Biography

About me

I grew up surrounded by fabric and yarns. My mother is a weaver – her work is original and experimental – so the house was always bursting with coloured threads and yarns. Childhood summers spent in Denmark with its unique landscapes and light quality inspired me to look at the beauty of space within design.

What I make

Always pushing the boundaries of textiles, I use ribbon and mesh, working between two or more transparent layers to create an infinite weaving in space designed to entice you to investigate further and experience the colour, light and form. My technique allows me to explore the space between the lines, rather than the line itself.

My sculptural installations capture colour and movement and play with perspective and the perception of space. Working in three-dimensions is exciting – allowing me to express a combination of delicacy and strength.

I also create stitched architectural textiles in collaboration with architects and interior designers. Working on-site, I react intuitively to the space and architecture, producing bespoke pieces for wall hangings, screens, panels and space dividers for interior and exterior spaces.

How I work

Often an idea begins by stitching through clear plastic packaging – ready-made poppadom packets are great, but I have to eat a lot of them. I like to work big and I like to work small. Obsessed with transparency, I collect plastic packaging destined for the recycling bin. The rigid plastic that covered a tube of glue, little scraps of colour still clinging to the plastic where the cardboard ripped off. I stitch into these while at the breakfast table, or watching a film, using that part of the subconscious that comes into play when you are not fully focused on a task, not trying too hard, but reacting to the object intuitively.

These ideas act as my sketchbook, encouraging free experimentation and the development of fresh new ideas. I now have a large collection waiting to be scaled up and developed into large pieces of work.

What inspires me

My inspiration comes from the photographs I take of architecture and the urban and rural environment. I use the lens as my eyes, capturing contours, textures and colours which I translate into my three-dimensional pieces.