The slow rhythm of needle through fabric brings me immense satisfaction. To stitch something is to make a declaration of its worth by virtue of the time spent. I sew as an expression of love.
I have always been fascinated by language, and in my work I am particularly interested in the written communication of text messages.
A text message can be a composition of great deliberation, or can be written with haste and little thought; sometimes they are filled with the painful, emotional honesty of one second in time, and at other times are wonderful vehicles for deceit and exaggeration, with the words we choose to use either revealing or hiding our true thoughts.
The mundane ease with which we send texts allows for an entire history of our feelings, and reading back through them can act as a powerful memory trigger to the emotions of a moment in time that may otherwise have faded. By combining photographs with words I hope to create a record of a relationship or event, to juxtapose the digital speed of a mobile phone with the slow handcraft of embroidery or drawing and thereby to transform the throwaway sentiments of the text message into an heirloom.
As well as my text pieces I enjoy creating all manner of other works, and am happy to undertake commissions.
Exhibitions and Publications
Machine Stitch Perspectives, by Alice Kettle and Jane McKeating, 2010
Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2012
Devon Guild of Craftsmen (now MAKE southwest) Narrative Remains Exhibition, 2014
Waterside Arts Open Exhibition, 2016
Waterside Arts One Year On Exhibition, 2017
Textiles Fibre Forum Magazine, March 2019
Inch Arts Open Exhibition, 2021
Judith: Women Making Visual Poetry, edited by Amanda Earl, 2021
Inch Arts Open Exhibition, 2021