Textile Creatives GC

Helen is one of group's founding members and her particular love is playing with fabric collage and stitch to create an image.  She works with both machine and hand stitching, but prefers the latter as there is such a tactile quality to working the thread though the fabrics.  Nature is a constant source of inspiration for Helen - from the rolling landscapes and cottage gardens of her native England; to the fantastical.  A project she hopes to work on soon is inspired by the iridescent stripes and translucent wings of natives bees collecting nectar from salvias in bloom.    Helen's love of textiles started at school where she was taught needlework and dress making.  A favourite indulgence was wandering through the drapery and haberdashery floor at John Lewis in Sheffield looking at their huge array of rolls of fabric.  At home she would make clothes using her grandmother's old treadle sewing machine. Her first introduction into textile art was joining A...

  Next up in our series of introductions is the incomparable Heather B.  Heather's great love is surface stitching and embellishment.  We are all in awe of her meticulous stitching and beading which is so rich in texture. Heather has been working with beads, ribbon work and decorative stitching as long as she can remember.  She loves the way it adds depth and dimension to a piece, bringing it to life. Her personal challenge for the year has been working with a set of four keyword groups - each 4 weeks she draws four words, one from each group which she uses as a jumping off point for each new piece.  At the end she will have a series of 13 pieces.  It is taking her down paths less travelled.  She will often start off with an image in mind but tries to remain flexible, letting the process guide the design.