ŃļĸĶĸпяņĻĸŁłŇĸņпюŇĻĸŌĶĴŁŊĴĿľŃĴņŇļŇŀłŁŇĻņĿĴŇĸŅ
ĴŁķņŃłŇņłŀĸŇĻļŁĺŁĸŊтя
ŁĸłĹŊŌĸŅяņŀłņŇŅĸĶĸŁŇŃļĸĶĸņļņŇļŇĿĸķHeat
or Eat ѼҳұҳҴѽĴŁķĹĸĴŇňŅĸņĴŇļŁĶĴŁļŁŅĸĶłĺŁļņĴĵĿŌ
ĸļŁōĵĴľĸķĵĸĴŁņĶłĿłňŅņпŊļŇĻŇĸŋŇĴŁķļŀĴĺĸŅŌ
ŇĻĴŇĶŅļŇļĶļņĸņĸŋŇŅĸŀĸŊĸĴĿŇĻĴŁķĿňŋňŅŌĴŇĴŇļŀĸ
ŊĻĸŁŀĴŁŌĴŅĸķĸĴĿļŁĺŊļŇĻĴĶłņŇłĹĿļʼnļŁĺĶŅļņļņļŁ
ŇĻĸĴŁķĵĸŌłŁķт ĵĸĴķĸķĶĻĴŀŃĴĺŁĸĵłŇŇĿĸĴŁķ
ķļĴŀĴŁŇųŇŅļŀĴŅĸŃŅłŀļŁĸŁŇт
ŊŌĸŅĸŋŃĿĴļŁņĻĸŅŀłʼnĸŇłŊĴŅķŇĻļņņłĶļłфŃłĿļŇļĶĴĿ
ņňĵĽĸĶŇсюĻļŁĺņļŁŇĻļņĶłňŁŇŅŌĻĴʼnĸĵĸĸŁŅĸĴĿĿŌ
ķļղĶňĿŇĹłŅŇĻĸʼnĴņŇŀĴĽłŅļŇŌłĹŃĸłŃĿĸтĹĸĸĿĿļľĸŇĻĸ
ĶňŅŅĸŁŇĺłʼnĸŅŁŀĸŁŇļņķłļŁĺŁłŇĻļŁĺŇłĻĸĿŃпŊĻĸŁ
ŃĸłŃĿĸŅĸńňļŅĸĹłłķĵĴŁľņпĹłŅĸŋĴŀŃĿĸтłŅŇŅĴŌļŁĺ
ĶĸĿĸĵŅļŇļĸņŅĸĴĿĿŌŊĴņŁяŇŅĸշĸĶŇļʼnĸłĹŊĻĴŇŃĸłŃĿĸ

‘I thought a lot about how I might make a piece of work about
people struggling to feed themselves and heat their homes’
34

EMBROIDERY

November December 2023

profile

ŊĸŅĸĶłŁĶĸŅŁĸķŊļŇĻĴŇŇĻĸŇļŀĸтĹĸĿŇŁĸĸķĸķ
ŇłŀĴľĸņłŀĸŇĻļŁĺŇĻĴŇŅĸշĸĶŇĸķŊĻĴŇяņĴĶŇňĴĿĿŌ
ĻĴŃŃĸŁļŁĺļŁņłĶļĸŇŌĴŁķŁĸĸķĸķŇłĸŋŃŅĸņņĻłŊ
ŊĴņĹĸĸĿļŁĺĴĵłňŇŊĻĴŇŊĴņĻĴŃŃĸŁļŁĺļŁŇĻĸŊłŅĿķт
юŇĻłňĺĻŇĴĿłŇĴĵłňŇĻłŊŀļĺĻŇŀĴľĸĴŃļĸĶĸłĹ
ŊłŅľĴĵłňŇŃĸłŃĿĸņŇŅňĺĺĿļŁĺŇłĹĸĸķŇĻĸŀņĸĿʼnĸņ
ĴŁķĻĸĴŇŇĻĸļŅĻłŀĸņŊĻĸŁŀŌŊłŅľļņʼnĸŅŌĿĴĵłňŅ
ļŁŇĸŁņļʼnĸĴŁķŇĻļņŀĴľĸņļŇĸŋŃĸŁņļʼnĸтŇłŇĴĿĿĸķňŃ
ŇĻĸĻłňŅņĴŁķĶĻĴŅĺĸķŀļŁļŀňŀŊĴĺĸĹłŅŇĻĸ
ĻłňŅņļŇŇłłľŇłŀĴľĸт
юяŀŊłŅľļŁĺŊļŇĻŇĻĸĶĸĿĸĵŅļŇŌŃłŅŇŅĴļŇņпňņļŁĺ
ŀłŁĸŌĹŅłŀŇĻĸņĴĿĸņłĹŇĻĸņĸŇłŀĴľĸŊłŅľŇĻĴŇ

Opposite page: As the cost of living crisis entered our lives, Pop
Artist Sarah Gwyer was moved to create Heat or Eat (2023) as
a comment on social inequality. In the familiar colours of a Heinz
baked bean can, the lettering ‘Billionaire’s Inequality Soup’ features
RI\XXSEGLEQTEKRIFSXXPIERHWYTIV]EGLX
Above: Sarah Gwyer switched to pure thread for her
reinterpretation of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. She chose
to depict the famously enigmatic character on a tea towel with
laundering instructions attached (not pictured) as a comment on
XLIGEVIGSWXERHZEPYISJXI\XMPI[SVOW

November December 2023

EMBROIDERY

35

‘Christmas funds her work for the rest of the year’
ŅĴļņĸņĺŅĸĴŇĸŅĴŊĴŅĸŁĸņņłĹłŇĻĸŅļŀŃłŅŇĴŁŇņňĵĽĸĶŇņп
ņňĶĻĴņņłĶļĴĿļņņňĸņĴŁķŀĸķļĶĴĿŃŅłĵĿĸŀņŇĻĴŇ
ĴծĸĶŇŊłŀĸŁŃĴŅŇļĶňĿĴŅĿŌтя
ĻĸĻĴņĵĸĸŁŊłŅľļŁĺłŁĴŃļĸĶĸŇĻĴŇķĸŃļĶŇņŇĻĸ
ձĺňŅĸłĹ ʼnĸĴņĴŌĿłŅŊļչĹłŅŇŊłŌĸĴŅņĴŁķ
ķĸņĶŅļĵĸņļŇĴņĵĸļŁĺļŁĹłŅŀĸķĵŌŇĻĸŊĴŌŊļչĴŁķ
łŇĻĸŅņňĶĶĸņņĹňĿŊłŀĸŁĴŅĸŇŅĸĴŇĸķĵŌŇĴĵĿłļķŀĸķļĴт
ŊŌĸŅĻĴņŃĿĸŁŇŌłĹŁĸŊļķĸĴņļŁŀļŁķѰюłņŇĿŌ
ĴņяŀŊłŅľļŁĺłŁłŁĸŃļĸĶĸпяŀņĸĴŅĶĻļŁĺĴŁķ
ŅĸņĸĴŅĶĻļŁĺĹłŅĻňŁķŅĸķņłĹĻłňŅņłŁŇĻĸŁĸŋŇŃļĸĶĸя
ѰĴŁķļņŃĿĴŁŁļŁĺŁĸŊŊłŅľŇĻĴŇňņĸņŇĻĸĹłŅŀłĹĴ
ĶłľĸĵłŇŇĿĸŇłĸŋŃĿłŅĸŇĻĸŅĸĶĸŁŇĶłŁŇŅłʼnĸŅņŌĴŅłňŁķ
ŅļʼnĸŅņĸŊĴĺĸķňŀŃļŁĺт

36

EMBROIDERY

November December 2023

ŁłŇĻĸŅŅĸĶĸŁŇĿŌĶłŀŃĿĸŇĸķŊłŅľļņReproduction
CostsѼҳұҳҳѽпĴŅĸŊłŅľĸķʼnĸŅņļłŁłĹķĴļŁĶļяņłŁĴ
ļņĴŀĴķĸļŁŇĻŅĸĴķпĸʼnļķĸŁĶļŁĺŇĻĸŅļĶĻļŁņŃļŅĴŇļłŁ
ŇłĵĸĹłňŁķļŁĴŅŇĻļņŇłŅŌĴĿłŁĺņļķĸĶłŁŇĸŀŃłŅĴŅŌ
ŃłŃňĿĴŅĶňĿŇňŅĸтĻŅĸĴķņļŁĴŊļķĸŅĴŁĺĸłĹņňĵŇĿĸ
ŇłŁĸņŀĴľĸňŃĴŅĸĶŅĸĴŇļłŁłĹŇĻļņĹĴŀłňņłļĿ
ŃĴļŁŇļŁĺпňņļŁĺņŇŌĿļņĸķņĻĴŃĸņĴŁķŃĴŇŇĸŅŁņŊļŇĻļŁ
ŇĻĸձĺňŅĸĴŁķĵĴĶľĺŅłňŁķŇłĵŅĸĴŇĻĸĹŅĸņĻĿļĹĸļŁŇł
ķĴļŁĶļяņŀĴņņфŅĸŃŅłķňĶĸķŃŅļĶĸĿĸņņŀĴņŇĸŅŃļĸĶĸт
ŊŌĸŅяņļŇĸŅĴŇļłŁŇĴľĸņłŁŇĻĸĹłŅŀłĹĴŇĸĴŇłŊĸĿп
ŊļŇĻĴĹłĿķĸķĶłŅŁĸŅŇĻĴŇŅĸʼnĸĴĿņĴŁļŁņĸŅŇĸķŊĴņĻļŁĺ
ļŁņŇŅňĶŇļłŁņĿĴĵĸĿļŁłŅķĸŅŇłŇĴľĸĴĶŅļŇļĶĴĿŃłņļŇļłŁ
łŁŇĻĸĶĴŅĸпĶłņŇĴŁķʼnĴĿňĸłĹŇĸŋŇļĿĸŊłŅľņт
ŁłŇĻĸŅĴŅĸĴłĹŊŌĸŅяņŊłŅľļņļŁņŃļŅĸķĵŌĴŁķ
ķĸŃĸŁķĸŁŇňŃłŁŇĻĸ ĻŅļņŇŀĴņņĸĴņłŁтĻĸŅĸʼnĸĴĿņ
ŇĻĴŇ ĻŅļņŇŀĴņĹňŁķņĻĸŅŊłŅľĹłŅŇĻĸŅĸņŇłĹŇĻĸ
ŌĸĴŅĴŁķļŁĶĿňķĸņĹĸĿŇĸķĴŁķĵĸĴķĸķ ĻŅļņŇŀĴņ
ķĸĶłŅĴŇļłŁņп ĻŅļņŇŀĴņĶĴŅķņĴŁķ ĻŅļņŇŀĴņф
ļŁշňĸŁĶĸķŃłŅŇŅĴļŇņпņňĶĻĴņłŁĸłĹĴŅļĴĻ ĴŅĸŌ
ŊļŇĻĴĴŁŇĴĻĴŇĴŁķŇŊļŁľĿļŁĺņŇĴŅņт
ю ĻŅļņŇŀĴņļņŇĻĸĵňņŌŇļŀĸĹłŅŀĸпяņĻĸņĴŌņтюձŁķ
ļŇĵĸņŇŇłľĸĸŃŀŌŊłŅľĹňŁĴŅłňŁķ ĻŅļņŇŀĴņĵňŇ
ŇĻļņļņĴĿņłĴŅĸĴĿĿŌĺłłķŇļŀĸŇłņŃŅĸĴķŇĻĸŀĸņņĴĺĸ
ҀĴĵłňŇņłĶļĴĿĿŌĸŁĺĴĺĸķļņņňĸņҁтĿłʼnĸ ĻŅļņŇŀĴņтя
ŊŌĸŅĻłŃĸņŇĻĴŇĻĸŅŊłŅľяņņňĵĽĸĶŇņĴŁķŃŅłĶĸņņĸņ
ĸŁĶłňŅĴĺĸłŇĻĸŅŃĸłŃĿĸŇłŃļĶľňŃŇĸŋŇļĿĸŃŅĴĶŇļĶĸтю
łŁĿŌňņĸņŇĴŁķĴŅķŀĴŇĸŅļĴĿņŇĻĴŇŌłňĶĴŁĵňŌĴŇĴŁŌ
ĶŅĴչņŇłŅĸпяņĻĸņĴŌņтюĻĸŅĸļņĴĵņłĿňŇĸĿŌŁłŇĻļŁĺŇĻĴŇ
ŌłňĶĴŁŁłŇņŇļŇĶĻпŊļŇĻĿłŇņłĹĴŅŇļņŇņŊłŅľļŁĺļŁĴŁ
ĴĿŀłņŇŃĻłŇłĺŅĴŃĻļĶŊĴŌŊļŇĻŇĻŅĸĴķпĹłŅļŁņŇĴŁĶĸт
ĻĸŅĸяņŁłŇĻļŁĺĿļŀļŇļŁĺŌłňтя e
Anneka French
sarahgwyer.com
instagram.com/sarahgwyer
Gwyer will be showing work as part of Joy! A Seasonal
Celebration of Craft 28 October–24 December at New
Brewery Arts, Cirencester, alongside 100 other makers.

