finding inspiration
I have always found inspiration in the natural world. Throughout my art and design education I’ve worked best with a nature themed brief. I find so much joy in learning more about the natural world and translating this through textiles.
While studying for my degree I came across Sir David Attenborough’s series Blue Planet II and was fascinated. It became the highlight of my Sunday evening. I was captivated by the life and beauty of the world in our seas and couldn’t quite comprehend that it might be disappearing due to climate change. The footage showed the effects of global warming on the corals which was heartbreaking to see. As the sea temperatures rise the coral turns white and eventually dies, a process called coral bleaching. I felt passionately about this issue and hoped my embroidery could raise awareness of the effects of climate change, through celebrating our wonderful coral reefs.
Healthy living coral reef
Bleached coral reef
This was where my degree collection ‘Coral Gardens’ was formed, here I explore the issue of coral bleaching. I created a collection of eight embroideries, three are entirely white and show the consequences of climate change while the other five embroideries celebrate the life of the living coral. The embroideries are highly textural surfaces built from handcrafted plastic embellishments, laser cut sequins and intricate beadwork. They were a total dream to make and remain my favourite embroideries I’ve created.
Since then I have been hooked on coral. I never seem to get tired of the vibrant underwater ecosystem and find them just as fascinating today as I did when watching Blue Planet II for the first time. Since leaving university I have studied coral in different ways. Looking at coral bleaching more closely I created ‘Our Fragile Seas’ which is a series of embroideries created with the environment in mind. I chose to use more sustainable materials handcrafting my own paper sequins and creating embellishments from up-cycled plastic packaging. At the moment I’m working on a collection of colourful embroideries ‘Embroidered coral’ which I’m totally obsessed with! Creating heavily beaded surfaces, inspired by a more abstract view of coral reefs. The vivid colours of the coral has been a big inspiration for this collection. Have a look at my instagram for more photos from the embroidered coral collection.
Combines handcrafted paper sequins, embellishments made from up-cycled plastic packaging and hand stitch
Embroidered Coral #3
Inspired by an abstract view of coral reefs, focusing on colour and pattern
Coral is the main concept for my embroideries, however I find inspiration from lots of other places too. I’m currently working on a blog post all about my favourite fashion embroidery which I look forward to sharing with you soon!