Just a few years ago Cassandra Dias was a mum of two young children, dabbling in a variety of crafts she sold from her Etsy shop. But as she tired of crochet and silk screen printing, she noticed other women on Instagram who combined their love of motherhood with their passion for embroidery – an art that could be put down and picked up at ease – and realised this could be her new calling.

A gifted bag of DMC threads and the quieter times in 2020 gave Cassandra the opportunity to learn and experiment with her stitches. Adopting her love of impressionist painting, and using her own photos of the vineyards, hills, seascapes and rivers of her native southern California, Cassandra found plenty of inspiration for her chosen subject of landscape embroidery. 

As she worked on her skills, she posted regularly on Instagram, growing an impressive following. It wasn’t long before she received requests to buy her artworks and to take commissions. 

Today, Cassandra delights in not only being a stay-at-home mum for her children, but in her discovery of the freedom of stitch and the joy of creating exquisite miniature landscape embroideries.

Dabbling with art forms

Cassandra Dias: I used to love colouring, drawing and painting as a child, and remember being  encouraged to enjoy art. I took art classes throughout junior high and high school, studying acrylic and oil painting, sculpture and ceramics. My peers even voted me best artist for the high school yearbook. 

In college I decided to take a break from art in order to find a more traditional career, but none of the classes I took really held my interest. So, after graduating, I came back to art and started creating again. I taught myself crochet and silk screen printing, and opened an Etsy shop where I sold my handmade items. 

With every art form I’ve tried, with the exception of formal classes at school, I’ve taught myself after researching the basics. I enjoy challenging myself to see if I can learn to make things with my own hands.

Teaching myself a new skill is something that is really fulfilling for me, and that’s probably why I’ve gone in so many different creative directions during my life.

Discovering embroidery

I started embroidery in January 2020 because I wanted to add another art form to the list of things I’ve tried. 

While browsing Instagram, I saw pretty floral designs with lots of neat satin stitch leaves and woven wheel blooms. I guess I was initially attracted to the visual appeal of these pieces. But when I actually went to visit the artists’ pages, I found that a lot of them were moms, just like me.

It was nice to see them in their various stages of motherhood with photos of them simply being mamas to their kids – but also to see posts devoted to their love of embroidery. I felt a sense of connection to these women who had made time for themselves to have a creative outlet.

At the time, a couple of women I followed on Instagram – Jacinthe @littlehouse_happyfamily and Merrill Melideo @merzydotes – were posting some of their embroidered creations, and I thought this pastime might be something I’d enjoy too. I had kind of slowed down with my crochet work because the basic stitches I was using had started to bore me, and I’d lost interest in silk screen printing and the other crafting I was doing to try to fill up my Etsy shop. I had an old bag of DMC floss I’d never used, so I decided to pull it out and give embroidery a try in the hope of finding a new passion.

I also liked the fact that embroidery seemed like a low maintenance hobby, one that could easily be put down and picked back up again when time allowed. Being a stay-at-home mom, with lots of other things I needed to manage throughout my day, the fact that I could pick up right where I left off was really appealing and convenient – I didn’t have to worry about things like my medium drying out on me, as paint or clay would do.

I picked it up pretty quickly after researching the basic stitches. During the pandemic lockdown, I was able to get lots of practice. I enjoyed doing most of my stitching on the couch, since I didn’t have a designated embroidery area at the time.

Little did I know just how passionate an embroiderer I would become!

From hobby to enterprise

To develop my hobby as a business, I started posting my work consistently on Instagram, using popular embroidery hashtags so that more people would be able to stumble across my photos. This helped me to gain the interest of new followers. 

Once I had made a bunch of pieces, I started selling them every week on Instagram – ‘first-to-comment-wins’ style. That, to my great relief, worked really well for me, and my following increased pretty organically from there. With more people showing a genuine interest in my work and asking if I led any classes or sold patterns, I started filming more tutorials, which I posted on my social media pages. I also started creating patterns, which I sold in my online Etsy store.

Favourite scenes

I enjoy embroidering different types of landscapes for completely different reasons, so it’s tough to decide which are my favourite scenes. Some of my favourite things are adding small flower details and creating french knot trees for my pastoral and rural pieces.

If I had to choose one, I’d probably say I like creating seascapes the best, because I love blending all the colours that make up the waves – adding reflections and incorporating rocks and things to create a rough contrast to the smooth flow of the water.

Process of creating

When I’m working from a reference photo, I just eyeball the picture and freehand draw a rough sketch of it directly onto my fabric before I start stitching. If I’m creating a design from my own imagination, I still sketch it onto my fabric, but sometimes it can take a couple tries before I get it the way I want. Because of this, I use a water soluble marker just in case I need to erase my lines and start over.

I use unprimed cotton duck canvas because I’ve found that it’s sturdy enough to withstand how taut I like to have it in my working hoop. It’s also pretty durable when it comes to the amount of layers of stitching I incorporate in my pieces. 

I mainly use DMC six-strand cotton embroidery floss, with the exception of some random brands of old floss I have in the bag of threads that was gifted to me. And since I normally work on such a small scale (my completed embroideries are mounted on nine centimetre/three-inch hoops), the six-strand embroidery floss is perfect as I can split up the thread and work with fewer strands when I need to. All of the materials I use are readily available at my local craft store.

Framing small hoop embroideries

When I complete a piece, I hang it directly on the wall with a clear push pin. If I decide to keep an artwork for my own personal collection at home, I like to display it in a shadow box. I can either prop up the box on a level surface or hang it on the wall, and the glass barrier helps protect the embroidery from dust and other environmental elements. Whichever method I use to display my work, I always make sure to keep it away from moisture and out of direct sunlight.

Moving forward

Luckily, I haven’t had too many challenges so far. Sure, there is the occasional pause I need to take to reflect on the direction I want to go in with a piece. I’ve found that whenever I come upon something that stumps me, I just need to keep moving forward instead of backwards. I might add some more stitches instead of taking them out and trying again, and things will usually work out the way I want them to in the end.

In the future, I want to create my thread paintings on a larger scale and take on more commissions. I’m also interested in exhibiting my work. If time allows, I may try to create more patterns and also look into offering workshops through my website. I’ve been thinking about creating prints of my work as well, so I definitely have lots of ideas to progress my business and make my art more accessible to others. 

I want to make sure I continue to cultivate my love for embroidery, so it will always be about finding the right balance between checking goals off my list and enjoying the actual process of stitching.

Practise and share

The best advice I can give someone who is interested in starting embroidery is to make it a priority to set aside time for yourself to practise. When I first started researching stitches, I came across an article on The Spruce Crafts that was really helpful. It gave step-by-step instructions and listed the materials I would need. 

Try all the stitches that look interesting to you, and figure out which ones you really enjoy making. From there you can experiment with different types of subject matter and apply those stitches to it. Greater confidence and improvement in your technique will come with practice. 

If you decide you want to turn your embroidery into a business, it’s important to have a consistent social media presence, so posting regularly on your social pages will help draw in people who are interested in your work and, in turn, help develop connections with potential clients.

Key takeaways

If you’ve found Cassandra’s journey and tips encouraging, remember these tips for your own practice:

• When starting out with embroidery, begin by trying out some basic stitches. Find those you like and practise until you’re confident with them.

• If, like Cassandra, you enjoy reproducing landscapes, take photos on walks or visits and work from these. You can sketch out the shapes onto fabric with a water erasable pen.

• When you’re working on a piece and are unsure of your direction, keep stitching rather than unpicking. You can cover up stitches with new ones, building layers for texture and direction.

• When you’re ready to share your work, set up an Instagram account and a website. Use popular relevant hashtags to attract new followers.

• Share your joy and sell your work too. Cassandra used competitions, filmed tutorials and designs of her own patterns that people could purchase.

Cassandra Dias was born and raised in Santa Barbara, and now lives in Camarillo, California. She has been embroidering since 2020 and sells her work on her website and her patterns on her Etsy pattern account.

Her work has been featured on websites including DMC, This is Colossal, My Modern Met and School of Stitched Textiles, and she has been featured in print in Love Embroidery Magazine.

Artist website: cassandramdias.com

Facebook: facebook.com/cassiemdias

Instagram: @cassiemdias

Etsy: etsy.com/shop/CDiasEmbroideryArt

Etsy: etsy.com/shop/OhLeanderShop

Has Cassandra’s landscape embroidery made an impression on you? If so, take a look at our interview with five different artists who depict landscapes in their work. We’ve also highlighted some of the best books on different embroidery stitches to start you on your journey.

What impressed you about Cassandra’s work and story? Let us know in the comments below.

Inheriting her mother’s cross stitch threads wasn’t just the beginning of a new career for former art teacher Lesley Wood, but, in a few short years of developing her creative textile skills, it led to a number of textile art prizes with recognition and high praise from Hand & Lock, Madeira Threads and The Embroiderers’ Guild.

Since retiring from teaching, Lesley has built upon the skills from her fine art painting degree and she now works with embroidery and mixed media. Her layered and figurative textile pieces often represent women or birds and reveal her intuitive understanding of line, tone, form, colour and texture. Joining The Embroiderers Guild not only helped to develop her skill with textiles but gained her many supportive friends along the way.

Working from her spare bedroom, and using mainly vintage and reclaimed fabrics, ephemera and hand stitch, Lesley unites the historic with the contemporary. The new narratives she creates are sure to set you pondering.

From painting to embroidery

Lesley Wood: I’m a textile mixed media artist from Durham in the North East of England. I was initially a painter, having gained a Fine Art degree from Loughborough College of Art and Design, which I followed by pursuing a teaching career in secondary schools in the UK. Following my retirement from teaching, I’m now fully engaged in my creative practice. 

I spent a great deal of my childhood drawing and painting. My family viewed sewing more as a practical activity rather than something purely creative. They did encourage me to study at art college and this in turn has given me the confidence to paint with fabric and thread. Teaching art and design in schools also contributed to my artistic development. It was when I inherited my mother’s cross stitch threads that I decided to put them to use with a view to creating mixed media art including stitch and hand embroidery. As an art teacher, I’d enjoyed working in mixed media to create my own artwork, so it seemed natural to include fabric and threads.

Gaining textile skills

When I started, I’d not had any formal training in textiles. My degree was in fine art painting and needlework classes at school were very basic, so I’m mostly self taught. Initially, my stitches were thick and clumsy, and the finished work was far from flat. I quickly realised that I needed to acquire some basic skills. 

Joining the local branch of The Embroiderers’ Guild was the solution. I was amazed by the inspiration, opportunities and support that the members offered me. They generously shared their knowledge, and I attended a number of workshops to build up my skills. I’m still learning. I remain very grateful to these lovely, very talented ladies for helping to get my stitching career underway.

That was in 2016, and since then I’ve exhibited in numerous group and juried exhibitions. My work has been selected for open and juried exhibitions across the UK and received awards, including first prize for the Hand & Lock Textile Open Art Prize 2021, and the Madeira Threads UK 2023 competition in the hand embroidery category. 

I exhibited in The Royal Society for Marine Artists’ open exhibition in the London Mall Galleries in 2022. One of my artworks was awarded The Margaret Nicholson Award for Composition by The Embroiderers’ Guild. In 2023, I had my first small solo exhibition, in the North East, and I was delighted to be featured in the March/April edition of Embroidery Magazine. I so enjoy working with fabric and thread, and these achievements are all much appreciated bonuses on top of actually doing the work.

Being a member of the Society for Embroidered Work, I strongly believe stitched art is art, and hope through my work I can show textiles to be a fine art.

Memory and narrative

I would describe my mixed media fabric collages as mostly narrative and figurative. I’m interested and inspired by the origins of domestic everyday textiles. 

Along with my mother’s threads, I also inherited a lot of old family photos and table linen, and it was with these items that I started my mixed media work. I still rarely buy new fabrics and threads. I love the shapes, craftsmanship and feel of these old fabrics, and their stains and marks of previous makers and owners spark my imagination. 

I imagine the events these materials have witnessed and the memories they hold. They’re capable of evoking memories and connecting on an emotional level. I find a lot of these treasures in charity shops and have been gifted a number from friends and family.

Linen is great, but I have included more unusual materials, like plastic tablecloths, in my stash.

I create new narratives from the biography of these fabrics. Objects with a history such as old photos and ephemera are also sources of inspiration.

By reclaiming fabrics, ephemera and hand stitching, I merge the historic with the contemporary and create new narratives from the biography of the cloth.

Birds and words

One of my first embroidery projects, Magpie Works, was inspired by the traditional magpie rhyme ‘One for Sorrow’ and the myths about this bird. Since then my work has had a mostly figurative or bird theme. I hope to bring these two themes together by experimenting with phrases or idioms that associate human nature with bird appearance and behaviour, like ‘proud as a peacock’ or ‘hen-pecked’.

I have completed a piece called Homing Instinct, which features a homing pigeon on a piece of domestic (home) table linen. My latest work in progress recalls the phrase ‘eats like a gannet’. I am stitching the seabird on table linen, playing with the idea of table manners. There are many phrases and idioms linking humans with birds, so I have a wealth of source material for future inspiration.

Inspirational females

The female form, with the addition or emergence of patterns on the body, has been my most recent inspiration. I have an ongoing project called Fictional Females.

The Fictional Females series is part of a challenge from a local textile group I belong to called Northern Threads. Throughout 2023 we created monthly quilt journals on the theme of ‘Words’. I decided I wanted to include a figurative element, so chose to feature women created from words – thus fictional females. 

For each monthly piece, I featured a different book character by a different author, with no repetition of either character or author. Each month I created a small hand embroidered fabric collage, around 15cm x 20cm (6″ x 8″), with images inspired by or associated with the narrative or character. 

I selected fabrics that I thought appropriate, for example, tartan for Lady Macbeth, or vintage floral for Elizabeth Bennett. All the pieces have some words included to meet the brief. The text is usually a quote from the book and I avoid naming the character directly. The viewer has the fun of trying to guess the character’s identity. It’s usually pretty easy. Once the 12 pieces are complete, I intend to construct a book with each piece becoming a page.

Importance of drawing

My studies in fine art made me aware of the importance of drawing, whatever my chosen medium. People feature a lot in my work and that’s a result of a strong interest in figurative art and years of attending life drawing sessions. I’ve discovered I’m able to transfer my drawing skills to textile art, with the help and support of other artists I’ve met online, at group meetings and workshops.

Begin with a word

I often start my planning with a word or phrase, maybe a rhyme or story, then do some research and create a mind map. The words conjure up masses of images – often too many, and I have to pare them down to make a composition work. This is when the initial idea often changes or develops. For instance, I did a series of work from the word ‘domestic’. I became interested in its many meanings (such as a disturbance in the home, a cleaner, or a tamed creature). 

I don’t usually highlight social issues in my work, although some pieces could be interpreted as having a domestic narrative. For instance, Furnished with Memories could be commenting on the loneliness of the housebound elderly. I much prefer to keep my work more open to interpretation by the viewer.

I draw, sketch, make more notes, gather images, take photos and gather fabrics and ephemera. I do use sketchbooks but they are often messy, filled with mostly notes and experiments. I might decide to dye, paint, stain some of these before starting to put the fabric collage together. I audition the materials and take a lot of time arranging and rearranging the materials into a pleasing composition.