Opposite page, top: Winter Wonderland, one of
a range of festive artworks Sarah Gwyer creates
for the season, the proceeds of which fund her
for the rest of the year
Opposite page, bottom left and right: An
artwork called Orchid (2021), showing the level
of detail involved in Gwyer’s works.The artist
says owners often discover elements they
hadn’t known about on buying the piece for
months afterwards
This page, top row from left: Musicians to
receive the full force of Gwyer’s beaded
brilliance have included Elton John; Mariah
Carey; and Lizzo
Above: Lily (2021).The artist says there is
virtually nothing that cannot be translated
into stitched and beaded images
Right: Musician Taylor Swift, reimagined as Eve
in the Garden of Eden, is an artwork that has
absorbed the artist’s attention for two years
and is a comment on the way in which the
tabloid media treats the artiste and other
successful women
November December 2023

EMBROIDERY

37

PAPER SHAPES
When Jennifer Collier loves the shape of an object,
whether camera, typewriter or telephone, she can’t help
but recreate it in paper, carefully sewing it together and
lovingly embellishing it with heritage stitches

J

ennifer Collier reinterprets ubiquitous
objects with paper and thread.
Whether it be a camera, sewing
machine, typewriter or telephone,
such objects, though remaining ostensibly
domestic in both scale and familiarity, through
her artistry take on a kind of fabulist quality.
The artistic reinterpretation of everyday,
known objects isn’t new: the Dadaists and
Surrealists used it as a ruse to both unsettle
and provoke questions about our taken-forgranted ways of seeing, with Dali’s Lobster
Telephone, Man Ray’s Cadeau (an iron with
spikes) or Duchamp’s Fountain (an upsidedown urinal) as now infamous examples.
Less overtly subversive, Collier’s is a gentler
art. As her website video reveals, with the
deftness of a Saville Row tailor preparing
a toile, Collier forms these articles from
a series of layered, sometimes single, cut
paper sheets which are then machine-sewn
together. ‘There’s a common misconception
that my pieces are papier-mâché,’ says Collier,
‘when in fact they are hollow and stitched.’
It’s an art that begins with an intense form
of knowing, of cherishing. ‘You’ve got to
be able to love an object to spend time
KIXXMRKMXXS½X´WE]W'SPPMIV³-KIXEWOIHEPP

‘YOU’VE GOT TO BE ABLE
TO LOVE AN OBJECT TO
SPEND TIME GETTING
IT TO FIT. IT HAS TO BE
SOMETHING I ADORE
THE SHAPE OF, LIKE THE
THEATRE BINOCULARS’
38

EMBROIDERY

November December 2023

the time why don’t you do this? Or that?
3VXLI]WE]]SY´ZIRIZIVHSRI½WL;IPP
that’s not what I’m interested in. It has to
be something I adore the shape of, like the
theatre binoculars.They’re actually a pair I
found in a charity shop years ago that I have
on my mantelpiece at home.There was just
something about them.’
8]TM½IHF]XLIWQSSXLVSYRHIHRIWWSJ
her Bakelite telephone and the sensuous
curviness of her Leica camera, there’s a
very particular aesthetic to Collier’s oeuvre.
Imbued with nostalgia, it’s a collection that
harks back to a slower pre-internet, pre-iPad
world. Admitting to being ‘a bit rubbish at
XIGLRSPSK]´'SPPMIV´WTVEGXMGIMWZIV]½VQP]
rooted in analogue time.
A three-dimensional story-teller of
iconic objects, Collier describes her initial
professional practice as ‘straddling’ textiles
and paper. After studying for a degree
in textiles at Manchester Metropolitan
University, where she specialised in print,
ORMXERH[IEZIWLI[VIWXPIH[MXL½RHMRK
a way of working with ‘integrity’. ‘I felt that
people found my work confusing, and back
then there wasn’t a category for paper.Then
suddenly I had this epiphany and decided
to make paper the material as well as the
inspiration for my work.’
A self-confessed dyslexic, literature has
nevertheless been her mainstay. ‘Reading
is my favourite thing – it’s always been my
inspiration, so it made sense to use
books as the material.’ And it’s
not just the inner texts that
describe and delineate her
objects, but the graphic
architecture of books, the
publishers’ colophons, the page
numbers, the endpapers and,
most importantly, the left-behind
residue of their anonymous
owners – the scribbles,
YRHIVPMRMRKWERH½RKIV
marks. ‘I really like
½RHMRKERRSXEXMSRW
and tape marks and
always try to make sure
that they are visible on
XLI½RMWLIHTMIGI3RP]
once did a gallery send back

a piece
of work
saying that
there was a horrible
Sellotape mark on it. I
told them that that’s the
bit I love. For me it’s about
embracing the patina of the
paper.’
Although stitch is an essential element
in the construction of her artefacts, it’s the
decorative look and detail of stitching that
Collier is really after. Describing her 1940s
Bernina sewing machine as her ‘workhorse’ and responsible for the construction
element of her practice, it’s the handstitched embellishing that she truly relishes. ‘I
discovered hand-stitching on paper 12 years
EKS[LIR-LEHQ]WSR-[EWXV]MRKXS½RH
ways of working from home rather than
using my machine in the studio and realised
how relaxing and mindful it was, as well as a
means of getting away from the screaming.’
It’s her love of this process that has
prompted Collier to seek out and master
what she calls ‘lost heritage stitches’.
‘These are stitches that have fallen out of
favour and aren’t used anymore,’ says Collier,
‘like English smocking stitch or picot stitch
and Venetian lace stitch.’
%HQMXXMRKXS½RHMRKMXHMJ½GYPXXSPIEVR
stitches from books, Collier prefers to skill-

profile

ŃŃłņļŇĸŃĴĺĸпŇłŃĿĸչсPaper
Bird Box (long tailed tit), vintage
Ladybird garden bird books and
machine stitch
ŃŃłņļŇĸŃĴĺĸпŇłŃŅļĺĻŇс
Paper Watering Can, botanical
illustrations and machine stitch
ŃŃłņļŇĸŃĴĺĸпĹĴŅĿĸչсMusic
Binoculars, vintage sheet music,
grey board and machine stitch

ŃŃłņļŇĸŃĴĺĸпĿĸչсSinger Sewing
Machine, with vintage dress sewing
patterns and their instructions,
grey board and machine stitch
ĵłʼnĸсĸŁŁļĹĸŅ łĿĿļĸŅŀĴľļŁĺ
a pair of Map Baby shoes in her
studio at Unit Twelve. Photo
courtesy of Luke Richardson
Photography
ļĺĻŇсĸŁŁļĹĸŅ łĿĿļĸŅļŁĻĸŅņŇňķļł
at Unit Twelve. Photo courtesy of
Luke Richardson Photography

November December 2023

EMBROIDERY

39

‘I DISCOVERED
Ry(ّ²ÀXÀ!RXyJ
ON PAPER 12 YEARS
AGO WHEN I HAD
MY SON’
share. ‘I learn from other people, mostly
in the workshops that I run. I show the
participants stitches and techniques and
in turn they show me. I feel quite strongly
about these old skills not being lost. In a way
I’m collecting stitches.’ Describing them as
akin to a ‘kiss’ and as a means of ‘elevating
the work from beautiful to exquisite’,
the hand-stitched embellishments act as
focal points, such as on her drum-shaped
lampshade where she’s edged the distinctive
orange Penguin logo with picot stitch.
In the throes of moving her studio, Unit
Twelve, she talks of feeling in limbo and how
she hates change. Used to having an openplan studio shared with other makers, which
gives access to the public half the week,
Collier is hoping to create a similar model in
her next space. ‘I’ve always had spaces that
are open to the public. I’m used to working
and talking and there’s a counter I can stand
behind and keep my mess out of sight.’
Reserving the start of the week when
there’s no visitors for experimenting and
what she refers to as ‘risk-taking’ and ‘happy
accidents’, Collier also relishes the space
to spread out and work on larger public
art commissions that an open-plan, shared
studio offers. Regarding them as valuable
40

EMBROIDERY

November December 2023

experiences that feed and inform her
commercial practice, Collier is now
QSVIGSR½HIRXEFSYXEGGITXMRK
them. ‘I used to say no if it was
something that I didn’t think I
could make but I’ve started being
braver and taking on things that I
don’t necessarily know how I’m going to
HSWXVEMKLXE[E]´-RJEGXWLI´WNYWX½RMWLIH
installing her third National Trust commission
at Lyme Park, just outside Stockport.
During a previous public commission for
Lyme Park they asked her to make paper
bluebells for their Lost Words Trail. ‘It
was quite a challenging brief,’ says Collier,
‘an example of one of those I would’ve
said no to – I mean, paper outdoors?’ In
the end, with the help of a team of staff
and volunteers, she constructed a trail of
bluebells, screen-printed with text, in acetate.
But it was perhaps her 2016 commission
for Packwood House in Solihull that was
the most spectacular. ‘I dressed the whole
house for their Theatre of Christmas. It was
a massive lighting installation. I made huge
paper lampshades, the biggest being 150cm
in diameter, down to tiny, tiny ones.’ Stacked
on top of each other to resemble Christmas
trees, Collier describes them as ‘ginormous’
and over 10ft tall. Constructed from papers
that related to the house, the panels of the
shades were all machine and hand-stitched
with some set on little electronic Lazy
Susans so that they span round.
Rushed off her feet in the months prior
to Christmas with making for the run

ĵłʼnĸсĸŁŁļĹĸŅ łĿĿļĸŅĴŇŊłŅľļŁĻĸŅņŇňķļł
at Unit Twelve, with a Map SLR Camera
in the foreground. Photo courtesy of Luke
Richardson Photography
ĵłʼnĸпļŁņĸŇсPitmans Advanced Typewriting
Paper Typewriter. Vintage typewriter manuals
(pages and cover), grey board, machine stitch

of annual craft fairs that fall in October
and November, Collier says she takes
December off, but with the proviso that:
‘I do continue with orders though, it’s not
practical not to.’ Still true to her decision
to ‘follow my heart rather than my head’,
'SPPMIV´WTVEGXMGIMWIZMHIRXP]¾SYVMWLMRK
And long may it continue. e
Ellen Bell
See the artist’s work at The Written Word,Tinker
Gallery, 25 Church Street, Ilkley LS29 9DR
5 October–24 December. tinkergallery.com
jennifercollier.co.uk
instagram.com/paperjennifer
madebyhandonline.com/collections/
jennifer-collier
Unit Twelve is an artist studio and art workshop
space in the Midlands unittwelve.co.uk

During the pandemic
Susan Cropper of
LOOP was inundated
with shoppers telling
her she had given them
'joy again'. Now getting
ready for the festivities,
LOOP is set to bring
joy to many more...

