'All the babies I might have had', June 2011
An installation with two soft sculptures;
a hand knitted, felted uterus suspended in front of a stuffed canvas pregnant torso, with a zip
My first post on my new blog and I'm feeling rather self conscious....
My art background is in textiles; I designed and made my own clothes and have knitted garments for years and then I discovered textile art.....
I have subsequently explored three dimensional textile techniques extensively; in knitting to take advantage of the natural form that comes with felting and in machine embroidery using dense stitching. Colour, pattern and texture are important to me. I enjoy experimentation. I like to learn a technique in order to break the rules. Part time courses and one day workshops in textile processes over the past few years have increased my skills base dramatically.
I've just finished a 2 year part time Art Foundation Diploma at Bristol School of Art during which I have discovered a new way of working with textiles, a dark side, which has enabled me to create thought provoking and somewhat disturbing work with a strong conceptual element and a fine art bias. 'All the babies I might have had' was my final piece.
My imaginary friend Nov 2010
Crazy patchwork shroud
My discarded clothing, zips, stitch; installed covering a mannequin
My imaginary friend Nov 2010, detail
Disembowelled cuddly animals appliquéd and re stuffed on a fake fur coat
'The parts I'd like to remove' January 2011
Canvas with appliquéd and stuffed fabric samples,
maps and anatomy textbook pages, stitch, zip
I am intrigued by the alchemy of many textile processes and I am particularly interested in the interface between textile art and fine art. I'm planning to start a degree in Drawing and Applied arts at UWE, Bristol in September. Very exciting.