As well as using some fusible web, I pin and tack the pieces in place. It’s at this stage the process can become more intuitive and the original plan fades.

Finally, I add further stitching, embroidery and embellishments to complete the work. I work at home in a studio which is really a spare bedroom. It’s not big but a water basin and laminate flooring makes it a workable space.

Bringing joy

A memorable highlight in my career was the first time I sold a piece of textile art. When a stranger buys one’s work it’s always immensely pleasing. Winning the Hand & Lock Open Textile Art Award in 2021 felt wonderful. 

My winning piece was a self portrait with photographic images of my family and ancestors, so it was a very personal response to the brief. I was honoured to see it hung alongside the work of so many other amazing artists at Bankside Gallery in London. Since then, I’ve been fortunate enough to have work accepted into some fabulous exhibitions and have won a number of other awards. 

Once I have an idea I really enjoy seeing it materialise and emerge from the fabrics and threads. I get the most satisfaction from making original work, rather than following someone else’s idea or design.

Teaching art for so many years absorbed my creativity. Now that I’ve retired, I have the head space and freedom necessary to follow my own personal creative path, and that is pure joy.

But, truly, the most joy I get is in the making.

Key takeaways

While Lesley has achieved many awards, it’s clear she creates textile art purely for the joy of making. Let’s take a look at how you can share in her experiences and find your own joy.

• Lesley choses a word or phrase, researches this and then pieces together ideas. Consider what sparks your interest and investigate this further.

• Try taking some fabrics and threads, put all expectations to one side, and simply stitch. As happened for Lesley, when you relax, your intuition will tell you where to go.

• Do you have photos and ephemera that you could add into your textile art? If not, you can acquire them from flea markets, antique shops or online.

• Vintage and reclaimed fabrics are some of Lesley’s favourite materials. Ask if family or friends have any they can donate, or look in local shops, markets or online.

Lesley Wood is a textile mixed media artist from Durham. She completed a Fine Art degree at Loughborough College of Art & Design and an Art Teacher’s Certificate at Leeds Polytechnic. 

Lesley is a member of The Embroiderers’ Guild, The Society For Embroidered Work and Northern Threads textile group. Her work has been selected for many open and juried exhibitions across the UK and received a number of awards, including first prize for the Hand & Lock Textile Open Art Prize 2021 and the Madeira Threads UK 2023 competition.

Artist website: lesleywoodtextileart.wordpress.com

Instagram: @l.wood100

If you enjoyed seeing Lesley’s detailed figurative embroidery, take a look at Catherine Hicks or the intricately embroidered portraits of Nneka Jones. 

Has Lesley’s work whetted your appetite for embroidery and mixed media art? If so, please share on social media – just click on the buttons below.

Swift by name, swift by nature. If you watch textile artist Dionne Swift practising her free motion machine stitching, the first thing you notice is her speed. Dionne is a master of machine stitch and what’s more, she does it with gusto.

Dionne is well known for her colourful, richly stitched embroideries that impart vitality and energy – artworks based on scenes in nature and her beloved village of Tornareccio in Abruzzo, central Italy where she often goes to teach. 

We often talk about painting with thread, but drawing with thread most accurately describes the intention behind Dionne’s machine stitching. Dionne’s focus is on the importance of drawing as preparation for stitching. It’s her way of closely observing what she wants to stitch and it gives her direction. In her own words, ‘the stitch can’t happen without the drawing’.

As Dionne’s work develops, she continues to communicate with us, through her abstract expressionist thread paintings of lines, blocks and colours, the places in nature that lie deep within her heart.

Building a career

Dionne Swift: I’ve been a practising textile artist, and have been teaching for almost 35 years. These days I split my time between Holmfirth in Yorkshire, UK and Abruzzo in central Italy.  

I came to textiles through my two grandmothers. Gran Inglis lived in Glasgow – she was an aran knitter. She never followed a knitting pattern, she just kind of made it up as she went along. Gran Millar smocked and embroidered by hand – she was a good dressmaker and made most of my dresses as I was growing up. When I was about 10 or 11 years old I went with Gran to select a pattern to make a pair of shorts. I chose a tricky Vogue style with inset pockets and a fly zip! She set me up and left me to it, waiting in the living room in case I needed any help.

I followed the steps a bit at a time and, hey presto, in an afternoon I’d made my first garment. That level of independence was so empowering at that young age and it inspired an eclectic homemade teenage wardrobe.

I was pretty academic at school but found my niche after A-levels when I went to study a Foundation Art and Design course at North Warwickshire College. I was then accepted to study textiles at Goldsmiths, and in the late 90s, I gained a Masters in Textiles from the University of Central England (now called Birmingham City University). As a student, my work spanned a range of techniques including embroidery, paper making, felt and print.  

After Goldsmiths I started teaching; it was a very full on and vibrant phase of life. I had three or four part-time teaching roles and I would dash between them during my lunch break. Having just graduated, most of my students were of a similar age to me. Teaching was, and still is a joy; inspiration flows both ways as ideas bounce in all directions.

In 1996, some of my MA colour work was featured in Inspirational Textiles Trend forecasting magazine. Soon after, I produced a range of hand painted devoré scarves and was in the Gift of the Year awards, creating bespoke collections for the Royal Academy shop. By 2000, I was highlighted in several interior design magazines and my devoré velvet scarf collection was featured at Australian Fashion Week in Sydney.

Over the years my work has changed, moved on, progressed. Some say they see the same handwriting running through my body of creative work. Moving and development is vital to me: I get bored repeating the same thing. I need to learn something from each new piece. 

I guess creating art is a process of discovery for me – if I’m not learning anything then it’s time to stop.

Drawing is true seeing

For me drawing is the most immediate form of investigation and discovery – I learn about my environment through observation and translation to the drawn line. I move around a lot, zipping to Italy whenever I can, and so observational drawing helps to slow me down, ground me, and helps me appreciate ‘that place at that moment’. 

Drawing has become the backbone of my practice, everything hangs from this: it gives me ideas, whether it be for jewellery or for textiles. It tells me how to sew, the type of thread I should use, the direction in which to create the stitches and the tension I need.

My work would be nothing without drawing. Some days it’s the only thing I can rely on – it’s true, honest and often pretty raw.

Stitching can’t happen without drawing. When I sew, I’m not picking ideas out of my head, I’m using what’s in my books, on the paper in front of me. It’s constantly informing my practice and that’s what moves everything forward.

I’m against the word sketching. It’s completely different to drawing, which is a deliberate and purposeful act. If I couldn’t do anything else except one thing, it would be drawing. 

When I draw, I’m looking to be the camera and capture a moment in time, in space – capture an atmosphere, capture an environment.

It’s essential to go out and draw in situ. Being in the actual place, looking at real objects makes the action of drawing more challenging. You, as the artist, have to translate the information that you see from 3D to 2D. All the decisions that your brain is making in doing that, are the things that make the work unique. If you let a camera do that, the next person can do exactly the same thing. The way that you interpret the scene, the things that you pick up on make it your own

There are odd occasions when I have to take a photograph, but the ideal scenario is to get the full experience by drawing en plein air. Then you’ve got the memory, your own story and the history related to that place.

People often call my work abstract, though I don’t see it as that. I’m not looking for absolute realism. It’s purely my interpretation of the way that I’ve drawn and the way that I sew on a particular day because I’m emotionally in a certain place. A camera does a good job of giving you a realistic interpretation of a subject. Therefore, when I draw, why should I try to do the same? Drawing gives it more atmosphere.

Draw to inform your stitch

I genuinely suggest everybody draws. I think there’s a real stigma people have developed over the years where, maybe at school, somebody told them they can’t draw. But, with practice, your uniqueness will come out.

Don’t do one drawing and think you can do that in stitch. Do 20 drawings and pick the best, the one that speaks to you the most. Your muscle memory created by drawing with a pen or pencil will filter through and give you more confidence when you begin your machine stitching.

Just slow down and draw, then the drawing will tell you what to do next. Nobody believes me when I tell them that because they all think drawing’s a bit boring – but really it’s the best bit.

Voyage of discovery

If I don’t learn through my work, there isn’t any point. I’m learning about the world, about the things around me. About the way that a leaf is formed, the intricate edge of the bark of a tree, about the shape of a landscape, about the colour of the sky, the shadows on buildings. You notice everything that you normally scan by on a daily basis without stopping to look to really understand it. 

I need to look well enough to be able to put information on paper. The Impressionists would look at a scene again and again and again, and paint it again and again and again. Every day, every moment has different lighting conditions that cast on a landscape. Once, when I was painting a landscape in northern Italy, every time I looked up from my paper, the light had changed and I couldn’t keep up because of that continually moving light. As an artist that keeps me on my toes.

That’s why I find teaching so important. If I can pass on a sense of the importance of the vitality of learning and seeing, I’m leaving an incredibly valuable legacy.

More recently I’ve been drawn to different locations, not necessarily landscapes but cityscapes, villages, buildings, and leaves. We have an olive grove in Italy and the atmosphere underneath the trees is really interesting to me. It’s been the closest thing to me, and so that’s been the subject I’ve drawn from more recently.

Stitching – direct, raw, vibrant

In recent years I’ve focused on working with free machine embroidery. It can be very fast paced and intense but, strangely, this can often calm me.

I sew in the same manner as I draw – it’s direct and raw. I like to build layers of stitch, much as one might with paint. The layers of thread build depth to the surface and richness to the colour and texture of a piece.

Working at speed is down to the beauty of my machine as much as anything else. My Janome HD9, which is a straight stitch only machine, does 1600 stitches a minute and I want to fulfil its potential. In the past, I have used an industrial machine, which did 3000-4000 stitches a minute. I can keep up with that, but there isn’t a broad range of interesting threads that can withstand that speed. My Janome MC6700 has a larger throat area and runs at 1200 stitches per minute, with the bonus of over 200 diverse stitches. I can access plenty of different threads on that.

Embroidery has traditionally had a particular characteristic of being quite slow, sedately sitting by the fire sewing contemplatively. But you can still be contemplative, meditative, and zone out by moving quickly. Some people do it by running or going to the gym where their mind floats off to other places. For me, it’s sewing at speed. If I’m filling a large area with free machine embroidery I have to go quickly or it would take me years.

Everyone does it in their own style and offers their own visual voice to the fabric and to the thread. I think I do that through the character of my marks and of my stitches, the way that I lay threads down, sometimes very smooth, sometimes very textured. 

I usually work with Wonderfil and sometimes Aurifil threads. I use the full range of thread weights that I can put through the needle or in the bobbin, from 100 weight, which is very fine, to 8 weight, which is hand embroidery thread. 

Though I’m no eco-warrior, I use natural materials where I can because they sound nicer when I sew. There’s a certain sweet sound when the needle pierces the cloth. Wool is my preference because it is the softest and I like it to be woven rather than felted because it’s got more stability, more hold in the warp and the weft. But equally working on calico or linen is fine, or silk – something rather heavier than habotai.

Birthday exhibition

Just before lockdown, in 2019, to celebrate turning 50 years young, I created 50 pieces – 50@50. They exhibited in my solo show Momentum at Timeless Textiles, Newcastle, Australia that same year but, unfortunately, by the time the show came to UK soil, it was closed due to lockdown restrictions.  

Each stitched piece is inspired by a drawing of that year. I created far more than 50 drawings, as I always like to make more, working freely and without constraint, then select my favourites.

I explored the sights, sounds and atmosphere of all the places I visited, being pulled and attracted like a magpie to vibrant, rich and effervescent colour.

These relatively small pieces, each approximately 20-25cm, burst with colour and texture as lines of stitch criss-cross to build the composition. I’m very proud of this collection – it took dedication to create, and developing each piece moved my practice into new areas of discovery.

Intense and prolonged periods of sewing have gradually begun to take their toll on my body: shoulders, hands and arms feel each of those stitches, hence I regulate my bouts of stitchery in order to keep my body in good order. However, in 2021 after the passing of my younger brother the year before, I tackled my largest stitched work to date. My brother was a ‘bird man’ – he bred duck, geese, chickens, he loved all things feathered. My Murmuration of stitches is there to help carry him onwards. This piece was part of SEW Rome during Rome Artweek 2021 but now remains at home.

Textiles in jewellery

Recently I have been enjoying incorporating newly revived silversmithing skills into my textile repertoire. One of my early teaching roles was as head of multi-disciplinary design which led me to ceramics, metal, wood and plastics as well as textiles, so my knowledge base is broad.

Forming silver frames, I can encase my stitch and put it central stage in neck pieces and brooches.

I’ve been trying to avoid the excessive use of glass framing, allowing the texture of my work to be seen without a barrier. It’s better still if it can be handled and used, so bags, purses, hand painted and drawn scarves allow us all to engage more fully with that tactile surface. It’s a comforting and real sensation, retained for longer by utilising all of our senses.

Future plans

The exhibitions I’ve got lined up will be drawings with some stitch and some jewellery, all based on the olive trees and olive grove. They’ll be at the contemporary craft shows: Made London; Blue Magpie Crafts, Shropshire; Landmark Arts Centre, Teddington; and Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair, Manchester.

I have plans to ‘go back’ – back to that basic, raw state of drawing. It’s the start of everything, it informs my stitched line. Drawing is everything and it will tell me where to go next.

Key takeaways

Dionne has developed her own personal creative voice over many years of practice and experimentation. How might you develop yours? Here are some pointers we hope you’ll find useful. Dionne’s explanation of her techniques, materials and advice are useful reminders of how to practise her particular form of textile art. Here are a few of her tips.

• For Dionne, drawing is her first love and always an essential preliminary stage that informs her stitch. If you’ve never taken the time to slow down, sit and draw before making textile art, try it now. You’ll begin to see through new eyes.

• We’ve called Dionne’s style abstract expressionism. It’s not a direct realistic representation of what she sees, but an impression of the lines, colours and textures. How might this style of working inform what you create?

• Dionne wanted people to be able to handle her work, which led to her incorporating it in jewellery and other accessories. Could your work translate into other areas? What about creating fashion, or homewares as a way of expressing yourself?

Dionne Swift is a graduate of Goldsmith’s College, London University and has a Masters in Textiles from UCE, Birmingham. She was a finalist in the Fine Art Textiles Award at The Festival of Quilts 2020. Dionne lives and works between Yorkshire, UK and Abruzzo, Italy, and exhibits and tutors internationally.

Artist website: dionneswift.com

Instagram: @dionneswift

Facebook: DionneSwiftTextileArtist

If Dionne’s free machine embroidery has inspired you, take a look at the work of Haf Weighton who has a different way of building textile art with layers.

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Grasses, leaves and twigs may not be everyone’s idea of textile art, but through Kazuhito Takadoi’s eyes, there is nothing better.

A childhood spent around the paddy fields, forests and mountains of Japan, coupled with an early career in horticulture, art and garden design, have given Kazuhito a deep appreciation for natural beauty.

Kazuhito’s heartfelt reverence for nature manifests in the care he takes when nurturing and gathering his natural materials – a process that takes many months. It’s also helped him to cultivate an instinctive knowledge of when and how to harvest and use them to create elegant, sculptural artworks.