SHOPPING
THERAPY

‘IT’S DEFINITELY A SHOP,’ says Susan Cropper, founder of
LOOP, a yarn and haberdashery emporium in London’s Camden
Passage, ‘but a “lifestyle” shop, or… “textile heaven”,’ she laughs.
‘I think it’s even more than that for a lot of people.’
Susan laughs a lot, seemingly bubbling over with warmth and
ĸŁĸŅĺŌт ŁķņĻĸяņĽňņŇĿŌŃŅłňķłĹŊĻĴŇņĻĸĴŁķĻĸŅņŇĴծĻĴʼnĸ
achieved through LOOP. ‘Things are kind of crazy now, and have
ĵĸĸŁĹłŅĴŊĻļĿĸļŁŇĻĸŊłŅĿķпĴŁķĿļľĸŇłŇĻļŁľŇĻĴŇŊĸłծĸŅĴ
ŃĿĴĶĸŊĻĸŅĸŃĸłŃĿĸĶĴŁձŁķņłŀĸņłĿĴĶĸпĹĸĸĿĶĸŁŇŅĸķпĶŅĸĴŇļʼnĸ
ĴŁķņŊļŇĶĻłծĹŅłŀŇĻĸĶŅĴōŌтя
A New Yorker, Susan emigrated to London with her then English
husband 35 years ago. Trained as a graphic designer at New York’s
School of Visual Arts, she initially worked for Condé Nast in
London before becoming a freelance art director in publishing,
mostly working on interiors magazines, styling, and renting her
łŅŇĻłŁķłŁĻłŀĸłňŇĹłŅŃĻłŇłņĻłłŇņтĻĸŁпձŁķļŁĺŀłŅĸŇļŀĸ
łŁĻĸŅĻĴŁķņпņĻĸĵĸĺĴŁľŁļŇŇļŁĺĴĺĴļŁтюяķľŁļŇŇĸķłŁĴŁķłծĹŅłŀ
when my Polish grandmother taught me how to at the age of six,

November December 2023

EMBROIDERY

41

ALL IMAGES ARE BY SUSAN CROPPER, LOOP KNITTING LONDON. ALL PICTURES ARE COPYRIGHTED.

Page 41, top: A limited edition box of naturally
dyed threads by Enneste of Tokyo, specially made
for LOOP; Below: LOOP in Camden Passage.
Clockwise from top left–right: LOOP stocks a
huge variety of threads, yarns and haberdashery;
Owner Susan Cropper;Vibrant pouches made
for the shop by Love It Amsterdam
Above: A Homework Sampler Kit by Stitch
School makes it easy to learn different stitches.
Opposite, clockwise from top left: Finely made
French scissors by Sajou; Gifts galore: cow
parsley motifs stitched with naturally dyed
Teinture Sauvage threads; Feathered Friends
WGMWWSVWFEKWF]1MRE4IVLSRIR½RIQIXEPPMGWMPO
threads by Ito, Japan; Opposite page, below right:
Brooches by Mina Perhonen; LOOP’s Dove of
Peace project bag (for details see our gift guide)
42

EMBROIDERY

November December 2023

but I was mostly drawn to the materials, texture and the colours.’ It was only years
later on yarn-buying trips to the States that Susan recognised the UK’s comparative
paucity of wool suppliers. ‘John Lewis and Liberty seemed to be the only places to
see and buy yarn, but these department stores had only standard yarns and were not
ŅĸշĸĶŇļŁĺŊĻĴŇŊĴņĺłļŁĺłŁļŁŇĻĸŊłŅĿķłĹŌĴŅŁĴŁķŇĸŋŇļĿĸņļŁĴŁŌŇĴŁĺļĵĿĸŊĴŌтя
With her ‘foot still in the publishing world’, Susan would visit London’s degree
ņĻłŊņĴŁķ ňŅłŃĸĴŁŇŅĴķĸĹĴļŅņŊĻĸŅĸņĻĸяķņĸĸюļŁĶŅĸķļĵĿĸŇĸŋŇļĿĸņŇňծтĽňņŇ
started thinking: why isn’t there a place here that has beautiful supplies like these
ĴŁķŇĻĴŇłծĸŅņĴŅĴŁĺĸłĹĶĿĴņņĸņыя
The idea of opening her own establishment had begun slowly to take root. ‘I think
I must have dreamt about it, for I remember one Saturday morning we were all
having breakfast and I said out loud “I think I might open a knitting shop” and my
ĻňņĵĴŁķĴŁķŇĻŅĸĸľļķņĽňņŇĵňŅņŇłňŇĿĴňĺĻļŁĺтя չĸŅŇĻĸĿĴňĺĻŇĸŅņňĵņļķĸķѰĴŁķ
she’d explained and got her children’s blessing with ‘that sounds like it could be
ŅĸĴĿĿŌĶłłĿяѰŇĻĸюķŅĸĴŀяŇłłľłŁĴŀłŀĸŁŇňŀłĹļŇņłŊŁт
Susan went to see interior designer Abigail Ahern, who she had previously
collaborated with on shoots, and who had a ‘really beautiful shop in Islington’ with
the sole intention of getting advice on retail spaces for rent in the area. Ahern told
her that she was moving to another place on Upper Street and if she acted quickly
her space in Cross Street was available. ‘I just thought “Oh, my God!” because it was
ńňļŇĸĴķłŅĴĵĿĸĴĿŅĸĴķŌŊļŇĻļŇņŊĻļŇĸŃĴļŁŇĸķշłłŅņпշłĴŇļŁĺņĻĸĿʼnĸņĴŁķĴĶňŇĸķĸĶľ
outside.’ Describing it as ‘a huge leap of faith’, Susan took it, and LOOP was born.
With no previous retail experience, Susan not only drew on all that she’d
absorbed in her years working for magazines like Mademoiselle but also from
being surrounded by her mother’s style. Susan's mother ‘went back’ to art school
to study interior design: ‘We didn’t have much but the living room of our New
York apartment was full of mood boards, swatches of fabric and photographs of
furniture. It was through a kind of osmosis that I picked up on her sense of design.’
The speed of LOOP’s success came as something of a shock to Susan. ‘I’d had it in
my head that I’d open the shop and once in a while people would come in and the
rest of the time I’d just sit in there.’ In what was then a pre-internet and pre-social
media era, Susan is bemused as to how her customers heard about it, though now
she recognises that they were probably as hungry as she’d been for something
юĵĸĴňŇļĹňĿяѰĴŁķļņĶĸŅŇĴļŁĿŌŇĻĴŇт
ĻĸņŇłŅĸļņŁłŊĸņŇĴĵĿļņĻĸķļŁļŇņņĸĶłŁķпŀłŅĸņŃĴĶļłňņпĹłňŅфշłłŅĸķļŁĶĴŅŁĴŇļłŁ
in Islington’s Camden Passage. This street is famed for its array of antiques shops,
ŊļŇĻĴĵļфŊĸĸľĿŌշĸĴŀĴŅľĸŇĽňņŇłŃŃłņļŇĸłŁĴŇňŅķĴŌĴŁķĸķŁĸņķĴŌт
A curated space, where every visual detail and placing of a product is an
aesthetically considered act, LOOP is a holistically sensual experience. Akin to the

experience of shopping at the late Maureen Doherty’s EGG, LOOP’s clients not
only purchase from its exotic range of wools, threads, textiles and haberdashery but
immerse themselves in its visual and tactile ambience. ‘Yes,’ agrees Susan, ‘they’re
ĵňŌļŁĺļŁŇłѰŇĻĸŌŊĴŁŇĴĵļŇłĹŇĻĴŇĴĸņŇĻĸŇļĶтя
Having not sewn much in her youth, apart from going through ‘a stage of sewing
Betsey Johnson patterns with the help of my stepmother’, Susan admits to now
‘getting more interested in embroidery’. This was particularly so during the
lockdown when she ‘couldn’t focus on knitting and wanted something simpler,
looser and smaller’, describing her stitching as inspired by Claire Wellesley-Smith.
It’s a renaissance that’s inspired her to source more threads, books and embroidery
ephemera for the shop and, indeed, has become the focus of many of the workshops
ĴŁķĶĿĴņņĸņņĻĸłծĸŅņŇĻĸŅĸтюļľĴŅňłĺňĶĻļʼnļņļŇņĴĶłňŃĿĸłĹŇļŀĸņĴŌĸĴŅĹŅłŀ
Tokyo to do visible mending and there’s Celia Pym and Jessie Chorley from the UK,
and Katrina Rodabaugh from the States, who all run workshops.’
ňŇļŇяņŇĻĸņŃĸĶļձĶļŇŌłĹŇĻĸŃŅłķňĶŇņŇĻĸŌņĸĿĿŇĻĴŇŅĸĴĿĿŌŀĴŅľņłňŇĴņ
special. ‘I don’t think like a business person; I know it sounds corny but I think
with my heart. Whether I see them on Instagram or at trade shows or design fairs,
ņłňŅĶĸŇĻļŁĺņŇĻĴŇձŁķŅĸĴĿĿŌĵĸĴňŇļĹňĿĴŁķĸŋĶļŇļŁĺтŇĶĴŁĵĸļŁĶĴŃĸŅĿĸŇĻŅĸĴķ
from Spain, or Mette Mehlsen’s naturally-dyed wools from Denmark or a single
ļŇĸŀŇĻĴŇяņĴĶłŀŃĿĸŇĸłŁĸфłծтя
With the imminent launch of a specially-commissioned woolly embroidery thread
from the French company of Au Ver à Soie, now in their 200th year of trading, and
the onset of Christmas, when ‘it starts going crazy’, Susan is busier than ever. With
no workshops in November so as to free up more space downstairs to ‘hold more
stock’, much of the focus is on preparing Christmas boxes. ‘We did them last year
ĴŁķŇĻĸŌŊĸŁŇĿļľĸĻłŇĶĴľĸņтĸĻļŁŇĴŇĴĹĸŊŇĻļŁĺņѰŇĻĸŅĸяņňņňĴĿĿŌĴĶłŀĵļŁĴŇļłŁ
łĹľŁļŇŇļŁĺŌĴŅŁņĴŁķĸŀĵŅłļķĸŅŌŇĻŅĸĴķņѰĵňŇłŇĻĸŅŊļņĸļŇяņĴŀŌņŇĸŅŌŊĻĴŇяņļŁ
there. People love them because they come in a really special box and bag.’
With LOOP’s 20th anniversary only a couple of years away, Susan confesses to
feeling ‘quite emotional’ about what it’s come to symbolise for her customers. And
perhaps it was during the pandemic this impact was most keenly felt and expressed.
юĶĿłņĸķĸʼnĸŅŌŇĻļŁĺĹłŅĴŊĻļĿĸĵňŇĸʼnĸŁŇňĴĿĿŌņłŀĸłĹŀŌņŇĴծŊĻłĿļʼnĸķŁĸĴŅĵŌ
said they were going cuckoo and asked if I could reopen online. And there was a
շłłķłĹłŅķĸŅņпļŇŊĴņňŁĵĸĿļĸʼnĴĵĿĸт ŁķŊĸĺłŇņłŀĴŁŌŀĸņņĴĺĸņпĸļŇĻĸŅŇĻŅłňĺĻ
notes on orders, cards or email messages, all saying how we’d kind of saved them
and given them joy again.’ e
Ellen Bell
loopknitting.com
instagram.com/looplondonloves

