Embroidery Magazine May June 2020

T H E T E X T I L E A RT M AG A Z I N E
embroidery
The wit
of knit PIXEL
FREDDIE
ROBINS
PERFECT
DIANE MEYER
Drawn to lace
TERESA
WHITFIELD
Madge Gill’s
visionary
outsider art
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May June 2020

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from the editor 38
AS I WRITE THIS we are in week three
of lockdown and it’s a worrying and
perplexing time for many of us. By the
time you read this, we will have endured
hours of numbing speculation and
commentary in the media and I’ve no
desire to add to it. Equally, it feels too glib
to say that we’re here to offer you some
kind of respite – who knows what the
world will look like next week, let alone
May, when you receive this magazine? But
indeed this is the territory in which we find
ourselves. Our featured artists know about
taking inspiration from their personal
experience and of working with what they
have to hand. Kate Whitehead talks about
using her practice to work through difficult
times, whilst Diane Meyer questions how
photography has the ability to supplant
memory (just as screen technology is
facilitating much of our contact with
loved ones right now). Working with
knit, Freddie Robins knows a thing or
two about challenging prejudices about
what constitutes ‘art’, and Jennifer Harris
begins her series of articles examining
the current relationship between textiles 32
and the art world. Does any of this this
matter right now? I think so. This enforced
confinement offers us all time and space
to contemplate what is important to us,
and how we might want our world (both
personal and global) to look once this is
over. But until then, wherever you are, I
hope you are keeping
well and safe.
EDITOR
Embroidery magazine
ON THE COVER: Diane Meyer’s House,

Wall Area Near Lichterfeld-Süd,
Berlin series, 2017. 13 x 18cm.
DIANE MEYER/COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND KLOMPCHING GALLERY
embroidery EDITOR
Jo Hall
07742 601 501
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contents
12 18
May 2020
front features reviews
REGULARS 12 PIXEL PERFECT BOOKSHELF
07 EMBROIDERY loves Using embroidery Diane Meyer investigates 54 The latest textile titles
08 News photography’s ability to supplant memory
EXHIBITIONS
09 Diary 18 VITAMIN K 56 Kimono, V&A
52 First Person Freddie Robins’ thought provoking and witty 57 We Will Walk
PREVIEWS knitted works question ideas around the Turner Contemporary
domestic, gender and the human condition 58 Fabric Touch & Identity
10 War and Pieced
11 Swansea Festival 24 A UNIQUE VISION Compton Verney
We talk to Sophie Dutton, editor of Madge 59 Joana Vasconcelos
Gill by Myrninerest which reveals the story Yorkshire Sculpture Park
PS... Take a one year subscription of this book’s visionary self-taught artist WHAT’S ON
to embroidery and we’ll deliver each 30 NO PLACE LIKE HOME 60 Textile exhibition listings
copy to your door free of charge!
A glimpse inside the workroom where Daisy
Collingridge always finds inspiration waiting
32 A VIRTUOUS CIRCLE
44 Meet Kate Whitehead who utilises myriad
hand techniques in her weave-based practice
38 DRAWN TO LACE
Teresa Whitfield’s pen and ink drawings of
lace are indistinguishable from the real thing
44 THE SUM OF ALL PARTS
Marilyn Rathbone draws upon inspirations as
diverse as historical research and mathematics 24
48 BLURRING BOUNDARIES
Jennifer Harris begins a series of articles with
a look at the current relationship between
textiles and the contemporary art world

Gorgeous knitting, crochet & embroidery supplies
LOOPKNITTING.COM
LONDON, ENGLAND
EMBROIDERY loves...
Karen Nicol, New York.
You are here. . .

When Karen Nicol drops us a casual email about an exhibition of her embroidered ‘maps,
birds and animals, all sorts... just a strange glimpse of the world...’ we know to pay attention.
Whether she is conjuring the finger-deep fur of a wild bear from the deepest shades of night-
hued threads, or the iconic graphic intensity of the streets of New York, Nicol’s embroidery
paints a much richer visual story than mere pigment could achieve.
aren icol at Woolff allery
wool aller .co.uk

NEWS NEW FESTIVAL DATE
Now scheduled for 18-20
September (previously 12-14
June) you’ll find Cornish stitch-
illustrator Elizabeth Loveday
among the textile makers
exhibiting at this year’s Craft
Festival Bovey Tracey. She’s
due to be joined by Marna Lunt,
Carole Waller, Michelle Griffiths
and Karen Nicol – just some of
200 crafters selling their wares
and demonstrating their skills,
as well as a range of workshops
throughout the weekend.
Elizabeth Loveday cra t esti al.co.uk
Sheila Hicks ‘Citizen of the Universe’ at Modern

Ever since she opted Art Oxford (20 February-30 May
to work with fibre as 2021) celebrates the visionary artist
her medium, Sheila and activist Ruth Asawa (1926-2013).
Hicks (b1934) has been Featuring her signature hanging wire
manipulating cotton, wool, sculptures, the exhibition celebrates
linen and silk and enriching Asawa’s holistic integration of art
our perceptions of colour, and education in her practice.
PHOTO BY IMOGEN CUNNINGHAM. ©2020 IMOGEN CUNNINGHAM TRUST.

material and space through modernartoxford.org.uk
ARTWORK ©ESTATE OF RUTH ASAWA, COURTESY DAVID ZWIRNER

her weavings, monumental
sculptures and impressive
architectural commissions.
A new exhibition at Sheila Hicks, Saffron Sentinel, 2017
Hepworth Wakefield ©SHEILA HICKS. COURTESY OF ALISON
JACQUES
GALLERY, LONDON PHOTO: NOAM PREISMAN
brings together over 70

pieces from international public and private collections,
exploring the many facets of her ground-breaking work, from her study
of vernacular textile traditions and construction techniques through to
observing and collaborating with local artists.
heila Hicks at The Hepworth Wakefield une 7 ctober
Ruth Asawa, 1957.
he worthwakefield.or
DIARY
1 The Magical Quilts of

Wales at The Welsh
Quilt Centre promises
8 Visit BBC
Sounds and enjoy
a dazzling display of Sara Parker’s
quilts dating from 1800- programme,
1945. Until 24 December A Needle Pulling
welsh uilts.co
Thread to hear
a tapestry of
fascinating stories
about the place of
the sewing needle
Mediterranean Threads in our lives.
18th and 19th century
Greek Embroideries at bbc.co.uk/sounds/
MAY
the Ashmolean (until 20 la ls

September) offers a unique
insight into the domestic
Fragment of a bed valance
lives of Greek women with cockerel
ash olea .or ©ASHMOLEAN
UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD

NEWS
Bisa Butler Portraits

‘This project is a quilted fabric album of
everyday people of African descent inspired
by vintage photographs. My goal is to not
only provide a simple snapshot of a person
but also to communicate an entire story
in one piece of artwork. I create portraits
of people that include many clues of their
inner thoughts, their heritage, their actual
emotions, and even their future.’
Bisa Butler Portraits is the first solo
museum exhibition of the artist’s
work, featuring 26 of her vivid quilts.
Butler, a formally trained African
American artist of Ghanaian heritage,
creates unique narratives around the
subjects in her quilts, and her choice
of fabrics, which include Africa wax
print and mud cloth, form part of a
personal lexicon that comments on
society, history, family memories,
cultural practices and identity.
The show is on view at the Katonah
Museum of Art (until June 14 but
temporarily closed due to Covid-19 as
we went to press) but you can enjoy a
virtual tour by visiting the website.
The exhibition is due to travel to The
Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) from 5
September 2020 to 24 January 2021.
katonahmuseum.org
Bisa Butler, I Am Not Your Negro, 2019.

Cotton, wool and chiffon. Quilting
and appliqué. 200.6 x 152.4cm.
COURTESY CLAIRE OLIVER GALLERY, NEW YORK.
PHOTO: TEAM PETER STIGTER
Galleries are moving their exhibits online –

JUNE
6 Rebecca Hossack’s spring exhibition features

hand embroideries by Rose Blake.
Retrouvius x Greenweave @LCW
rebeccahossack.com
25
27
©MICHAELA EFFORD, DESIGN MUSEUM
Sneakers Unboxed
at the Design London Craft Week has changed
Museum offers an the timing of LCW 2020. Originally
insider’s guide to scheduled for 27 April-3 May, the
urban footwear festival will now take place
from 6 May-6 Sept 30 September-8 October 2020
designmuseum.org londoncraftweek.com
Rose Blake, OK (Enjoying the Details), 2018.

PREVIEW
WAR AND PIECED

Stitched from tiny scraps of coloured woollen uniforms, military
quilts were produced by soldiers, sailors and regimental tailors
from the 18th to the 20th centuries. Yet their reasons for making
them, the quilts’ purpose, and the details of many of the makers
remain obscured by time.
A collection of 30 breathtaking examples of appliqu d and
geometric quilts from the collection of Dr Annette Gero was due
to go on show in Adelaide this month. Some date as far back as
the Napoleonic and Crimean War. Often formed of geometric
(rather than figurative) patterns, many are fine examples of intarsia
patchwork, a technique where cut shapes and motifs are stitched
directly to each other with no seam allowance or backing fabric, so
that the finished surface is flat. This involved considerable skill and Maker unknown (initials JSJ), Intarsia Quilt with Soldiers (detail)
some of these quilts contain as many as 25,000 pieces of fabric. c1760-80 Prussia. 140 x 110cm. Wool. Hand stitch, intarsia.
War and ieced The nnette ero ollection of uilts
from ilitary Fabrics was due to show at The avid oche Top: Maker unknown, Soldier’s Patchwork with Incredible Border.
Foundation House useum, delaide 1 ay ugust India or England c1855 (pre-1881). 208 x 216cm. Red, yellow,
black, green and blue felted uniform wool. Hand stitch, hand-
roche ou datio .co .au applied bead work, textural layered appliquéd border.

PREVIEW
Masterclass tutor Richard McVetis Masterclass tutor Laura Thomas Masterclass tutor Hannah Lamb
Back in 2021
Swansea Festival of Stitch was due to
return this summer with even more events,
exhibitions and masterclasses planned, but
has now been postponed until August 2021.
New to the roster is the open exhibition,
which will adopt the Festival theme of
‘Power of Flowers’. In addition to the Textile
Trail (showcasing work by local groups and
individual artists such as Heather Parnell
and Judith Isaac Lewis), Quilt Expo returns
to Swansea Leisure Centre, and the Makers
& Traders Market to Weston Hall.
The masterclasses will feature at least 12
days of teaching led by expert tutors, and
there’s also a four-day shop of skills, where
the public can have a go at various textile
techniques free of charge. Volunteers still
plan to adorn the town’s street lamps
with a floral textile trail, ensuring this will
be a heartfelt and exciting celebration of
textiles. Put it in your diary now.
SWANSEA FESTIVAL OF STITCH
13-27 AUGUST 2021
swa sea esti alo stitch.co.uk
Masterclass tutor Emily Jo Gibbs
Masterclass tutor Haf Weighton

Right: Shop of skills tutor Charlotte Parker

PROFILE

PIXEL PERFECT
sing hand embroidery to explore personal
history and nostalgia iane eyer investigates
photography’s ability to supplant memory
iane Meyer’s work sits somewhere between embroidery and
D photography: she uses thread on photographs to enhance and

obscure at the same time, and her finished works are pixelated
by her perfectly matched, cross-stitched interventions. Sometimes her
embroidery stitches are writ large – at other times it’s hard to spot
her analogue additions, they appear simply to communicate as areas
of distortion in a digital photograph.
Diane studied photography as an undergraduate but in graduate
school she took visual arts, which allowed students to work across many
different mediums. She stuck with photography in the main: ‘It was nice
because the programme encouraged you to explore and try different
things. So my thesis show had installation and sculpture and things
like that.’ After leaving education in 2002 she realised that she missed
working with her hands but it wasn’t until several years later, in 2011,
that she picked up a needle in relation to her photography. She had
found herself working with carpet squares, turning them into pixels and
then turning the pixels into giant landscapes: ‘I think subconsciously that
is what led me into sewing, especially the pixel structures.’
Diane’s first embroideries were worked on photographs she
found; family snaps taken by her mother and family, as well as her
own personal snapshots. This developed into the series ‘Time Spent
That Might Otherwise Be Forgotten’. Whilst working on it Diane was
considering memory and photography’s ability to supplant recollection;
of the disjunct between actual experiences remembered and their
photographic representations. 2
Left: Diane Meyer, Former Guard Tower Off Puschkinallee,

2013. 27cm x 34cm. Berlin series.
Hand sewn archival ink jet print.
Above: Bernauer Strasse II, 2016. 13 x 15cm.
Berlin series, Hand sewn archival ink jet print.
PHOTOGRAPHY: DIANE MEYER/COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND KLOMPCHING GALLERY

The artist is fascinated by the vast number of photographic
images each of us has amassed since the advent of digital
photography – and how these images remain stored on
our devices and are rarely made tangible. She sees parallels
between digital file corruption and forgetting: ‘I was thinking
about how family photographs show the same things because
they’re like curated collections of happy moments in life. I felt
that covering the faces would make it more universal, like
the images could be anybody’s family photo album. But I also
wanted it to be edited, sewing near the focal points of the
image, the places where you would normally look at first. So
that it would be disorienting.’
‘Berlin’, Diane’s next project, grew out of an artist’s residency
she took in Germany. She had expected to continue work on Above: Group I, 2016. 18 x 23cm.
her family photograph series whilst there, but found herself Time Spent That Might Otherwise Be Forgotten series.
fascinated by the Berlin Wall, the remains and the effects of Below: Stairs, Bösebrücke, 2016. 11.5 x 13cm. Berlin series.
which she could still see: ‘I love exploring cities. It’s one of my 1. Bernauer Strasse (Strelitzer Strasse), 2012. 5 x 9cm. Berlin series.
favourite things to do. And looking around I was really struck by 2. Disneyland I, 2013. 18 x 13cm.
the Berlin Wall. I was 13 when it fell, and I distinctly remember Time Spent That Might Otherwise Be Forgotten series.
3. New Jersey II, 2011. 11 x 15cm.
watching it on the news and knowing that it was important. Time Spent That Might Otherwise Be Forgotten series.
But then when I got into Berlin, I was so shocked by how little 4. New Jersey I, 2011. 11 x 15cm.
I actually knew about it.’ She ended up following the whole Time Spent That Might Otherwise Be Forgotten series.
104 mile circumference of the original Berlin Wall and taking 5. New Jersey XVI, 2016. 11 x 15cm.
pictures of it – in the city and through into the suburbs. Diane
Time Spent That Might Otherwise Be Forgotten series.
6. House,Wall Area Near Lichterfeld-Süd, 2017. 13 x 18cm. Berlin series.
found there was actual evidence of the wall in places – but
7. Gleinicke Bridge, 2017. 20 x 25cm. Berlin series.
also a huge psychological weight to the sites she photographed: 8. Potsdamer Platz, 2017. 20 x 25cm. Berlin series.
‘In many images, the embroidered sections represent the 9. Los Angeles I, 2018. 15 x 20cm.
exact scale and location of the former Wall, offering a Time Spent That Might Otherwise Be Forgotten series.
pixelated view of what lies behind.’ 2 All hand sewn archival ink jet print.

