Inspiration

I am a gardener and much of my inspiration is drawn from the observation of plant structure and ornament in landscape and nature.
I also like to think that the fine quality of my work owes much to the craftsmanship of times past and my use of recycled fabrics, notions and beads reflects this interest.




The Vegetable Garden

This embroidery was inspired by my work in the vegetable garden at Trinity Manor.
It shows the pattern of plant growth from seed to mature plant and the importance of sunshine and showers. The circular movement is a loose representation of the seasonal cycle and the design is set within a photograph of the vegetable garden. The abundance of the harvest is depicted in painted and beaded vintage lace and as a summer salad on a plate.
I included the prawns as my main course simply because I knew they would work well.
I was pleased with the completed work as I felt it fully illustrated the subject.
It was an enjoyable piece to work as it involved many different techniques and made good use of my skill and experience.
















The Exotics Series

This series of four small embroideries was worked in response to a request for work of limited size for exhibition.
At the time I was considering the link between my embroidery and jewellery, particularly the lace necklaces and worked this series to show the similarity between these two aspects of my work.
The embroideries use painted, vintage lace as the focal point of the composition, rather than incidentally, as in previous work and the colours are more vibrant, with lavish use of beading.
The inspiration for all four embroideries comes from looking at the effect of light in my garden as it changes through the day.















Patio

This embroidery was inspired by my own home garden.
My intention was to show the effect of rain on the garden. The sky is still heavy with cloud and flowers and shrubs are weighted down with moisture. As the sky begins to brighten everything glows lush and very green.

This was an enjoyable embroidery to work as it involved much simple hand stitching. The colours are vivid but less intense than some of my previous work and there in no beading.

This embroidery gives me a feeling of calm, despite its stormy skies and I think this has as much to do with the working process involved as with the design.