эĿļľĸŇłŇĻļŁľŇĻĴŇŊĸłխĸŅĴ
ŃĿĴĶĸŊĻĸŅĸŃĸłŃĿĸĶĴŁհŁķņłŀĸ
ņłĿĴĶĸоĹĸĸĿĶĸŁŇŅĸķоĶŅĸĴŇļʼnĸĴŁķ
ņŊļŇĶĻłխĹŅłŀŇĻĸĶŅĴōŌю

November December 2023

EMBROIDERY

43

44

EMBROIDERY

November December 2023

Q&A

A quiet fire
Silk collage artist Billie Zangewa, from Johannesburg,
focuses on herself and day to day life in her works,
showing the delightful everyday jumble of a young
family, elevating the feminine archetype
What are your early memories of cloth,
stitch and embroidery?
My early memories of cloth are my brothers
and I playing hide and seek among the
sheets drying on the washing line. What joy
it brought us! I saw my mom and her friends
sewing and embellishing things for the house
with embroidery. I loved watching what
looked like a mysterious women’s ritual.
How did you start collaging silk?
It was really out of necessity as I was a cashstrapped university graduate who wanted
to create and fabric is just so practical; my
½VWXJI[TMIGIW[IVIHSREXMSRWJVSQJVMIRHW
I really resonated with the properties of
raw silk and the complimentary swatches I
collected called me to make works of the
Johannesburg Central Business District.
What do you think using cloth, and silk in
particular, brings to your artistic practice
and what does it say to the viewer?
I think it speaks to my identity, that I look for
the feminine for my self-expression. I also
believe silk to be very easy on the eye so
it’s a visual experience on its own without
addressing the narrative depicted. I hope
it says to the viewer that creativity needn’t
be limited by a lack of resources and I also
hope the viewer just enjoys the magic of silk.
How has your work changed when
compared to your early pieces?
I started out doing cityscapes of
Johannesburg and now am exploring
the self, identity, the sociopolitical and
motherhood.The medium is the same but
the subject matter is very different and my
approach has also evolved.
How has being half Malawian, half South
African impacted on your work?
I think it has led me to focus on universal
themes, because I don’t really belong to
either nationality or culture. I always say in
Malawi I’m taller than most men so they
can’t believe I’m Malawian and in South
Africa I don’t have the facial features or
speak any vernacular so they are also
sceptical.To make matters worse I was
raised in Botswana which has its own
cultural identity, but even there I just didn’t
look like everyone else or speak Setswana.

How do you think telling your personal
story through cloth breaks down barriers
and stereotypes?
I think the fact that it’s in a medium that
we can all relate to – fabric – makes it
less intimidating. As for stereotypes, in a
way I am perpetuating the stereotype of a
woman’s place in society but at the same
time saying that there is value in women’s
traditional roles, while also pointing out the
commonalities of humanity and our daily
preoccupations.
Your work has been referred to as the
эհĸŅĶĸĹĸŀļŁļŁĸюсłŊķłĸņŌłňŅĴŅŇ
explore aspects of female life and how
does it empower women?
My work explores female life by just sharing
events happening in my daily life, whether
on the home front or outside the home. I
think it gives women a sense of belonging
and community when they see that
someone else is doing the same things they
do and sharing them openly.
In art we talk about the ‘male gaze’ but your
work references the ‘female gaze’. How do
you achieve this?
By making myself the centre of my
narratives, by using my own image to tell
my personal stories and experiences where
I do not seek validation from patriarchy or
allow another to objectify me by depicting
my image from their experience of me, as in
historical art, where men painted nudes of
women and proclaimed it as their creation. I
am my own creation in my work.
I take ownership.
Why are your collages incomplete?
I like the fragmented edges because I
believe it draws the viewer’s attention to
the medium. I also like to think of it as the
invisible scars that we all bear from some
life-changing experience, whether large
or small. I also refer to how we should
embrace all parts of ourselves, even those
we are ashamed to show.The perfect in the
imperfect; embracing the whole self.The
fragments also refer to entropy so its like an
old book that’s been moth eaten.There is
something poetic about that. In this case it’s
the fabric that has something eating it or like
natural wear and tear.

‘I THINK MY WORK
GIVES WOMEN A SENSE
OF BELONGING AND
COMMUNITY WHEN THEY
SEE THAT SOMEONE ELSE
IS DOING THE SAME THINGS
THEY DO AND SHARING
THEM OPENLY’

Opposite page: Billie Zangewa, Every
Woman (2017), 136cm x 98.5cm,
silk tapestry.
Above: Billie Zangewa, Temporary
Reprieve (2017), 102cm x 104cm,
hand-stitched silk collage.
Courtesy the artist and Lehmann
Maupin, New York, Hong Kong, Seoul,
and London.
November December 2023

EMBROIDERY

45

This image: Billie Zangewa Paradise Revisited, a
specially commisioned panorama, installation view
Below left: Billie Zangewa, The Dior Effect (2021),
140cm x 136cm, hand-stitched silk collage
Below bottom: Billie Zangewa The Dior Effect (detail).
Courtesy the artist and Lehmann Maupin, New York,
Hong Kong, Seoul, and London

‘I BELIEVE SILK TO BE VERY
EASY ON THE EYE SO IT’S
A VISUAL EXPERIENCE
ON ITS OWN WITHOUT
ADDRESSING THE
NARRATIVE DEPICTED’
Can you tell us about some of the pieces for
the exhibitions in the UK?
8LITMIGIWMRXLII\LMFMXMSREVIUYMXI
diverse.There is a work of my son napping
called Temporary Retrieve which speaks to
the challenges of raising a child. Black to
BlackWLS[WXLI½VWXXMQI-EQKSMRKSYXMR
the evening alone without my child. Sweet
Dreams is from before I became a mother
and here I am yearning for the simple life
that my ancestors must have lived before
colonialism; at one with nature. Although I
have never known this life, the memories
are still there in my genetic code.
Can you tell us more about the specially
commissioned panoramic seascape that is
the centrepiece of these UK exhibitions?
A lot of people experience this work
as a seascape but actually my son and
I are lounging alongside a circular pool
in the south of France. We are close to
XLIWIEHI½RMXIP]FYXLIVI[IEVIF]XLI
swimming pool.This work is called Paradise
RevisitedERHMX´WEFSYXXLI½VWXXMQI[I
ventured far from home on holiday postCovid pandemic.
It really felt like paradise for us and was
such a treat. Especially because travel was
WXMPPUYMXIPMQMXIHWS[ILEHWSQYGLWTEGI
46

EMBROIDERY

November December 2023

for ourselves. One could feel the impact of
the Covid pandemic.
łŌłňňņĸĴŁŌņŃĸĶļհĶņŇļŇĶĻĸņъ
Running stitch.The most basic.
ņŇĻĸŅĸĴņŃĸĶļհĶŇłłĿłŅŀĴŇĸŅļĴĿŌłň
couldn’t be without?
I guard my scissors with my life! But I love
pencils too, 5B being my preferred. Of
course, silk is at the centre of it all.
How would you describe your work if you
could only use three words?
Tactile, fragile, relatable.
Which is your favourite artwork from
your own body of work?
8LMWMWEZIV]HMJ½GYPXUYIWXMSRJSVQI-´ZI
enjoyed making so many of my works. An
Angel at my Bedside is very special to me
and so is Temporary Reprieve. But there are
so many others as well.
Which is your favourite piece of art by
another maker?
%RSXLIVMQTSWWMFPIUYIWXMSR=E]SM/YWEQE
is my ultimate favourite artist so just about
ER]XLMRKF]LIV-½RHLIVZIV]JSGYWIHMR
her vision and I greatly admire that as well
as the results of her labour.
What’s next for you?
I have some group exhibitions and solo
exhibitions coming up and I continue to
[SVOXSQEOIVIPEXEFPIEVXXLEXMWJYP½PPMRK
for me as well. e
Billie Zangewa – A Quiet Fire is at Tramway,
Glasgow, until 28 January 2024.
Free entry. tramway.org
instagram.com/billiezangewa

5

1

out and about

6

NURTUR E A WARM
FE ST IVE F EE LIN G
1. GIVE YOURSELF A GIFT

Rebecca Devaney, a former haute couture
embroiderer in Paris ateliers, conducts tours
of Paris’s charming haberdasheries, nestled
in the winding streets of Le Sentier, the city’s
historic textile and fashion district.These
FSYXMUYIWEVIFVMQQMRK[MXLXLILMKLIWX
UYEPMX]VMFFSRW]EVRWXLVIEHWFIEHWWIUYMRW
gems and buttons – perfect for a spot of
festive ‘self-gifting’. Alternatively, enjoy a Saturday
QSVRMRK¾IEQEVOIXXSYVEW6IFIGGEKYMHIW
2
you through the labyrinth alleys of Paris’s oldest
marché-aux-puces to discover hidden treasure
XVSZIW½PPIH[MXLZMRXEKIPEGIPMRIRTEWWIQIRXIVMIERHKSPHIR
threads. (Closed: December, January and August.) textiletoursofparis.com

3

ҳт    !чч

If you feel drained in the months heading up to the festive
celebration, make time to book on to Crafty Sew and So’s Christmas
rag rug wreath workshop at their Leicester-based studio, November
18, 10am-4pm, £85.Tutor Kim will teach the basics, including how to
use the tools and select and prepare materials, plus the three types of
rag rugging: loopy, shaggy and short shaggy. All materials are provided,
plus tea and biscuits, just take a packed lunch. craftysewandso.com

Ҵт

   

Learn the art of needle felting and make a winter robin, either as a
JVIIWXERHMRKSVREQIRXSVEWELERKMRKHIGSVEXMSR[MXLƞIRMEEOE
8LI0EH]1SXLƞIRME[MPPHIQSRWXVEXIXLITVSGIWWWXITF]WXIT
WGYPTXMRKE½VQWLETIGSPSYVFPIRHMRKGVIEXMRKHIXEMPJVSQ[SSPERH
½RMWLMRKWQSSXLMRK1EXIVMEPWERHVIJVIWLQIRXWEVITVSZMHIH XEOIE
packed lunch), 18 November, 10am–4pm, £75,Visitor Centre, David
Parr House, Cambridge. All money raised from workshops goes
towards maintaining David Parr House. davidparrhouse.org

ҵт    



3RXLMWEPPRI[½ZIHE]*SPO*PSVEPW8EQFSYV&IEHMRK'SYVWI[MXL
Hand & Lock you will be immersed in the rich tradition of this ageSPHXIGLRMUYIEW]SYFVMRKXSPMJIMRXVMGEXIJSPO¾SVEPHIWMKRWYWMRKXLI
mesmerizing art of tambour beading.The course promises to unravel
the secrets of properly setting up your tambour embroidery frame
ERHXLIHIPMGEXITVSGIWWSJXVERWJIVVMRKJSPO¾SVEPWSRXSWYQTXYSYW
JEFVMGWYWMRKEWXYRRMRKWIPIGXMSRSJFIEHWERHWIUYMRWERHXLI
tambour hook to achieve precision in each embellishment. From 13–
17 May, £450, 86 Margaret Street, London. handembroideryshop.com

Ҷт

    !