His UK-based allotment and garden and nearby park provide the fibres, and Kazuhito dries and fashions these into artworks that bridge the gap between Eastern and Western influences. There is a meditative quality in his patient and precise handiwork, which manifests as the piece transitions from 2D to 3D, the grasses, leaves and twigs being woven, or stitched and tied to traditional Japanese washi paper.

Upon close examination, it’s clear that Kazuhito’s intimate connection with his organic materials is a large part of his success.

Family influences

Kazuhito Takadoi: All of my inspiration comes from the natural world. I was born just outside the city of Nagoya, Japan and my childhood was spent playing amongst the open fields and ponds around our house. I would sometimes visit the next village of Arimatsu, famous for shibori tie-dye fabric. It was hung up to dry outdoors right across the village and I was fascinated by the huge variety of patterns that could be created from what is essentially plain white cloth and dye. 

In the summer we visited the forests and mountains and that’s where my interest in plants was first sparked. My aunt, a retired teacher living in Tokyo, would bring me nature books and I found the Western-style gardens quite captivating, especially as Japanese people weren’t growing herbs and flowers back then. 

My maternal grandfather was a teacher of ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arranging, though he died when I was very young. Both my grandmother and mother were keen crafters and there were always craft magazines around the house. So I guess I was exposed to several sources of inspiration from a young age.

From garden designer to artist

I took a course at Hokkaido Agricultural and Horticultural College at Sapporo, and gained work experience at a large commercial garden in Japan. My interest in English gardens led to a 12-month training programme at the Royal Horticultural Society Garden, Wisley, UK, followed by another 12-month training programme at Longwood Gardens Pennsylvania, USA.

I moved permanently to the UK in the late 90s where I worked at a large private garden. After that, I studied for a degree in art and garden design at Leeds Metropolitan University, with the intention of becoming a garden designer. Although I had always had a keen interest in art until then it had been just a hobby. However, as the course progressed I found I was more interested in the art aspect rather than the garden design. 

With my strong interest in horticulture and a love of art I wanted to find a way to combine the two. I started by collecting leaves and grasses from gardens, which I used to make embroidered greeting cards. 

It was only after graduating that I decided I would try to become a full time artist. Since 2008 I have been exhibiting with jaggedart in London, and my work is included in various solo and group shows in the gallery and fairs, including the Crafts Council Collect.

‘Now nature is both my inspiration and my source material, which is provided in abundance from my garden and allotment. There are no added colours: everything is natural, simply dried, then woven, stitched or tied.’

Artistic influences

I’ve been influenced by the earth artist Andy Goldsworthy. I’d never seen anything quite like his leaf sculptures before, and his art helped me to realise that both the art and the materials don’t have to be conventional. 

I also love Richard Long’s work: his clever interventions in the landscape are sometimes indistinguishable from natural phenomena. He epitomises the Japanese artistic principles of wabi sabi, or less is more. My work often reflects a subtle adherence to this, and the avoidance of symmetry.

Grasses, leaves and twigs

Grass is my primary material although I sometimes incorporate leaves and twigs into my works. My threads are always grasses. They are nothing special. They aren’t Japanese varieties that I have cultivated, just ordinary red or green grasses that you can buy from any garden centre. The grasses are easy to grow in my own small suburban garden. I find it better to grow them in large pots, as it prevents different varieties and colours from mixing together. The trick is to pick the grass at the right moment, I can’t tell you what that moment is, but after years of experience, you just know.

Autumn provides me with a varied selection of leaves, and I get a lot of these from a large park close to where I live, which has a good variety of trees. The twigs I use are either beech or hawthorn.

‘It’s taken very many unsuccessful attempts with a variety of materials to finally find a combination of grass, leaves and washi paper that seems to work. With constant refinement I’ve been able to create work that I’m happy with.’

My materials are simply air dried in my studio. I layer leaves between newspaper and leave them to dry under a moderate weight. The grasses are left to dry in the open as I have to keep checking the degree of flexibility. Experience tells me when they are just right: rigid enough to sew with, and yet still flexible enough to manipulate. Hawthorn needs to be harvested and left to dry for about a year, cleansed, and then de-thorned before I can start on the construction. The construction element alone can run into many months.

It’s not possible to have complete control over natural materials. They have somewhat variable properties and so the material plays a key role in the final shape of the artwork. My materials are not treated with anything, they’re simply dried.

‘In addition to a deep respect for nature, my work reflects a reverence to time: the time it takes for the grasses to grow, and for them to become sufficiently tender to embroider my works.’

As they dry and mature, there is a subtle colour shift, comparative to seasonal change. The time it takes to complete a piece varies a lot. For a small one, it might be just a couple of weeks but a large piece can take a lot longer. 

When I’m making art, I just improvise. I’ve never studied weaving, sewing or basketry; my techniques are self taught by trial and error.

Stitching on washi paper

As my work has evolved I’ve found sewing to be the simplest and oldest method of joining materials. In Japan there were more rules and disciplines about the way art was done. Living in the UK has given me the freedom to explore and experiment, to create my own style, develop my own techniques and make my own rules.

‘My stitching techniques are very simple, I just use a straight stitch and any knots are a basic overhand knot.’

Although I always use the term ‘sewn’, I don’t actually use a needle. Because I make the hole in advance, it’s simply a matter of cutting the end of the grass at an angle and threading the grass through the paper. Where twigs are included, I drill a very fine hole through the twig, threading it with a fine linen twine and tying through the paper. Sometimes I strip the bark off the twigs. Unfortunately, a strand of grass wouldn’t be strong enough for the tying, so I have to use the linen twine. I sometimes use pure white Koyori Japanese paper string/book binding threads. The flexibility and rigidity of these fibres give an even greater sense of three dimensionality. 

The fabric I use is washi – Japanese mulberry paper. My early works were made using watercolour paper but to be strong enough to sew through it had to be quite a heavyweight paper and this didn’t give me the result I was really after; they just looked too stiff. Washi is both strong and lightweight and is much more like a cloth to sew through. Whenever I go home to Japan it always includes a visit to my favourite paper shop to add to my collection of washi.

‘The shadows that you see in my artworks aren’t consciously created – they’re a happy coincidence – but I find that they add an interesting dimension.’

They can create the illusion of movement and add depth to the work. As the light changes or the point of view is moved, the shadows create a new perspective.

I often highlight my work with gold leaf. It’s not the daunting process that people might imagine. It really is quite simple, and you can easily find the basic techniques on internet tutorials.

Essential planning

I like my work to look simple and spontaneous but, in reality, it is very carefully planned and plotted. The design is first drawn onto tracing paper with compasses and protractor, and when I am happy that it has the right balance, I transfer the design onto the washi by piercing through the tracing paper with a needle.

‘I haven’t had any great challenges, but sometimes there are setbacks, where something may not turn out exactly as planned. But I just see this as an opportunity to develop a new technique.’

The titles I give my works allude further to the natural world, not only to the woodlands and materials but also to the weather and the cosmos. Though they may appear abstract, each piece has a story behind it.

Do try

‘My advice to any artist or maker is never be afraid to try. You don’t have to use established methods and traditional materials, if you think it’s a good idea just go with it. Always keep a notebook or a camera handy, you never know when inspiration might strike.’

I always have my iPhone with me and will photograph anything that takes my interest: a cloud formation, an unusual pebble, a flower, just anything unusual.

Although I’m just happy that people enjoy the work that I produce, to be awarded a special mention by the Loewe Craft Prize in 2019 was very gratifying. My work has been shown with jaggedart at Collect every year and to have one of my pieces purchased by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London also makes me very proud.

Key takeaways

Have Kazuhito’s materials and techniques provided you with ideas for your own work? Here are a few of his tips you can try:

• Take grasses, leaves and twigs from your own garden, park or woodland and experiment with drying, perhaps pressing and then weaving, threading and tying them. It may take time to know when they’re at the right stage or to get your method right, but every journey begins with a single step.

• Take photos when you’re out to gain inspiration for shapes and structures you can replicate.

• Try different papers for stitching into. Kazuhito prefers washi, but there are many handmade and commercial papers available, including sustainable, eco-friendly and recycled, and you can begin practising with ordinary card.

Kazuhito Takadoi lives in Birkenhead, Merseyside, UK. He has a BA (Hons) in Art and Garden Design from Leeds Metropolitan University (2003). Kazuhito’s work has appeared in magazines including Selvedge, Crafts and Elle Decoration, and has been exhibited in countries including Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Japan. He received a special mention at the Loewe Craft Prize 2019 and his work is exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. He exhibits annually with jaggedart at Collect.

Artist website: www.kazuhitotakadoi.com | www.jaggedart.com

Facebook: jaggedartlondon

Instagram: @kazuhitotakadoi | @jaggedartlondon

Interested in more ideas for creating textile art from natural fibres? Check out how Alice Fox uses daffodil leaves, bramble fibres and bindweed to make cordage and vessels.

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When are ceramics considered textile art? When they’ve been embroidered, naturally!

Caroline Harrius isn’t a textile artist. She’s a ceramicist. But, uniquely, she stitches into the vases, pots and ceramic household items that she builds and fires. 

A lover of pottery from an early age, it was only when Caroline explored traditional ceramics as part of her Masters degree that she came to appreciate the breadth of this tradition and realised it could be contemporised by combining it with an alternative traditional craft – vintage household textiles.

As Caroline revisited her grandmother’s crocheted tablecloths, cushions and curtains, she copied the designs, drilled holes into her pottery and stitched these patterns into it.

With an interest in the heritage of these crafts and their association with women and domesticity, Caroline uses her art as a vehicle to highlight those household items that don’t often see the light of day but nevertheless contain a not-to-be-forgotten historical value.

As we follow Caroline’s foray into the world of ceramics, we discover why painting pink flowers once filled her with horror, how she reached her epiphany moment to merge two traditional crafts, and how the thousands of holes she drills into her vases become the perfect canvas for beautiful vintage stitch.

Combining clay and thread

Caroline Harrius: Textiles have never been my main material, although I’m sure I would have been a weaver if I’d been introduced to a loom before I discovered clay. Even though I don’t consider myself a textile artist in any way, I do value the craft highly and love to use it in my ceramic practice. What mainly attracts me is the historic heritage of the material, and how it’s associated with women. 

I get most of my inspiration from textile objects I’ve found in the domestic space, the home. Over the past year, I’ve mostly worked from textile objects left behind by my grandmother. She had a huge amount of crocheted table cloths, the ones you usually see in flea markets for one euro. I’ve been surrounded by these my whole life but, until recently, never valued or even paid attention to them, which I find really sad since they’re filled with so much heritage and knowledge.

It was my Masters project, at the end of my MFA in ceramics in 2020, that led me to combine textiles with ceramics. When I started the project I knew that I wanted to discuss gender differences in ceramics history. Naively, I hadn’t realised that I was a part of the problem I wanted to discuss. I began by circling words that could be linked to femininity and women’s work within the late history of Western ceramics. It was while I was doing this that I came to the startling conclusion that I really didn’t value this genre of ceramics.

‘When I came to decorate my first painted ceramic – a botanical pattern on a vase – I was surprised to find that the pink flowers suddenly filled me with fear.’

For the first time I started to feel ashamed of the things I was working on. I didn’t want anyone to see my sketches and try-outs without me being present. I wanted to explain there was actually an amazing concept behind it, and this wasn’t my true artistic style at all. After a great deal of resistance, I had to admit that, when I said I was interested in traditional porcelain, I had unconsciously neglected a huge part of the craft. I had chosen the few things that suited my tastes and omitted the rest, thereby unwittingly contributing to some traditions being celebrated while leaving others to be forgotten.

Since finishing the project, I’ve continued to explore the topic of ceramics while developing the whole concept by looking at other crafts that had a lower status in the art world. This led me to considering the domestic space and the homes of an older generation where I could discover decorative textiles. This was when I had the aha moment of combining these with my ceramics

‘I worked on the idea that, if you combine the two traditions, something novel and contemporary can be created. This attracts a new audience and launches a revival of the craft.’

Gender hierarchies

In my practice as a ceramicist, I’m interested in crafts traditionally linked to female making, and how we value it in today’s high-tech society. I have examined my own prejudices and discovered that the more a tradition or method is linked to women’s history, home and decoration, the lower I’ve valued it. 

My work is about highlighting crafts found in the domestic space, focusing on embroidery and decorative porcelain. I look at the objects that have rarely made it all the way to the high arts parlour, but that have remained within the domestic space. These are often small unpretentious objects in the home, filled with nostalgia and knowledge: crocheted curtains, embroidered cushions and botanical wallpaper.

‘To me, these traditional, homely items are precious and impressive craft objects, and with my works I attempt to make this important cultural heritage visible to a new audience.’

I combine different methods with my contemporary ceramics, creating new combinations between the crafts.

Ceramics obsession

I first started to study art in high school where I took painting as my main subject. I struggled with the feeling that I would never become as skilled as my friends, who I thought were great painters at the time, and I was sure that I would become an art teacher instead of an actual artist. After graduation, I decided to give myself another year of art and moved to a small community college in the middle of the forest. This is where I found ceramics and got completely obsessed. After this, I studied ceramics for several years, both at college and university.

I’ve worked a lot with the vase shape, and most of my objects are coiled in porcelain.

‘I’ve developed a special technique where I apply patterns found on textiles and embroider them onto the porcelain vase.’

The first thing I do is to paint the pattern onto the leather-hard greenware, and then I drill thousands of holes, following the lines I have painted. Afterwards, I fire the pot for a first time, and then I carefully glaze around all the holes before I place the vessel in the kiln for a second time. When the vase is finally finished I use a cotton thread to sew through the holes slowly revealing the pattern.

I most often work with two shades of DMC Mouliné Spécial cotton thread. The tricky part is to find needles that are small enough but won’t break straight away. The holes in the porcelain are drilled with a 1mm drill, but the holes shrink up to 20 per cent in the firing, which makes them tiny. I usually have to pull the needles through with pliers.

It’s important to note that my pieces reference vases and other functional pieces of porcelain since these ceramic vessels seem to be the most common ones in the home. However, I’ve decided to stop working with the vase shape, because a lot of people I meet get distracted by the shape and see it as a functional piece rather than a piece of art which has a conceptual idea behind it. 

I get asked the question ‘but how do you use it?’ more often than any other question. But because they’re artworks, my vases are as non-functional as the cloth elements on them. Putting water in them would actually destroy them and also discolour the thread. 

I’ve worked with other shapes, such as cloths, spoons and casserole dishes in the past to avoid questions about their functionality. It takes attention away from what the pieces are actually about, but then I lose the ceramic reference. This is one of the biggest struggles I have in my practice right now.

Time for change

‘I don’t have any plans to stop doing my embroidered pieces, but I’ve felt in need of change lately – for a long time I had a problem doing anything that wasn’t the shape of a vase!’

Now I’m trying to leave that behind and plan to go back to exploring figurative and sculptural shapes. I’m in a more experimental phase where I’m focusing on new techniques and clays, without it necessarily needing to become something. 

In 2022 I attended a decoration master class at the International Ceramic Studios in Kecskemét, Hungary with the ceramicist Wendy Kershaw. It gave me loads of inspiration and new directions to explore. I’m currently looking at sgrafitto and wall pieces. 