1 2
3 4
5 6 7
8 9

1 2

1. The West I, 2011. 15 x 20cm.
3
2. New Jersey XII, 2014. 15 x 10cm.
3. New Jersey XIV, 2016. 13 x 18cm.
4. Interrogation Room of the State Secret Police,
Hohenschoenhausen, 2014. 13 x 18cm. Berlin series.
5. New Jersey IV, 2012. 29 x 29cm.
6. Brandenburg Gate, 2015, 90 x 103cm. Berlin series.
7. Engeldamm, 2019. 25.5 x 33cm. Berlin series.
All hand sewn archival ink jet print.
4 6

7
She found herself working in a slightly different way on the in that image, that everyone was posed very similarly in a very
‘Berlin series’ too, planning the photographs around the particular way. And then I started looking at other school photos,
embroidery, having meticulously calculated the ratio of stitch and started collecting those on eBay.’
size to photographed image. Diane mounts each digital print The children in these photographs are the last generation
on watercolour paper, which provides a stable base to stitch before the advent of digital photography. In the new, found
into. The ratio of the stitches is always the same, about 14 images, Diane shrouds the faces of the children and teachers
stitches per inch – she found if the stitches were bigger you with embroidery, obscuring their identities, allowing us to
could see the paper underneath; smaller, and the paper would focus on the formulaic poses, the fashions, the awkwardness
fall apart. And so the size of her final pictures varies based on of the formal rituals of photography.
how much detail she wants to show or obscure. The smaller Digital photography today is she notes: ‘more of a vehicle for
the photograph, the more abstract the embroidery appears. impression management.’ The selfie generations are so used to
And the bigger the image, the more the embroidery looks photography that the occasion of taking a photograph has less
like pixelation on a digital image: ‘The Brandenburg Gate, for importance and is certainly less formalised than these stiff but
example. I knew I wanted that to be really big, because endearing groups of 1970s children.
I wanted you to be able to see the people, all the tourists Diane Meyer has shown her work here at the Photographers
taking photos.’ She has now finished the ‘Berlin’ series, marking Gallery in London, the Diffusion Photography Festival in
that (appropriately enough) with an exhibition of all 43 Cardiff and at the British Textile Biennial 2019 and it would be
works on the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Wall, at fascinating to see more of it. The analogue and digital threads
the Klompching Gallery in Brooklyn, New York. in her work are best appreciated up close in person. And
Diane is now back in the classroom, as it were. She has returned perhaps she might then be tempted to take on some aspect
to the ‘Time Spent That Might Otherwise Be Forgotten’ subject of UK life and history, to bend our memories with her needle
of the class photo. She has extended it into a new series called and thread – and her exacting photographic vision. e
‘Reunion’, using school photos from Generation X, of which she Jane Audas
is part. In the original ‘Time Spent’ series there was a photo of
her brother’s elementary school class. ‘I really became interested dia e e er. et

PIONEER
Vitamin K
Freddie Robins challenges the cultural
preconceptions surrounding knit, using it
as a powerful medium to unnerve, question
and examine ideas around the domestic,
gender and the human condition
Freddie Robins ‘exhibits a lot’. For a lot, read widely: from

contemporary art venues in London, Berlin and New York, to
museums and galleries across Europe and the UK (with a notable
mention for her home county of Essex).
In 2019 her work was shown in ‘Material: Textile – Creativity,
History & Process’ at Messums Wiltshire, an exhibition that featured
38 artists working in tapestry and textiles from 800AD to today.
Her fellow exhibitors included Braque, Hepworth, Matisse, Moore
and Picasso. Think on that for a moment. This is not the company we
naturally associate with knitted objects, but there her work stood for
six weeks. This is the consequence of three decades (and counting)
of studio practice. This is where her work finds itself positioned:
work that is rooted in a love of the craft and culture of knitting,
but which takes it to surprising
I’ve always loved what places by subverting norms and
you can do with knitting challenging boundaries.
– how you can handle ‘I’ve always loved what you
the material and work can do with knitting – how
directly with colour. . . you can handle the material
that you could work out and work directly with colour.
how to make or design As an 18 year old, I won
something. That always a national knitting design
seemed magical to me competition. I loved the maths
of it – that you could work out
how to make or design something. That always seemed magical to
me. There is a real earthiness about knitting – a groundedness – that
excites me. It’s an ‘everyday skill’ with social and cultural associations.
There’s also the analogy with being female. Knitting is seen as low
status, something passive and benign. It’s the uber process for me.’
We are back to that 2019 exhibition, ‘Textile – Creativity,
History & Process’, these are the foundations on which Robins’
has grown her practice. Her work can at times be discomforting, a
deliberate inversion of the conventional image of her medium, but
it is never less than rigorously considered and executed. Each piece
represents the exploration of an idea through a particular history
and process of making (by hand and machine) in which strands of
wool and lines of colour are entwined to create a sculptural form
that carries a meaning that extends beyond itself.
‘I find the medium of knitted textiles a powerful tool for expression
and communication because of the cultural preconceptions
surrounding the area. It is a ‘friendly’ medium, which can be used to Freddie Robins,
engage your audience with a subject, which might otherwise cause photographed with objects
selected for Maker’s Eye (all
them to turn away.’ Robins’ is talking about Billy Wool (2001), but held in the Crafts Council
she could be speaking about any of the work she has produced Collection), at her home.
since making the shift from designer to artist in 1998. 2 PHOTO: JAMIE STOKER

‘As a teenager I wanted to There are references
be a knitwear designer. Hand to feminism, the
knit was big in the 1980s and body, taxidermy,
I loved the work of Patricia folk tales and folk
Roberts. It was bold and art, curiosities,
unconventional.’ A ‘fantastic crimes and religious
foundation’ in Art and
iconography. We are
Design at Hastings College
encouraged to look
was followed by training
then look again to
in Constructed Textiles at
Middlesex Polytechnic and see differently
Knitted Textiles at the Royal
College of Art (where she herself has taught since 2001).
Jake Chapman was a fellow student at Hastings, John Allen
an important influence at the latter two institutions. ‘He
was a great supporter of my work. It’s very important to
have such people at an early stage of your career.’ Ten
years in the commercial world followed, yet only confirmed
the desire to pursue an art practice. ‘Ideas became more
important to me than making a product. I wanted more
freedom.’ Freedom was something associated with textiles
from childhood and her ‘greatest inspiration’, Godmother
Pamela Darking who introduced her to the medium. ‘She
was really creative, which my immediate family weren’t,
and very contemporary – a free spirit. We used to
make things together.’
That same freeness of spirit now found expression in
Robins’ studio practice. ‘I wanted to explore the symbol
of the hand and its meaning across cultures. I like taking an
idea on a journey and finding different concepts and stories.’
Odd Gloves (1997/8), was followed by Hand of Good. Hand
of God (1997), then her first public art commission, Hands
of Hoxton (1999), for Shoreditch Library. There are already
signs in these small early pieces of that which has come Above: Someone else’s dream – burnt (detail),
2014-16. 56 x 62cm. Mixed fibres. Swiss darning
to define Robins’ practice, in particular the use of on reclaimed hand knitted jumper.
commonplace objects (here the woolly glove) to explore Opposite, top: Someone else’s dream, 2014-16.
extraordinary aspects of everyday life. There are references Installation dimensions variable. Mixed fibres.
to feminism, the body, taxidermy, folk tales and folk art, Swiss darning on reclaimed hand knitted jumper.
‘curiosities’, crimes and religious iconography. We are Opposite, below: Knitted Homes of Crime, 2002.
Installation dimensions variable. Wool, quilted
encouraged to look, then look again to see differently.
lining fabric. Hand knit.
This is epitomised by Knitted Homes of Crime (2002), in PHOTOGRAPHY: DOUGLAS ATFIELD
which Robins draws on the tradition of knitted ‘house’ tea

cosies to create works that reference homes linked to
murders committed by lone women. ‘It’s my favourite body
of work – using a genre of objects you know people will
recognise to question assumptions around a difficult subject.
I really enjoy the ‘slow hit’, when you see something, then
you see something else.’ Someone else’s dream (2014-16)
is another example of this approach, where the artist has
worked with a tradition – the pictorial jumper – which she
then subverts, here by working an alternative narrative into
existing garments purchased online.
Traditions of knitting, especially popular culture, have inspired
other work (notably Collection of Knitted Folk Objects, 2014),
but it is the human body that remains a key focus. From
those early glove pieces, Robins’ work has ‘moved up the
body’ to include first, jumpers (Odd Sweaters, 1999), then
whole body forms (Craft Kills, 2002). ‘I was trying to hone
my skills and increase the scale. I’ve always battled with size
and feel very conflicted about ideas that serious artists need
to make monumental work – that bigger is better and 2

1 2
1. Craft Kills, 2002. 200 x 68 x 38cm.

Wool and knitting needles. Machine knit. In
the collection of the Crafts Council, London.
PHOTO: DOUGLAS ATFIELD
2. Hand of Good, Hand of God, 1997.

96 x 52cm. Shetland wool. Machine knit. In
the collection of the Crafts Council, London.
PHOTO: HEINI SCHNEEBELI, COURTESY CRAFTS COUNCIL
3. Anyway, 2002. 165 x 300 x 300cm.

Shetland wool. Machine knit. In the collection
of the Castle Museum, Nottingham.
4. It’s all the Same, 2017.

230 x 20 x 600cm. Wool. Machine knit.
5. Skin – a good thing to live in, 2002.

210 x 190cm. Wool. Machine knit.
that a commission for ‘I’ve been mulling over with gallery expectations that everything needs to hang on
the Turbine Hall at Tate how textiles behave, and a wall like a painting or stand like a sculpture.’ This ceding of
Modern is the acme of the need to embrace control is not something that sits easily with an artist who
achievement. I wanted to their qualities rather is a declared perfectionist. ‘I find it difficult but it’s good to
go beyond the expected than fit in with gallery explore the idea.’
scale of knitting and then expectations that The explorations continue, as do the exhibitions with one
retreat back to that which fast approaching as we speak. Maker’s Eye is due to be a
everything needs to
the medium deals with pivotal event, marking the launch of the Crafts Council’s
hang on a wall like a
best.’ new London gallery and the revisiting of an influential 1980s
painting or stand like
This is the story of her exhibition. Robins is doubly present as both a selector and
recent practice as Robins a sculpture’ exhibitor of work, Craft Kills having recently been purchased
has shifted between by the Crafts Council for its permanent collection.
domestic and advanced We must wait and see what lies beyond but, be assured,
industrial machines, with less hand knit. Body forms have there will be more. e
been explored as imperfect entities (Adorn, Equip 2002; The JUNE HILL
Perfect 2007), stretched taut (Anyway 2002), joined together freddierobins.com
like giant paper chains and encouraged to fall softly (It’s all
the same 2017). ‘I’ve been mulling over how textiles behave, Maker’s Eye at the new Crafts Council Gallery
and the need to embrace their qualities rather than fit in was postponed until further notice as we went to print

3
4 5

BOOKS
A unique vision
Meet Sophie Dutton the driving force behind the
book Madge Gill by Myrninerest, which reveals the
visionary art of self-taught artist Madge Gill
MADGE GILL (1882-1961) was an extraordinary phone. He had worked in the Borough of Newham
woman, compelled during the interwar years in London, where Gill lived all her life (today
and onwards by her spirit guide ‘Myrninerest’ Newham holds some 1,600 of her artworks).
to make a huge amount of artwork, including When you start to read about Madge Gill, much
paintings and drawings, postcards, embroideries of her early life has an air of tragedy about it;
and dresses. Gill was the subject of a major tragedy that takes on new significance when you
exhibition at the William Morris Gallery last know that in 1921, aged 37, Gill was first visited
year – the first time her work had been exhibited by Myrninerest, her spirit-guide – visitations that
publicly since her death – and her revival has been continued for the rest of her life. At this point she
championed by its curator Sophie Dutton, also the was obviously suffering a great deal mentally.
author of a fascinating book about this remarkable She’d been an illegitimate child born into a middle
visionary artist. class family, who decided to have her adopted,
In her other life, Dutton works as a graphic although her mother and grandparents were still
designer but she has dedicated much time to alive. She lived with a working-class family who
researching Gill’s work and life, along the way fostered children and then, aged nine, she was
developing a highly personal connection to both. orphaned out to Canada under the British Home
The project began when Dutton discovered Children scheme – a grim project that provided
photographs of Gill’s work on her late father’s children as sources of cheap labour. 2
Madge talked
about hearing
voices and
seeing things.
She had a vision,
Myrninerest
appeared to her
and she started
drawing, knitting,
sewing, painting,
playing the piano.
Left: Madge Gill, Untitled.