If you wanted to attend LOOP London’s Jessie Chorley class listed in
last month’s magazine but found it fully-booked, take a look at Stories
in Stitch, a four-day class led by Jessie at West Dean.You will explore
several of Jessie’s signature stitches, including couching, running, stem
and back stitch, as well as the use of hand-stitched text and getting
WXEVXIH[MXLWMQTPIETTPMUYqERHTEXGLMRKXIGLRMUYIW7YMXEFPIJSVEPP
skill levels, 26 to 29 November, £440. westdean.ac.uk

ҷт ! !  

 

Machine stitched textile: textured landscapes is another choice course
at West Dean, led by the talented textile artist Wendy Dolan, 7–10
December, £432.You’ll be able to interpret a landscape image while
[SVOMRK[MXLEGSQFMREXMSRSJGVIEXMZIXI\XMPIXIGLRMUYIWMRGPYHMRK
patching, layering and textural elements, embellishing with paint and
machine stitching. westdean.ac.uk

7

9

Ҹт

  

The Royal School of Needlework is offering a silk-shaded robin
course on 18 November, 10am-4pm, £127. Held at Hampton Court
4EPEGI]SY´PPYWI½RIWXVERHIHGSXXSRXLVIEHXSHIPMGEXIP]FPIRH
colours and build up the texture of feathers. Ideal for those just
starting out, the simple design will introduce you to split, satin, long
and short stitches, all essential to silk shading, often referred to as
painting with a needle. royal-needlework.org.uk

ҹт    

 

With winter settling in, explore the patterns and textures in trees, sky
and water to create a small woven tapestry. Inspired by the landscape
EVSYRH*EV½IPH1MPP]SY[MPPXEOIEWLSVXWXVSPPHS[RXSXLIFVMHKI
looking at colour, texture and pattern.Tutor Anna Wetherell will then
guide you step-by-step through the process of creating your own
small tapestry. Suitable for beginners and improvers, the course is at
*EV½IPH1MPPSR(IGIQFIVEQ¯TQ[MXL†TPYW†XSFI
paid to the tutor. JEV½IPHQMPPSVK

Һт 

!!

Renowned mixed media artist Donna Watson decided sales and
success were not enough and set about working in a multitude of
QIHMYQWERHWX]PIWXSHMWGSZIVERYPXMQEXIP]JYP½PPMRKEVXTVEGXMGI
In this comprehensive online masterclass, titled Essence of Identity,
;EXWSRMRZMXIW]SYMRXSLIVWXYHMSERHKEVHIRWXSLIPT]SY½RH]SYV
own ultimate artistic path and signature style. ½FVIEVXWXEOIX[SGSQ

Ҳұт



 

 

The Embroiderers’ Guild has launched a new suite of Inspired to
Create online courses that offer step-by-step instructions for those
starting out in embroidery through to in-depth knowledge for
the more advanced stitcher. Learn at your own pace with these
exciting routes to discovery.Themes include tasters; foundations;
exploring opportunities; and for the more experienced, extending
creative horizons, with separate courses in each category for handembroidery and machine embroidery.The courses seek to inspire
and demystify textiles for all. courses.embroiderersguild.com/courses
November December 2023

EMBROIDERY

47

8

THE NO R U L E S
TEXTILE SOCIETY
How did the No Rules Textile Society start?

In March 2021 textile designer Jayne Emerson created the textile group she
wanted to be part of. She expanded her Instagram challenge #fabricrecipes
which offered prompts to encourage the exploration of possibilities and No
Rules Textile Society was born.

1

How does the society work?

No Rules Textile Society is an ideas incubator using word prompts to spark
exploration. A new prompt is announced every six weeks
and Jayne uploads a mini online course full of ideas that she
has amassed during her 30-year career. Members use these
lessons as a jumping-off point to create their own unique
take on the prompt.

8

Is there an overriding principle that binds you
together as a group?

We are brought together by curiosity, by the ‘what ifs’ and
the possibilities of play. We encourage one another and push
the boundaries. Skills transferences are celebrated and embraced.
Nothing is ever ‘wrong’; mixing up interesting combinations of techniques
and listening to our intuition is integral to our group’s philosophy.
Is there a criterion to become a member?
There are no formal membership requirements to join No Rules Textile
Society. Members come from all over the world and from many different
disciplines. Some of our 50 members are curious beginners, some self-taught,
SXLIVWLEZIUYEPM½GEXMSRWVERKMRKJVSQ'MX] +YMPHWXSHIKVIIW
Often a formal education can come with learned restrictions. Someone can be
technically brilliant and yet feel like the work is not an expression of themselves.
Being surrounded by others who dare to push boundaries in textile art is
incredibly exciting and freeing.

7

6

Where and when do you meet?
We hold Zoom meetings once a week on different days and times, as our
community is global. All our meetings are recorded so that members can catch
up if they can’t join us live, and re-watch them for further inspiration.
Do members share practice tips?
%FWSPYXIP]WTEVOWSJMRWTMVEXMSRJVIUYIRXP]¾]EVSYRHXLIWGVIIR8LIVIMW
also a private community space where we can share thoughts and pictures
of our work. Members share everything from inspirations found in books
and on courses, or materials and podcasts that have inspired them, as well as
exhibitions they have seen.
Are there any important dates in the group’s calendar?
Every February Jayne Emerson runs her Instagram hashtag challenge
#fabricrecipes.There are daily word prompts inviting everyone to experiment,
mix techniques and revisit old work for inspiration. For those who are not on
social media, Jayne shares her Fabric Recipe ideas in a free mini-course, which
can be found at fabricrecipes.com
Are you open to new members and if so, how can new artists join?
If what you have read so far resonates with you, the chances are you will love
NRTS.You can join at norulestextilesociety.com Membership is by monthly
WYFWGVMTXMSRXLIVIMWRSNSMRMRKJIIERHRSGSQQMXQIRXFI]SRHXLI½VWX
month.The NRTS library currently houses 25-plus prompts.
What is next for NRTS?
So much incredible work has, and is, being produced by the group. It would be
wonderful to curate a showcase of members’ work and perhaps there may be
a No Rules podcast, so watch this space.
48

EMBROIDERY

November December 2023

1. Stormy Skies by Ruth Thorp, combining free-form screenprinted natural fabrics with intuitive embroidery and collage.

2. Autumn Woman by Joy Scott. Joy is drawn towards stitching
intricately complex embroidered surfaces using wrapping and
seed stitches to create a tactile language response to her poetry.
3. Half Moon by Megan Sharkey. This piece plays with the form
of a semi-circle. The form is there but only just.

4. Stork by Marsy Sumner. Marsy assembles works from carefully
chosen scraps, taking something that was previously used and
honouring that with a new life and interpretation.

2

a common thread
EMBRACING PLAY
Incredible things happen when we allow
play to take centre stage and listen to
where our instincts want to take us.
'SQFMRMRKTVSGIWWIWERHXIGLRMUYIW
self-taught artist Meriel Lee describes
her textile practice as a combination of
‘different materials such as fabrics, clothing,
paper, waste from silk manufacture, yarns
and feathers’ and chooses colours and
textures to construct abstract palimpsest
pieces by ‘stitching, cutting, layering, weaving,
felting, combining, fraying, tearing, relayering, burning, melting and reworking’.

3

A TOTALLY NO RULES
WAY OF WORKING
THAT EMBRACES ALL
ÀR0wXåّǧ²
Marsy Sumner is the ultimate indecisive
textile artist. Based in Massachusetts, she
plays with textile techniques and materials
recklessly – everything from handwoven
fabric to shrink plastic charms.
Holly Jackson indulges in her love of
miniature sculpture and a wide variety of
mixed media processes. Loud colours, a
fantasy feel, and glitzy layers provide a way
to re-examine complex social issues like
climate change and women’s rights.

4

PUSHING THE
BOUNDARIES
Sharron Lea trained in graphic design and
½RIEVXERHRS[JSGYWIWSRWGYPTXYVEP
textiles. Her priority is process over
product. So much exciting work evolves
when we break down our preconceptions
of what we are supposed to create.

PERMISSION TO BREAK
THE RULES
Paula MundenGSQTPIXIHLIV'MX] 
+YMPHWERH2S6YPIW8I\XMPI7SGMIX]
has rekindled her love of textiles. She
is infamous for her beautiful burnt net,
KSVKISYW¾SVEPWERHI\UYMWMXIWXMXGLMRK
with a rebellious twist.

FREE UP YOUR PRACTICE
5
5. Turquoise Fold by Sharron Lea. The ‘Fold’ prompt by
NRTS led Sharron to combine plasterer’s scrim, plaster
bandage, stitch marks and wool fabric.

6. Behind the Scenes by Jo Hall. With wool/yarn as a base, Jo
combines crazy patchwork, net and hand stitching.
7. Memories by Lynn Holland. Known for her vintage style,
Lynn creates vignettes from cloth fragments.
8. There’s Fire in my Belly by Meriel Lee. A response to the
invisibility of older people. Constructed from silk strands,
felting wool, metallic and embroidery yarns.

Megan Sharkey continually looks at new
ways of using and blending handmade and
traditional skills into something unexpected
and contemporary. She says: ‘No Rules has
allowed me to see everything as potential
– a test can be re-used, chopped up and
painted over. Everything can feed into the
next thing; it really freed up my practice.’

RECYCLING AND
REUSING
Debra Wade’s incredible sculptures
explore the tension between nature and

the waste that people leave behind, often
via complex grids of stitching inspired
by traditional needle lace. Debra’s work
is proof that art can re-balance and
transform almost anything.

VINTAGE TREASURES
Lynn Holland is renowned for her
vintage attire. She continually wows us
with her ‘inspiration walls’ and is currently
organising a No Rules Travelling Petticoat.

CONNECTIONS
Some NRTS connections go back far
longer than the sum of its years. In fact,
Jo Hall and Jayne Emerson shared a
studio at art college 30 years ago. It’s so
wonderful to be playing and inspiring each
other again and in many ways, NRTS feels
a lot like the freedom of art college.

