Holding Pattern
Linking the Circle - degree exhibition
Battle of Britain Memorial
Capel-le-Ferne, Kent
CT18 7JJ
27 - 30 October 2022
Keeping a family link to aluminium, I have created 'Holding Pattern'. This large installation piece is 2.4 m in diameter and is made from aluminium from drinks cans. Using my textile knowledge to join the discs, 'Holding Pattern' was chosen as a name for the installation piece because of the connection with flying. In aviation, holding pattern is the flight path maintained by an aircraft awaiting permission to land.
Lockdown Project
Community project
During the first lockdown in 2020, I instigated a community project. This was well received by members of the community and 72 'log cabin' patchwork squares were made by 10 participants. The idea was to use fabric already in households. 2 quilts were made in 2021 and are hung in the local Methodist Church entrance.
Skateboard
I was asked to make a stitched picture of a 4-year-old girl on her skateboard. The photograph I worked from was full of character. I used two separate pieces of coloured fabric to compliment the action and the loose threads were arranged to indicate the movement of the girl on her skateboard.
Lace Propellers
Samples from my latest project. Recycled beer can aluminium and antique lace doilies. Orange beer can prints to represent the wooden propellers from WW2 fighter planes and lace to represent the complex engines and the fragility of the lives of the pilots in wartime. The propellers are designed to be double sided and will be displayed hanging.
Lockdown Big Draw
Climate of change was the theme of lockdown Big Draw and I created this picture from a photograph of the River Conway which had broken it's banks at LLanrwst, North Wales in October 2019. The signpost said 'Riverside Walk'.
Stitched Robots
I was asked to create a keepsake picture based on 4 robot drawings by a 5 year old. The robots were traced and free machine embroidered onto cotton organdie and then hand stitched onto cotton dyed with fabric ink, green being used because it was the child's favourite colour.
Stitched Shoes
During lockdown in 2020, I stitched into canvas shoes. The cross-stitch patterns were of flowers.
Distress of War
My piece was based in my late father-in-law's service in the RAF after call up for WW2. The parts of the letter were taken from a letter written to his parents after the troopship stopped in South Africa to replenish supplies. The Morton family entertained Bob and his friend and then wrote to his family to let them know that he was well.
Propeller Medals
I created two stitched war medals based on WW2 medals awarded for RAF service. The middle of the medal is a stitched poppy scene, the propellers part of the medals. The background is loosely stitched silk strips to represent the sky and clouds. The fabric is coloured with Inktense pencils.
Park Bench
I took part in a collaboration of artists arranged by Dover Art Development and was in conjunction with my local park Kearsney Abbey in Dover. https://www.kearsneyparks.co.uk/Home.aspx
For the park bench project we were asked to make a black and white image from a park bench. I had previously taken the photograph, printed it onto fabric and then sat on the park bench and used black and white thread to accentuate the features.
Twiggy Dress
My Twiggy dress was a personal project and is based on Twiggy's life and likes. Twiggy is my 3rd cousin on my father's side although we've never met. The jigsaw dress was based on the YSL Mondrain dress and each piece contains a section of her life and likes: sewing, jigsaw puzzles, tap dancing and of course her iconic looks.
Dinner Service
​I stitched a dinner service onto a plain white tablecloth and added colour by using Inktense pencils. The view was designed to be from above. The butterflies are stitched separately onto stitch and sewn onto the crockery.
Berlin Wall
Having visited Berlin and seen parts of the Berlin Wall which have deliberately been left standing I was particularly amazed by the impact of the cartoon like faces painted by Noir. https://thierrynoir.com
The strong colours of the graffiti faces are quite garish on their own, and replicated from the original street art. The image of the man painting the dividing line for where the wall was going to be built was deliberately printed onto a finely woven cotton organdie. This was for two reasons:
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to let the image of the faces be seen though
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to let the faded image of the replica of the black and white photo to appear ghost like.
The juxtaposition of these two images work well in presenting my idea.
Play Mat
I was asked to make a multi functional play mat, so I designed one to be used as a park or zoo, or whatever the imagination decided. The mat was designed to be folded so that the lid secured the box and the wooden animals could be stored in the box.
Chair Cover
I made a bespoke cover for a dining room chair. The cover was to turn the chair into a play kitchen and was designed to be removable. The oven opens and is an integral part of the design. Magnetic catches were used to open and close the door easily.
Garden Chair
My garden chair was based on elements from my garden. Lavender features heavily as it is my favourite plant.
My chair, whilst being decorative was designed to be functional. It has heavy embellishment on the back and the front of the backrest mirrors the embellished back but is decorated with stitch and ribbon.
The seat is decorated with daisies, either painted, stitched or buttoned.