Describe your work
I make hand dyed and woven one off textile art works for domestic, corporate and public spaces. The cloth is stretched over wooden frames giving the wall mounted panels an architectural three dimensional quality. Vibrant saturated colours reveal an almost painterly quality through the dip dyed warp technique that has become my trade mark.
Can you say what influences your work?
I am hugely influenced by architecture and painting. The linear and structured nature of the cloth reflects my love of architecture and the elaborate colour play relates my interest in Bauhaus colour theory and the work of Joseph Albers. The paintings of Mark Rothko and sculpture of Donald Judd have also had an important influence on my work. Minimalism with colour has become my philosophy.
What made you decide to work with textiles?
An early obsession with colour and my interest in craftsmanship lead me to textiles. I liked the relationship of skill and creativity within the one, very specific, discipline of weaving. The parallels with architecture and geometry came later and it became clear early one that woven textiles were an appropriate vehicle for me to explore many of the themes and ideas I was interested in.
After the festival has finished have you got plans for the future?
Recently I have been working more as an architectural colour consultant which has been a fantastic development of my love of architecture and colour. Large scale projects for hospitals where woven facades of coloured glass have allowed me to explore my ideas on a massive scale in new materials. This more collaborative work in public spaces is definitely where I see my work moving in the future. I have also started making much more sculptural and free standing textile monoliths challenging the way we view textile sculptures. |