I think every day is a challenge right now, as I’m sure it is for most people in the creative field. It’s hard to survive as an artist and I have several part-time jobs where I teach ceramics. I love introducing people to ceramics in my role as an educator, but it takes the focus from my work and time in the studio. My biggest dream is to have a stable financial situation and be able to put all my energy, time and focus into developing my own work.

Key takeaways

In developing her skills and career Caroline has explored her own ideals, making new discoveries about herself and her work.

• When Caroline discovered what she did and didn’t like about her chosen genre of ceramics, it enabled her to pursue a new direction she felt best suited to. Take a moment to consider your own art practice and think outside the box. Could you branch out into different techniques?

• Clay wasn’t an obvious choice for stitching but through inner exploration and considering what was around her – her grandmother’s vintage textiles – Caroline hit on the idea of combining two crafts. Is there a material, whether clay or something else, that you are interested in stitching into or around?

• Caroline took part-time jobs to enable her to pursue her studio work. If you have difficulty finding the time to focus on your artwork, ask yourself if there’s a different and better work/play balance.

• Caroline continues to further her knowledge of ceramics with workshops and short courses. Look around for both in-person and online classes – and do keep following our interviews and artists of course!

Caroline Harrius is a ceramicist from Linköping, Sweden currently based in Stockholm. She completed a BFA in Medium and Material Based Art and Ceramics at Oslo National Academy of the Arts in Norway followed by a MFA in Ceramics and Glass at Konstfack University of Arts, Crafts and Design in 2020. In 2023 she received the porcelain grant of Porsgrunn, Norway, a city famous for its ceramic production. She returns to Norway in 2024 to complete a three-month residency.

Artist website: carolineharrius.com

Instagram: @carolineharrius

Artists extend their repertoire by choosing a wide range of materials to stitch with or into. Take a look at our interview with five artists who stitch onto items from leaves to antiques to trash.

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You’re a fan of stitch – by hand or machine. But, for most textile artists that’s not where the story ends. Adding techniques such as appliqué and digital printing, along with embellishments like silk cocoons and shimmering vintage fabrics, give texture and depth, turning a simple embroidery into a more diverse and complex fabric.

Nigel Cheney is a master, not only of these techniques but of storytelling too, with subjects ranging from nature to history. Through the juxtaposition of imagery, stitch and texture, Nigel creates dramatic, luscious textile surfaces that are sure to lure you in.

A lifetime love affair with stitching has seen Nigel traverse more than two decades of lecturing in embroidered textiles and a further decade of sharing his expertise in workshops. Experience has given him an innate feel for creating art full of texture and detail, synergistically blending realism with imagination.

Nigel still gets a thrill at the sight of stumpwork and a buzz at the hint of an eBay bargain. That’s why he’s a self-confessed hoarder, whose passion for all things stitch and haberdashery you may just find infectious. If you relate to his overflowing pile of unfinished objects (UFOs) and a loft that’s groaning with fabric waiting to be loved, you’ll love reading about this textile artist’s obsession with stitch.

Past inspirations

TextileArtist.org: Can you tell us what initially attracted you to textiles as a medium?

Nigel Cheney: ‘There is a family connection to the garment manufacturing industry, so cloth and sewing machines were always around me. I remember seeing a screenprint of sunflowers on hessian with chunky wool French knots in school at the age of 12. The thought repulses me now but back then I was in awe. 

I clearly remember my first trip to the Victoria and Albert Museum study rooms and just wanting to live there. I love the skill evident in historic and traditional embroidery. I wrote my undergraduate thesis on 17th century embroidered caskets and stumpwork still gives me a thrill.

What or who were your early influences?

My art teacher was the single greatest influence in my work. Not necessarily by her own practice but by the doors she opened for me, and her encouragement to go forward and explore. I would be nothing today without the belief in myself shown by Mrs Vanessa Edison-Giles. 

I was of course completely unaware of how lucky I was at the time but I quietly despair at the pressures on school teachers and students nowadays. I just know I would never have had that freedom today and, no matter how much they may want to, teachers are unable to provide that kind of learning environment. 

Sometimes I wish I knew less about art and design. I know that I am rarely able to enjoy anything visual without going through a checklist of criticism. It’s a total buzz kill. I wish I still had the visceral response to seeing something that I had as a teenager. For example, I love listening to music of all genres but have an absolute ignorance as to the technical skill that’s involved, its place in culture or why there might be wrong notes. I simply like it or I don’t. 

At the moment I am obsessed with JC Leyendecker’s illustrations. I don’t think their influence on my work is obvious but it provides a framework to hold myself to in both work ethic, draughtsmanship, colour, storytelling and composition. The graphic design of Vaughan Oliver for the 4AD record label remains a primary reference in terms of surface, layering and image.

Memory and narrative

We’d love to know what’s currently inspiring you, and why?

My work always revolves around constructs of memory and narrative. I find myself telling stories through the juxtaposition of images, colour, texture and fabric. It can be simplified into two very different strands. 

One is perhaps more nostalgic and is in response to archives. This often uses text, ephemera and photographic sources and is normally on a commission basis where I am given a specific brief. 

Recently I extended my interest in The First World War to work in conjunction with Dr Jo Horton and her project More than a Uniform, looking at the history of the Women’s Royal Navy. This work involved stitch workshops with the Royal Greenwich Museums and various different stitch groups to produce wearable pieces, as well as large scale wall hung textiles.

The second responds to the flora and fauna of the environment around me. From British wildlife to more fanciful and exotic birds. I have spent a lot of energy working on dogs, foxes, hares, kingfishers, wrens and owls in particular. These form the basis of workshops and often result in work for exhibition. 

I begin with detailed drawings and abstract mark making. I use the computer to develop how these can be layered into a digital image to be printed on varying substrates. I tend to make complex fabrics that incorporate vintage textiles and haberdashery alongside digital prints. The biggest inspiration is texture and detail, and the challenge is how to navigate the tensions between realistic and painterly qualities.

Tell us a little about how you plan and create your work.

Drawing is an essential part of my process. It may be a doodle on a Post-it to communicate to someone else. It may be a detailed graphite rendering or it may be computer manipulation, but somewhere in the process there is a response before I ever get as far as cloth and thread.

I often work directly from my photographs, such as those of Aztec carvings and museum artefacts from a visit to Mexico. I ended up looking at photos on screen and drawing the shapes on the computer in Adobe Photoshop.

The work has many stages and I’m often working on multiple projects simultaneously, switching between these based on external deadlines, waiting times for delivery of materials and prints, or alternating from stitching to drawing due to physical pain. Sewing for weeks on end leaves me with bloody stumps on at least two sewing fingers and I try to swap between weeks of drawing and weeks of sewing. Painting is a fair weather activity as I can only make that kind of mess outside. 

In terms of important stages, I can list these as: researching, collecting and buying, responding through painting and drawing, digitising, outsourcing printing, composing with cloth to establish a structure, stitching grounds, and stitching detail with a variety of simple hand stitches and machine work.

These stages don’t always happen in such an exact order but I think they are all part of everything I make. Sometimes I just have to put a piece away out of sight as I can’t work out why it’s just plain wrong. A bit of distance is good in any relationship.

Charity shops and eBay

What fabrics, threads and other materials do you like to use?

I like fabrics that have enjoyed a life. I have no hierarchy. Whether it’s a scrap of polyester or a vintage piece of silk, it either speaks at that particular moment or it doesn’t. I like to digitally print on plain cotton as I feel the softness of the colour often acts as a shadow to the stitching, though I might decide to print on a georgette or a silk if it’s appropriate. 

I love sewing with Perle No 8, however, sometimes it’s just too thick and I work with a single strand of machine thread. I prefer matt to shiny. In terms of cloth, I love the fabric that people give me but still seem to spend far too much time and money on eBay.

‘Scarves from charity shops are irresistible. I’m sure the assistants behind the counter must assume I’m maintaining a drag persona.’

Frugality with textiles

As sustainability and environmental awareness is becoming increasingly important, how does this impact your work?

Please don’t hate me but I have little confidence that the world can be saved. However, I don’t see any reason to hasten decline by what I do. I don’t remember making with cloth ever being divorced from a reverence, respect and frugality with even the most humble of materials. That two inch strip off the bottom of the curtains might come in useful someday. Things can be mended, altered and repurposed. Never just thrown away. 

I’ve seen a duality in education between students very much educating me and applying their principles to every aspect of their lives, studies and art work. I’ve also seen those who just don’t want to engage or are deliberately interested in an extravagance and opulence that feels like a 17th century aristocrat on a bender.

‘I find it incomprehensible that you can hold a piece of cloth in your hand and not interrogate its sourcing and production. It’s an inherent part of its narrative.’

The consequence is I’m a maximal hoarder and can never be a minimalist. I rarely purchase new fabric unless it’s at least sourced from dead stock or that I’ve had digitally printed where I account for every square centimetre of a print run, saving cut offs and selvedge.

‘I suppose I think of cloth like a dog. There are no bad dogs. It’s always the owners. There is no waste fabric, just someone not creative enough to know what to do with it.’

I know I need a multitude of materials in front of me. I can’t design from a poverty of research, materials or threads. I just hope I live long enough to use all my treasures, or that someone else will see their potential when I’m gone.

Is there a piece of your work that holds particularly fond memories?

The piece I made in 2020 for the Vlieseline Fine Art Textile Award (which of course didn’t win but hey ho) of a pair of gibbons entitled Couple Goals holds a special place for me. Perhaps because it didn’t win. Someone needs to love it. Partly as it was sewn during that first lockdown when all there was to keep me sane was needle and thread. 

The gibbons are from Monkey World in Dorset and now that Ella (the female) is no longer with us and Fox (the male) has moved on to a new lady I feel it so perfectly talks of immigration, hope and making the most of every moment.

Stitching structure

There’s never enough time to get everything done! How do you organise your working week?

At the end of the day, I see that every five minutes stitching is five minutes further along. I spent many years at work timetabling an entire department within minutes of activities up to three years in advance. I see myself now as a full time carer for my elderly parents and handicapped sister, with the need to make things to keep relatively sane. Obviously, there are external deadlines and prompts and I do relish a clear plan where a deadline is a week after I’ve finished. I can’t do an all nighter.

Pacing myself is vital. I always have a structure that works backwards from those dates. I have found I need to commit to an aspect of my process for at least a week. My other commitments mean I block out two mornings a week, always allow flexibility for when I’m needed, and see the rest of the week as a unit rather than hours to timetable. I say to myself ‘by the end of this week I would like to have achieved this’. If I’m not there, the first question is ‘do I need to be?’. 

I have talked to lots of artists and makers about their practice. College can instil a value system where it becomes the entire definition and appreciation of your self worth. The responding outcome is that if the work isn’t going well you are simply a worthless, disastrous person. I found it helpful to listen to people who encouraged me to think of that part of myself as separate, indeed as a dear friend, who you wish the best for and will support them in times of difficulty rather than being mean.

I may spend a few weeks on a body of drawing and then follow that with a week of sewing on a different project. I have to have several irons in the fire or I will obsess over one tiny thing and let it suck all the joy from making it. I tend to work on a series. I find that, as ideas change, the pieces are more successful when they talk to each other.

‘Rather than getting stuck, I just leave a piece to have a word with itself and I ignore it while I give my attention to something else.’

Stepping back makes critical decisions so much easier. I work from the family home, so everything needs to be condensed and put away each day. I’m forever negotiating temporary space and relying on an expansive loft to store everything. I’m not sure I could cope with the luxury of a beautiful studio where I could just leave things out.

What advice would you give to an aspiring textile artist? Is there anything in particular that has really helped you to move forwards in your work?

Trust yourself. I am a hopeless worrier. Sometimes I think it’s that anxiety that I harness in a positive way to just keep sewing. Stitch by stitch.

‘In one lifetime you can’t learn every textile technique. Let your work evolve. Be patient and work as hard as you can. Understand the difference between the speed at which paperwork and research ideas can develop, and the slowness to actually realise those ideas in cloth.’

I remember how impossible it was to actually see contemporary work without getting on a train for the rare exhibitions that were available. Now the world is literally your oyster. It is important to not be intimidated. I know there are many incredible artists who work with the same themes, techniques, colour palettes or materials that I do. I’m old and ugly enough now to know that what I do is mine and any similarities to others are a sign that maybe what I’m doing has some relevance.

UFOs and reptiles

Which direction do you think you’ll take in the future and how do you think your work

will evolve?

I suppose I am becoming more interested in resolving complex compositions using the individual elements that I draw. I know I will be sewing on this one large triptych (The Three Fates) for at least the rest of this year.

Next year is going to be about reptiles. I’ve made that commitment for workshops so I know that has to happen. I will continue to explore the tensions between more painterly surfaces and detailed draughtsmanship. I know I can’t find the time and space to throw paint around till the weather is warmer and the current workload finds a window, but it will happen. The work I did with colour last summer has proved so valuable and invigorating.

I’m always open to what external drivers come along in the way of random invitations, archival projects and new briefs. I’m listed on several funding applications by other artists and researchers but I will worry about how I make that work, if and when it happens.

The UFO (unfinished object) work in progress basket is very full and the loft is groaning with fabric that needs to be loved.

Key takeaways

If Nigel’s passion for textiles has whetted your appetite to try some of his techniques, it’s worth remembering some of his tips.

• Choose themes based on your interests. Nigel likes to work with flora and fauna, The First World War and family narratives. Do some research and see what stands out as something you’d like to explore.

• Look for vintage and sale fabrics on eBay and in charity shops. Nigel has a penchant for scarves. Don’t throw anything away – even the hems off your curtains!

• If you don’t have a dedicated space to use as a studio, it’s possible to be flexible and work from any space. Nigel accepts that his work has to be tidied away and stored each day.

• Find artists whose art inspires you. They don’t have to be textile artists. Nigel takes inspiration from illustrators whose work appeared on record and book covers.

• If you want to establish a discipline, work backwards from a deadline and set a structure. Block out time – you can still allow some flexibility but setting aside time for your work means it’s more likely to happen.

Nigel has a BA and an MA in Textiles from Manchester Polytechnic (now Manchester Metropolitan University). He moved to Dublin in 1993, where he was Lecturer in Embroidered Textiles at the National College of Art and Design for 24 years. Now living in Market Harborough, Leicestershire he exhibits in group and solo shows, delivers workshops to various stitch groups and teaches part time. He was a finalist in the 2022 Hand and Lock Prize for Embroidery and is exhibiting in Stitch by Stitch at Willow Gallery, Oswestry in July 2023.

Artist website: nigelcheney.com  

Facebook: facebook.com/nigel.cheney

Instagram: @nigelcheney

Discover more, read about Wen Redmond who takes the fear out of working with digital technology in fibre art.

Do you feel inspired to try any of Nigel’s techniques? Let us know in the comments below.

At first sight, the bright colours of artist Sam Owen Hull’s abstract artworks might suggest a pop art style of imagery. While advertising imagery is one of the inspirations she takes from everyday life, unlike the mechanically rendered techniques of pop art, this work is all from the artist’s own hand and has a deeper meaning.

