I joined the Embroiderers Guild when I retired early from teaching in 2001, having been interested in textiles since secondary school. After many day courses I began studying for City and Guild’s stitched textiles, gaining the Diploma in 2009. A piece of Diploma work was selected for exhibition at the P.A.D. gallery in Preston for which I was awarded third prize.
I find inspiration from many sources but especially through the vibrancy of colour in the natural world and I enjoy the challenge of contemporary design. Travelling to incredible areas of the world is also inspirational and a recent trip to Peru and the Galapagos Islands filled a few sketch books!
I love working with texture and often combine natural fibres such as wool, silk and paper with distorted layers of synthetic fabrics. The addition of hand and machine stitch gives an extra dimension to my work.
At the moment I am developing my felting skills and much of my work uses handmade felt as a basis for free machine embroidery and additional textural embellishments.
Click on images for details
Title: Pink City (Marrakesh)
Techniques/Materials: Metallic and hand and machine embroidery
Size:15 x 92cm
Left: Jewels of the Sea
Techniques/Materials: Nuno felt on silk with machine embroidery
Size: 94 x 68.5cm
Right: Red Day Lilies
Techniques/Materials: Needle felted picture. Norwegian wool with machine embroidery.
Size: 38 x 59cm
Title: Volcanic Sunset
Materials: Felt and machine embroidery
Size: 28 x 33cm
Title: Branching Out
Size: 100cms x 20cms
Materials: An old ivy branch entwined with dyed silk and kozo fibre, embellished with beads, embossed puff paint, soluble paper and metallic machine embroidery.
Source: Inspired by entangled stems
Title: Blue Poppies
Size:
110ms x 65 cms.
Materials: Handmade felt and machine embroidery
Source: Inspired by the poppies at Bodnant Gardens
Above: Floral Wrap
Size: 30 x150cms
Materials: Nuno felted silk scarf
Source: Inspired by a garden trellis
Left: Sea Jewels
Size 30 cms x 40 cms.
Materials/techniques: Manipulated hand made felt with kozo machine braids and added beads and embellishments floating over the surface
Source: entangled seaweed floating on the waves of the ocean around the Galapagus islands.
Left: A Bitof a Dandy
Size: 70cms x 30cms.Materials: Handmade felt, heat gunned plastic netting, beads and machine embroidery.Source: a microscopic view of a seedhead
Size 24 cms. x 24 cms.
Materials/techniques: Distressed synthetic velvet with embossed , heat treated tyvec. Machine and hand stitched with added embellishments
Source: the Great Barrier Reef