Colour cotton and silk
embroidery. 81 x 69cm.
Created c1926-1961, specific
dates unknown. Collection of
Patricia Beger, courtesy of
Sophie Dutton.
Right: Untitled. Front and
reverse of cotton and silk
embroidery (detail). 81 x 69cm.
Created c1926-1961, specific
dates unknown. Collection of
Patricia Beger, courtesy of
Sophie Dutton.
PHOTOGRAPHY: PAUL TUCKER

PROFILE

Madge made textiles from In 1947 Madge Gill was photographed with
a series of them and she also wrote to a
the very start. These were
friend describing making more than 30
not early 20th century
textile pieces. However only four of these
embroideries as we know were known to exist in gallery archives. The
them. . . Rather they are rest only came to light after Patricia Beger,
bright explosions of thread, who has a remarkable collection, answered a
reminiscent of none of her public appeal and got in touch with Dutton.
contemporaries’ work It seems Gill made textiles from the very
start, although they only account for about
She came back at age 19, renaming herself five per cent of her final output, which
Madge (she was born Maude) and began numbers over 5,000 artworks. These were
working as a nurse before marrying and not early 20th century embroideries as we
having three boys and a stillborn baby girl. know them – there are no crinoline ladies or
She lost her son Reggie when he was eight, Bauhaus-inspired abstracts. Rather they are
an event that that affected her deeply. bright explosions of thread, reminiscent of
Her marriage was also problematic. And none of her contemporaries’ work.
although she was never formally diagnosed, From researching her work, Dutton has
she almost definitely was suffering from observed that Gill nearly always used calico
depression and anxiety. as a base for her embroideries, although
However, under the influence of Myrninerest, some were produced on a ripped bedsheet.
she would enter trance states, and produced Gill started embroidering them in the middle
a huge amount of work in the next few of the cloth, ‘because they are denser there
decades of her life. As Dutton explains: and pucker a little bit’, and then worked
‘Madge talked about hearing voices and her way outwards, leaving the edges frayed
seeing things. She had a vision. Myrninerest and unfinished – on purpose, Sophie feels.
appeared to her and she started drawing, And although at first Gill’s embroidery
knitting, sewing, painting, playing the piano. seems completely abstract, Dutton has
There was no holding back: she found this noticed things: ‘There are a couple of her
burst of creativity.’ embroideries where I feel like you can still
All Gill’s works, except for her embroideries, get a feeling of those faces coming through.
are characterised by the faces she drew The fabrics underneath don’t appear to
repeatedly, that may or may not have been have any kind of outline or design. She did
portraits of Madge or her spirit-guide. But it’s them like she did her drawings, free-form
her embroideries that interest us here. and free-flowing. The embroideries 2

Above: Untitled, colour cotton
embroidery. 61 x 61cm. Created
c1926-1961, specific dates unknown.
Collection of Patricia Beger, courtesy
of Sophie Dutton.
PHOTO: PAUL TUCKER
Left: Untitled, colour cotton

embroidery. 115 x 63cm. Created
c1926-1961, specific dates unknown.
Collection of Patricia Beger, courtesy
of Sophie Dutton.
PHOTO: PAUL TUCKER
From left: Madge Gill photographed

at the Eades’ family home in
Woodford, c1904 and (right) c1887.
Photos courtesy of Betty Newman.

The embroideries initially down much of Gill’s work, and unpacked Below L-R: Untitled, c1920-1961.
the stories of how a yellow dress made by Black ink on postcard. Collection
feel so random, then the Patricia Beger.
more you look into them, the Gill ended up in the Museum of Applied Arts
and Sciences in Sydney. And how the artist Untitled, c1920-1961. Black ink
balance of colour is always on postcard. Collection Philippe
Jean Dubuffet (who coined the term l’Art Brut
really remarkable. I feel like Eternod and Jean-David Mermod,
for outsider art) bought a large collection of Lausanne.
maybe she got into a pattern Madge Gill’s work for La Collection de l’Art
with how she used the threads; Untitled, c1920-1961. Black ink on
Brut in the Swiss city of Lausanne. Gill was postcard. Collection Patricia Beger
the palettes always seem a letter-writer and Dutton has been able
really considered Opposite, top: Untitled, colour
to trace how friends and acquaintances
cotton embroidery. 91 x 87cm.
distributed Gill’s work after she died. Created c1926-1961, specific
initially feel so random, then the more you The whole story is in the fascinating and dates unknown. Collection of
look into them, the balance of colour is beautifully illustrated book Madge Gill by Patricia Beger, courtesy of
Myrninerest, which Sophie has edited. Sophie Dutton.
always really remarkable. I feel like maybe PHOTO: PAUL TUCKER
she got into a pattern with how she used Madge Gill’s embroideries are the most
the threads. The palettes always seem surprising textiles, full of intent, colour and Opposite, below: Untitled, colour
potency. As Dutton explains: ‘There is a piece cotton embroidery. 82 x 36cm.
really considered.’ Created c1926-1961, specific
Aside from the textiles, Gill could easily in the collection at L’Art Brut that I like a lot. dates unknown. Collection of
draw and paint over 100 postcards in an It’s really large, really square. It has a quite Patricia Beger, courtesy of
evening, covered with her looping free-form a lot of reds in it. But around the outside Sophie Dutton.
patterns and her faces. The most striking the colours are almost fluorescent. It feels PHOTO: PAUL TUCKER
works were huge ink drawings on calico, so contemporary. When you see pictures of
some up to 30ft in length, that she would Madge’s home and what she was surrounded
work on her lap – just drawing and drawing. by – thinking about the war and what she
Although her subject matter remained was bought up around – and she made this
consistent, Dutton has noticed that Gill’s quite powerfully optimistic and beautiful
work became more accomplished as she piece, which just feels potentially out of
went on: ‘The faces got clearer, she got more sync with her surroundings. She had a
graphic and precise. It’s very balanced and really unique vision.’ e
confident work.’ JANE AUDAS
Although Gill didn’t sell any of her artwork, worksby-madgegill.co
as she considered it to be by Myrninerest,
she did exhibit regularly at the East End
Academy at the Whitechapel Gallery.
Indeed, in 1932 the Daily Herald ran the
headline, ‘Woman’s drawing 20ft long’ Madge Gill By
about the exhibition, which must surely Myrninerest, which
have been a reference to Gill’s work. She includes rare images
was also featured in a magazine article in of artwork and
1947, which shows Gill in the most striking embroidery is edited
dress (which she made herself) in the very by Sophie Dutton.
middle-class surroundings of her home,
Rough Trade Books
£24.99.
and also showed her making her calicos.
roughtradebooks.com
Dutton has, through her research, tracked

THE SEWING ROOM
No place like home

Daisy Collingridge’s squishies straddle the worlds of sculpture, textiles
and performance and found their genesis in her old family home
THE ARTIST DAISY COLLINGRIDGE is caught between headless, dominate the room, lolloping over chairs
two worlds. She’s split, divided, not only by her two and hanging from cupboards. And there are her toys
distinct practices of textile sculpture/performance and – the ones she’s made. ‘Harold’, an antlered-deer’s head
illustration, but by the two places in which she produces with protruding teeth, hangs on the wall while ‘Greville’,
her work. Born and raised in London she now lives in a soft, round-eared monster, sits on the window-sill, her
Leicester with her partner, where she has a drawing studio. first one, held dear and not for sale.
But it’s her family home, and particularly the bedroom She talks of the room as a protected space, a private
that she’s had since the age of four, to which she returns space, an experimental space – a space in which she’s
to make her textile pieces. ‘I’ve everything I need there,’ allowed to be messy. ‘Mid-project tidying up seems such
says Collingridge. ‘I’m quite impulsive and I hate to have a waste of time,’ says Collingridge. ‘I just throw things
to go out to the shops. My Mum’s a hoarder of fabric and around. I’ve dropped so many pins on the floor that
my Dad’s got the drills and the weird varnishes in case I rarely need to get up for my pincushion.’ A room in
I suddenly just want to try which she’s always made
something.’ SHE TALKS OF THE ROOM AS A things, beginning with an
For all the practicalities of PROTECTED SPACE, A PRIVATE SPACE, aeroplane when she was
keeping the two strands
of creative work separate,
AN EXPERIMENTAL SPACE – A SPACE IN six, progressing onto teddy
bears. It’s a space in which
Collingridge is at odds with WHICH SHE’S ALLOWED TO BE MESSY she describes herself as
the going back and forth. ‘buzzing’. ‘When a new idea
‘I hate it,’ she admits. ‘I’d rather spend all the time there comes I can be a bit annoying,’ confesses Collingridge,
when I’m deep in a project but I miss my partner. At the ‘I get obsessive, I don’t eat – I just want to finish it.’
moment I can’t see ever getting a studio that would do But it’s clearly not just the room that provides such
what that room does for me. It was the same while she a pull. She talks of her parents, now retired, as being
was studying at St Martin’s. ‘I struggled even to go in,’ she ‘amazing’, ‘great sounding-boards’, ‘ never really getting
says, I’d always go back to that room. If it hadn’t been for cross’ with her, and even modelling the ‘squishies’ for
that room I wouldn’t have made what I did.’ her. I’ve had a nice life, says Collingridge. Symbolic of
The room, with its pale-blue carpet, pastel-hued walls, the artistic freedom engendered by such safe love,
striped frieze and kitten-motif cotton fabric curtains, Collingridge confesses to being ‘too scared to try and
is a generic child’s bedroom on the top floor of a work somewhere else’, saying that she’s ‘sort of given
suburban detached house. It’s unremarkable. What up looking’. Collingridge’s sewing room is it seems, at
makes it remarkable is what is created there. Collingridge least for the time-being, irreplaceable. e
calls them her ‘squishy people’ – globular, cushioned, ELLEN BELL
marshmallow-coloured, life-sized fat-suits (like some 3D
rendition of a Jenny Saville painting) which, currently daisycollingridge.com

PROFILE
A VIRTUOUS CIRCLE
Describing her work as a protest against the ways
in which textiles are consumed in Western society,
Kate Whitehead uses weave to explore the creative
possibilities of the forgotten and overlooked
I
t’s a rainy day when I call on Kate Whitehead at her Manchester
home. Outside the British weather may be biblical but inside all
is tranquil. ‘This is my quiet space,’ explains Whitehead, ‘where I
read books and embroider, or write ideas and maybe set a loom
up.’ This year has come as a welcome reboot – the antidote to a
challenging 2019 in which Whitehead’s home was flooded and she
dealt with the grief of her father’s death. Yet in the midst of this
chaos she managed to bring together two major bodies of work
to exhibit at the Knitting and Stitching Shows.
The works revealed the many strands, circles and twists in her story.
‘I’m a textile artist, who specialises in weave. That’s the label I give to
myself… I have a narrative – something that’s quite personal to me
– and I create a body of work around that, in the hope that it will
help other people share stories. It’s
I have a narrative, a two-way thing. I like sharing, I don’t
something that’s want it all to be about me.’
quite personal to me Those series of work – one about
adoption and another about grief –
and I create a body demonstrated the power of textiles
of work around it to invite participation. 2
Left: Kate Whitehead Kimono (detail),

Not From The Stork series, 2018. 95 x 95cm.
Salvaged linen, cotton & wool. Hand weave.
Family (detail), 2018.
Salvaged silk, linen & cotton. Hand weave.
PHOTOGRAPHY : MARIO POPHAM

The way you display dad and what he had meant in my
life: what values I could take forward for
the work... it helps to tell myself and my children. I’d sit, maybe 20
the story – and that’s as minutes, and stitch, then put it away and
important to me as making get on with my day. I found that really
therapeutic.’
But there is also something in the way
Whitehead was adopted at six weeks Whitehead displayed her work, and the Left: Honesty Is The Best Policy
salvaged linen, 2019. 150 x 150cm.
and ‘Not From The Stork’ explored tactile allure of the kind of honest and Linen. Hand embroidery, print.
her story and that of her birth mother, worn textiles with which she chooses PHOTO: SARAH MASON
whom she had only recently decided to work. This visual literacy, in which no
Top left: The World As I See It 2, 3 & 4
to trace. It also acted as a celebration detail is overlooked, is a considered part (detail) 2018. Each piece 11 x 15cm.
of Whitehead’s parents, as well as of her artistic arsenal. Originally she had Calico, string, cotton. Print, embroidery,
questions around what family is. hand weave.
started her own silversmithing business PHOTO: MARIO POPHAM
‘Two years ago I decided it was a good but cash flow was precarious and as a
time to look for my biological family. single mum of young children, she took Top: Not From The Stork postcard
designed by Oliver Lancaster Smith,
I went on that journey, and I found to shop work. That’s when a supervisor 2018. 11 x 15cm.
creating and making at that time was noticed her ‘eye for colour and putting PHOTO: KATE WHITEHEAD
really helpful for me to process what things together’ and asked her to join Let’s Not Forget The Tools We Use
I was going through emotionally. I know the display team. She did this for several postcard designed by Oliver Lancaster
I’m not the only one. I thought once years, working at River Island and Next, Smith, 2018. 11 x 15cm.
PHOTO: MARIO POPHAM
the work’s out there it may bring other subsequently training in the discipline for
people to be able to share their story three years. ‘I don’t know how I worked,
– and it did – I had the most amazing brought my children up and studied, but
conversations that were really emotional. you just do. I really enjoyed it.’
I’m really grateful.’ Today she still makes good use of those
‘Honesty Is The Best Policy’ (one of her skills. ‘I think that really comes into play
father’s favourite sayings) became the when I show my work. The way you
title of the other series, and one work display it and curate the space is part
in particular caught people’s attention of that feeling and story of what you’ve
– 365 Days – a stitched calendar of created. It helps to tell the story – and
embroidered marks on a simple square that’s as important to me as making.’
of linen. ‘Every day I thought about my The urge to be creative in her own 2

