Travelling back to the start……
I have had a long held love of textiles since specialising in making hand tufted rugs for my degree many moons ago. I started getting into papercutting by making stencils for wall hangings and so the wheel has turned to the beginning again which feels a very lovely thing to have happened. I have been slowly playing to see what happens when I let patterns appear and themes develop. I even tried some buildings and views in stencilling! I am not sure where this work will take me but at the moment I am happy to gentle go on that journey…
Using a gelli plate combined with stencilling…….
The residency at the National Civil War Centre for Open Doors has given me time to experiment with printing onto linen in some other ways. I bought myself a mini gelli plate and had some amazing results so then bought a much bigger one! By combining the two, I can get the softness of the plate printing working with a sharper edge of the stencilled line which links into my papercutting and collage. Here are some examples of what I have achieved….
Belvoir Angels
When I moved to the East Midlands over five years ago, there was some things I saw that stopped me in my tracks. They were the grave carvings I found in the local churches, firstly in Bottesford and then across the Vale of Belvoir. Carved in the 17th century over many decades, these carvings hold a mystery: no-one is sure who made them. Also known as soul effigies, similar ones appear in early American graveyards after the Pilgrim Fathers settled. They are a fabulous example of English Folk Art and really inspire me to capture the essence of them. I started to make them from upcycled clothes but then moved onto fabulous heavy end of roll Italian linen that I source locally.
If you would like to purchase a cushion, please use the contact form or call 07981 503383 to inquire what is available as I make them to order depending on the linen I can purchase. Cushions are £40 each plus P&P.