Sam’s art aims to convey the tension between opposing states that are inherent in the human condition. Using collaged materials such as paintskins along with matte, satin and metallic threads she expresses this with gestural marks, colour and light in her abstract painted and stitched works.

Sam’s style is bright, colourful, contemporary and observational, and is a lively way of conveying the contrasts we all experience. And she offers a challenge – she leaves her work untitled so that you decide its message.

Thread of life

‘What drew me to textiles is the connection with the fabrics that run through all our lives, with a line (of thread) running through, connecting myriad disparate elements. I decided when I started working with thread that I would limit my tendencies to expand into other materials and focus on the elements that make a traditional painting – cotton, canvas, wood, nails, staples, paint. From those limitations, I can take apart and reconstruct painting to really explore what it can be, and what it can mean to me. 

‘When I did my fine art degree in Manchester in the mid nineties, I started in painting and ended up in the sculpture school – my work has always sat between disciplines and my interest in the spaces between opposing polarities continues to define my practice.

‘My mum and auntie were keen knitters and stitchers, and both had encouraged me to learn and develop those skills. Although I wasn’t so great at knitting! Craft had a strong presence and I spent most of my time drawing or making things as a child. 

‘As a teenager, I started to make clothes with lots of help from my mum and auntie, and I customised charity shop finds. I discovered painting when my art teacher let me use some oil paints and palette knives in high school and persuaded me that I could pursue art as a career. She opened up a route for me that I couldn’t have imagined, and without her intervention, I don’t think I’d be working as an artist today.

From brush to needle

‘Although I’ve always made art since finishing my degree, my developing practice was on hold for a while as I had my children. I started stitching again as a result of motherhood – the demands on my time meant that I found painting difficult, but I really needed to do something creative to keep a connection with that part of myself. 

‘I started making things out of my children’s old clothes, eventually settling on embroidery. It was perfect: small and portable; it could be done in whatever time I had available. It was also nice to stitch around my children, it connected me to my own past.

‘When I returned to painting, I quickly realised that the canvas I was painting on was like the calico I had been embroidering, and I decided to combine the two.

‘I really liked the speed and freedom of gestural, painterly marks against the slow precision of hand stitching.’

Choosing materials

‘I can be a bit of a magpie when I make my work and have previously used a huge range of materials. For me, all materials have a language, all objects have meaning, which has led me into using all sorts of things, from jelly to tin cans. 

‘I like to use a variety of threads from very cheap cotton thread that is very matte through to lovely mercerised DMC cotton and DMC satin rayon. These give a broad range of light effects. 

‘Sometimes I work on canvas, sometimes on calico. I use acrylic paints as they dry quickly. I use cheaper paints for larger, more experimental painting and making paintskins, and higher quality paints for more specific areas and upper layers of my work. Works on watercolour paper could be with watercolour paints, acrylic inks or paints. 

‘I might use acrylic markers, graphite sticks or charcoal for mark making too. I like to use whatever I think will do the job required, even if it’s being used in an unconventional way. I try to buy materials locally and re-use as much as possible.

Layers and depth

‘My process starts with a loose plan and ends quite intuitively. I get my inspiration from observing polarities in my everyday life – a fleeting light effect, dissolving double yellow lines, trees illuminated glowing green against a dark grey sky, lichens growing over decaying graffiti. I take lots of photos and use these as starting points for my paintings.

‘My gestural brushstrokes over time have become more contrived. They’re more like a sign than a gesture, and, as I’ve developed my work, I’ve experimented with different paint textures and thicknesses in combination with stitch. I like to use collage on the surface of my work too, which kind of enlarges the marks added with stitch and adds layers and further depth, but also gives me the opportunity to hide some areas!

‘It can be quite terrifying stitching through larger works, especially if I’ve invested a lot of hours in the piece – once the holes are there, they can’t be reversed.’

‘At a certain point in each work, my process becomes intuitive, and creating a tension or balance becomes a conversation within the composition itself. The work usually brings itself to a conclusion.

‘Most recently I have been investigating paint as a material to collage, creating a tension between paint as a drawing medium to create illusions of space and paint as a material in its own right.

Adding stitch and collage

‘Usually, I start stitching around the outside of some of the lines or brushstrokes. The interaction of the colours there leads me into the next decisions I make about where I might place more stitching and what colours would balance or pop in the composition. I might add broader areas of satin stitch and vary the direction of the stitch to reflect light in different ways. I often add French knots kind of dripping down from collaged elements; this references lichen that grows over decaying surfaces.  

‘I mostly use backstitch, satin stitch and French knots as they are reminiscent of the marks I might make when drawing. I sometimes use bullion stitch, which has huge texture but is still within the realms of line for me. The amount of stitching I add is usually directed by what the composition appears to need in order to resolve itself. Even if I try to keep it minimal at the outset, it rarely ends up that way. 

‘The collaged elements that I use are usually painted paper (I quite like tracing paper), canvases that I didn’t like enough to continue working on, or paintskins. The paper and canvas elements will be areas of other abandoned paintings that I particularly like, and they are usually stitched onto the canvas. 

‘Paintskins are dried sheets of paint layered and peeled from a shiny surface, and these are usually glued onto the canvas. Part of this way of working comes from wanting to re-use as much as I can instead of discarding paint and abandoned work. 

‘But I also want to explore what painting is and can be, for example, using paint to create illusions of space against the solidity of paintskin as a material in its own right. Similarly, the thread on the surface connects with the warp and weft of the canvas ground that is usually hidden beneath the paint and makes that part of the structure of the painting tangible.

Abstract opposing polarities

‘All my art is now abstract, and my drive to make it comes from a desire to resolve, or at least grasp, a fleeting understanding of some of the complexities of our human condition. Some of that is very personal, and some relates more broadly to my experience of the world. 

‘I develop my ideas from observations, so there are sometimes recognisable elements, but generally, I like to keep my pieces as abstract as possible. My titles are reference numbers to avoid directing the viewer.

‘My work has always been about in-betweenness – looking for the tension or balance between opposing states – and our desire for freedom against our need for security and comfort has always been pretty central. I’m interested in borders, edges and systems that contain and direct us. The visual language of our environment, such as signs or advertising, have a strong influence. I’m interested in our complicated relationship with nature, as a part of it, but also destroyers of it. The polarities of life and death, light and shadow, growth and decay, presence and absence are also central themes.

‘The discovery of embroidery thread in various finishes has allowed light to become something intrinsic to the surface, in contrast with the illusion of painted light and shadow. ‘

‘The point at which painting meets sculpture is also fascinating and I enjoy being able to build constructions on the surface of paintings. I use cotton that would normally be hidden as the ground for the paint – again, playing with light effects.

Carving out time

‘My working week is always different – as a freelancer I have very irregular working patterns. It’s never dull! So I spend as much time as I can in my studio around other programmed, paid work. I aim for two to three days a week in my studio but it really is dependent on my workload, some weeks it may be half an hour. I usually have a half day each week to get on top of any admin that needs attention.

‘Although I find it harder to work in short bursts, my way to overcome that is to commit to making some work every day, even if it’s just 10 minutes. And the chances are, it’ll become longer wherever possible.’

‘I usually have multiple works on the go to stop me from getting stuck or bored, but also so that I have smaller works finishing reasonably regularly. And there’s always something ready to go for my 10 minutes of making if that’s all I have. Some of my larger works take a very long time and it helps motivate me to have some things reaching the finish line during work on those.

‘I try not to give myself a hard time for making slow progress. I’m a working mum and I do what I can with what is ultimately a deliberately slow way of working. Instagram can be tough for making me feel like I need to produce more – and faster! 

‘Sometimes I might need time to be alone, rest, visit some exhibitions, chat to fellow artists, let my mind wander and create new connections so that my studio time can be rich and useful, rather than forced. So I guess my advice is to do what you can, when you can, and try to do a little every day, even if it’s 10 minutes. But never give yourself a hard time about any of it!

Sparking imagination

‘The advice I give to all aspiring artists, of any age, is to play. Give yourself time and space to create without pressure, with a variety of mediums and processes, and closely observe what you come up with. It will slowly tell you what you like, what you don’t like, where your interests lie, and where they could take you. 

‘I think because I work in a huge range of ways with a huge range of people in workshops, I get to do a lot of playing outside of my own art practice, and it often feeds back into my work in surprising ways. For every finished, highly revered work you see in a gallery, there are thousands of hours of unseen work behind it – failed experiments, accidental discoveries, blind alleys. It’s all important. Having confidence in myself, and embracing mistakes and failures has really helped to move my work forwards.

‘Alongside playing, I’d recommend visiting galleries and exhibitions, getting to know art history. Look out for new artists on Instagram – finding out about other artists’ work will spark your imagination.’

Key takeaways

Sam’s combination of paint and stitch has developed through experimentation. Here are some of the insights she gave that you might like to try.

• Grab some paint and experiment with making marks on paper or cloth, then play with how you might add stitches to complement or contrast with the colours or shapes you’ve made. 

• Do what you can, when you can, and try to do a little every day, even if it’s 10 minutes. 

• Take time to be alone, rest and allow your mind to wander. Give yourself time and space to create without pressure, playing with a variety of mediums and processes.

• Have confidence in yourself – embrace mistakes and failures, which help to move your work forward.

• Visit galleries and exhibitions, delve into some art history, attend workshops and chat to fellow artists, creating new connections for fresh ideas. Find new artists on Instagram.

Sam Owen Hull grew up in Southampton, Hampshire, completed a BA(Hons) in Fine Art at Manchester Metropolitan University and now works from a studio in Manchester. Since 2003 Sam has also worked at Manchester Art Gallery, delivering workshops to children and young people.

Sam’s work has been exhibited in local and national group exhibitions, including the Royal Scottish Academy Open in Edinburgh. Her first solo show is at The Waterside Arts Centre in Manchester in the summer of 2023.

Artist website: samowenhull.co.uk

Facebook: facebook.com/samowenhull

Instagram: @samowenhull

If you liked the abstract colour of Sam’s artworks, check out our article on Seven contemporary textile artists, which includes the colourful stitch work of Kristine Stattin. Or Patricia Brown who randomly stitched her old paint rags with colourful seed stitch.

Have Sam’s materials and techniques made you think differently about textile art? Let us know in the comments below.

Alice Frost may call herself an ordinary girl with an ordinary sewing machine, but we beg to differ. One look at her collaged and stitched pictures and you’ll see there’s something quite extraordinary about Alice’s free motion machine embroidery.

With just her sewing machine and scraps of fabric Alice creates expressionistic textile images inspired by nature. Look closely and you’ll see the fabric pieces, the textures and fine stitching. But step back and those elements unite to create scenes of landscapes, seascapes, trees, flowers, meadows and streams that are incredibly true to life. 

As you notice Alice’s keen observation of light and shade, shape and perspective, you’ll gain a visceral experience of the natural beauty that animates this Danish textile artist.

Nature as inspiration

Alice Frost: ‘Nature is the greatest source of inspiration for me. Lush and generous, it keeps on giving morning to evening, through changing weather and seasons. Whether you’re into colourful flowers, peaceful forests, majestic mountains, roaring waterfalls, the vigorous foliage of summer or the colourful intensity of autumn – the globe has it all.

‘Nothing in nature is perfect, as the individual elements blend to coexist alongside each other. The countless deviations within the whole create a fantastic scenario that I aim to translate with textile art.

‘What I see in nature has a deeper meaning and draws parallels to life as a human being. I often express life’s emotions and lessons through my textile art. At other times I simply wish to recreate what the eye sees. I think it is the diversity of beautiful patterns, colours and structures, and the many possibilities for use, that draws me to textiles. 

‘The challenge for me is to create a photo-realistic image, using only textiles, with the limitations inherent in this medium.’

Discovering textiles

‘The creative universe has been an essential part of my life since I was very small. My grandmother was a skilled embroiderer who introduced me to the craft when I was five years old. My father sewed cross stitches while he sat on long night shifts and my mother was a keen and skilled knitter. 

‘In second grade we learned to knit. With it came the understanding of right, wrong, insertion and removal – and the seed for something bigger was sown.

‘At the age of 12, the time had come to try my hand at bigger projects, and, under my mother’s careful watch, I recall making a blue sweater with a white pattern border and raglan sleeves on a circular needle. My interest in needle craft was well and truly kindled. 

‘In my teenage years, my imagination knew no bounds. My patience was endless and I tried all kinds of creative challenges. I got to know the textile medium in all its guises, finding possibilities and limitations in both fabrics and yarns. I draw on these past experiences every single day to stimulate my imagination.

‘In 2003, I attended a six-hour course in stitching a picture and realised this was the answer to the challenges I’d so long sought. I never looked back.

‘Collaging and free motion embroidery called for creative thinking and technical skills. I had to use my imagination, take a stand and make decisions in each and every project. And I had to find the techniques that created the best expression for that particular image. I was sold.

Courage and recognition

‘As the wider world became aware of my work, I was asked to stage an exhibition. I had always been content with making things for my own pleasure within the four walls of my home, so the idea of exhibiting was scary. I had absolutely no idea where to begin.

‘One year and 40 pictures later, I took a deep breath and approached Ragnhild Battefeld who ran a gallery called The Little Barn in Ejstrupholm, Denmark. Here in Denmark, there aren’t very many textile artists, so it’s a relatively unknown form of artistic expression. But Ragnhild believed in my abilities, taught me about exhibiting and encouraged me to hold courses.

‘Ragnhild initiated me into the exhibition world and in October 2006 I opened my first show – it was a fantastic and indescribable experience. Not in my wildest dreams or fantasies had I ever imagined that my creative side could forever change my world in this way.’

‘A world opened up to me that was completely foreign, that required a radical change in my self perception, and that required all the courage I could muster. From an anonymous everyday existence with a job and a family, I was transported to a life of exhibitions, courses, lectures and a public profile.

‘Embracing this new world has been mind-blowing for my self-development, and I’ll be forever grateful for the unwavering support from my husband and then two teenage children. They gave me strength and courage, with their unfailing interest and faith in my abilities. They travelled with me around the country to exhibitions and fairs, and when new challenges came, where I had difficulty believing in myself, their faith, optimism and loving pressure were enough for me to throw myself into the challenge and solve any problems.

Creative process

‘Because I’m self taught, with no handicraft or art education behind me, I’m not bound by rules and learning, but solely follow my intuition. I’ve always had a great need to test myself. Those challenges fascinate me, and every single day provides me with a source of joy, well being and self development.

‘My works are never planned in detail. I have an overall idea, but where it will end I never know. I find the possibilities, new paths and solutions along the way. I have to decide on technique, composition, structure, colours and fabrics, which means I have to make many choices and experiment.

‘I work from a small study in our home where I store all my materials and around 400 creative books. But I rarely use the workroom when I produce my works: I feel at my best sitting on the floor with fabrics spread all around me.

‘I don’t use a sketchbook, but take a lot of photos when I’m out and about in nature. Many of these photos never get used, but I instinctively know when one meets all the requirements for interest, composition and perspective. Otherwise, I simply use my imagination.

‘I always use cotton fabrics. They are comfortable to work with and available in a myriad of colours and patterns. Whether I buy them in a patchwork shop or find a tablecloth or a duvet cover in the local thrift shop, is irrelevant to the final outcome. 

