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Gallery 1
Welcome to page one of the gallery. Here you can see images of past work, commissions and sold pieces. I hope you will enjoy browsing.
I'm happy to discuss ideas with you if you feel you might be interested in having a piece made for you. I don't work to deadlines for individual pieces, which may take several months to complete, depending on the size and complexity of the project. Please contact me by email if you would like to chat.
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Item Description |
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Wild Lupins (private collection)
Somewhere in France, this field of wild lupins stretches away into the distance, where a single tree makes a focal point. This densely stitched embroidery on hand-painted silk has 3-D silk flowers in the foreground. Layers of chiffon create a misty effect. |
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Orangery (artist's collection)
'Here curious shapes and spicy scents together beguile the senses'......
I wrote this inscription to try to evoke the sharp scent of box hedges which would be carried on the breeze in this formal Italianate garden if it were a real place. It's a fantasy garden, inspired partly by the Stoke Edith embroidered hangings at Montacute House in Somerset. These depict a fashionable formal garden of the early 1700s.
My scene is composed of couched and embroidered threads on hand-painted silk with appliqued, quilted and beaded elements. |
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Tuscan Hillside (artist's collection)
Here is a hill town in Tuscany, with tall houses clinging to the slopes, and the road winding upwards to the huge church which dominates the scene. Olive trees and cypresses line the road and cluster in between the houses.
This picture was inspired by Gustav Klimt's painting 'Church at Cassone on Lake Garda'. The background is hand-painted silk, the church and houses are flat ceramic tiles painted with washes of water-colour, and the trees are done in appliqued 3-D embroidery. |
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Pot on a Terrace (private collection)
An imposing metal pot rests at the corner of a mountain terrace, surrounded by a lavender hedge. The distant view is suggested by a wash of paint on the background silk. It was the almost abstract nature of the forms which interested me in this embroidery.
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Sunflower Field (private collection)
This embroidery concentrates on the abstract shapes and patterns formed by sunflowers in a field. The richly decorated surface is created with applied scraps of fabric, embellished with couched threads, stitches and beads.
'Sunflower Field' was bought at Cheshire Open Studios 2007. The purchaser kindly wrote in my guest book just one word: 'Inspiring!' |
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Sunflower field (private collection - detail)
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Sunflowers (artist's collection)
Sunflowers are a wonderful subject for painting, drawing or stitching. They have inspired many artists, and this sculptural embroidery was inspired by Van Gogh's paintings and drawings. The richness of the heavily 3-D surface is created with hand-stitching, beading, couching, applique, quilting and wiring. |
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Rapunzel (artist's collection)
'Rapunzel' began as a modern take on stumpwork, or padded embroidery, popular in the 17th century. She was originally a nude, but looked so exposed and cold without clothes that I gave her more hair; I then had so much fun with plaiting, twisting and fraying threads that the embroidery turned into a celebration of hair, and she was christened 'Rapunzel' as a result.
A gentleman visitor to Cheshire Open Studios 2007 wrote in my guest book: 'Absolute Treat! I have fallen for Rapunzel....' |
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Hawthorns in the High Peak: detail (private collection)
This embroidery was inspired by a view seen in the High Peak one late autumn day, when the trees were turning colour and the hawthorn hedges were blazing with berries. The clump of trees on top of the hill is a motif which is often seen in the Peak District lanscape. This work has strong '3-D' elements, created with a combination of textured silk fibres, painted and distressed paper, and chunky hand-dyed threads. |
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Monet's Summer Grainstacks (artist's collection)
This piece of work has great significance for me because it was done when I first joined a class in 1991. My tutor was Sue Newhouse and I owe her much for introducing me to the wonderful obsession which has been with me ever since; that is, creating images with paint, fabric and stitch. I had been to an exhibition of Monet's 'series' paintings at the Royal Academy in 1990, and found that close study of his use of colour and texture gave me inspiration in the choice and use of threads. The embroidery is on hand-painted silk, worked in delicate single strands of thread, with layers of chiffon and raised elements to create depth and texture. It took many hours, over many weeks, to complete, and was fascinating and absorbing from start to finish. The embroidery appeared in Sue's book, 'Creative Hand Embroidery', published by Search Press, 1993. |
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