20th March 2025

 

'Step by step' in this presentation Kay related how walking influences her inspiration and the work she creates.

She decided to retire to Cumbria for the landscapes,views, walking opportunities etc. Kay had always been interested in art and at an exhibition met a textile artist which led her to a City and Guilds in embroidery. She loves working with material and stitch to create textures as seen in her panels based on rocks, minerals and crystals.

A large panel created as part of her certificate course was based on the theme 'our garden' Kay took photos which she manipulated in photoshop and created the piece using calico which she painted and stitched.

Following her diploma Kay started to exhibit her work and also run workshops, then for the Friends of Higham Scholarship she created 10 pieces of work based on rocks/minerals/geology/stonecircles - Journey through time quilt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The theme for the Northern Threads contemporary textiles group was Fragmentation - torn by time, disintegration, splintering - for this Kay used fabrics torn into strips to produce the fragmented landscape, her colour palette was green/grey featuring stripes of wool and with words embroidered on to it.

For Cumbria above and below ground, having walked all the Wainwrights she took this as her theme, creating backgrounds including patchwork, each panel consisted of 9 patches, Kay wanted not an accurate representation of places, but of memories/ how she felt. Foxgloves down Lingy end was one piece, another Scarfell Pike with the hill. For this she used a fabric background then applied the shape of the hills with paint, dyed fabrics to applyand embroidered, organza printed with words ' the stream of consciousness' was added.

 

 

 

 

 

Thinking about the impact textiles have through water use, dyes etc Kay considered how she could minimise her footprint and turned to recycling.Panel features an old Victorian dress, she unstitched the back opening it out to become the panel, then has hand stitched torn /ripped fabric to this and added embroidery. She has also torn old blue fabrics into strips and re stitched them to create 'Ocean' panels.

Kay also paints fabric using earth pigments and soya milk (home made), applies free machine stitch to create images interpreted from pictures.

She ecoprints, using silk, camomile and rusty nails - the long panels she created being hand stitched and appliqued with leaves.(silver birch)