‘One thing I’ve learned is that patterned fabrics work best. Since cotton fabric is not transparent, it is easier to get patterns to meld together and create a whole. So I rarely use solid coloured fabrics. I’m open to all kinds of patterns, as their combinations can sometimes surprise me. Sometimes I use a little tulle, as it’s transparent and can dissolve sharp lines, illustrate fog and shadows, and create distance.

‘Sometimes I stitch the shapes and colours I want onto water-soluble embroidery fabric. I use Sulky Ultra Solvy Soluble Stabiliser. These elements add an exciting structure to the picture and then the colour of the thread really matters. But otherwise, I use any thread that blends in with the fabric.

‘The only immediate decision I make is the size of the project. My canvas is a piece of plain cotton on which I outline the size of the image and nothing else. Some people work best with patterns that they have created via Photoshop or make drawings on the fabric, but I do neither.

‘I start furthest back in the horizon, work my way forward in the image, and build it up layer upon layer using collage.

‘I cut countless pieces of fabric in different sizes, colours, patterns and shapes. It can be like small confetti or much larger elements. I attach the small pieces of fabric to my canvas with glue sticks and they are all left with raw edges. I continuously sew the elements using free machine embroidery.

‘Many times in the process I view the image from a distance to assess whether it meets the composition and perspective, whether the colours work or other changes need to be made.

‘Sometimes I ‘meet the grumbler’ and can’t see how to move forward. Then I put the project away for a while until one day it resurfaces. I look at it with fresh eyes, and usually the solution becomes obvious.’

‘When the picture is finished, I iron it and glue it onto a real canvas, fold the edges over on the back and secure it with a staple gun.

Expressing vulnerability

‘One of my artworks closest to my heart is Vulnerable But Strong. In 2013, Denmark held an exhibition at the Carrefour Européen du Patchwork, Alsace. Fifty Danish quilters were invited to contribute. Although I’m a former quilter, I wanted the project to reflect that I’d started making textile images. So the top is made with my usual technique: cut, paste, stitch, layer upon layer.

‘Since it’s a large project and was supposed to be a quilt 120cm x 180cm (47″ x 71″), I decided it was too big to make using free machine embroidery. So I chose to divide it into four sections to make it more manageable: three squares and a frame. I later assembled the individual modules in three layers and machine quilted them separately.

‘I chose to make the sections in different colour strengths: light, medium light, medium dark and completely dark so it appeared like a colour wash. I was going to assemble them in the normal way but had the idea of sewing them together with beads. The edge is also stitched on with pearls in a grey-brown colour. 

‘I chose the poppy motif because it’s a flower that fascinates me. It has enormous strength and can grow in the most barren of places, yet also contains enormous vulnerability and dies the moment it’s picked. And it’s beautiful in its simplicity.

‘I had some challenges growing up that at times left me feeling vulnerable. But my inner mental strength enabled me to create a good life, and the challenges have given me a unique insight into life and my understanding of people. I sewed this quilt during one of my vulnerable periods, and in the process recognised the symbolism for my own life. 

‘If you look closely on the left, you can see the woman whose legs disappear into the poppy field. It symbolises my confidence in always regaining my balance after a vulnerable period. The pearls are an illustration of poppy seeds, but also of everything I had to learn and understand about my challenges so that I could handle and accept my scars on the soul.

‘This quilt always gets a lot of attention and could have been sold many times over. But it has great personal value to me, and so I still have it.

Overcoming challenges

‘The biggest practical challenge for me has been finding how to cut the individual elements so that they contribute in the best way to the overall expression. I’ve tried making them big, and small, with straight edges, uneven edges, round shapes and random shapes. I’ve come to the conclusion that random shapes with uneven edges fuse the best.

‘My biggest personal challenge is still accepting that not everything will be a masterpiece. That some images turn out to be of low quality, that I sometimes still make mistakes despite all my experience.’

‘I am a private person and that can be testing. I have no problem lecturing to a hundred people or holding courses. But sometimes, being recognised in public has been a challenge for me. I only recently gave up my part-time job at a local children’s dental clinic and I’ve never been a full time artist. But others can put you on a pedestal: they don’t see all the trials, thoughts and frustrations that can lie behind the great work. I still see myself as an ordinary girl with an ordinary sewing machine.

Alice’s advice

‘My advice to budding textile artists is to be patient, indulge yourself, and allow yourself to fail. 

‘Becoming good at something requires practice and experience, but also that you’re curious and open to developing yourself. A good deal of stubbornness is also an important factor! Then seize the opportunities as they present themselves.

Key takeaways

We think you’ll agree that Alice Frost is much more than ‘an ordinary girl with an ordinary sewing machine’. Both the quality of her work and her journey from stay-at-home hobby embroiderer to textile artist, workshop leader and exhibitor have exceeded all her expectations.

• Using your floor isn’t really a technique but it’s important to give yourself space when finding the right pieces for a fabric collage. If you don’t have a large workroom, find a space where you can spread out to make all your fabric choices.

• Alice finds that patterned fabrics work best together in collage. Mix and match to see if this works for you.

• To create texture Alice machine stitches onto water soluble embroidery fabric to create lacy thread pieces. Is this something you could include in your work?

• Do you have a ‘grumbler’ in you? Do you get stuck, not knowing how to move on? Try putting your work away for a while. Seeing it through fresh eyes may give you the direction you need to carry on.

Alice Frost is a textile artist living in Horsens, Denmark. She has exhibited as a solo artist and in group exhibitions in Denmark, Portugal and Germany. In 2019 she was published in the German magazine Patchwork Professional and in the Danish annual 101 Artists. In 2021 she won the prize for the best quilt in the Danish Patchwork Association challenge. Each year she teaches a week’s summer school at Rødding Højskole.

Artist website: www.af-tekstilbilleder.dk

Instagram: @alicefrost1040

If you’ve enjoyed learning about Alice’s work, take a look at our interview with Alison King whose photo-realistic imagery and textiles also achieve a high degree of realism.

Has Alice’s story inspired you in your own textile art? Let us know in the comments below.

It’s a big YES! How many of us really say yes to life, say yes to loving our art and making time for it? Do you give yourself permission to follow the wonderful journey towards your happiest art dreams? Or do you procrastinate, feel unworthy, block and sabotage yourself, turn the other way? What if you took a deep breath and surrendered – whether you call it good fortune, grace, the divine, the universe or simply self-love – what if you really said ‘yes’ to that?

You may be happy stitching, knitting, collaging, cutting and creating, whether that’s in a structured or more intuitive way. You might make art for your own amusement, for gifts, to exhibit or to sell. But, what if there’s an urge to take it further? What if you’d quite like to make a statement piece that conveys a message, or share your work with the wider world? 

If you’ve ever thought about turning your passion for textile art into a more serious occupation, the first step is to find the right mindset. We asked five professional textile artists, Shelley Rhodes, Danny Mansmith, Woo Jin Joo, Molly Kent and Trish Burr, about their own paths to success and for their tips on getting there.

Find your ‘why’

‘If we want to feel an undying passion for our work, if we want to feel we are contributing to something bigger than ourselves, we all need to know our WHY.’ – Simon Sinek, Find Your Why: A Practical Guide for Discovering Purpose for You and Your Team.

First, ask yourself why you want to step up with your art. Are you looking to feed your need for creativity, perhaps after retiring from another career or to support your own mental or physical health? Do you want to earn a living from it? Are you keen to exhibit your work? Or craving the buzz and satisfaction of creating your own unique work but struggling to gain focus?

Once you’ve worked out your aims, you need to find the willpower to fulfil them. Adopting a professional mindset is quite different to choosing to do your art as a part-time hobby.

Danny Mansmith

Danny Mansmith began his art career in childhood. He was nurtured by his mum, his great aunt and his grandma who instilled in him the ability to see the creative possibilities in the things around them. Danny’s path wasn’t straightforward, but his self-motivation was key.

Teach yourself

Danny Mansmith: ‘I’m an artist who’s kept a conversation going with my sewing machine since the early 1990s. I spent a year at a small art school but I wasn’t very good at following instructions and so I left to teach myself instead. I became inspired to make my own clothes: the idea of looking and dressing in my own style felt important somehow. In the first month, I took apart almost all of my store bought clothes to try to follow the patterns and teach myself about garment construction.

‘Through the years I continued to teach myself how to use the sewing machine. When I finally felt confident, I got my first job sewing for an artist who made baby blankets and accessories. 

‘My boss encouraged me to apply for some local art fairs and that was a turning point for me, helping me realise that I could make my way in the world as a working artist.’

‘Making things makes me happy – working with my hands and creating a space where ideas are free to come out and manifest in front of me. The sewing machine is both an inspiration and the tool I use. My home studio is both a sanctuary and workspace, where I keep my love of drawing alive with my daily practice.’ 

Danny Mansmith is based in Burien, Washington, US and has a strong connection to the midwest and Chicago, Illinois. His solo show ‘We All Become Myth’ exhibited at The Highline Heritage Museum in Burien, Washington, March-April 2023. 

Artist website shop: dannymansmith.bigcartel.com

Facebook: facebook.com/danny.mansmith

Instagram: @dannymansmith

Take action daily

Making time each day to create is the secret to a committed and regular practice. Set yourself some boundaries and rules to guide you. This could be 20 minutes a day, or free play, daily sketchbooking, journaling or daily mindful stitching. Be realistic about the time you have available. Small daily actions will help you to overcome resistance and continual action will lead to inspiration and progress. 

Your creativity is likely to flow more readily if you can allow yourself space and time without any pressure. Unless you’re working on commissions, don’t try to make art to order, or pressurise yourself to be creating exhibition-worthy art at all times. Every action related to your art is part of your practice – just make sure you treat it with a professional mind-set.

Shelley Rhodes

Shelley Rhodes: ‘My daily Instagram posts began as a challenge to make me draw regularly. However, over the years I have shifted slightly, so my post might be a collage, assemblage, printing or mark-making, exploration of materials, a stitch sample, or ongoing work. This habit encourages me to notice and respond, then explore ideas and materials more fully. Some ideas feed into my work, but not always. 

‘Sometimes I simply take pleasure in drawing and recording what I see. In 2022, these posts led to an exhibition of my sketchbook pages The Sketchbook at Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre in South Wales. A few years ago, I was asked if I would sell my daily artwork and this has become a great additional source of income. When I post my work online, I never know who is going to see it, or what it might lead to. My daily posts have increased interest in my work, which has led to sales of artwork and books, exhibitions and teaching opportunities.’

Shelley Rhodes is based on the border between Lancashire and Cumbria, England. She makes mixed media work focusing on fragmentation, reconstruction and repair. 

Artist website: shelleyrhodes.co.uk

Facebook: facebook.com/shelleyrhodesmixedmediaartist

Instagram: @shelleyrhodesartist

Stay curious

Having a professional attitude means developing the positive attributes of discipline, persistence and determination. Both Danny and Shelley maintain their commitment with a daily art practice. If you’re feeling an urge to be creative, then allow yourself the time to satisfy it. Set aside time to focus on making art – no matter what. If you make it a priority, rather than an occasional pleasurable activity, then you’ll create a regular practice through your discipline and determination. 

But how do you focus? With the plethora of information available on the internet, it’s easy to get bogged down with learning yet more techniques, rather than developing those you know. Guard against this temptation and concentrate on what you’re really interested in.

Trish Burr

Embroidery artist, educator and author Trish Burr started her craft when she was a young mother in Zimbabwe. She found cross stitch too limiting and so she began to experiment with thread painting. Because patterns and materials were not available and there were drastic foreign currency restrictions, Trish had to use whatever she could find. She chose pictures from books, postcards and calendars, trying her best to replicate them with needle and thread.

Trish Burr: ‘I had no formal training so I created my own style of needle painting – a new form of long and short stitch was born. This simple method, which I have honed and crafted over the years, is what I still use today.

‘When I moved to Cape Town I was asked to teach at some local conventions. My students struggled with the technique and were generally very nervous of it, so I made it my mission to simplify, simplify. I tried to put myself in the shoes of my students – I spent many months with a doodle cloth and notebook, making notes and thinking of different approaches which would make my instructions clear.

‘I think this was a turning point in my career – as my instructions improved, my patterns became more popular, and the demand for my work increased.’

Determination and focus

‘Another watershed moment was when I began to explore how colour affected my embroidery. Needle painting is known for its beautiful, shaded appearance, and I wondered why some works looked flat and dull while others had a radiant glow. I spent years researching and experimenting with how colours interacted with each other. I realised that there was a whole world of colour combinations – it was time to break free from traditional limitations.

‘Once, I was trying to recreate the vibrant greens of a bird’s feathers, when a man came to fix our television. It turned out he was an artist. He helped me to understand that you don’t need to use brighter shades of green, but if you create a contrast in the greens it will bring vibrancy. My explorations eventually led me to write the book Colour Confidence In Embroidery.’

Trish’s success can be put down to her determination and focus, which in turn brought about fortuitous events that she could not have made happen. The moral is – begin it!

Embracing technology

Trish’s challenges did not, however, end there. Trish had to overcome the era of technological revolution, which without determination could have been another cause for procrastination.

‘When I began embroidery, there was no internet, no websites and no online sales. Over the years I had to learn how to manage my own website, produce patterns in different formats for print and PDF, and ship my products worldwide.

‘I purchased the first version of the graphics software CorelDRAW and began to explore drawing my own diagrams and outlines for embroidery. This was life changing for me. I still use the same software program for my designs – I’ve become adept at drawing with a mouse, in fact it now feels awkward to draw with a pencil. I had to get to grips with social media and marketing. When I published my first book I pasted pictures into a spiral bound notebook and manually wrote out the text, but now it is done with computer software and digital photography.

‘It was a constant challenge to juggle my home life with my ever evolving embroidery business, as well as find time to sit quietly and stitch. There came a time when the increased demand was such that I had to choose whether to expand and employ staff, or stay small and personal. I decided on the latter because I wanted time to do what I love, which is to design, stitch and teach. However, I did need some help. The solution came when I attended a talk where the speaker mentioned the benefits of virtual assistants – they handle all the admin, which frees me up to focus on the core work. My assistants in India are always available to help, and I could not do without them!’

Trish Burr is based in Cape Town, South Africa. She is an embroidery artist specialising in needle painting and whitework embroidery. In the last two decades she has published 11 books, created embroidery patterns, tutorials and videos, and has taught both at home and abroad.

Artist website:  trishbembroidery.com

Facebook: facebook.com/needlepainting

Instagram: @trishburrembroidery

Overcome the negative voice

Much has been written about how to deal with the negative voice in your head. 

On her website, artist and author SARK talks about procrastination, as well as the inspiration, motivation and synchronicities that propelled her to success as an artist. 

SARK: ‘As someone who has sold over two million books in the last 30 years, it may surprise you to know that I too have experienced procrastination, perfectionism and fears about writing or ever sharing my unique gifts with the world.’ 

But SARK overcame that to go on to sell her art products and write many inspirational books, including Make Your Creative Dreams Real.

Author Steven Pressfield has written several motivational books including The War of Art: Winning the Inner Creative Battle and Do The Work: Overcome Resistance and Get Out of Your Own Way. He is quoted as saying: ‘Most of us have two lives. The life we live and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands resistance.’ 