1
grandfather, and then her father, both common, but back then, not really.’
Kate Whitehead ran textile mills. Teenage life in a rural After university she admits ‘struggling
PHOTO: MARIO POPHAM
area, however, proved to be more of a with being pulled into making products’.
challenge. ‘As I got older I realised I need ‘I kind of work back to front. I would
visual stimulation and life around me: I make something and then look at it
need that balance of green but with an and ask myself what could it be?
energy – things to look at that spark ideas.’ Rather than deciding I’m going to
Bradford encouraged that freedom. make something and go and make it.’
‘All this creativity that was squashed She cites the Crafts Council Hothouse
down was just there and I could use development programme (2016) as a
it. I spent the first year just playing. . . major turning point. ‘Nailing my identity
that’s also where I first became aware was massive. It brought me strength.
of sustainability, and I watched ‘The True I think you flounder without it. Once
Cost’, which was really powerful.’ you can relay that vocally, it gives you
The documentary, which examines the and your practice a confidence.’
consequences of fast fashion helped This year, she says, has been lovely, with
shape her focus. ‘As far back as I can space to mull over new ideas. She has
remember, I have always treasured a residency at Bradford School of Art
unwanted things… I know a lot of artists under the AA2A scheme, with a new
say that but there is something magical body of work already underway.
right never left, so when her children about things that are not wanted.’ Weave is a mainstay but she is also
flew the nest, she enrolled at Bradford And it’s when weave became her chief experimenting again with silversmithing:
School of Art, graduating as a mature instrument of expression. ‘The minute I ‘It’s going back to that full circle thing.
student with a First in Contemporary started weaving on the tabletop looms, It makes sense now to bring some
Surface Design and Textiles. ‘It was a it fit. There was something about it of that metal into my woven textiles.’
free-ranging course and I loved – the rhythm of it. Technically I’m not But no matter how often a circle may
every single second of it… there was brilliant but creatively that’s where my appear to repeat, each revolution in the
something humbling about Bradford strength came. My final woven pieces cycle is different and Kate Whitehead is
and it’s got that textile history.’ were made with yarns that people didn’t an artist happy to remain in transition. e
The latter resonated not least because, want. I made one garment – a kimono JO HALL
growing up, cloth, yarns and dyes dyed in indigo with stitching, patching
were at the heart of family life. Her and mending – now that seems so kate-whitehead.co.uk

2 3
1. Honesty Is The Best Policy

salvaged linen (detail). 4 5
PHOTO: SARAH MASON
2. Ink & watercolour sketch book,

Not From The Stork series, 2018.
PHOTO: MARIO POPHAM
3. 365 Days (detail), Honesty Is

The Best Policy series. Old linen
curtain, black silk thread. Hand
embroidery.
PHOTO: KATE WHITEHEAD
4. Kate Dress (detail), Honesty

Is The Best Policy series, 2019.
Collaboration with Trouble At Mill.
Black cotton. Hand print.
PHOTO: SARAH MASON
5. Child’s Smock, Honesty Is The

Best Policy series, 2019. 30 x
20cm. Salvaged child’s cotton
smock, over dyed with print, hand
embroidery.
PHOTO: SARAH MASON
6. Panel Hanging (detail), Honesty

Is The Best Policy series, 2019.
45 x 100cm. Linen, silk. Hand
weave.
PHOTO: SARAH MASON
6

PROFILE
Drawn to lace
Teresa Whitfield’s pen and ink drawings of historical and
contemporary lace demand one’s attention thanks to their
forensic detail and astonishing likeness to the original article
‘LACE IS FORMED FROM the absence of she says. However, after almost ten years
substance… the suggestion of things not of struggling with what she came to regard
seen’, writes Iris Anthony in her historical as the mess and cumbersome demands of
novel The Ruins of Lace.1 In her graphic oil painting, Whitfield enrolled on the MA
renderings of lace Brighton-based fine artist in Drawing at Wimbledon School of Art. It
Teresa Whitfield exploits this potential for was a sea-change for her. ‘The emphasis was
illusion. The drawings – life-size pen and ink on research and connecting your work with 1 IRIS ANTHONY, THE RUINS OF LACE, PUBLISHED BY SOURCEBOOKS LANDMARK, 2012 ISBN 978-1402268038
microscopically-exact renditions – become research,’ recounts Whitfield. And it was at

like a trompe l’oeil, a trick of the eye, in Wimbledon, while searching out historical
which the viewer struggles to distinguish manuals to draw from, during her chosen
the real from the copy. research on depictions of childbirth, that
During a residency at Brighton’s Fabrica she came across a book on needlework.
gallery in 2009, Whitfield and a team of It was one of those tiny, fat little books,’
assistants made a drawing of a Victorian remembers Whitfield, ‘and with a section
black lace shawl. Despite witnessing them in full of drawings of lace. At least, I thought
the act of drawing, several members of the they were drawings, but in fact they were
public nonetheless tried to lift up the edge photographs.’ This prompted a period of
of the drawn shawl. Whitfield relishes such intense study of lace and embroidery, with
momentary double-takes. ‘I want people to Whitfield even taking a trip to Paris to visit
look at my drawing and then back at the The Lady and the Unicorn tapestries at the
garment,’ she says. ‘I love that dialogue with Musée National de Moyen Âge. Captivated by
the viewer – it’s a pivotal part of my practice.’ what she refers to as ‘that slippage between
Graduating over 30 years ago with a Fine Art needlework and drawing’, Whitfield returned
degree from Norwich School of Art, Whitfield to the lace photographs in the little book and
began her artistic career as a painter. ‘I spent began to fill a sketchbook with drawings of
most of my time at Norwich in the life-room them. ‘It was just like I was learning to make
making life-size paintings of the figure,’ lace,’ says Whitfield, ‘but with pen and ink.’ 2

I want people to look at my drawing and then
back at the garment. I love that dialogue with the
viewer – it’s a pivotal part of my practice
eresa h tfield, Black Lace Keyser Corset, 2020. 52 x 59cm.

n n a er. ra n n r ress left and fin shed art r a e.
PHOTOGRAPHY: TERESA WHITFIELD P38; NYLE WHITTAKER P39.

1
2
Hand-made lace is a hundred

times more complex than machine
made lace. With something like
Honiton Lace, for instance, there
can be ten to 15 different types of
pattern in one section
‘One of the reasons why I like drawing articulate practitioner, she’s as excited piece,’ says Whitfield, ‘but it just isn’t
textiles,’ admits Whitfield, ‘is because by the ‘magic experience of placing the feasible to make the finished drawing
I was always so bad at needlework drawings in the museums’ as she is by in the museums.’
at school.’ The child of a mother who the process of making them. Museums Whitfield’s process of working is, as
‘could make a coat and was always fascinate her. ‘I’m interested in what she describes it, ‘forensic’. Employing
crocheting, knitting or something’, they are doing culturally, how they a professional photographer to
Whitfield finds a rather comforting are defining art history by what they shoot the garment flat or hanging
appeal in being immersed in the world choose to collect and show.’ Working on a mannequin in the case of the
of garments and their decorative principally with archives, Whitfield Red Lycra Lace Top and the Black Lace
paraphernalia. Undeterred by any regards her practice as ultimately a Keyser Corset. Whitfield then prints
blurring of what were once distinct collaboration with curators. ‘There’s to-scale images of the piece, and after
boundaries between fine art and a lot of diplomacy and compromise enlarging sections of the photograph
textiles, Whitfield seems content to involved,’ she explains. to four times life-size, she then begins
straddle the two, and names several, Due to begin a residency at Wardown to draw.
equally hybrid, artists like Cornelia House in Luton, where the curator, It’s an intense form of examination in
Parker, Susan Collis and Lucy Orta unhampered by the usual protocol which Whitfield intimately acquaints
as her influences. Whitfield has even attached to National Trust properties, herself with the pattern and quality
gone so far as to join The 62 Group. ‘I is ‘more flexible and open’, Whitfield of that particular piece of lace. ‘Hand-
was quite surprised that they selected was delighted to be told that she made lace is a hundred times more
me,’ says Whitfield, ‘for my work is could even take the 1960s blue lace complex than machine-made lace,’
not textiles. But I’m interested to see slip she was working from home says Whitfield. ‘With something like
how I will feel about seeing my work with her. Whitfield doesn’t usually Honiton Lace, for instance, there can
exhibited in that context.’ work her final drawing directly be ten to 15 different types of pattern
That kind of detached observation from the garment, even during the in one section.’
of juxtaposition and context seems to ‘live-drawing’ residency she did at Only when she’s happy with the
embody much of Whitfield’s approach Fabrica. ‘I spend a lot of time studying, level of detail and accuracy of these
to her practice. An intelligent, photographing and sketching the initial studies – which she describes 2

1. Red Lycra Lace Top, .
c . n n a er, dra n .
PHOTO: NYLE WHITTAKER
2. Red Lycra Lace Top dra n

e h ted th the r nal artefact
n the fash n and lace aller at
C te de la entelle et de la
de Cala s, .
PHOTO: TERESA WHITFIELD
3. Richard Shops Blue Lace Dress

n sh ne t t the r nal
dress at llert n se
Nat nal r st, .
PHOTO: MALCOLM JARVIS
Right: Richard Shops Blue Lace

Dress, . c .
n n a er, dra n .
PHOTO: MALCOLM JARVIS

1

1. Somerset White Lace, . 5
2. Nottingham Machine Lace, .

3. Chemical Lace Handkerchief, 2014.

4. Downton Point Ground Lace Doily, .

. rt st eresa h tfield at the ra n

Lace e h t n, rth n se rt
Galler .
PHOTO: WORTHING HERALD
as, ‘strange, abstract blobs’ – does producing lace on a Leavers machine 20th-century lace underwear, borne
Whitfield start the final drawing. (originally designed in Nottingham). out of a desire to have ‘fun’ after ten
This end phase is the cream for her. She was entranced. ‘Mechanically- years of drawing ‘rather prim’ white
‘That’s why I chose to do the Richard’s produced cheap lace is so basic,’ says lace, to foresee a change in direction
Shops dress,’ says Whitfield. ‘I wanted Whitfield, ‘but high-end can be really just yet. Though clearly still revelling
to do a full-length garment so I could beautiful, delicate and complex.’ in the adventure of her recent archival
extend the final stage and lose myself And yet, as Whitfield points out, it’s encounters – such as the series of
for longer in that lovely, meditative act 1950’s corsets she’s discovered at the
of drawing.’ I wanted to do a full-length V&A’s Clothworkers Centre in Olympia
Initially drawn in by the historical, and the 1960s, 70s and 80s pants
garment so I could extend the
cultural and sociological significance collection secreted away in boxes at
final stage and lose myself
of hand-made lace-making, with all the Worthing Museum, that she likens,
that it says about the impoverishment
for longer in that lovely, to ‘rummaging through my school
of women through such poorly-paid, meditative act of drawing friends’ knicker drawers’ – it’s certain
domestic-bound, time-consuming that, serendipitous or not, whatever
labour, Whitfield has since become an industry fast going the way of Whitfield choses to investigate, the
equally intrigued by machine- its hand-made counterpart, and is ultimate outcome will be exquisite. e
produced lace. Commissioned by literally ‘hanging by a thread’. Ellen Bell
Calais’s Cité de la Dentelle et de la Though not averse to thinking teresawhitfield.co.uk
Mode (The Lace and Fashion Museum) about exploring other areas of the
to make a drawing of Eres briefs, decorative arts in the future, Whitfield ee Teresa Whitfield s work in ace in
they arranged for her to visit the last is currently too busy feeding her ashion at tockwood Discovery Centre,
surviving French lace-making factory new-found obsession with mid-to-late uton ctober 2020 March 2021
3 4

PROFILE
THE SUM OF ALL PARTS

Whether inspired by historical research or a
mathematical conundrum, Marilyn Rathbone is
fascinated by the nuances of process and making
T he creation of art is usually determined

by an artist’s decisions made during its
making – but not so in Marilyn Rathbone’s
learnt so much that I didn’t want to stop.’
She began her BA in Fine Art at Chichester
University in 1996 and it was here she began
Self-Avoiding Walk (2018) for which she to explore textiles. ‘Carol Naylor was head
was runner-up for the ‘most innovative use of art at the time, and she is so inspiring.
of textiles’ in the 2019 Vlieseline Fine Art The first module I took was Carol’s machine
Textiles Prize. In this ingenious artwork embroidery module.’
the artist sought to avoid making decisions Simultaneously, Rathbone was doing the
about composition, colour and line. Setting same school run with her two children
herself such a feat is fairly typical of Rathbone’s every day and observing the same things
conceptual approach, borne of plentiful in the pavement – cracks, leaves, manholes
research and her love of the ‘fun of maths’. – over and over. ‘I wanted to use the things
Self-Avoiding Walk is constructed from I was seeing in my daily routine in my art.’
Dorset buttons, joined together by black She made the ‘Pavement Works’ Collection
and transparent bugle beads to form a of over 20 works (1998-2003), and it was
lattice. Rathbone made the buttons for these that Rathbone found textile
with silk thread, in colours taken in techniques were most suitable.
equal measure around the colour wheel Water (1998) was inspired by a manhole
and in gradations from light to dark. In cover, and cascades of white Dorset buttons
mathematics, a SAW is a sequence of flow like water in an open box. With forensic
moves on a lattice that does not visit the attention to minimalist detail Rathbone
same point more than once. Here, the makes the boxes for all her work and she
colour sequence is determined by Pi’s decided a white braid would be the most
random numerical sequence: the digits zero fitting material for the box’s lid stay: ‘It had 2
to ten are each represented by a specific
colour, thereby resolving which colours
end up beside one another. The self-avoiding
walk becomes the self-avoiding artwork. IT’S A FORM OF PROBLEM
A member of the 62 Group since 2002, SOLVING. I LIKE TO COME UP
Rathbone has always drawn and painted, WITH THE SIMPLEST IDEA OR
but hadn’t decidedly practised art until her IT LOOKS FUSSY. I’M ALWAYS
youngest child was six months old, when ASKING MYSELF HOW I CAN
she enrolled in an evening class for an art MAKE THINGS AS CLEANLY
certificate. ‘I loved every minute of it and AS POSSIBLE?
Right: Marilyn Rathbone

Pi in the Sky (detail), 2016.
27 x 84cm. Silk thread,
brass rings, wooden battens.

