Creating landscapes with fabric and stitch.

I use a domestic sewing machine to create textile landscapes. Drawings done on my hikes in the landscape inspire the compositions for each artwork.

Currently, my favourite machine to use is a Bernina 1008, made of metal and practically indestructible! I set up the machine for free motion embroidery and then use the stitches to construct and add details to my work, as if I am drawing with the sewing machine.

The fabrics I use are up-cycled household linens, I dye them myself so that I can have a palette of fabrics that relate to the colours that I see in the landscape. Each piece of fabric is applied like a painter’s brushstroke, building up the textures and colours of the scene.

Hand dyeing the fabrics ensures that the colours are not ‘flat’ and that the landscapes have a painterly quality - when exhibiting my work I frequently hear people saying

‘Oh, I thought it was a painting!’