If you struggle with inner blocks, then this idea is worth exploring. As artists and many others have shown, it really is possible to put a stop to resistance. 

Internet addiction is a form of procrastination, distracting us from our own work. Do you ever scroll through Instagram while feeling like your work isn’t good enough to share? A great way to overcome perfectionism is by sharing your work, whether that’s on Instagram, Facebook or, like Shelley Rhodes and Sue Stone when they started off, by taking part in a small local exhibition.

Fighting fear and self-criticism

Keeping busy with other things and making excuses is a form of fear that’s often kept under the radar. Do you fear criticism and have low self-esteem, resulting in a feeling of imposter syndrome? Fear can be associated with doing something new, and can stop us in our tracks. But you can use fear as an ally – if you make a start, you will improve and your fears will recede. So take action in spite of fear. As Susan Jeffers wrote in her famous book, feel the fear and do it anyway!

In her motivational book Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear, Elizabeth Gilbert says: ‘Fear is always triggered by creativity, because creativity asks you to enter into realms of uncertain outcome, and fear hates uncertain outcome. This is nothing to be ashamed of. It is, however, something to be dealt with.’ 

One sure-fire way of overcoming self criticism is to self validate. If you’re not happy with your artwork, figure out what worked, and what would make it better next time. If your attitude towards your practice needs improving, consider what’s holding you back. If you’re not creating enough time, look at what’s stopping you from making your art a priority. Examine your practice and find ways to overcome your blocks. For a quick start to your work sessions, finish each day by preparing for the next. Choose a thread and thread up your needle – then all you need to do is sit down and begin. What could be simpler?

Negative comments can knock your confidence and make you question the validity of your work. Do you fear negative comments from others? If so, try looking at it from another point of view. The people doing the judging may just be trying to provide well-meaning advice, or they could be envious of your work and want to protect themselves. Artists experience many rejections to exhibitions and galleries, so believe in what you’re doing and recognise that selection can be a subjective process. The key is not to over identify with your work – do keep telling yourself ‘you are more than just your art’. If you receive negative feedback, act like a pro and carry on regardless. This attitude will help you to keep going – soon you’ll find that ideas will start to flow.

Make your art your own

Making art is not a competition, it’s a form of expression, and you should never feel you have to be better than others. We can all make art, and there’s no sense in trying to work your way up an imaginary ‘hierarchy’ of artists. 

Remember, making art is unique to you, so create your art for YOU and YOU alone. If you choose to share it on social media, always create the work for its own sake, not for attention or applause.

Shelley Rhodes: ‘It takes a while to develop your own style and way of working, rather than an imitation of others. I always encourage my students to investigate, test materials and explore their own ideas.

‘I try not to make work just because I think it will sell or please others. Rather, I make from

the heart and to please my own artistic values. Having said that, another challenge when starting out on the path to becoming a professional artist can be the lack of money. I gave up full-time teaching to concentrate on my own work, but worked part-time in an administration role while developing my work, as well as teaching my workshops.’

Molly Kent

One textile artist who has overcome many challenges is Molly Kent. Molly’s work is concerned with representing issues around mental and physical health through rug tufting and weaving. She focuses on our contemporary existence regarding social media and internet living, and how this affects our perception of self. 

In 2018, while at university, Molly had a fall which led to a flashback and a return to ill mental health that had begun when she was 10. She was diagnosed as having complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD), due to previous trauma.

Molly had experienced bouts of bad nightmares and strange cryptic dreams. As she researched the condition and understood her struggles, she looked into dream psychology. She was able to use these dreams as a visual vocabulary, to construct narratives within her work that allude to the traumas she suffered and her emotional responses to them.

Epiphanies and dreams

In 2019, her final year of university, Molly produced a body of work Doubt in the Digital Age, which represented her personal doubts within an increasingly digital realm. As the pandemic ensued, her work took on a greater meaning as channels of communication and connection were mostly online. Molly completed her degree and was then furloughed by her employer, so she had more time to focus on making artworks. 

It was then that she created Dream Weaving to record her CPTSD-related dreams and nightmares. She developed her tapestry weaving skills, not only to expand her methods of making, but also as a calm and meditative process, compared to the noisy and anxiety-inducing rug tufting process she’d used before.

Molly has a down-to-earth approach to her status as a professional artist – it mirrors the imposter syndrome or sense of fraudulence that some artists feel. 

Molly Kent: ‘In all honesty, I still find the label of professional artist to be a strange one, I don’t really know what I’m doing most of the time, and feel like I haven’t really got the hang of being a career artist yet. But, from the outside, I suppose it does look like I’m a professional. 

‘My journey hasn’t been linear or even consistent in many ways, most probably due to my mental health. But my CPTSD diagnosis, researching dream psychology and realising the effects of lockdown have propelled my work forwards in terms of the development of the digital aspects of my works.

‘I’m somewhat passive at going out and trying to seize opportunities first hand, so I’m grateful to many others for helping my development as an artist, including award bodies, private and public collectors, and fellow artists who have nominated me for awards or opportunities.’

‘I think the main thing that has helped my progress is simply continuing to create work in the face of multiple adversities, and making work that feels true to me.’

Molly Kent is based in Edinburgh, UK and has a MA from Edinburgh College of Art. Molly has exhibited at the Venice Biennale (2019), and her work has toured with exhibitions in Australia, Scotland and the UK. Her work is held in the University of Edinburgh’s art collection and the National Museum of Australia.

Artist website: mollyhkent.com

Instagram: @mollyhkent

Pay attention to the practicalities

Creating is central to your practice, but artists also have to spend time doing other things to support their work, whether it’s research, testing out techniques, sketchbooking, communicating with others, making applications, administration and accounting, or framing and hanging their work. So it is essential to figure out how to get organised and learn the technical skills you need. 

Though these are all important, don’t forget that your key task is to place the focus on your art practice – give your art a high priority, every day.

Woo Jin Joo

Woo Jin Joo is an award-winning mixed media artist specialising in soft sculpture. Her work challenges the value that humanity endows on objects in a materialist and consumerist society.

When she graduated in 2021 Woo Jin decided to become a professional artist. She felt some trepidation as she faced the responsibilities of balancing time, finances and the other practicalities that go with a career.

Woo Jin Joo: ‘I had initial uncertainties when deciding to be a freelance artist. Throughout my studies, I was completely absorbed in the medium and making – I knew wholeheartedly that my art brings me the most fulfilment. I was unsure about the financial viability of the move and having to navigate a career after being in formal education for so long.

‘However, I was really lucky to be awarded the Janome Fine Art Textiles Award at the Festival of Quilts in 2021, just a few months after graduating – it was exactly what I needed at that moment. It not only showed me that my work is appreciated in the professional world, but also gave me financial support to invest in my own free-hand embroidery machine and studio fees, giving me the extra courage I needed to make the transition.’

Part-time jobs

Initially, Woo Jin kept on her part-time job as a gallery assistant. She applied for opportunities to lead workshops and fulfil her desire to work in education. After a year or so she was able to leave her part-time job and now works as a freelance workshop facilitator, which helps to support her art practice. 

Woo Jin Joo: ‘I always try to prioritise my studio practice but it’s a constant balancing act, with the added task of searching and applying for exhibitions, residencies, commissions and funding opportunities. There are a lot of administrative and miscellaneous tasks taking place behind the scenes to make a studio practice happen, but in the end I’m excited and energised by the fact that I can bring my ideas to life as an artist.’

Woo Jin Joo is originally from Seoul, Korea, and moved to London in 2014 to complete a BA Textiles at Central Saint Martins, and an MA in Textiles at Royal College of Art. In 2021, she won the Janome Fine Art Textiles Award, and was shortlisted for Hari Art Prize and East London Art Prize. 

Artist website: woojinstudio.com

Instagram: @woojinstudio

Get support

Going it alone isn’t always easy, especially if procrastination has been a habit of yours – it can be hard to ditch. You may need encouragement to find the motivation to stick to a routine or get the discipline to put down your phone and stitch. 

This is where the benefits of joining a group can be enormous, whether that’s online or in person. When you interact with like minded artists, you begin to feel at home, motivated and supported.

Textile clubs and groups

Woo Jin was accepted into the 62 Group as an Associate Member, and Shelley Rhodes joined the Textile Study Group, which bolstered her path to becoming a professional artist. 

Shelley Rhodes: ‘Being part of such a respected, national group has helped me to raise the level of my work and to be seen by a national audience. It is a very special textile group, as we work alongside each other on two weekends each year, led by a renowned artist. So I continually learn and develop skills within my practice. Not everything is relevant to what I do, but I think it’s always good to be open to learning and resolving ideas in a new way.

‘The group also requires its artists to teach, which continues to stimulate me and feed into my work. Also, thanks to the generosity of my students, I often learn things when I teach.’

Our artists’ top tips

If you want to scale up your textile art practice, then adopting the mindset of a professional artist is a step in the right direction. The artists we’ve interviewed have shared some of their best insights into practical actions you can make.

Danny Mansmith: ‘Use the internet for simple things, like sharing images on Instagram or joining an art group or co-op gallery. Look for like minded people to connect with and share ideas. It takes time to develop all the skills necessary to be a working artist, just keep at it.’

Shelley Rhodes: ‘I believe that one thing often leads to another, so get your work seen and have a presence on the internet, whether that’s through a website or social media. I was first invited to teach in Australia because the organiser saw my work on Pinterest, which subsequently led onto other things. And when I first started out, I had some work in a small local exhibition. A gallery manager saw it, which led to a solo exhibition. I like to let things develop organically over time. Sometimes you have to pursue opportunities, but often they come to you when you least expect it!’

Trish Burr: ‘Don’t hide your light under a bushel! Set aside your self doubts and think about how much pleasure you are giving others by sharing your work. We’re all capable of much more than we realise. We all have a creative sense; it is just a matter of honing our specific craft. Creating something original is one of the most satisfying and rewarding things you can do. No matter how difficult your customers or followers are, always be kind and helpful. They will appreciate it and become your most loyal supporters. Read the book Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh. It shows you how to live a life of passion and purpose, while literally delivering happiness to others.’

Molly Kent: ‘Try to consistently make and share what you’re doing, be it via social media, or by talking to fellow artists or curators. I find that people reach out when they’ve seen a new work on my Instagram feed, or through my website, which I update regularly. Also, have a sense of balance – despite being known as a professional artist, I don’t make a living wage from my art. It’s a balancing act: working enough to pay the bills, while leaving enough time to work consistently on my art practice.’

Woo Jin Joo: ‘Find a core narrative, interest and passion to drive and inspire your practice. Take time to rest, reflect and research – it’s not always about constantly producing. If you are looking to make your art your business, then register yourself as a sole trader, get a business bank account, keep a good record of your income and costs, and get public liability insurance. Maintain good working relationships with organisations, galleries, and people you work with. Don’t be afraid to put your work out there, you never know what could come of it.’

The power is within you

Many artists talk about finding a narrative. Reported as being one of the greatest films of all time, The Wizard of Oz is a fantasy containing many metaphors that may be worth remembering as we all tread our paths through life. 

When Dorothy reached the end of the yellow brick road she discovered that the wizard she’d sought was an ordinary man who didn’t really hold the power to send her home. Along the way she learnt that she’d already got all the intelligence, heart and courage she needed – the power was within her.

You have that too. So, are you ready to follow your own yellow brick road…?

‘My formula for success was very simple: Do whatever is put in front of you with all your heart and soul without regard for personal results. Do the work as though it were given to you by the universe itself – because it was.’

Michael A. Singer, The Surrender Experiment: My Journey into Life’s Perfection.

We hope you feel inspired to approach your textile art practice with new vigour and that reading the trials, successes and tips from our professional artists has given you some useful pointers. If you’re still wondering where to begin, read our article Getting started with a new piece of work.

If you buy books linked to our site, we may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops.

If you feel motivated to take your first step towards a more professional textile art practice, tell us more in the comments below.

Contemporary textile artists often seek to challenge traditional values and conventions, and that can make their work unique, aesthetically stimulating and highly engaging. Their compositions may be abstract and experimental. Sometimes they’re provocative, controversial or eclectic.

Modern communications have not only helped to make today’s world an artist’s paradise but also make the work of contemporary artists so much more accessible to the public. Plus the range of materials and processes has probably never been so diverse. 

These artists no longer need to conform to ideologies or techniques that once constrained even the boldest in the past. They are free to express themselves – and that can only be encouraging for budding textile artists who also have a desire to create with abandon.

Meet seven contemporary textile artists who are making statements and pushing boundaries with their work. Vanessa Barragão’s love of marine life, and her distress at textile waste, encouraged her to use only waste materials for her giant coral reef sculptures. Hale Ekinci and Gurjeet Singh both tell stories: Hale uses embroidery, quilting and crochet with found materials and photographs, while Gurjeet makes unique soft sculpted heads from recycled and rejected materials. 

Kristine Stattin and Meri Sawatzky work intuitively and dynamically with a small range of embroidery stitches, while photocopy processes and Xerox transfer are the go-to techniques for art quilt pioneer Joan Schulze. Finally, Patricia Kelly takes her sewing machine needle for a walk across a sandwich of natural fabrics creating a striking contrast.

This work can help to shape a new world and we can’t think of a better way of going about it.

Kristine Stattin

Just two stitches

We’ve always maintained that you don’t need a vast array of stitches to create artistic textile embroideries, nor is it necessary to have formal training. Kristine Stattin is living proof of both. Apart from a few workshops, she is self-taught and uses only straight stitch in different lengths – both machine and hand stitched – plus a lot of French knots.

Despite this simplicity, her work is striking. Kristine’s thread paintings are abstract explorations in colour, line, shape and texture. Kristine relishes the speed of the sewing machine, which allows her stitches to dance across the fabric, freely and spontaneously. Conversely, the peace evoked by the slower hand stitch can put her into a meditative and introspective state.

Kristine works intuitively, allowing this pull between order and chaos to give each mark direction to the next.

Kristine Stattin: ‘The love of embroidery has grown on me, and so five years ago when I sold a restaurant I co-owned, I was able to give my art my full focus. I approach my work very much as a painting. The difference is that I’m using threads instead of paint.

‘Though I’ve no formal education in embroidery, my embroidery style and skills have developed over time with practice, with play – which is very important – and experimentation.’

Stitch freedom

Effervescence is one of Kristine’s purely abstract artworks, its story only coming to her as she worked on it. 

‘I don’t like to plan out what I’m going to make in advance. It’s like when you go on holiday. Some people like to have the trip all pre-booked in advance. Others, like me, prefer to just get in the car and drive. It’s the same with my work. There is a freedom and excitement in letting go and seeing where the threads will take me. Letting go of control, trying not to be attached to outcome and expectation. Being in the now with the work, stepping into the unknown. It’s an enigma that asks to be resolved.

‘I just use normal cotton and DMC threads, which I buy locally. Where I live there aren’t many opportunities to thrift threads and materials, but whenever I can get my hands on some, I grab them. When it comes to choosing what colours to work with, I bring out all my threads, and try different combinations until I’m happy with a starting point. Later in the process some get added, others discarded. I chose to work on linen for its texture.