Left: Self-Avoiding Walk,
2018 (detail opposite),
50.5 x 52cm. Silk thread,
brass rings, bugle beads,
graphite rod, illusion cord.
process to others (with hindsight, this

was a warm-up for Self-Avoiding Walk).
‘I thought it fun for a piece to be shown
in different ways so I didn’t specify
how Equivalent IX should be displayed.’
Rathbone made shirtwaist buttons
for the counters, using sumptuously
coloured silk yarn she had hand-dyed. As
with every work, she reveals the intricate
layers of research, which feed in: ‘This
type of button dates from Edwardian
times and a smart man would have them
down his shirt. They were revolutionary
because you could put them through
the laundry.’ As well as serving the work
functionally, Rathbone has a personal
connection to buttons, ‘My grandmother
sewed buttons onto cards in Ealing.
Other artists don’t influence what I
do, but here I took artist Carl Andre’s
lead – he used bricks to make his art
and his grandfather was a bricklayer.’
I DO A LOT OF RESEARCH the patterns mathematically on paper
Consistently original in her modes of
AROUND THE PRACTICALITIES before starting, which is what got me
working, for one year before the 2012
TO EVOLVE THE WORK. into maths. I’d always loved geometry as
Olympics, Rathbone committed to
THEN WHILE I’M MAKING IT, a child. Maths puzzles me, it’s a mystery.’
braiding every day for three hours, six
I’M DOING MORE RESEARCH Some Kumihimo braids hold their shape
days a week, to produce one hundred
WHICH MIGHT CHANGE THE and can be manipulated into sinuous
metres of braid in the six colours of
formation, such as maru and kaku yattsu
DIRECTION… ONE PIECE the Olympic symbol – producing the
gumi used here as ‘these braids are
LEADS TO ANOTHER 100 Metres Dash (2011-12). ‘I did it
decorative but also functional’. They
along the lines and phases an athlete
were exhibited beside the snake cabinet
would in training. From an athlete’s
in Cambridge, and then in Adelaide,
to hang like water.’ She purchased a point of view the black dashes are the
Australia, selected for the prestigious
lucet, a handheld tool for braiding, dating stride, all but the last fifty dashes are the
Water House Natural History Art
back to medieval times and used it for training – the last fifty are the race itself.
Prize exhibition.
making cords from which to hang items I wouldn’t have been able to do it if I
Asked if ideas and concept or technique
from utility belts. ‘It was out of necessity hadn’t followed the training schedule.’
and method are at the forefront in her
and to fulfil that purpose. It’s a form of work, she says: ‘One is as important
She kept notes throughout this textile
problem solving. I like to come up with marathon and released regular progress
as the other. I do a lot of research
the simplest idea, or it looks fussy. I’m bulletins on her website, and these
around the practicalities to enable and
always asking myself how I can make have now been compiled into a book.
evolve the work. Can I do it? And what
things as cleanly as possible.’ The completed striking braid lives on
techniques to use? Then while I’m doing
Developing braiding methods and an outsized thread reel, replete with
it, I’m doing more research which might
inspired by the variety of snake colour bespoke label ‘Rathbone’s Olympian
change the direction. When I’m making,
patterns, Rathbone created Kumihimo 100 Meters Dash hand-braided fine
something is quite often when I get the
Viperidae Cabinets (2005) for the silk braid’. Rathbone confesses she
ideas for the next project. One piece
Cambridge Museum of Zoology, wouldn’t work to such a prescribed
leads to another.’
braiding silk and metallic threads on a schedule again, but no doubt she
For Equivalent IX (2010-11) Rathbone
Japanese marudai (translated as ‘round will unquestionably surprise us with
made nine sets of nine counters, each a
stand’) to replicate snake skin patterns. unexpected and exciting methods
different colour, that would be arranged
‘It’s a bit like a Maypole, the order you and new works. ks. e
in varying formations by curators,
braid alters the pattern. I worked out consciously transferring the decision axisweb.org/artist/marilynrathbone

PERSPECTIVE
BLURRING BOUNDARIES
Textiles and Contemporary Art
In the first of a series of articles for Embroidery, leading
textile curator Jennifer Harris turns the spotlight on the current
explosion of interest in textiles in the contemporary art world
extiles are currently attracting unprecedented Hicks, whose career in textiles began in the late 1950s, in
T attention in the art world. Traditionally situated on

the margins, in a space between art and craft that has
resisted easy classification, and often dismissed by critics as
the 2014 edition of the Whitney Biennial in New York City.
The Whitney is the longest-running survey of contemporary
American art and generally regarded as one of the foremost
utilitarian or conceptually slight, for some time now textiles shows in the art world, often setting or leading trends
have begun to play an increasingly central role in a growing in contemporary art worldwide. A ‘knockout Sheila Hicks
body of contemporary art practice. Artists are recognising tower [of threads] … was, hands down, the best work in
the extraordinary potential of cloth and thread, as both the show,’ declared Jason Farago’s review for Frieze (6 June
medium and metaphor, to communicate ideas, because of 2014). The year concluded with a major exhibition at the
their roots in everyday human life and their ability to make Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, Massachusetts –
global connections. ‘Fiber: Sculpture 1960-present’, which
During the past decade, a long list of included work by 34 artists associated
Numerous exhibitions
curatorial projects in Europe and the with textiles. It subsequently toured the
USA has set out to reposition textile have taken place that country.
as a powerful art medium within challenged the boundaries During the same period in Europe, ‘Art
contemporary visual culture and of art media by focusing on & Textiles’ filled the Kunstmuseum in
artistic practice. In 2012 a group of the way that textiles can Wolfsburg, Germany (2013-14) with
six tapestries by the highly political
act as a metaphor for ideas 170 works by approximately 80 artists,
Swedish-born but Norway-based exploring textiles as medium and
artist, Hannah Ryggen (1894-1970), of the social, the political metaphor in the Modernist period, while
was included in ‘Documenta 13’, the and the poetic in the UK, ‘Art_Textiles’ at the Whitworth
exhibition of contemporary global art in Manchester (2015-16) was a major
that takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany, with a international exhibition that brought together work by artists
particular focus on the relation between art and society. It from around the world who use textiles as a powerful tool
marked the growing acceptance of textile as a modern and for expressing ideas about the social, political and artistic.
contemporary art medium in a more globalized world. In The show included work by Magdalena Abakanowicz
the following five years, numerous exhibitions took place (Poland), Ghada Amer (Egypt/USA), Tracey Emin and
that challenged the boundaries of art media by focusing on Grayson Perry (UK), Dorothea Tanning (USA) and Kimsooja
the way that textiles can act as a metaphor for ideas of the (South Korea/USA). Finally, at Turner Contemporary in
social, the political and the poetic. Margate in spring 2017 ‘Entangled: Threads and Making’
An article in The Art Newspaper, published in October 2014, presented the work of over 40 international artists who
quoted textile [art] as having ‘entered the mainstream’ challenge the boundaries of fine art, craft and design and
and being in the process of ‘gaining international stature share a profound interest in the process of textile making.
in art museums’. In the USA, that mainstream attention These represent just a sample of the larger projects that
began with the inclusion of the pioneering fibre artist Sheila have taken place over the past decade. 2
El Anatsui (Ghana), installation view of Fresh and

Fading Memories: Part I – IV, 2007, photographed
draping the Gothic façade of the Palazzo Fortuny
at the 52nd Venice Biennale in 2007. 900 x 600cm.
Aluminium bottle tops ‘stitched’ together with
copper wire. Private Collection.
PHOTO: JEAN-PIERRE GABRIEL. ©EL ANATSUI

Simultaneously, Tate Modern has been steadily acquiring accessible to people who do not share a verbal language,
work in textile as part of a project to diversify its collection. which accounts for their powerful role in engagement
There has been a particular focus on ‘fiber’ art (as it is programmes with immigrants, refugees and other groups of
known in the USA) from the 1960s and ‘70s, acknowledging displaced people.
the contribution made by East European and American Having spent so long on the margins of Western systems
artists in particular to the expanded field of sculpture at the of art classification, textiles possess the potential for
period. The collection now includes work by Lenore Tawney, challenging artistic hierarchies, and can be a potent medium
Olga de Amaral, Sheila Hicks and Magdalena Abakanowicz; for the expression of social and personal identities. Also,
in 2019 Tate acquired its first piece by allowing practitioners to draw on
by Croatian fibre artist Jagoda Buić Cloth possesses the ability to their associations with the everyday –
from Frieze Masters in London. In the communicate inter-culturally; a powerful trope in contemporary art
past half decade the gallery has also woven, dyed and stitched – they speak of a direct connection to
shown major exhibitions of work by artefacts are accessible to humanity and can make the ordinary
Sonia Delaunay (2015), the abstract extraordinary.
people who do not share a
artist whose practice included textiles, The recent academic and artistic
fashion and interior design, Bauhaus verbal language… interest in textiles has also coincided
artist Anni Albers (2018-19), who with a growing sense of materiality in
promoted weaving as a Modernist art medium and, in 2020, visual art, in which the material qualities of craft and the
is due to present a survey of work by Abakanowicz. sheer physicality of art-making often predominate over
Why is this happening now? Cloth has operated as a more conceptual and literary concerns. Finally, the time and
conceptual strategy in the work of many modern and labour invested in textile production exemplify the current
contemporary artists. This was the central thesis of Mildred interest in SLOW and its contrast with the speed of digital
Constantine and Laurel Reuter’s book Whole Cloth (Monacelli technologies. The tactility of weaving and hand stitching
Press, 1997) and also of the more recent ‘Art & Textiles’ provides an antidote to the lack of haptic stimulation in
exhibition in Wolfsburg referred to previously, which was screen-based technologies. Textile is a truly crafty medium. e
accompanied by a substantial multi-authored catalogue. Jennifer Harris
But in the globalized age, in which we now live, textiles
can offer a real handle on cultural diversity. The global
Until 2016 Jennifer Harris was Curator of Textiles and Deputy
exchange of textiles has a history going back at least two Director at the Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester where she
millennia, making them an ideal vehicle for critiquing the established an internationally significant collection of contemporary
values of global capitalism and homogeneity of production. work in textiles. In 2020 Jennifer is publishing an edited volume
Additionally, cloth possesses the ability to communicate of essays about the cultural role of textiles for the series Blackwell
inter-culturally: woven, dyed and stitched artefacts are Companions to Art History (A Companion to Textile Culture)

Opposite: Installation view
of the exhibition ‘Art & Textiles:
Fabric as Material and Concept
in Modern Art from Klimt
to the Present’ (12 October
2013-2 March 2014) at the
Kunstmuseum, Wolfsburg,
Germany.
PHOTO: MAREK KRUSZEWSKI
Top: Installation view of the

exhibition ‘Art_Textiles’ (10
October 2015-31 January
2016) at the Whitworth, The
University of Manchester,
UK, showing works by (L-R)
Lubaina Himid (Tanzania/UK),
Mary Sibande (South Africa)
and Grayson Perry (UK).
PHOTO: MICHAEL POLLARD
Left: Installation view

of ‘Art_Textiles’ at the
Whitworth showing works
by (L-R) Abdoulaye Konaté
(Mali), Magdalena Abakanowicz
(Poland) and Jagoda Bui
(Croatia).
PHOTO: MICHAEL POLLARD

