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| I was born in Oswestry, Shropshire, England.I completed a Foundation Course at Shrewsbury School of Art in 1976 and went on to study Fine Art/Textiles and Embroidery at Goldsmiths College, London qualifying in 1979. In the same year I was invited to exhibit in Texprint `79 as one of the years 30 most promising graduates. Returning to Shropshire I taught textiles at Wrexham College of Art for three years before starting my own studio near Chester in 1982. I have worked from my studio in Oswestry since 2000. I started to explore my love of the countryside,flowers and gardens through the medium of embroidery finding it the perfect vehicle to express the colours, textures and shapes I find so fascinating.I try to combine in my compositions a sense of light and an interesting juxtaposition of colour, shape and texture. I aim to capture moments in time with all the skill of a fine artist who has the glorious addition of texture to play with.I consider myself a painter that uses threads, an artist that draws with a sewing machine. I work to commission and exhibit my embroideries in the UK at the Chelsea Flower Show and other venues, visit the Exhibitions page for more info. I am influenced by the places I visit on holiday and the images I capture with my camera. I live on the Shropshire / Welsh border, an area that has a rich diversity of scenery. The Shropshire plain stretching for miles with its patchwork of fields, gentle rolling hills, a wealth of woodlands and the drama of mountains and waterfalls further into Wales. Add into this mix of imagery the four seasons, with spring and summer flowers, autumn colours,winter snow and frost and the inspiration is endless. I am not primarily a photographer but my photographs are invaluable to me as a record of composition, colour and detail, supported by my sketches. I cannot work from life, with an electric machine as my drawing tool. Photography has to be my starting point because I explore my subject matter directly on to my fabric, drawing and painting with threads.I use a very old basic Bernina sewing machine to 'draw' with, the machine simply makes the stitches while I manoeuvre the silk painted background under the needle. MACHINE EMBROIDERY BOOKS My interests and subject matter have changed over the years and this is reflected in a series of books I have had published. My first book 'Plants and Flowers in Machine Embroidery' published by Batsford in 1990 was launched at Libertys in London.Reprinted in 1997 in paperback. My second book "Machine Embroidered Landscapes" was published by Search Press in January 2002, and so far has sold more than 18,000 copies. My third book "Machine Embroidered Flowers" also published by Search Press in June 2006. The fourth book "Machine Embroidered Woodlands", published January 2009. My next book will feature seascapes BORDERLAND VISUALS ARTS I am a member of the BVA,(Borderland Visual Arts)who hold a sucessful Open Studios event in June, in Oswestry each year, where you can meet the artists and watch them work. For more info go to the links page SOCIETY OF BOTANICAL ARTISTS I was made an Associate Member of the SBA in Feb 2010. I submitted five works and had all five works accepted for two consecutive years at the Annual London Open Exhibition in Central Hall, Westminster, London.Also in 2010 I won the Presidents Award for Work in a Media other than watercolour THE SHROPSHIRE GUILD The Shropshire Guild of Contemporary Craft was formed in 2001 to promote, display and sell the work of designers and makers of contemporary craft working in Shropshire.I hav been a member of the Shropshire Guild of Contemporary Craft since 2008 DVD In 2007 I was involved in a project with Studio Galli in the making of a DVD an instructional film about my embroideries and how I work. There is more information on the DVD page. The film was made at The Bakery Studios with Myk Briggs. You can see clips of the film on Galli Films SEWING MACHINES I am often asked for advice on sewing machines,I use a Bernina, the one I use in my studio is over 40 years old, I also have a Bernina 1008 it is their most basic model which is perfect for free-hand machine embroidery. For more information about their machines go to the links page and click on Bernina Sewing Machines. VIDEO DIARY I made a Video Diary for the BBC TV programme 'Country File' which was on TV in January 2007 and repeated in July.I was interviewed about how I gather inspiration from the wonderful and varied landscape around the Oswestry area here on the Shropshire/Welsh border.Toby, my dog is the star of the show. THREADBARE PRINTS I launched a new idea at The Chelsea Flower Show 2007, my 'Threadbare Prints' are reproduced from my original embroideries. If you would like more information on these large scale wall hangings please click on the Threadbare button |
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