MEDITATION AND
MEANING
Something Jayne was not expecting
NRTS to uncover when she started the
membership, was the power of textiles as
a meditative practice.
Lesley Howells observes that she is
³½RHMRKXLEXGSRRIGXMSRFIX[IIR[LEX
I create and what I am feeling, in a
way that is meaningful to me but not
always obvious to others. It’s like secret
journalling through textiles.’
Joy Scott’s work captures her feelings,
EFSYXIRXIVMRKXLI½REPWIEWSRSJEKIMRK
– one’s winter.

SKILLS TRANSFERENCE
In NRTS there are members whose
main disciplines range from collage to
bookmaking, and the skills transference
this brings is incredibly exciting; it’s often
the way we work and our processes,
whatever the medium, that unites us.
Ruth ThorpTYPPWMR¾YIRGIWJVSQLIV
background in architecture and digital
illustration. She combines her love of
colour, structure and bold shapes to
explore the potential of free-form screen
printing and intuitive stitch.
Indeed, this works both ways.Textile
artist Jane Charlton recently attended a
porcelain workshop after using unusual
materials, including plaster, charcoal and
pastels in her NRTS explorations. She
created small porcelain pieces with the
intention of embedding them into heavily
stitched backgrounds. e
Find out more about the members of
No Rules Textile Society on
instagram.com/norulestextilesociety
Find out more about Jayne Emerson’s practice
in Embroidery magazine (May/June 2021) in
the My Textile Life feature.
November December 2023

EMBROIDERY

49

tribute

A COLOURFUL LIFE
Lauren Shanley gave so much to the world of textiles.
Her friends remember her as a warm and highly talented artist
OUR FRIEND LAUREN SHANLEY, who
has died at the age of 66, was a pioneer.
She developed a distinctive niche in the
fashion and textile world using recycled and
vintage fabrics to create vibrant textiles and
remarkable embroidered clothing, interiors
and accessories.
Born in New Zealand in 1956, she grew up
on the North Island in rural Waihou. When
she arrived in London in 1985, already
married to her husband Jim, she had yet
XS½RHLIVGVIEXMZIRMGLI0SRHSR[EWXLI
catalyst she needed. Self-taught as an artist,
her way of working began instinctively. She
had a natural exuberance and began using
recycled materials and vintage fabrics which
WLIIQFVSMHIVIHXSGVIEXI½KYVEXMZITMIGIW
art hangings and sculptural vessels.
Her stitched fabrics became patchworks
of shifting texture and surging colour. She
loved colour and began using fabric like
paint.This quickly became clothing as art
but always wearable art, always uniquely
hers, always a one-off. Over the ensuing

‘She loved colour and began
using fabric like paint’

years her embroidered fabrics became
coats and wedding dresses, cushions and
curtains, handbags and quilts – all with the
distinctive Lauren Shanley style. She amassed
loyal followers who felt empowered by her
clothes, collected her work and became
JVMIRHW8LI]GEQI½VWXXS0SRHSR´W+EFVMIP´W
Wharf and then to her shop in The OXO
Tower, some to collect, some for inspiration
and others to buy the one thing they
couldn’t live without.
Together with her husband Jim, she turned
her home on Tanners Hill in London into
an extension of her creativity and a natural
mecca for friends and the like-minded.
6IG]GPIHGLMREFIGEQIEQSWEMGIH¾SSV
vibrant walls displayed the work of those
she championed. Here she stored the vast
collection of textiles and haberdashery she
drew on for her collections. Over many
years, from London to Hong Kong, she had
successful catwalk shows and exhibitions,
gave lectures, ran workshops and was
featured regularly in publications.
She said herself that embroidery and
collage were her imaginary travel – she also
travelled a lot.Tribal and folk art were a huge
source of inspiration in her work. South

America and the six visits she made to India
had a huge impact, as did the many outsider
environments she sought out. In a way
she was herself an outsider but one who
greatly valued the power of women sewing
collectively. She volunteered to work with a
women’s co-operative in South-Africa, and
arrived with suitcases bulging with cloth. She
worked with them and they in turn sang to
her every morning.Together they produced
large-scale narrative embroideries, rich in the
culture of their community, which were then
WSPHXSFIRI½XXLI[SQIRXLIQWIPZIW
Her desire for work and her commitment
to a legacy never left her. In her last years,
as her health began to diminish, and much
supported by her husband Jim, she was
still travelling, attending exhibitions and
supporting the work of others.Then, in her
½REP[IIOWLIKEZIE[E]LIVZEWXGSPPIGXMSR
of cloth. For friends like ourselves, who were
invited to take as much as we wanted, it was
a shock.The artist was giving away her paint,
but she still had thread. She was machine
stitching a garment the day before she died.
Lauren died four years after being diagnosed
with an auto-immune disease. She received
wonderful care from the specialists and
pulmonary hypertension team at the Royal
Free hospital in North London. She died
quietly at home surrounded by colour. a
wall of decoupage rising behind her, vibrant
cushions and blankets supporting her and
ZEWIWSJ¾S[IVWEXLIVWMHI
She leaves behind Jim, her husband and
Joanne, her sister, who were with her when
she died. She leaves behind two brothers,
a second sister and nephews and nieces in
New Zealand. She leaves many friends who,
like ourselves, loved her and will miss her
humour, her generosity and her ability to
chat at length on the phone.
She leaves a body of work, an extraordinary
wardrobe of embroidered textiles and
clothing, much valued by the people who
continue to wear them. Inevitably when
stopped and asked, they will smile and say
proudly – ‘Yes, it’s a Lauren Shanley’.
She was a one-off. e
Michael Vaughan and Stephen Wright

LAUREN SHANLEY
Born 13/09/1956
Died 28/04/2023
ALL IMAGES BY © DAVID USILL, WINDOW ON THE WORLD®, LONDON.

50

EMBROIDERY

November December 2023

November December 2023

EMBROIDERY

51

52

EMBROIDERY

November December 2023

overseas

Bee-nevolence

For Ava Roth, working with colonies of bees to
create her artwork has provided the opportunity
to trace her own journey as an artist and to
embrace the natural world

C

anadian artist Ava Roth works with embroidery
and encaustic painting techniques, weaving
ŊļĿĿłŊņĶňĿŃŇňŅĸņĴŁķļŁĶłŅŃłŅĴŇļŁĺķŅļչŊłłķ
and found antlers into pieces that place organic
materials at their heart. An unusual and highly
distinctive body of work, largely produced in gold and
dark blue threads and beadwork, and featuring abstract
ŅĸŃĸĴŇņĻĴŃĸņņňĶĻĴņņŇĴŅĵňŅņŇņłŅշłŊļŁĺĶňŅʼnĸķŊĴʼnĸņп
her Honeycomb Collection is a collaboration with local
honeybees, in which embroidered pieces are placed carefully
into hives. This placement allows honeycomb to be gradually
built within designated spaces in the frames.
‘One of my favourite things about this project,’ Roth notes,
‘is that I really can trace my own journey as an artist through
it. It happened organically as a natural outgrowth of various
things that I was doing for a long time. I had always been
ļŁŇĸŅĸņŇĸķļŁĸŀĵŅłļķĸŅŌпņłфĶĴĿĿĸķюŊłŀĸŁяņĶŅĴչņяпĴŁķ
decorative arts but it felt like this was a separate endeavour
from the painting and encaustic work with beeswax I
was doing. Slowly, I started to think about ways I could
incorporate thread into the beeswax, and then to think, what
happens if I put pieces in the hive directly?’
The Honeycomb Collection is shaped by basic guiding
principles Roth adheres to. The artist explains: ‘One was
that I would work really slowly in a responsive way to the
bees instead of being product-oriented with an image of
what I wanted the bees to do. I wanted to use my curiosity
and be more equal in my relationship with the bees, working
moment to moment with each piece. Another guiding
principle was that I didn’t want to alter the environment
inside the hive in any way. I am using Langstroth hives;
beekeepers’ hives rather than wild hives. I didn’t want to
interrupt the bees’ behaviour and I feel responsible that they
have a functioning hive around the work.’
While Roth has previously had her own city hive, she is
currently working with master beekeeper Mylee Nordin,
whom she relies upon. Nordin brings Roth’s pieces into
the hives that she cares for throughout Southern Ontario.
One of the most complicated things about the project has
been deciding when to remove the work from the hive. It’s a
process of patience, careful checking and having an intimate
relationship with the hive. ‘The hive is essentially a square
ĵłŋĴŁķļŁņļķĸļŇяņłŅĺĴŁļņĸķĿļľĸĴձĿļŁĺĶĴĵļŁĸŇпŊļŇĻĹŅĴŀĸņ

‘I STARTED TO THINK ABOUT WAYS I COULD INCORPORATE THREAD INTO THE BEESWAX,
AND THEN TO THINK, WHAT HAPPENS IF I PUT PIECES IN THE HIVE DIRECTLY?’
Opposite page: Gold Honeycomb Ring with Flowers, 44.5cm x 44.5cm, encaustic,
.ETERIWITETIVKSPHPIEJIQFVSMHIV]¾SWWREXYVEPLSRI]GSQFPSGEP3RXEVMS
maple frame. Made in collaboration with a colony of bees, in a custom double
length Langstroth hive frame;
Top right: Blue and Gold, Ithra, as above, plus glass beads, natural honeycomb;
Below right: Honeycomb Quilt with Birch Bark, as above, plus birch bark, paper
November December 2023

EMBROIDERY

53

Above: Beaded Circles, Indigo, 44.5cm
x 44.5cm, encaustic, Japanese paper,
IQFVSMHIV]¾SWWKPEWWFIEHWREXYVEP
honeycomb and local Ontario maple frame.
This piece was made in collaboration with a
colony of bees, and was created in a custom
double length Langstroth hive frame.
Left: Beaded Circles (detail)

‘I WORK REALLY SLOWLY IN A RESPONSIVE
WAY TO THE BEES INSTEAD OF BEING
§ª„(Ç!Àّ„ªX0yÀ0(ٚ
slotted in,’ Roth outlines, adding: ‘Inside the frames the bees
build the comb and inside of the comb, they either lay eggs or
ŇĻĸŌձĿĿļŇŊļŇĻŁĸĶŇĴŅтĸŅĸŀłʼnĸĽňņŇłŁĸłĹŇĻĸĹŅĴŀĸņĴŁķ
replace it with mine. A colony of thousands and thousands
of bees is a very busy place; the rest of the hive functions in a
normal, routine way.’
The collaborative process is complicated and there are
disasters along the way as well as surprises and successes.
łŀĸŇļŀĸņłŇĻձŁķņŇŅĴĶĸņłĹŇĻĸĵĸĸņяĴĶŇļʼnļŇļĸņļŁĴŁķ
among her fabrics and embroidered elements. The stitches
Roth makes are also informed by guiding principles.
юŅĸĴĿĿŌŊĴŁŇŀŌĸծłŅŇпŀŌĻĴŁķļŊłŅľпŇłĵĸĶłŀŀĸŁņňŅĴŇĸ
ŊļŇĻŇĻĸĸծłŅŇŇĻĴŇŇĻĸŌяŅĸŃňŇŇļŁĺļŁпяņĻĸĸŋŃĿĴļŁņтюłп
ĴĿŊĴŌņŇĻļŁľĴĵłňŇюņŇļŇĶĻĹłŅĶĸĿĿяĴņĴŁłծĸŅļŁĺпĿļľĸĴ
generous way of meeting the bees somewhere equal. I don’t
count the cells and actually, literally, it’s not ‘stitch for cell’
but it’s something I reach for.
‘The work is asking a lot from the bees and I want to meet
them where they’re at. This determines the design when
I’m thinking about elaborate patterns and beadwork. I don’t
think that beauty is a very fashionable theme but it’s my
touchstone, the thing I’m pursuing.’
Despite its apparent fragility, the honeycomb incorporated
is robust and archival, meaning that it will not degrade over
time. The work does not have to be treated ahead of any sale
or display. ‘Over the last couple of years, I have started to
put these pieces behind glass and recommend that they’re
framed. Over time it prevents dust settling or curious insects
wandering onto them.’
54