FIRST PERSON
Giving back
to embroidery
Jean Draper writes an appreciation of the work
of friend and colleague Hilary Hollingworth
HILARY HAD A DEEP understanding her expenses fees for meetings and and the place where she grew up.
of stitch, its power, physically and sometimes her teaching fees too in Exploring cloth, its form, structure
visually, and its importance in history order, in her words, to ‘give back to and social significance, she began
and in people’s lives. She passed on embroidery’. Her original training the process of creating fabric using
her knowledge and skills in a long and came full circle at the end of her mainly needle and thread. She
varied teaching career as a popular, career in Huddersfield when she developed themes from personal
encouraging teacher, both in formal wrote an MA in Pattern Cutting, then and communal memories of scenes,
and informal settings. stayed to teach the first cohort. stories and myths from the cotton
Hilary’s initial training in fashion Hilary and I first met over 30 years industry, mill towns and landscapes
design led to a particular interest in ago when we were members of of the north of England. Many of her
pattern cutting, but when her family the Guild’s Executive Committee. pieces are based around images of
was young her serious involvement in Connecting immediately, we found mill workers, especially women. She
embroidery began. She joined a City our upbringing was alike in many used the technique of needle weaving
& Guilds class and her local branch of ways, both of us stitching at an early to depict an area and its people
the Embroiderers’ Guild. Some of her age with our mothers, who taught us entrenched in, and dependent upon,
early teaching was with a variety of to make and mend things – regular the weaving industry.
community groups. and normal activities in both our Instead of conventional needle
After gaining further qualifications, families. weaving, Hilary developed her own
including an MA, Hilary became a Hilary was a natural, compulsive method, which was to lay long stitches
lecturer in Higher Education. She and dedicated stitcher who often had (her warp) upon a background
taught both fashion and stitched needle, thread and fabric to hand. The fabric, then darn (her weft) across
textiles at the University of Central white and cream work she called her these. Her images were constructed
Lancashire and Leeds College of Art, Comforter was her ‘thinking piece’, by the blending of many separately
finally becoming a Senior Lecturer on which she worked for many years, worked regular or irregular areas
in Fashion, Fashion Textiles Media gradually adding scraps of significant of weaving. Whilst Hilary remained
and Promotion at the University family cloth and lace, which were dedicated to her chosen subject
of Huddersfield. She travelled to intuitively combined in this intensely matter, visually she strove to create
Hong Kong several times to tutor textured piece. changes in both her imagery and the
textile degree courses on behalf of However extensively Hilary travelled, surfaces she produced. Her work has
her university, as well as teaching her heart and mind were always been exhibited widely in the UK, and
freelance short courses in New firmly rooted with pride in her native selected for exhibitions in Italy, France
Zealand and for other groups in Lancashire. In writing about her work Germany and Florida: it is in many
the UK including the Guild to which she described how it reflected her private collections. e
she gave much time and energy. background and evolved from her Hilary Hollingworth died October
Unknown to many, she often forwent inheritance, from people she knew 25, 2019.
Left: Detail of Hilary Bower’s Comforter.

1. No Work depicts mill women in shawls and
aprons, and is mounted on a loom heddle.
Needle weaving, cotton threads.
2. Red Tape I (detail). A grid with sealing wax
encloses mill women in shawls against a
backdrop of laws governing work practice.
Print on cotton, red thread, sealing wax.
3. Red Tape II (detail). Mixed threads.
4. When Gandhi Came to ‘twistle (detail) depicts
Gandhi’s visit to Lancashire to enlist the
support of local mill workers in his fight to
save the Indian cotton industry. Darning,
hand stitch, felting. Various threads.
PHOTOGRAPHY: FIONA RAINFORD

1

BOOKS
follow the thread

TUDOR TEXTILES
Eleri Lynn
The year is 1520 and King
Henry VIII (1491-1547)
is meeting with his French
counterpart King Francis I
(1494-1547) in the-then
English province of
Calais for a pageant of
chivalry, sports and feasting
unsurpassed in its opulence
and excess. Each monarch
has an entourage of 6,000,
with key officials dressed in
the finest gold cloth, and
surrounded by hangings and
tents constructed of golden
woven material. For a fortnight in June, the site shimmers with EMBROIDERED TREASURES
the dazzling textiles that give the location its name – the Field of ANIMALS
Cloth of Gold. Even today, this extraordinary event remains one Dr Annette Collinge
of the Tudors’ most lavish displays of wealth, taste, and power. This is the third book in the series exploring
The long Tudor century, from the ascendance of Henry VII examples of embroidery held within the
in 1485 to the death of his granddaughter Elizabeth I in 1603 Embroiderers’ Guild Collection. Annette Collinge
and its tales of world trade, court intrigue and excess, has long has gathered together an inspirational variety of
captured the public imagination. Eleri Lynn (curator of the animal-themed hand and machine embroidered
Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection at Historic Royal Palaces) artefacts, which span the centuries and cover every
sets her detailed study of Tudor textiles against this backdrop, technique – from petit point and samplers to metal
highlighting not only their impact on fashion, status and taste at thread work and three-dimensional needlework –
court, but the unique role they played in politics, diplomacy, and each with a unique story or provenance.
visual and material culture throughout the 16th century. Beautifully illustrated throughout, these charming
Although meticulously researched with the scholar in mind and important embroideries, rarely exhibited in
Lynn writes for the ordinary reader providing a compelling public, are now available for everyone to appreciate.
narrative that grips from the start. She introduces the broader,
international story of the trade in textiles, their importance in Search Press £20
the fortunes of the English economy, the monarch’s wealth, and Detail of sampler by Hannah Guant, aged 12, 1819.
their role in shaping domestic and foreign policy. She examines Gift of Miss MI Young. EG3061
perceptions and etiquette at court – how both male and female
attire was used to convey social status and prestige, and how the
storytelling capacity of figurative textile furnishings was fully
exploited. Embroideries, carpets and tapestries were held in high
esteem; fine textiles were so costly (and far more valuable than
paintings) that they were beyond the reach of the average citizen
and even many nobles. Lynn also examines the role played by
textiles in the intimate, but never private, spaces inhabited by
royalty, and concludes with an overview of the raw materials and
basic textile techniques of the time, examining the production of
woollen cloth, linens, silks and metal threads.
Detailed illustrations bring this narrative to life – drawings, portraits,
engravings, and detailed photography of the carpets, hangings,
tapestries, embroideries, furnishings and paintings which often
hold tantalising clues to the status of textiles, speaking as they do
of British power and reach, which extended as far as the Ottoman
Empire. Altogether there is so much to recommend this book:
Eleri Lynn has carved an immensely enjoyable read out of her
impressive, holistic survey of the Tudor period and its love affair
with textiles.
Yale University Press £35

CIRCUS EMBROIDERY
Susie Johns
Quite rightly Susie Johns’ bright
embroidered designs take centre stage
here, with 12 projects for embroidered A printer applies the mordant alum.
After dyeing with the roots of certain
purses, a cake wrapper we can’t wait
plants, the printed areas will turn red.
to make, jackets and a whole lot more. PHOTO: SOPHENA KWON, MAIWA
Johns has packed a tremendous amount
of love and personality into her playful CLOTH THAT CHANGED THE WORLD
motifs of circus animals and performers,
THE ART AND FASHION OF INDIAN CHINTZ
as well as circus themed lettering and
borders – all of which capture the joyful, Edited by Sarah Fee
nostalgic appeal of the vintage big top. In As Sarah Fee writes, ‘the world would be a drab place without India’ not least
fact, there are more than 150 individual because of its textiles. Amongst them chintz, a vibrantly printed and painted
designs here, that will delight both cotton cloth, originally handmade in India but now produced around the world.
beginners and seasoned needleworkers. How did this humble textile come to exert its influence so far beyond its home?
GMC £14.99 From ancient times, the Indian subcontinent clothed itself and much of
the world with cotton, which was mostly plain, striped or embellished with
embroidery. But when Indian artisans developed the art of drawing and
painting with mordants and resists – which when combined with vegetable dyes
created beautiful designs in vibrant colours – chintz was born.
This book and its essays reveal how chintz became a driving force within the
spice trade in the East Indies, attracting European merchants, who in the 17th
century began importing large quantities back home. By the 18th century,
Indian chintz was so coveted globally that Europeans attempted to imitate
its uniquely colourfast dyes and designs – a quest that eventually sparked the
innovations (and far-reaching social upheaval) of the Industrial Revolution.
It would be wrong to imagine that chintz is purely an Indo-European story
though. Essays by a range of authors expand upon chintz’s 5,000 year history
and the global narrative – from Japan to Ottawa, from Indonesia to Brazil.
Why did people clamour for chintz? In simple terms, India’s mastery of cotton
MENDING LIFE was unsurpassed. European clothing was largely made of heavy plain wool or
A HANDBOOK FOR REPAIRING linen; only the wealthy could afford silks and velvets. It’s not difficult to imagine
CLOTHES AND HEARTS
how chintz, with its lightness of touch, bright hues and intricate, exotic patterns
Nina & Sonya Montenegro captured the imagination of Europeans. Chintz also introduced patterned cotton
Brought to life with original hand-drawn cloth to a wider social stratum and is now regarded as the first mass fashion. The
illustrations, this is both a practical first chintzes to arrive in France in the 1570s were called indiennes but chintz’s
guide and light-hearted manifesto real popularity took hold in the 17th century.
championing the positive benefits of Samuel Pepys writes in his diary in 1663 of
mending. It covers basic techniques, purchasing chintz for his wife’s study, and in
such as patching and darning, as well the 1680s East India Company records reveal
as a different take on decorative sashiko the boom for chintz cloth made specifically
stitching, all interspersed with personal for English bed hangings, with quilts and
stories about family and learning. The bedcovers being ordered in large quantities.
addition of ideas for further reading Fee, senior curator of Eastern Hemisphere
roots the practice of mending in a Fashion and Textiles at the Royal Ontario
wider movement – one of caring for Museum, draws upon its renowned collection
the planet, concern about our waste of to showcase the genius of Indian makers
resources and of making a contribution. and their astounding talent. She weaves an
We loved the heartfelt nature of this intriguing and fascinating narrative through
book and its invitation to ‘join in the centuries of trade, artistry, politics and culture
rekindling of an age-old practice’. drawn from the threads of this classic cloth.
Sasquatch Books £19.99 Yale Books £35

Exhibitions
1&3. COURTESY OF THE JOSHIBI ART MUSEUM; 2. COURTESY OF THE KHALILI COLLECTION
1 2 3
KIMONO Kyoto to Catwalk

V&A, London 29 February—21 June 2020
THE WORD KIMONO MEANS ‘the thing to wear’, apt, given method it would typically be executed on satin silk (shusu)
its history reaches back an astonishing 1,000 years. This is the to give an overall sheen and lustrous appearance.
first exhibition in Europe dedicated to the kimono and the aim Expanded trade in the 19th century led to a kimono craze
is to show it as a garment adaptable to changing fashions in and the Japanese responded by producing kimonos for export,
Japan and beyond. It includes nearly 300 works – art objects in turn influencing European fashions – it was adopted by
and kimonos – and does indeed take the visitor on a visually those wanting less constraining attire. The demand was so
stunning journey through its long and changing life. great the Dutch started to have them made in India out of
Some of the outfits are glitzy name droppers – a haute couture cotton. We see padded kimonos made for the Northern
gown designed by John Galliano for Dior, the kimono worn by Alec European climate, a 1905-15 embroidered kimono with an
Guinness as Obi-Wan Kenobi’s in Star Wars, the dress designed added piece of fabric to make it drape like a skirt, and an
by Alexander McQueen worn by Björk on her Homogenic album exquisitely embroidered kimono sold by Liberty of London –
cover – but the arguably more interesting stuff focuses on the indeed the store did much to foster the kimono fashion.
craft involved in the production of kimonos and how they have The large final gallery features post-1940s kimonos and
changed according to the political and cultural climate. includes those made by some of Japan’s ‘Living National
Pattern books exhibited here (from the 17th and 18th Treasures’, the most skilled craftspeople honoured with the
centuries), would have been perused by Japanese men and task of preserving dyeing and weaving practices in the face of
women, just as we look at fashion magazines today, and modern culture, such as the strikingly minimalist embroidered
illustrate the range of kimono designs to be hand-painted or kimono named High Voltage Power Lines (1956), designed by
embroidered. Though different features denote varying statuses Yamawaki Toshiko and made by LNT Moriguchi Kakō.
– for example long sleeves indicate the wearer was a young Just by the exit is the dazzling Fuji Heartbreak Kimono, made for
unmarried woman – on seeing these books the penny drops this exhibition by Nottingham-born Milligan Beaumont, uniting
that the kimono shape is such a basic fabric construction that Japanese motifs – dragons, carp, cherry blossom – and the style
it is the perfect canvas for elaborate (or otherwise) design and of skating culture. It is hand-painted jersey with appliqué pieces
embellishment. A straight seamed garment with a sash waist taken from vintage silk and cotton kimono, showing how the
(obi) requires minimal cutting from a single bolt of cloth. Sections kimono remains the ultimate wearable canvas for storytelling.
are sewn together temporarily while the design is drawn on the HATTIE GORDON
surface, then the pieces are separated to be decorated. vam.ac.uk
By the early 17th century men and women of every status
in Japan wore kimonos, and an industry of luxury kimonos A publication accompanies the exhibition £40
flourished in Kyoto throughout the Edo period (1615-1868).
Highly skilled embroiderers used a range of stitches, with threads 1. Outer kimono for a young woman, 1800-1830.
of many colours. And some threads were wrapped in gold or 2. Man’s juban (under-kimono), 1830-1860.
Fabric made in Britain or France, tailored in Japan.
silver leaf – a technique used on kimonos to be worn by high 3. Kosode with gabions and cherry trees, 1700-1750.
status individuals. When embroidery was the sole decorative Silk crepe. Resist dye and embroidery.

