My Pictures
Techniques and Materials.
My work begins with drawing and design. I generally design my pieces in a related series. I believe that all good art work should br rooted in drawing - this is the way artists research their subject matter. Occasionally misguided people look at my work and tell me " I can't draw but I think I could do this...." I couldn't produce my work without drawing ! Sometimes it takes a week to produce the preliminary drawings for a piece. I have included some information here about the technical aspects of my work. This comes with a health warning - having a camera does not make a person into a photographer, owning a sewing machine does not make a person an artist, not even a textile artist !!
The predominant fabric I use is silk. I want the pieces to be redolent of precious sacred artefacts and to me silk is the ultimate fabric. I ike to use closely related colours which "sing" against each other to create a vibrant glowing effect. Red is an important colour in Byzantine icons. I have read that in Russian Orthodox homes, the corner of the room where the icons are hung is sometimes called "the red corner". My red pieces are very popular and I especially like combinations of red and purple, orange and pink. I use a patchwork of silk pieces and then a patchwork of voile pieces to create the background for each picture. Making the background is a very time consuming process as it consists of many small individual pieces. Once the background is complete I apply more silk pieces and I also sometimes use heat transferable foils. I am often asked if I use a computerised sewing machine. I don't. Most of the work is created in " free motion" embroidery - using the needle as a "pencil" and "drawing ", again, drawing skills are important here, by moving the fabric. I nearly always use metallic threads. I think that some textile work can be very flat, I am always striving to emulate the techniques a painter would use to create aerial perspective and depth . Initially it took about four years of work for me to establish a satisfactory method of working and it is my aim to continue to develop and improve my work.