EMBROIDERY

November December 2023

Roth continues to work with a range of artistic techniques,
retaining her curiosity and allowing her to work in a holistic
and connected way. Roth’s interest in bees is not an arbitrary
one and though she has considered collaborations with
other living beings such as fungi, snails and bacteria, she has
largely ruled these out following deep dive research.
An important note is that making the Honeycomb Collection
is seasonal. ‘The bees are only producing comb in the
summer months in Canada. There’s something nice about
plugging into their schedule and rhythm. When they’re not
building comb, I’m not working on this project. I relish the
time to explore other things. Organic, natural materials are
used across my work and I do consider myself a beeswax
artist. Almost everything I do incorporates beeswax. There’s
so many things about bees in particular that make this a great
connection. I really love that the majority of bees in a hive are
female. The underpinning concept I’m working towards is
not a political one, or a feminist one necessarily but any kind
of little nod that I can make to that is useful.’
łŇĻļņŅĸշĸĶŇļʼnĸŊĻĸŁĶłŁņļķĸŅļŁĺŇĻĸŅĸĶĸŃŇļłŁłĹĻĸŅ
work. ‘I’m really making this at some level for me,’ she admits.
‘It would be a lie to say that I’m doing this for other people.
I hope that other people enjoy it but I’m really pursuing
my own journey. I really appreciate that people have been
interested in looking at the work and I hope that if there’s a
response to it, it’s one of a little bit of peace and calm, a sense
of hopefulness about the environment and what’s possible
between us. Because if it’s possible to make something
ĵĸĴňŇļĹňĿŊļŇĻĴŁłŇĻĸŅņŃĸĶļĸņпļŇяņķĸձŁļŇĸĿŌŃłņņļĵĿĸŇłŀĴľĸ
something beautiful within our own species.’ e
Anneka French
avaroth.ca instagram.com/avarothart
Roth is showing recent works in her Honeycomb Collection at The Wildling
Museum of Art and Nature, in Solvang, California, January – August 2024.

preserving
culture &
artisanal
skills
Q/30/%8%8,)30('%4-8%0 of the
British Empire, is a city full of grand colonial
architecture. But it is so much more. India’s
former capital is packed with art galleries that
feed the thriving creative community and has
a plethora of cultural festivals, jostling markets
ERHSZIV¾S[MRKXIQTPIW-XMWEPWSXLI½REP
VIWXMRKTPEGISJ1SXLIV8IVIWE'SYPH]SY
½RHERSXLIVGMX]QSVIWXIITIHMRXVEHMXMSR
and history, and yet one that is so joyfully
alive and, ultimately, invigorating?
Based in this kaleidoscope of a city is the
+MRKIV.IVV]7XYHMS[LSWITLMPSWSTL]MW
to go further when consistently creating
outstanding pieces of work for their clients
by seeking to preserve the centuries-old
artisanal skills handed down the generations.
And it does this with a ‘twist’ of originality.
Matthew Parsons and Yasmin Kayal set up
+MRKIV.IVV]7XYHMSXLVII]IEVWEKS1EXXLI[
[SVOIHJSVEHIGEHIEXHI+SYVRE]XLI
renowned British luxury interiors company
especially noted for its beautiful hand-painted
wallpapers.Yasmin is a great design talent,
and having a female director is furthering
advancement of equal rights in India.
From the ground up and with a compact but
expert team of artisans, Matthew and Yasmin
are steadily growing the studio, creating handpainted and embroidered wallpapers, fashion
IQFVSMHIV]ERH½RIMRXIVMSVWTVSHYGXW&YX
they are determined not to lose the integrity
and philosophy with which they started.
‘We want to have fun in our work and keep
tradition alive,’ Matthew remarks simply.
‘We are happy to take any designer or
client’s project and give our unique specialist
attention to detail to all aspects of the job’ –
a task that Yasmin relishes.
&YX+MRKIV.IVV]7XYHMS´WIKEPMXEVMERIXLSW
is a departure from the norm. Matthew
explains: ‘We do not sit. We believe if we do
that this will be the last generation of handembroiderers. And with that in mind, our
artisans have a share in our company, our
ZMWMSRSYVHIWMKRWERHSYVTVS½XW´
To ensure the skill of these talented
artisans is preserved, Matthew has set up
an embroidery and needlepoint school
[LIVI SJXLITVS½XWEVIVIMRZIWXIH
into educating the younger generation in
embroidery techniques at school, where they
also receive a good all-round education.
+MRKIV.IVV]´WIQFVSMHIV]ERHRIIHPITSMRX
school now welcomes stitchers from all

overseas
A studio steeped in the traditions
of India in the atmospheric city
of Kolkata is creating stellar
work for clients but also offers
the chance to learn embroidery
alongside their own artisans

ĿłĶľŊļņĸĹŅłŀŇłŃĿĸչсļŁļņĻļŁĺłծĴĻĴŁķ
ŀĴĶĻļŁĸŃļĸĶĸŊļŇĻĻĴŁķŊłŅľрĴŁķфŃĴļŁŇĸķ
ņļĿľŃĴŁĸĿĵĸļŁĺŃŅĸŃĴŅĸķр ĻļŁĸņĸňōĻłň
ĸŀĵŅłļķĸŅŌłŁĻĴŁķфŃĴļŁŇĸķņļĿľрĸŇŇļŁĺłňŇ
ŇĻŅĸĴķņĹłŅĻĴŁķĸŀĵŅłļķĸŅĸķŃĴŃĸŅфņļĿľŃĴŁĸĿ

countries interested in learning from their
traditional artisans and is offering tuition
in both embroidery and needlepoint,
along with an authentic immersion into
the remarkable Indian culture.
One of the important ways the studio
is keeping tradition alive is that they use
embroidery styles from all of India’s 28
states, as well as techniques from other
countries. ‘We either use them as they are
known or adapt them, always responding to
the needs of today’s clients,’ Matthew says.
+MRKIV.IVV]7XYHMSMWIZMHIRXP]EFYWMRIWW
and one where the importance of not just
working for clients with high standards and
meeting their brief but inspiring them with
what can be achieved is paramount. ‘We
are keeping alive tradition, but are not

afraid to mix this with new and exciting
methods; for example, combining digital
ERHLERHXIGLRMUYIW%X+MRKIV.IVV]7XYHMS
we are known for being creative and taking
on any challenge.’ One of the projects the
studio is currently working on involves
reviving large pieces of needlepoint, with the
end goal of creating stunning furniture.
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silk threads and sequins, though, as Yasmin
and Matthew travel throughout India and
SXLIVGSYRXVMIWXS½RHI\GMXMRKQEXIVMEPWXS
use in their embroidery.
Matthew explains: ‘We want to provide our
clients with a product that they adore, one
that they know the heritage of and one that
has behind it incredible artisanal skill.’ e
gingerjerry.com

November December 2023

EMBROIDERY

55

bookshelf

take 5 books

Interesting new titles to read after the festive flurry
Showcase: 30 Years of
Embroiderers’ Guild
Graduate & Scholar
Showcase
As we lose emphasis on creative skills in the
National Curriculum and the funding for
arts education is cut, the importance of the
support from the Embroiderers’ Guild for
XST¾MKLXKVEHYEXIWFIGSQIWIZIVQSVIZMXEP
Each year the Guild provides exposure for
graduates at the Knitting and Stitching Shows,
TPYWEWQEPPKVERXXSGSZIVI\TIRWIW8LMW
year sees the 30th anniversary of this scheme
ERHEGIPIFVEXMSRVIXVSWTIGXMZII\LMFMXMSR
A new companion book charts the career
trajectory of all 30 graduates included in
the show, whether they now work in the
traditional world of embroidery, or in fashion,
XLIEXVIMRXIVMSVHIWMKRSV½RIEVX
To order a copy in paperback or hardback, visit
mymagazinesub.co.uk/embroidery/merchandise

9RVEZIPPMRK8LI7MPO6SEH

Chris Aslan
8LI7MPO;SSPERH'SXXSR6SEHWXERKPIXLIMV
[E]XLVSYKL'IRXVEP%WME8LIJEQSYW7MPO
6SEHYRMXIH)EWXERH;IWXXLVSYKLXVEHI
3PHIVWXMPP[EWXLI;SSP6SEHSJGVMXMGEP
importance when houses made from wool
enabled nomads to traverse the inhospitable
[MRXIVWXITTIW8LIRXLIVI[EWXLI'SXXSR
6SEHQEVOIHF]KVIIHGSPSRMEPMWQERH
IRZMVSRQIRXEPHMWEWXIV
56

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November December 2023

At this intersection of human history,
fortunes were made and lost through
shimmering silks, life-giving felts and
KSWWEQIVGSXXSRW'LVMW%WPER EYXLSV
of Carpet Ride to Khiva) has spent 15
]IEVWPMZMRKERH[SVOMRKMRXLIVIKMSR,I
expertly unravels the strands of this tangled
history and embroiders them with his own
I\TIVMIRGIWSJPMJIMRXLILIEVXSJ%WME
Icon Books, £25

.ERI%YWXIR´W;EVHVSFI

Hilary Davidson
;LEXHMH.ERI%YWXIR[IEV#(IWTMXILIV
brilliance on the page, Austen has all too
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LMWXSVMERERH%YWXIRI\TIVX,MPEV](EZMHWSR
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bringing together her garments and
accessories with her 161 known letters to
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coats to shoes and undergarments, Austen
is alert to fashion trends but thrifty and
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renowned irony and wit peppers her letters,
HIWGVMFMRKGPSXLIWWLSTTMRKERHXEWXI
Yale Books, hardback, £25

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Ria Burns
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of how to colour yarn successfully with
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account of how to source your materials
and equipment, it moves on to preparing

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WIGXMSRWSRT,ERHQIXEPQSHM½IVWXSLIPT
you achieve a wide range of vibrant colours,
tried and tested recipes and advanced
TVSGIWWIWJSVMRHMKSERH[SEH
The Crowood Press, paperback, £12.99