REVIEW
WE WILL WALK
Art and Resistance in the American South
Turner Contemporary, Margate 7 February—3 May 2020
THIS EXHIBITION AT TURNER Most are made from recycled

Contemporary in Margate continues materials, their patterns and
the challenging and interesting finish somewhat rough and ready
programming that has earned it a – almost folkish – but abstract in
reputation for being a place worth a way that is attractive hung on
visiting for art lovers and seaside day- gallery walls.
trippers alike. We Will Walk takes on It is undeniable, the presence
the emotive, difficult subject of the and impact of a quilt hung on a
Black American experience during the wall in an exhibition – a quilt is
1950s and 1960s at the height of the a lot of textile. But for me that
civil rights movement. It evidences this impact was lessened by the
history through work from 20 African setting here: the strange beige-
American artists, produced then and yellow walls in the gallery rather
now. Contemporary British artist sucked the life out of the quilts.
Hannah Collins curated the show, And what is most affecting about
taking three years to bring it together. these quilts isn’t how they look,
She was supported by Paul Goodwin of it’s the stories and narratives
the University of the Arts London. that accompany them, that tell
The show contains paintings, of their making. The exhibition
assemblages, quilts and photographs. introduces some quotes by the
The quilts are what interest us quilt makers, touching in their
most here. In both main rooms of directness, such as this one Mary Lee Bendolph, Basket Weave Variation, c1900.
PHOTO: STEPHEN PITKIN/PITKIN STUDIO
this exhibition they are the textile from Annie Mae Young: ‘I like big
contribution to the story being told. pieces and long strips. However I get
Originating from a place called Gee’s them, that’s how I used them. I liked It is these personal voices that really
Bend in Alabama, these quilts are to sew them however they be. I work make this exhibition. I could, and
steadily gaining iconic status in the it out, study the way to make it, get it would have liked to read more of them.
quilting and textile worlds. They were to be right, kind of like working out a In the end, it seemed to me a bit oddly
made by women who can (in some puzzle. You find the colours and the placed in Margate, this exhibition.
cases) trace their ancestry back four shapes and certain fabrics that work But We Will Walk takes on a huge
generations in a direct line of descent out right. I always like cotton, but subject. The work in it, much of which
to slaves on the Pettway plantation. not the other stuff too much. I stayed hasn’t been seen in the UK before, was
The very isolation of Gee’s Bend has, with what I started with: old clothes important work to show. And to see.
the critics argue, led to a unique and that I could tear up. It always came Jane Audas
original aesthetic in these quilts. out level.’ turnercontemporary.org
Installation views of We Will Walk

PHOTO: STEPHEN WHITE. COURTESY TURNER CONTEMPORARY.

REVIEW
FABRIC
Touch and Identity
Compton Verney, Warwickshire 14 March—14 June 2020
THE LOVELY VENUE OF Compton by the Lumière Brothers. It catches need to read the labels, and to think,
Verney is always worth a trip. Not easy the eye with its hand-tinted glory and which is no hardship as far as I am
to get to but so rewarding when you somewhat surreal dance movement. concerned. It is quite unusual to have
do. For textile fans there is a double Works exploring movement and its textiles presented like this, these days.
whammy on show. One is expected: limitations in textiles by Liz Rideal They are too often relegated to being
the exhibition Fabric: Touch & Identity and Nina Saunders complete the pretty things hanging on the wall,
from the textile powerhouse of Lesley room. Next, in the second room ‘The whereas so many makers work on a
Millar and Alice Kettle. The other Responsive Body’ we are asked to deeper level and an aesthetic one.
unexpected: Cranach: Artist and consider the public/private space and The day I visited Fabric: Touch &
Innovator – more of that later. how textiles can hold and encapsulate Identity we were given a tour of
Fabric: Touch & Identity is part of an personal experience. Co-curator Alice Cranach: Artist and Innovator, another
academic project that Lesley Millar Kettle has made a new work here, exhibition also on show at Compton
and Alice Kettle have been pursuing called Adam and Eve – it examines the Verney. I mention it here because it
for several years. They published a consequence of original sin. has some beautiful paintings. I wasn’t
book called The Erotic Cloth: Seduction Alongside that sits work by Nigel expecting to see them but I urge you
and Fetishism in 2018, and in a direct Hurlstone, Raisa Kabir and Vivienne to pop in there too if you visit for some
line from that have put together Westwood. The third room ‘Between wonderful 16th century textiles to
an exhibition looking to the way Cloth and Skin’ offers work by Suzumi round off your day.
materials have inspired artists. They Noda, Annie Bascoul, Alison Watt Jane Audas
lead us into the exhibition with the and Susie MacMurray’s After Shell, the comptonverney.org.uk
painting Mrs Baldwin in Eastern Dress, image on the poster for the exhibition.
1792, by Sir Joshua Reynolds. It is from The exhibition is finished off with an Cranach: Artist and Innovator until 14 June
the collections at Compton Verney – a Instagram moment in the final room
sumptuous, textile-saturated portrait, Ogi no mai / Japanese Fanfare, a site- From left: Cathy De Monchaux, Erase,1989.
chosen to give historical context. Then specific installation of 233 folding fans Denim, velvet, steel bolts and PVC.
PHOTO: ©TATE
we jump to an array of contemporary made by Reiko Sudo of NUNO with
textiles in four themed rooms. Studio Adrien Gardère. Susie MacMurray, After Shell, 2006.
Mussel shells stuffed with velvet.
In the first room ‘Sensuous Cloth’, The pieces chosen for this exhibition
Commissioned by Pallant House Gallery 2006.
opposite the Reynolds painting we are quite disparate, cleverly bought PHOTO: ©SUSIE MACMURRAY
see a c1899 film of Lois Fuller (there together under the co-curators’ eyes.
Liz Rideal, Terme di Diocleziano (2), 2017.
is some debate as to whether it is her) It is an exhibition where you probably PHOTO: MIKE DYE

REVIEW
Joana Vasconcelos BEYOND

Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield 7 March 2020—3 January 2021
JOANA VASCONCELOS: BEYOND is Yorkshire Sculpture Plastic fruit and cutlery, analogue telephones, domestic
Park’s headline show for 2020 and marks the launch of a year equipment, cloth, crochet and mirrors all feature in these
celebrating women artists, which extends to its sister venue, works. As do images of red hearts, a Beretta revolver
the Hepworth, where Sheila Hicks is scheduled to feature in a (associated with masculinity) and a pair of giant stiletto shoes
major exhibition later this summer. Although all is now subject made of saucepans. The latter piece, Marilyn (2011) hints at
to Covid 19, it still feels like a milestone moment. These are the challenge for Vasconcelos’ work: that of getting beyond the
major spaces and Vasconcelos’ work certainly has the scale to instant hit. Where works do, in pieces such as I’ll be Your Mirror
hold its own, whether that be in the vast Underground Gallery (2018-20) and Valkyrie Marina Rinaldi (2014), their impact
or the surrounding parkland. resonates. A huge organic textile form that seems to envelop
Note exhibit one: Pop Galo (Pop Rooster), 2016 – a vibrantly the visitor, Valkyrie is particularly striking. Simultaneously
coloured giant cockerel that stands at the entrance to the protective and menacing, it references the powerful female
main building. It is a huge introductory statement, which figures of Norse mythology who were responsible for life
brings together two Portuguese cultural symbols: the Rooster and death decisions. That sense of envelopment is echoed in
of Barcelos and handmade glazed ceramic tiles; the former other textile pieces where the artist has meticulously covered
providing the form, the latter the material. Add in sound activated forms in crochet (statues, animal heads, urinals, classic designs)
by visitors and LED lights triggered by failing sunlight, all set or created huge textile paintings. In both, textiles are used to
against a parkland backdrop and it is evident that this is work question hierarchies of art and soften forms.
with instant impact. All of the works are well-crafted and visually striking, yet their
‘Instagrammable art’ is one description, yet the artist herself is range can seem disorienting. If that’s your reaction, then spend
clear that this initial visual hit, is an integral part of her thinking. time deconstructing the earliest work Vista Interior, (2000), a
She speaks of ‘a first moment where you capture what is obvious ‘time-capsule of domesticity’ comprised of domestic objects
in the piece’, and of drawing the visitor closer to ‘discover there’s purchased twenty years ago. All of those objects made large
more to it’ and to deconstruct what that is. Each of the twenty- are present, as are the materials used. Also present are the
four sculptures featured here illustrates this approach. currently coveted toilet rolls, soap and cleaning products:
Representing twenty years of practice, Beyond demonstrates a timely reminder of the significance of that which is often
how Vasconcelos uses a range of material and forms to explore overlooked, in art and life.
ideas and challenge preconceptions of femaleness, love and JUNE HILL
cultural traditions. Domestic objects are enlarged to an enormous ysp.org.uk
scale: a tree-sized wrought iron wine flagon, an ironwork teapot An exhibition guide accompanies the show, £6
reminiscent of a summerhouse, a monumental diamond ring
made of whisky glasses and car wheel rims. This questioning of Left: Joana Vasconcelos, Valkyrie Marina Rinaldi, 2014.
©FABRIZIO ORSI. COURTESY MARINA RINALDI
the overlooked norm is a theme repeated throughout Beyond Right: Joana Vasconcelos, Pop Galo, 2016.
in the artist’s exploration of ideas, imagery and materials. ©LUÍS VASCONCELOS. COURTESY UNIDADE INFINITA PROJECTOS

What’s on
LONDON Italian Threads: REDDITCH Fabric of Life,
STOP PRESS Postponements and cancellations of MITA Textile Design 1926- Threaded Together Textile
exhibitions in April, May and June due to Covid-19 were 1976 until 28 June. Estorick Group until 31 May. Forge Mill
still being announced as we went to press. Some galleries Collection of Modern Italian Needle Museum, Needle Mill
and organisers are rescheduling their events and exhibitions Art, 39A Canonbury Square Lane, Riverside B98 8HY
for later in the year, or extending the dates of exhibitions N1 2AN. T 020 7704 9522. T 01527 62509. forgemill.org.uk
already installed during this period. Because of this we are estorickcollection.com RUTHIN Jennie Moncur:
including details of the exhibitions that were scheduled for Interrupted Views until 11
May & June but please check with the venue for the latest LONDON Maker’s Eye, Objects
from the Crafts Council’s July. Ruthin Craft Centre, Park
dates and opening times once restrictions are lifted.
collection – postponed. Crafts Road, Wales LL15 1BB.
Council Gallery, 44A Pentonville T 01824 704 774.
ruthincraftcentre.org.uk
Road N1 9BY. T 020 7806 2500.
ON SHOW NOW ELLESMERE PORT Ebb & Flow,
craftscouncil.org.uk SALISBURY Common Thread
Threadmill Textile Art Group
ABINGDON HapticArt: until 30 May. NewArtCentre,
until 11 September. National LONDON Out of the Blue: 50
Abingdon Treasures until Roche Court, Wiltshire SP5 1BG.
Waterways Museum, Years of Designers Guild until
T 01980 862 244.
28 June. The Abingdon S Pier Road CH65 4FW. 14 June. The Fashion & Textile
sculpture.uk.com
County Hall Museum, T 0151 355 5017. Museum, 83 Bermondsey St
Market Place, OX14 3HG. canalrivertrust.org.uk SE1 3XF. T 020 7407 8664. SLEAFORD Body & Mind:
T 01235 523 703. ftmlondon.org Seen & Unseen until 6 July.
abingdon.gov.uk/museum EXETER By Royal Appointment: National Centre for Craft &
Devon Lace-makers until 31 MANCHESTER Jerwood Makers Design, Navigation Wharf,
CHESTERFIELD Glorious May. Royal Albert Memorial until 4 October. Manchester Art Carre St, Lincs NG34 7TW.
Gardens, Chesterfield Branch Museum & Art Gallery, Queen Gallery, Mosley St M2 3JL. T 01529 308 710. nccd.org.uk
EG until 9 May. Chesterfield Street, Devon EX4 3RX. T 0161 235 8888.
SUNBURY-ON-THAMES
Museum and Art Gallery, St T 01392 265 858. manchesterartgallery.org
Liz Emery: Textile & Felt Artist
Mary’s Gate S41 7DT. rammuseum.org.uk until 10 May. The Sunbury
MARGATE We Will Walk – Art
T 01246 345 727. Gallery, The Walled Garden
and Resistance in the American
chesterfield.gov.uk FARNHAM Moving Forward:
TW16 6AB. T 01932 788 101.
The Crafts Study Centre at 50 South until 3 May. Turner
COMPTON VERNEY until 15 August. The Crafts Study Contemporary, Kent sunburygallery.org
Fabric: Touch and Identity Centre, Falkner Rd, Surrey CT9 1HG. T 01843 233 000.
WAKEFIELD Joana Vasconcelos
until 14 June. Compton Verney, GU9 7DS. T 01252 891 450. turnercontemporary.org
until 3 January 2021. Yorkshire
Warwickshire CV35 9HZ. csc.uca.ac.uk NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE Sculpture Park, West Bretton,
T 01926 645 500.
HALIFAX As Seen on TV: Illuminating the Self: Susan Yorkshire WF4 4LG.
comptonverney.org.uk
Celebrating Costume in British Aldworth until 9 May. T 01924 832 631. ysp.org.uk
CORSHAM Wasted, South TV drama until 5 September. Hatton Gallery, Kings Road,
West Textile Group until Bankfield Museum, Akroyd Park, Newcastle University OPENS MAY
30 May. Pound Gallery, Boothtown Road HX3 6HG. NE1 7RU. T 0191 277 8877.
hattongallery.org.uk BURY ST EDMUNDS Out of
Pound Pill SN13 9HX. T 01422 352 334. the Fold Textile Group: Drawn
T 01249 701 628. museums.calderdale.gov.uk OXFORD Mediterranean Threads and Celebrating One
poundarts.org.uk Threads: 18th and 19th century Thousand Years of Bury Abbey
LAMPETER The Magical
DUNDEE Mary Quant Greek Embroideries 4 April-20 20-24 May. The Guildhall,
Quilts of Wales and Sandie
until 6 September. The V&A September. Ashmolean Museum, Guildhall Street, Suffolk
Lush’s Paisley Pageant until 24
Dundee, 1 Riverside Esplanade, December. The Welsh Quilt Beaumont Street, Oxford IP33 3EG. T 01284 247 037.
Scotland DD1 4EZ. OX1 2PH. T 01865 278 000. burystedmundsguildhall.org.uk
Centre, Town Hall, High Street,
T 01382 411 611. ashmolean.org
Ceredigion, Wales SA48 7BB. CHICHESTER The
vam.ac.uk/dundee T 01570 422 088. PADIHAM Floralia: Nikki Threadwinders: Journey
welshquilts.com Parmenter until 28 June. Through Colour 18-31 May.
EAST MOLESEY Stitch is
Gawthorpe Textiles Collection, The Oxmarket Gallery, St
International until 2 December. LONDON Bags: Inside
Gawthorpe Hall, Lancashire Andrews Court, East Street
Royal School of Needlework, Out until 31 January 2021
BB12 8UA. T 01282 773 963. PO19 1YH. T 01243 779 103.
Apt 12A, Hampton Court and Kimono: Kyoto to gawthorpetextiles.org.uk oxmarket.com
Palace, Surrey KT8 9AU Catwalk until 21 June.
(booking essential). V&A, Cromwell Rd, South PENRITH T is for Textiles until FARNHAM Richard McVetis:
T 020 3166 6939. Kensinghton SW7 2RL. 28 June – postponed. Rheged Shaped by Time 19 May
royal-needlework.org.uk T 020 7942 2000. Centre, Redhills, Cumbria -5 September. The Crafts Study
vam.ac.uk CA11 0DQ. T 01768 868 000. Centre, Falkner Road, Surrey
EDINBURGH Mid-Century rheged.com GU9 7DS. T 01252 891 450.
Modern: Art & Design from LONDON Costume at the csc.uca.ac.uk
Conran to Quant until 30 National Theatre until PORTH Cas Holmes: Places,
June. Dovecot Studios, 27 June. National Theatre, Spaces, Traces until 22 May. The LEDBURY Threads, Fusion16
10 Infirmary St, Scotland Upper Ground, South Bank Factory, Jenkin Street, Wales textile group 25-31 May.
EH1 1LT. T 0131 550 3660. SE1 9PX. T 020 7452 3000. CF39 9PP. T 01443 687 080. Weavers Gallery, Church Lane,
dovecotstudios.com nationaltheatre.org.uk valleyskids.org/the-factory HR8 1DW. T 07901 895 277.

