about me

personal profile

I have spent my life working in the arts and creative industries, and have a well-established and respected art practice. I have been self-employed as a textile artist for more than twenty-five years, teaching, lecturing and mentoring students world-wide, and exhibiting and selling my work internationally.

In 2006, I co-founded STITCHBUSINESS, an international stitch school, and many of my students have won awards. I now run my own bespoke workshop and masterclass programme from my home studio in Denmark.

I am co-author of two popular textile art books, published by Batsford: ‘How to be Creative in Textile Art’, and ‘Contemporary Appliqué’, and I’ve written a key international syllabus on Fashion and Textiles. I have also written and delivered training materials and my own courses for many organisations, including the Royal School of Needlework, London.

I am a selected member of  The Textile Study Group, and regularly exhibit with this prestigious group.

My artworks have been filmed by the BBC, Sky Arts, the Press Association, independent TV and film companies, and following my hour on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square, London, I feature in Antony Gormley’s book “One and Other”.

artist statement

I am a maker, educator and author with a strong passion for exploring innovative processes in textiles and art. I have a keen interest in material and design culture, particularly in relation to sustainability and identity.

For as long as I can remember, I have had an affinity and conscious relationship with materials and an enthusiasm for stitching and creating art from cloth, threads and found items.

I find the process of making therapeutic and enjoy creating something new from something old – deconstructing then reconstructing – to transform and upcycle raw materials into new compositions with new identities.

I am fascinated with the journey textiles take and intrigued by the wear and tear of my raw materials, and the details, marks, stains and memories they hold and conceal from their previous functional lifetime. My raw materials include everyday objects, reclaimed household linen, old uniforms, discarded embroideries, second-hand clothing and underwear.  

My conceptual pieces are designed to make a statement, and I am increasingly using explicit text in my pieces to convey a political or feminist narrative or a social comment on contemporary issues that I find concerning. Language, both written and visual, is very important to me.