I think it was my first reading of 'Under Milk Wood' in the fifties, at a time when I was discovering the work of Stanley Spencer that I started my love affair with illustrating. In the sixties and the seventies, the modish rejection of figurative work left me cold. Visiting the Bowes Museum in 1979 I first saw Stump Work, and this set me to experimenting with fabric. Making enquiries about Stump Work at libraries brought forth a scathing dismissal of this lovely, richly textured, illustrative work (although now, it is a much admired technique, and has become fashionable again, as has Stanley Spencer). My first serious piece was 'A Midsummer Nights Dream' where I explored the possibilities of stuffed appliqué. This quilt, with all its naivety, is owned by a Japanese company. It now hangs in Tokyo. For me, the literary inspiration comes first. The intense excitement of a new project, the re-reading of the words and preparing the initial designs keep me awake at night.
Though much of the work is set in earlier times, the interpretation is by a mind of today; we can with hindsight analyse the development of civilisation, viewing the superstitions and prejudices of past times with a modern eye.
Every
stitch on the surface is by machine. Initially, the work is drawn
on paper and transferred to fine vilene, the latter being incorporated
within the work. Sewing from the back, through the design, the wadding,
the silk fabric and appliqué silk the work takes shape. Only
when all appliqué is in place do I turn over to embellish
and embroider on the front. Large
pieces are made in sections and then joined.
| |||