LINLITHGOW Linlithgow STAFFORD Ten 7 May-5 WAKEFIELD Sheila Hicks 24 JULY GNCCF Sheffield.
25th Anniversary Linlithgow September. Unit Twelve Gallery, June-7 October. The Hepworth CANCELLED. Milliennium Gallery.
& District EG 2-10 May. Tixall Heath Farm, Staffs Wakefield, West Yorkshire greatnorthernevents.co.uk
Linlithgow Museum, Tam ST18 0XX. T 07811 460 494. WF1 5AW. T 01924 247 360. 25-28 JUNE Fashion &
Dalyell House, 93 High Street, unittwelve.co.uk hepworthwakefield.org Embroidery. NEC, Birmingham.
Scotland EH49 7EZ.
T 01506 670 677. SEDBURGH Thread Running
Through, Textilia 3 8 May-5
OPENS JULY fashionembroidery.co.uk
linlithgowmuseum.org ROMSEY Zero Nine Textile 1-4 & 8-11 JULY New
July. Farfield Mill, Garsdale Designers. CANCELLED – may
LONDON In Search Of (im) Road, Cumbria LA10 5LW. Artists 14-30 July. Sir Harold
Possibilities, Prism 12-24 May – T 01539 621 958. Hillier Gardens, SO51 0QA. be rescheduled for later in the
postponed. The Art Pavilion, Mile farfieldmill.org T 01794 369 318. hants.gov.uk year. Business Design Centre,
London. newdesigners.com
End Park, Clinton Road E3 4QY. PADIHAM Exspiravit, Decorum
STROUD Signature XI: AUGUST Festival of Quilts.
T 020 7364 3115. Zero3 2-31 May. The textile artists 2 July-1 November.
towerhamlets.gov.uk Gawthorpe Textiles Collection, POSTPONED until 2021. NEC.
Museum in the Park, Stratford thefestivalofquilts.co.uk
Park, Gloucestershire GL5 4AF. Gawthorpe Hall, Lancashire
LONDON Karen Nicol opens
T 01453 763 394. BB12 8UA. T 01282 773 963. AUGUST Swansea Festival
20 May. Woolff Gallery, 89 gawthorpetextiles.org.uk
museuminthepark.org.uk of Stitch. CANCELLED. Dates
Charlotte Street W1T 4PU
for 2021 are 13-17 August.
T 020 7631 0551. WAKEFIELD Women’s SNAPE TAGS Annual Exhibition swanseafestivalofstitch.co.uk
woolffgallery.co.uk Voices in Art Education 10-22 July. Snape Maltings,
23 May-6 September. Suffolk IP17 1SP. 12-20 SEPTEMBER
LONDON Sneakers Unboxed: T 01728 687 110. London Design Festival.
Studio to Street 6 May-6 NAEA Gallery, Yorkshire
Sculpture Park, West Bretton, snapemaltings.co.uk londondesignfestival.com
September. Design Museum,
224-238 Kensington High St Yorkshire WF4 4LG. 17-20 SEPTEMBER Handmade
T 01924 832631. UK EVENTS Oxford. (Rescheduled from
W8 6AG. T 020 3862 5900.
designmuseum.org ysp.org.uk MAY Select Art Trail 2020. June) Waterperry Gardens.
CANCELLED new dates in handmadeinbritain.co.uk
MARKET HARBOROUGH WOODSTOCK Oxford September or October to be
Aspects of Stitch biannual Textile Artists ‘Connections’ 18-20 SEPTEMBER Craft
announced. sitselect.org
exhibition 16-17 May.1st Scout 2-31 May. The Oxfordshire Festival, Bovey Tracey.
Headquarters, 31 Coventry Museum, 14 Park Street MAY Decorative Antiques & (Rescheduled from June).
Road, Leicestershire LE16 9BX. OX20 1SW. T 01993 814106. Textiles Fair. CANCELLED. craftfestival.co.uk
emreg.org.uk oxfordshire.gov.uk decorativefair.com 29 SEPTEMBER-4 OCTOBER
MAY Braintree Textiles Fair. Autumn Decorative Antiques
MATLOCK Fabric of the OPENS JUNE CANCELLED. Warner Textile & Textiles Fair. Battersea Park.
North, British Tapestry Group BALFRON Textile Art decorativefair.com
7-23 May. Cromford Mills, Archive, Braintree Museum
Sketchbooks, Gillian Cooper and Braintree Town Hall.
Derbyshire DE4 3RQ. 30 SEPTEMBER-8 OCTOBER
Studio students 6-7 June. warnertextilearchive.co.uk
T 01629 823 256. McLintock Hall, Stirling and London Craft Week
cromfordmills.org.uk Falkirk, Scotland G63 0TT. MAY GNCCF Great Northern (rescheduled from May).
OXFORD Ruth Asawa: T 07939 092 790. Contemporary Craft Fair. londoncraftweek.com
CANCELLED. The BALTIC 8-11 OCTOBER GNCCF
Citizen of the Universe 30 LONDON Alice: Curiouser Centre for Contemporary Arts.
May-6 September. Modern Art and Curiouser 27 June-10 Manchester. Victoria Baths.
greatnorthernevents.co.uk
Oxford, 30 Pembroke Street January 2021. V&A, greatnorthernevents.co.uk
OX1 1BP. T 01865 722 733. Cromwell Road, South 6 JUNE World Textile Day 8-11 OCTOBER Knitting &
modernartoxford.org.uk Kensinghton SW7 2RL. Central: Crossing Borders. Stitching Show. Alexandra
T 020 7942 2000. Banbury. worldtextileday.co.uk Palace, London. livingcrafts.co.uk
PULBOROUGH Parham
House Needlework Display vam.ac.uk JUNE Textravaganza. 8-11 OCTOBER Living
6-31 May – cancelled. Parham LONDON Magdalena CANCELLED new dates in Crafts. (Rescheduled from
House, West Sussex Abalanowicz 17 June-13 the autumn to be announced. May) Hatfield House, Herts.
RH20 4HR. T 01903 742 021. September. TATE Modern, Rheged Centre, Penrith. livingcrafts.co.uk
parhaminsussex.co.uk Bankside SE1 9TG. rheged.com
24 OCTOBER World Textile
T 020 7887 8888. tate.org.uk JUNE National Festival Day Wales (rescheduled from
ST IVES Liz Hewitt: Rusted
Weathered & Worn 17-22 of Making. CANCELLED. March). worldtextileday.co.uk
TOTNES What Lies Beneath,
May. Crypt Gallery, St Ives festivalofmaking.co.uk
Textile Wizardry 29 June-4
Society of Artists, Norway July. Birdwood House, High 13 JUNE World Textile Day Venues may charge admission. Dates and
Square, Cornwall TR26 1NA. Street, Devon TQ9 5SQ. Scotland: Crossing Borders. opening times may be subject to change at
T 01736 795 582. T 01803 862 025. Bridge of Allan, Scotland. short notice. We recommend contacting the
stisa.co.uk/the-crypt-gallery birdwoodhouse.org.uk worldtextileday.co.uk venue before making your journey.
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worth £15.99 for every reader of Embroidery magazine!
In this unique book, master embroiderers Hazel Blomkamp and Di

van Niekerk have come together with fine artist Monique Day-Wilde to
create a collection of over 25 luminous designs inspired by the beauty
and mysticism of mandalas.
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RRP £12.99 • Pbk RRP £12.99 • Pbk RRP £16.99 • Pbk RRP £17.99 • Pbk
RRP £19.99 • Pbk RRP £25.00 • Hbk RRP £25.00 • Hbk RRP £14.99 • Pbk
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Embroidered Cat in My Pocket £12.99 £9.09
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Cherry Blossom by Janet Payne, EG Members’ Challenge 2018 White Tulips (detail) by Audrey Walker, EG Collection
Smile (detail) by Libertine Vale, EG Scholar 2019/20 Beadwork (detail) by Emma Wilkinson, EG Scholar 2019/20
whether you are...

getting started or moving on, branching out, exploring
or creating your own designs
the Embroiderers’ Guild...

inspires, educates, supports and creates opportunities
for all who stitch and create textile art
JOIN US TODAY
www.embroiderersguild.com

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T H E T E X T I L E A RT M AG A Z I N E

May June 2020

Visit our website for details and

2 EMBROIDERY May June 2020

Available from your local stockist or from Siesta at:

ON THE COVER: Diane Meyer’s House,

4 EMBROIDERY May June 2020

May June 2020 EMBROIDERY 5

You are here. . .

May June 2020 EMBROIDERY 7

Sheila Hicks ‘Citizen of the Universe’ at Modern

PHOTO BY IMOGEN CUNNINGHAM. ©2020 IMOGEN CUNNINGHAM TRUST.

ARTWORK ©ESTATE OF RUTH ASAWA, COURTESY DAVID ZWIRNER

brings together over 70

1 The Magical Quilts of

the Ashmolean (until 20 la ls

8 EMBROIDERY May June 2020

Bisa Butler Portraits

Bisa Butler, I Am Not Your Negro, 2019.

Galleries are moving their exhibits online –

6 Rebecca Hossack’s spring exhibition features

May June 2020 EMBROIDERY 9

WAR AND PIECED

10 EMBROIDERY May June 2020

Masterclass tutor Haf Weighton

May June 2020 EMBROIDERY 11

12 EMBROIDERY May June 2020

iane Meyer’s work sits somewhere between embroidery and

D photography: she uses thread on photographs to enhance and

Left: Diane Meyer, Former Guard Tower Off Puschkinallee,

May June 2020 EMBROIDERY 13

PHOTOGRAPHY: DIANE MEYER/COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND KLOMPCHING GALLERY

14 EMBROIDERY May June 2020

May June 2020 EMBROIDERY 15

PHOTOGRAPHY: DIANE MEYER/COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND KLOMPCHING GALLERY

16 EMBROIDERY May June 2020

May June 2020 EMBROIDERY 17

Freddie Robins ‘exhibits a lot’. For a lot, read widely: from

18 EMBROIDERY May June 2020

which Robins draws on the tradition of knitted ‘house’ tea

20 EMBROIDERY May June 2020

1. Craft Kills, 2002. 200 x 68 x 38cm.

2. Hand of Good, Hand of God, 1997.

3. Anyway, 2002. 165 x 300 x 300cm.

4. It’s all the Same, 2017.

5. Skin – a good thing to live in, 2002.

22 EMBROIDERY May June 2020

May June 2020 EMBROIDERY 23

Left: Madge Gill, Untitled.

24 EMBROIDERY May June 2020

May June 2020 EMBROIDERY 25

26 EMBROIDERY May June 2020

Left: Untitled, colour cotton

From left: Madge Gill photographed

May June 2020 EMBROIDERY 27

28 EMBROIDERY May June 2020

No place like home

30 EMBROIDERY May June 2020

Left: Kate Whitehead Kimono (detail),