;EWLM1IQSVMIW

Eleanor Burkett
Washi Memories provides a record of
.ETERIWITETIVQEOMRKMRXLI*YOYWLMQE
province which has a 1,000-year history and
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is introduced by paper and textile artist
Eleanor Burkett and retired papermaker
/΃MGLM%R^EM[MXLEJSVI[SVHF]VIRS[RIH
TETIVLMWXSVMER7MHRI])&IVKIV8LMVX]
atmospheric black-and-white photos record
the papermakers at work in the 1950s,
with a commentary by Burkett and the
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JVSQLMWTETIVQEOMRKZMPPEKI7EQTPIWSJ
O΃^STETIVWSRGIQEHIMRXLIEVIEEVI
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FIRMFERE^SQITETIVWH]IH[MXLWEJ¾S[IV
XLVIIEM^SQITETIVWH]IHMRHMJJIVIRX
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]IEVWSPHEWYNMKEQMETETIV[MXL¾IGOWSJ
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The Old School Press. The price before
publication on 8 November is £220 plus
shipping, and £250 plus shipping thereafter.

exhibition

MO ME NTU M
:MI[IHEX%')%VXW1EVOIX4PEGI7SQIVXSR2S[EX*EV½IPH1MPP
Sedbergh, Cumbria, until 23 December.
QIN MOMENTUM: memories, journeys and times,
landscape unites exhibiting artists Elizabeth Brimelow and
Sandra Meech – and divides them too. The duo have been
good friends since they got chatting while waiting for a lecture
ĴŇŇĻĸՔ ňņĸňŀпĵňŇŇĻļņĸŋĻļĵļŇļłŁļņŇĻĸļŅձŅņŇĽłļŁŇ
show together. While Brimelow concentrates her colourful
work on the landscapes of the Peak District where she
ĿļʼnĸņпĴŁķňծłĿľŊĻĸŅĸņĻĸĻĴņʼnļņļŇĸķŀĴŁŌŇļŀĸņпĸĸĶĻ
highlights the Somerset Levels and the glacial and Polar
regions of the world. Born in Canada, where she studied the
Inuit, Meech has been inspired by a recent trip to Eastern
ŅĸĸŁĿĴŁķłĵņĸŅʼnļŁĺŇĻĸĸծĸĶŇņłĹĶĿļŀĴŇĸĶĻĴŁĺĸձŅņŇфĻĴŁķт
From a Zodiac boat, she watched as enormous bergs fell from
the face of the glacier. Brimelow’s regional dales and Meech’s
ļĶĸշłŊņłծĸŅĴņŇĴŅľķļʼnļņļłŁпĵňŇŊĻĴŇŇĻĸĴŅŇļņŇņņĻĴŅĸļņ
a love of journeys, the desire to create interesting surfaces, a
passion for old and new maps, and the belief that artworks
start in the sketchbook.
With Meech’s art, the linking thread between her chosen
ĿłĶĴŇļłŁņļņŇĻĸюņŇňķŌłĹŊĴŇĸŅятĻĸłŀĸŅņĸŇĸʼnĸĿņշłłķ
every year, with the stark willow hedges contrasting with
ŇĻĸĺĿĴņņŌņĻĸĸŁłĹŇĻĸձĸĿķņпŊĻļĿĸĹŅłŀĻĸŅŅĸņĸĴŅĶĻʼnļņļŇņп
Meech is well placed to show how as the Polar caps melt, the
crackled glaciers reveal colourful tundra, making use of woven,
punctured scrim to depict the ice. Three works displayed as
though a triptych are rendered beautifully through collaged
materials, with the stabbing free motion embroidery giving
rougher substance to the ice and tundra.
The venue deserves a mention. On show at ACEArts in
Somerton, based in the old town hall, the large windows help
provide a bright and welcoming space in the upstairs gallery.
ĻĸձŅņŇŊłŅľŌłňĶłŀĸĴĶŅłņņļņMarbais by Brimelow, a
ĶłĿłňŅĹňĿńňļĿŇŁĴŀĸķĴչĸŅņłŀĸŃŅļŁŇłŁŇĻĸĹĴĵŅļĶŊĻļĶĻļņĴ
location in Belgium. Brimelow explains in the accompanying
programme that she decided to use nothing but material
donated by friends, family and acquaintances for this show,
posing something of a challenge. Her use of superimposed
ŇŅĴĶľфĿļľĸŀĴŅľņļŁMarbais reinforces the countryside theme.
Brimelow goes for walks in the Peak District taking her
ņľĸŇĶĻĵłłľŊļŇĻĻĸŅпĶłĿĿĸĶŇļŁĺĹĸĴŇĻĸŅņпշłŊĸŅņпĿĸĴʼnĸņп
ŃĸĵĵĿĸņĴŁķłŇĻĸŅձŁķņĴŁķŇĴľļŁĺŇĻĸŀĻłŀĸтĸĸĶĻп
similarly, has a love of using her sketchbook for ideas, but
ķŅĴŊņձŅņŇŊļŇĻŊĴŋŅĸņļņŇпŇĻĸŁŊĴņĻĸņŊļŇĻĶłĿłňŅпĴĻĴĵļŇ
that complements her icy topic.
It is in Meech’s work on the Somerset Levels that the two
artists most closely align. Level Flood 1-4 was inspired by
collage pages in her sketchbook and comprises four vertical
landscapes. Meech had the feeling that she could ‘go on and
on’ with this project. She says: ‘When stitch is added, the
surface comes alive.’
Brimelow’s interest lies in the surface of the land, too, which is
never straightforward because the land has been worked and
reworked. ‘I am drawn to places where people have intruded
łŁŇłŇĻĸĿĴŁķņĶĴŃĸтĴŁĻĴņĿĸչĻļņŀĴŅľŇĻŅłňĺĻŃĿłňĺĻļŁĺп
planting, harvesting and building. Sheep and cattle have made
paths across the land – lovely lines.’
Much of this can be seen on modern maps but Brimelow is
drawn to the antiquarian maps by John Ogilby from the 1600s.

7ERHVE1IIGL´WMG]PERHWGETIWLEZIFIIRMRWTMVIHF]EVIGIRXXVMTXS
)EWXIVR+VIIRPERHMarbais HIXEMP F])PM^EFIXL&VMQIPS[EQM\IHQIHME
½IPHWGETIQEHI[MXLKMJXIHJEFVMGWERHLERHERHQEGLMRIWXMXGL

These scrolled maps were designed to be unrolled on the
coachman’s lap as the journey progressed. Meech also refers
to Ordnance Survey maps when looking at the view in front of
her, the map’s marks providing the creative detail in her works
ĴŁķłչĸŁŇĻĸņĻĴŃĸņĹłŅŇłŃфņŇļŇĶĻļŁĺтĻĸĸŋĻļĵļŇļłŁļŁĶĿňķĸņ
ĴŅŇļņŇņяĵłłľņĴŁķĿłŁĺņĶŅłĿĿфĿļľĸĴŅŇŊłŅľņпĺļʼnļŁĺŅļņĸŇłŇĻĸ
feeling of a journey and a nod to the scrolled maps of old.
łŀĸŁŇňŀļņŇĻĸĹňĿձĿĿļŁĺĽłňŅŁĸŌłĹŇŊłĴŅŇļņŇņŊĻł
endeavour to use their sketchbooks as a matter of record
ĴŁķĿłʼnĸĴŁķĴŃŃŅĸĶļĴŇĸŇĻĸĶłňŁŇŅŌņļķĸпĴĿĵĸļŇļŁķļծĸŅļŁĺ
environments. The overriding parallel is perhaps man’s
intrusion on to the landscape – for Brimelow, resulting in the
comforting marks on the land of generations and for Meech,
the stark consequences of man’s presence for the environment.
Claire Waring
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November December 2023

EMBROIDERY

57

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400 years of embroidery blooms
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Asian Arts, 12 Bennett Street
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2023: Contemporary Craft for
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women from the Cheltenham
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58

EMBROIDERY

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with strong connections to the
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V&A South Kensington, Cromwell
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November December 2023

Bourne and Allen double-sided fabric chosen
for the Royal Festival Hall entrance; Brora
wool warp dyed with alum and blackberry

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creativity of iconic performers,
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metaphor for connection,
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25th Anniversary Exhibition until
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textiles foundation course
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Untold Stories of Black British
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Coronations 1902–2023 until
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Victorian art, fashion and design until

DITCHLING MUSEUM OF ART + CRAFT

On show

ļŇĶĻĿļŁĺňņĸňŀłĹ ŅŇԲ ŅĴչ
is marking 10 years since its
major redevelopment with the
opening of an exhibition about
the museum’s co-founder Hilary
Bourne (1909–2004) and Barbara
Allen (1903–1972), her partner in life
and creative practice. The pair ran
Hilary and Barbara
an internationally successful textile
setting up a loom (used
studio, designing and making a
in 8LI0EH] 1951)
variety of fabrics, including tweed
for Fortnum & Mason, furnishing
fabric for Heals and scarves for Liberty. The turning point in
their career came in 1951, when they won the competition to
design and make curtains for the newly built Festival Hall.
They went on to win commissions to make the costumes
ĹłŅŇĻĸŀňĿŇļфņĶĴŅŊļŁŁļŁĺҲҺҶҺձĿŀBen-Hur and
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ŇĻĸŌŊĸŅĸŇŊłłĹŇĻĸŀłņŇņļĺŁļձĶĴŁŇŇĸŋŇļĿĸ
designers of the modernist period, yet they
remain largely unknown – until now.
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TESSA HALLMAN COLLECTION DITCHLING
MUSEUM OF ART + CRAFT

what’s on

Events
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a social, political and critical
platform for contemporary art
taking place across Coventry and
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the most useful contacts and the
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innovative designer-makers with
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fashion fabrics, accessories, print
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REBEL: 30 years of London
Fashion at The Design
Museum, London

Festival of Quilts Visitors’
Choice Award winner
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at K&S Show Harrogate

Overseas

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an artist-maker with a background Canada, 55 Centre Avenue,

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Don’t miss...
Opportunities
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World’s leading sewing machine manufacturer
Go ahead… get creative!

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November December 2023

EMBROIDERY

59

Studio Préniac

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in South West France

since 1877
Premium needlework fabrics
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www.zweigart.de/colorworlds

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holidays, set in a stunning and tranquil
part of South West France.
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For further details, contact Chris & Nicki

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SIRET: 878 449 156 00016

60

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November December 2023

For stockists contact:
>ĂŬĞƐŝĚĞEĞĞĚůĞĐƌĂŌ/ůĂŬĞƐŝĚĞŶĞĞĚůĞĐƌĂŌ͘ĐŽ͘ƵŬ/tŝůůŽǁ&ĂďƌŝĐƐ/ǁǁǁ͘ǁŝůůŽǁĨĂďƌŝĐƐ͘ĐŽŵ
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^ƟƚĐŚƚĂƐƟĐ/ǁǁǁ͘ƐƟƚĐŚƚĂƐƟĐ͘ĐŽŵ

art craft heritage

free entry

Exhibitions - Artists' Studios - Heritage
Workshops - Craft Gallery - Tea Room

www.farfieldmill.org
Please check out website for
opening days and times Garsdale Road Sedbergh
Cumbria LA10 5LW

November December 2023

EMBROIDERY

61

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with

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AND

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The Sunbury Embroidery Gallery, The Walled Garden, Sunbury-on-Thames, TW16 6AB
Gallery & Café open Tuesday - Sunday 10.30 to 4.00pm - Reg Charity No. 1162121

November December 2023

EMBROIDERY

63

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Artist Credit: Jan Beaney, Lefkada Wetlands

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