From both my mother and my grandmother I learnt how to sew, knit, crochet, embroider and stitch needlepoint. My textile art is the current manifestation of a lifetime interest in needlework. Making quilts and other textile pieces is the creative counterpoint to my daytime job in the technical world and the chance to see tangible fruits of my labours.
Tessellations have always fascinated me. Whereas others doodle squiggles, I have always drawn tumbling blocks. Patchwork is the ideal medium to pursue this interest. Colour is an important design element for me. I enjoy exploring the entire spectrum in my work, although bright clear colours predominate. I hand dye my own cotton fabrics and combine these with commercially printed fabrics. Machine quilting, hand embroidery and beading add another layer of the design to the pieces, that must complement the underlying composition.
Areas I want to explore further include adding a third dimension (moving out of the 2D plane), combining needlework techniques in my art work, and adding surface embellishment such as hand embroidery and beading.
When people see my work, I’d like them to be attracted by the design and composition, find details to surprise and delight them, and on close inspection, appreciate the quality of workmanship that has gone into the creation of the piece. As my mother always told me: If a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well.