‘In 2022 Effervescence was sent to London where an architectural firm was showing artwork from several artists to a client. The client didn’t choose my work, and then on the way back it got lost in the post. After several months of effort, I finally got it back, fortunately still in perfect condition. Effervescence then got chosen to feature in the fall issue of the literary journal The Pinch and it now lives in the US.’

Kristine Stattin was born in Stockholm, Sweden and currently lives in the Occitanie region in the south of France. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Art and is a member of S.E.W (Society for Embroidered Work). She has exhibited in Sweden, Italy, Ukraine, US and France.

Artist website: kristinestattin.com

Facebook: facebook.com/KristineStattinTextiles

Instagram: @kristine_stattin

Hale Ekinci

Embroidery, quilting and crochet

Perhaps due to her Turkish heritage, perhaps given her breadth of experience as Associate Professor of Art & Design at North Central College in Chicago, or in her artist residencies, Hale Ekinci takes her inspiration from several disciplines. She explores personal history, cultural identity, gender politics and craft traditions, and her works vary from videos to embroidery paintings embellished with vibrant colours, patterns and autobiographical relics.  

Hale Ekinci: ‘Western art tradition values fine art practices such as painting, mostly done by men and on canvas. Historically, women’s work such as embroidery, quilting, and crochet have been undervalued as craft or not considered fine art. Bringing these techniques into the gallery space allows me to question the hierarchy in the western art world. I also feature other fabrics and fibre crafts beyond the canvas and paint that echo this sentiment.’

Personal textiles

Hale takes particular inspiration from old photos and the narratives that they initiate. She works with found photographs and also likes making up her own stories and thinking about a particular time and place in history as an immigrant woman. She favours found domestic textiles like handkerchiefs or patterned bed sheets, using these as her canvas because of the feelings of home and intimacy they invoke and their personal and bodily history.

‘I started working with embroidery and crochet to relax and move away from screens. Over time, they bled into my artwork replacing drawing and paper.’

For her artwork Pinky Promise Hale chose a silkscreen printed photograph stitched onto a vintage handkerchief and further embellished with glass beads, embroidery, sequins and crochet.

‘I taught a workshop at Textile Center Minneapolis to a group of women. I loved a photograph of the grandmother of one participant and asked if I could use that. I was drawn to the intimacy between the two women in it, but also the ambiguity in their relationship, especially considering that the family had this image. The handkerchief was a gift from an older woman who had so many domestic textiles that she just wanted us to take anything we could use. I loved her generosity but also appreciated the hardship of letting things go.’

Pinky Promise has been exhibited at Hale’s 2022 solo exhibition Between You and I at Comfort Station, Chicago as well as in open studios following her artist residency at Spudnik Press, Chicago.

Hale Ekinci is a multidisciplinary Chicago-based Turkish artist, designer and educator. She works as Associate Professor of Art & Design at North Central College, Chicago. In 2022 she was Artist in Residence at Spudnik Press Cooperative in Chicago, and in 2023 she is the Engaged Artist-in-Residence at Indiana University. 

Artist website: hale-ekinci.com

Instagram: @haleekinci_art

Joan Schulze

Quilt pioneer

The work of Joan Schulze proves that contemporary textile art can actually span half a century. A pioneer of the art quilt movement, this is her primary vehicle of self expression. Joan keeps her work fresh and engaging by starting each project with a new mind – or in her own words, ‘a clean slate – both actual and metaphorical’. It helps her to reinvent or re-imagine that which she already knows. 

Joan has experimented with collage, quilt making, photography and photocopy processes, painting, Xerox transfer and digital technology. Photography is key to her work and her images are often transferred onto fabric or paper. She enjoys working in textile art as it provides the greatest scope.

The subjects Joan explores are many, varied and personal, and she often writes a short poem upon completion of a quilt, as she did with her trilogy of quilts, one of which is Not So Long Ago. This artwork is inspired by a small Tang Dynasty bowl gifted to her by the museum director at her solo show in Shenzhen, China in 2016. Her intention is to immortalise the precious artefact and pay homage to the culture that it comes from.

‘It reveals its many facets as I incorporate transformed bowl images in this on-going series. The many lines interact with the bowls and quietly tell a story by me, the writer and photographer.’

Joan Schulze:

Silk, batting and backing

Joan began the project with digitally altered photographs which she printed onto silk using a photocopier. The photocopy processes and Xerox transfers that Joan uses enable her to juxtapose, overlap, duplicate, add, remove, layer, and paint the images. She combines them onto a large surface which she then layers over batting and backing, finishing with machine quilting and hand stitching. The black and white palette creates a dramatic image of the bowl from different angles, sides and in various sizes. The patterned bowl was originally wrapped in layers of Chinese-language newsprint and images from this have been taken to use in the background.

‘I use silk and sometimes paper, though not in this quilt, and I start with white silk. I am still using silk from a bolt I bought years ago.’

The other two quilts in the trilogy are A Long Time Ago and Once Upon The Unknowable Future. Joan still has the first two and the latter is in the collection of the International Quilt Museum, Lincoln, Nebraska.

Joan’s bowl continues to inspire other quilts which are part of ongoing series; the Opus series and the Bowl series.

Joan Schulze is an artist, poet and photographer who has gained international prominence as a studio artist, teacher, lecturer and juror. Her studio is in San Francisco, California and she has a home studio in Sunnyvale, California. Over the decades she has been published in many catalogues and publications, and is included in public and private collections in the US, Europe and Japan.

Artist website: joan-of-arts.com

Facebook: Joan Schulze Artist

Instagram: @myart_works13

Gurjeet Singh

Fantastical stuffed heads

Wonky eyes (maybe two, or even six of them), stuffed fabric noses and cactus-shaped ears, necklaces spilling from lips, bells for teeth, a scattering of buttons and… could that be a doll’s torso emerging from the head? Tartan, paisley, florals, plains, brocade and damask – if these recycled fabrics and findings land on Gurjeet Singh’s desk, you can be sure they’ll be fashioned into the most fantastical of giant-sized stuffed heads.

Emerging artist, Gurjeet Singh, is one to watch. Exploring the themes of love, identity, storytelling and his own experiences of growing up queer in the village of Algon Kothi, Punjab, he works with scrap fabrics and reject beads and buttons to create soft sculptures sewn entirely by hand. 

And they’re unique. For when Gurjeet sits down to develop a sculpture, it’s an organic process.

Organic, soft sculptures

Gurjeet Singh: ‘Soft sculptures have come through so naturally. I remember the first time I made a key chain for my best friend by joining two leather pieces. It was awe-inspiring and unforgettable. I enjoyed the process and each step of making it so much that it generated a desire for more. So I took some pieces of clothing from my family and developed a head form. 

‘I find the process, idea, creativity, inspiration and excitement of making these sculptures familiar and powerful. It starts with an idea that’s often about making a story into a sculpture. Seldom does the formation process itself bring up new stories and emotions.

‘Black Lips represents the story of my friend, who had always wanted to become a make-up artist but, due to family pressure, society and other circumstances beyond his control, he was unable to. In Black Lips I tried to portray those emotions. The black lips represent desires that have been repressed. The expressions reveal the unheard words and helpless heart.

‘I started with drawings related to the idea and its possibilities including shape, form and material requirements. 

‘The selection of the right material and clothing is a pivotal and basic premise of my sculpture. In Black Lips I used discarded clothes including my own trousers, plus fabrics and other leftover pieces I had.

‘I filled it with cotton to give it the desired form, and used colourful threads for embroidery, along with beautiful beads and buttons for details.’

Gurjeet Singh is a visual artist based in Chandigarh, India. His first solo exhibition This is What It’s Like To Be Fabulous was held at Chemould CoLab, Mumbai in December 2022, and in the same month he presented works in a group exhibition at Museum of Art & Photography (MAP), Bangalore.

He was commissioned to create the cover artwork for Issue 3: A Final Freedom of the Dirty Magazine, Mumbai, and his self portrait featured in the November 2022 edition of Harper’s Bazaar (@bazaarindia), The Art Issue.

Instagram: @softgurjeet

Vanessa Barragão

New life

Her distress at discovering the amount of waste created by the fashion industry was the catalyst for Vanessa Barragão’s decision to become an ecological textile artist. From then on she committed to only working with recycled or otherwise discarded yarns collected from textile factories across Portugal.

Her works employ techniques including crochet, latch hooking, weaving, knitting, felting and hand-tufting. Her passion for marine life and the complex structure of coral reefs are her inspiration to create artisanal tapestries, rugs, wall hangings and textile sculptures. Each, while aesthetically appealing, is intended to highlight the fact that the global textile industry has severely affected marine ecosystems.

Vanessa’s Afterlife collection was conceived because she often ruminated on the subject of life after death.

Vanessa Barragão: ‘I remember as a child I was very afraid of the concept of death. I often asked: ‘What comes next? Can death really be the end of everything?’. This fear made me research the subject. Reading a lot of different opinions helped me accept and live more comfortably with this inevitability.

‘In my process, I intend to show that the end is a new beginning. From waste, trash and leftovers my creativity starts growing and my artwork is born.

‘It’s my belief that the end is a new beginning. In our lives, death is probably not the end either but the mark of a new beginning.’

Carving and sculpting

In her Afterlife collection Vanessa mainly uses the techniques of latch hook, crochet and felting, as well as other fibre manipulation that allows her to better translate her ideas. Her materials are mostly leftover wastes from factories located around Portugal.

‘My creative process starts with an idea of the colours I want to use and what I would like to represent. I then outline the canvas, cut it to a shape and begin creating. Throughout the process, my idea becomes more defined, and sometimes new colours are added. I love to be free during the creative process as each piece takes some time to be done.

‘The last stage is the one that really brings it to life: the carving and sculpting. It’s an amazing feeling when the work is actually complete. That’s when I meet my creation and I realise what was going through my unconscious mind during its creation.

‘Textile-focused handcrafts are my preferred media to express my thoughts and vision. Learning new techniques and creating from fibre has always been a passion of mine. I get most of my inspiration from nature and, more specifically, the ocean. I like to be in contact with both these elements as much as I can to get ideas and to be as creative as possible.

‘Seeing these environments affected because of our human path is one of the key motivations to create my work. I believe that through my artwork, I can raise awareness and impact people and businesses to change their actions.’

Vanessa Barragão is based in Albufeira, Portugal. She has exhibited in numerous group shows and completed multiple commissions. Her Afterlife collection was presented at Art Paris 2023. It will also be shown at This Is Not A White Cube gallery in Lisbon.

Artist website: vanessabarragao.com

Instagram: @vanessabarragao_work

Facebook: facebook.com/vanessabarragaoartist

Patricia Kelly

Reductive art

Picture a small hand holding a charcoal stick, delighting in its mark-making as it moves across a drawing board, and you’ll get an idea of the uncomplicated beauty of Patricia Kelly’s work. With a simplicity reminiscent of child’s play, she allows her sewing machine needle to wend its way across a sandwich of fabrics, contrasting black on white or white on black.

Freeing herself with the simplicity of lines, circles and sometimes pure unapologetic and decadent doodling, abstract machine stitch has become the trademark of this Northern Irish textile artist.

Light, colour and texture

Patricia’s inspiration comes from the changing colour, light and texture of the rugged landscape and skies in the west of Ireland. Growing up on a farm, she was involved with the land in a very physical and tactile way, making hay and stacking turf. She attributes her earthy, textural and repetitive style to these experiences.

‘My work has become much more abstract in recent times with a greater focus on the use of the stitched line. The repetitive use of shape and mark has become increasingly important and helps to imbue a meditative and ethereal quality.’

Patricia Kelly

At Play is a small piece created in 2023. As Patricia focused increasingly on larger pieces with a measured grid arrangement, she began one with a different black stitched pattern in each square. But it looked ‘too much’ and she left it half completed. She took a photo of a detail of this piece which suggested to her the design for At Play. She went on to complete this in a smaller size and it’s been submitted to a juried exhibition.

At Play is made on a cream background of calico and hessian and is stitched in black thread. Patricia has applied a contrasting stitched fragment in the centre.

The piece proved extremely popular on Instagram and Patricia plans to create larger works, 64cm x 90cm, with the same energy.

Patricia Kelly is a textile artist based in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. She has a BA Honours degree in Fine Craft Design, specialising in embroidered textiles. She has had two solo exhibitions in Northern Ireland in 2022 and her work has been selected for an international textile exhibition at Amelie Maison in Paris. 

Artist website: patriciakellytextile.com

Instagram: @patriciakelly_artist

Facebook: facebook.com/patricia.kelly.textiles

Meri Sawatzky

Sensory pleasures of texture

A self taught, intuitive artist, Meri Sawatzky found her way into art through play. She creates because she enjoys it. She is curious and that guides her hand when creating her detailed embroideries.

Meri’s art evolved from being simply a means of release into a desire to express her obsession with the dream state of life and her scepticism of what’s deemed by so many to be reality. She hopes to inspire intrigue through her combination of materials – textiles often blended with plaster, gel mediums and acrylic paint. As she explores the sensory pleasures of texture, her work brings calm to the chaos and invokes a meditative state in the viewer. 

Living next to the Pacific Ocean on Vancouver Island, Canada, Meri thrifts or is gifted all her materials. She uses as many natural fibres and ingredients as possible.

Little lines of thread

Meri Sawatzky: ‘Information Landscape started as a vague mental image derived from topographical maps and vintage cartography. Once I had sat with that for a while, I started stitching and let myself forget the original impetus, allowing it to take its own shape. Only once I was about halfway done did I develop a story. 

‘To me, it looks like clouds of information going upwards, forming a canyon shape. The image happens to be taken while a crack in the paradigm flashes, a glitch, revealing one of the layers of time in the bottom right corner.

‘Both the linen and hoop were given to me by two lovely neighbours. One that loves finding fabric in thrift stores and one that owns a vintage drum shop.’

‘I stretched linen over a vintage bass drum hoop, used a bit of acrylic paint and embroidery floss. The technique is pretty straightforward. Just a whole lot of little lines of thread.’

Meri Sawatzky is a self-taught textile artist living in Vancouver Island, British Columbia, US. Information Landscape was shown in a local art show.

Artist website: paleillusions.com

Facebook: facebook.com/paleillusions

Instagram: @paleillusionsart

Key takeaways

Our featured artists have shared a range of inspiration that you can apply to your own textile art practice. Let’s take a look at some of their tips and techniques.

• There’s no need to let your lack of a textile or fine art study hold you back. Kristine, Meri and Joan learned through curiosity and play, allowing the materials, the stitches and the story to come to them as they worked. Make time for art play each week and give yourself the freedom to create whatever you want.

• Embrace your limitations. Kristine and Meri used a restricted range of stitches and still created dynamic work. Which are your favourite stitches? Can you work just using those?

• Can you, like Vanessa, Meri and Gurjeet, use thrifted or gifted materials? Consider asking upholsterers, fashion companies, seamstresses or even family, friends and neighbours for their textile waste.

• Hale gains her inspiration from old photos and Joan uses photos digitally to create her art quilts. How can you use photos in your work? Take a look at these artists who describe their processes for printing images and Wen Redmond who makes striking digital textile art.

Do you feel inspired to try any of the materials or techniques mentioned above? Let us know in the comments below.