I take my first point of reference from crowds and large gatherings of people, looking for the detail in the ordinary but also the commonality within the group. Photographs are used to still movement and to reveal details, these photographs are then used to create drawings. I sew these drawings onto fabric using a sewing machine. I use transparent fabric and I leave loose threads, thus revealing and
I take my first point of reference from crowds and large gatherings of people, looking for the detail in the ordinary but also the commonality within the group. Photographs are used to still movement and to reveal details, these photographs are then used to create drawings. I sew these drawings onto fabric using a sewing machine. I use transparent fabric and I leave loose threads, thus revealing and celebrating the process of sewing. Transparent cloth alllows me to layer the drawings on top of each other and so to build up a crowd which allows us to see through it. My work also includes screen printed buildings, windows, roofs and skylines. These elements create a sense of atmosphere and build links between the people and their location. The black line of the thread is a seductive one, raised from the surface it is tactile and sightly fuzzy at the edges, velvety. This is one of the things that draws me to the sewing machine rather than the pencil.
Qualifications
2000 2002 MA Fine Art Textiles Merit Goldsmiths College London.
1995 1998 BA (Hons) Printed Textiles 1st class Surrey Institute of Art and Design
2003 2005 Advanced Certificate in Education Pass Christchurch University Canterbury
1994 1995 City & Guilds Creative Crafts Distinction Guildhall University, London.
Work Experience
25/07/2008 - Current. Self employed Artist/Maker/Workshop Leader
12/03/2011- Current. Phoenix Gallery Brighton workshop Leader
03/2015 - Current Astor College Dover, Visiting Tutor Fashion and Textiles Ocassional
05/09/2009 - 28/06/2015 WestKent College Tonbridge Kent, Lectuere Fashion and Textiles.
22/09/2008 - 31/08 2010 UCA Farnham Artist in Residence
00/01/2003 - 25/07/2008 South Kent College Ashford, Lecturer Fashion and Textiles.
10/01/2006- 01/01/2011 Harriets Muse Textile Printer/Designer, working with fashion designers on various printed textiles for different collections.
01/09/2003 - 28/06/2004 Kent County Council Adult education tutor, City and Guilds courses in Hand and Machine Embroidery and Printed Surfaces.
01/09/2000 - 28/06/2003 Mid-Kent College Chatham, Facilitator, helping students access the curriculum.
28/06/1998 - 30/12/200 Self Employed Textiled Designer/Maker of handprinted Textiles.
Competitions, Prizes and Awards
2006 Bentlif Art Prize, Maidstone Museum and Bentlif Art Gallery, Maidstone, Kent
2009 Pfaff Embroidery Challenge
Solo Exhibitions (most recent)
July 2105 “Song of the Shirt” Sunlight Centre Gillingham Kent
March 2013 “For the Love of the Crowd” Howden Park Arts Centre, Scotland.
September 2012 DAD Dover, Kent
September 2012 Crowd Cloud Port Moody Canada
September 2012 Stitch Draw Ripley Arts Centre
March 2012 Passing Reflections Rochester Art Gallery, Kent
Public Commissions
Wetherspoons Pub Pwllheli 2013
Ampersand Hotel, London 2013
Stafford Hotel, London, 2012
Hilton Hotel Heathrow airport. 2012
Ordsall Hall Salford 2010/11
Bilston Craft Gallery Wolverhampton 2009
Business Skills Centre, Barry, Wales 2009
Publications
Stitched Stories by Cas Holmes Batsford 2015
StitchDraw by Rosie James Batsford 2014
Needle Work by Carolina Amell Monsa 2014
Complete Dressmaking Skills by Lorna Knight Search Press 2014
Beyond Surface and Material catalogue 2013
Rijswijk Textile Biennial Catalogue 2013
Drawn to Stitch by Gwen Hedley Batsford 2012
Push: Stitchery by Jamie Chalmers Lark 2012
Embroidery Magazine September 2011
Group Exhibitions (most recent)
September 2015 Maidstone Art Market Kent
August 2014 “Art Textiles Made in Britain” Festival of Quilts, NEC, Birmingham, UK
July 2014 “Fabrika” POP Gallery Chatham, Kent.
June/July 2014 “Digital Encounters” UCA Canterbury
March 2014 “Keep Going” DAD, Dover.
Sept/Oct 2013 “Beyond Surface and Material” Photography and Textiles Rugby Museum and Art Gallery
June 2013 Rijswijk Textile Biennial Netherlands
April 2013 Craft Kuki Kobe Japan
February 2013 STITCH Drachten Netherlands
2012 (see solo exhibitions)
August 2011 Twisted Phoenix Gallery Brighton
March 2011 Drawing with Thread Shire Hall Stafford
February 2011 Making Connections Lightbox Woking
January 2011 Crafty Animators Thelma Hulbert Gallery Exeter
September 2010 AIR Crafts Study Centre, Farnham, Surrey.
August 2010 Dartboard for Witches Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Wales
May 2010 Air artists in residence UCA Farnham
March 2010 Two Textile Artists at Farnham Maltings
November 2009 Llantarnam Grange, Cwmbran, Wales
November 2009 Farnham Maltings, Surrey
October 2009 Knitting and Stitching show, London, Dublin, Harrogate.
August 2009 Bilston Craft Gallery, Wolverhampton
April 2009 Fabricates 09 Melbourne Australia
April-June 2009 Art of the Stitch, Seville, Spain.
Jan-March 2009 Art of the Stitch, Museum of Applied arts, Budapest, Hungary.
January 2009 Art London Islington London