The Beauty of Stains

I’ve recently been invited put together a major solo exhibition at The National Centre for Craft & Design in late 2015. The exhibition theme is loosely around physical and emotional engagement with cloth, exploring tactility, memory and personal stories, mostly around old domestic textiles. The working title of the show is The Beauty of Stains. I’m interested in looking at how we feel about old fabrics; tablecloths with stains and dusters with holes and how the role of the artist changes a piece of fabric from something ordinary to something very special.

I’ll be exhibiting some of my recent work including the Charm Gown and other pieces that are in progress. Alongside my work there will be a lot of interactive pieces where visitors can be part of the process of making my work, share their contributions and engage with my ideas about cloth. I’ll be in the gallery during the exhibition as much as possible to work with visitors creating and interpreting cloth so that the exhibition grows and develops in the weeks that it is open.

I’m starting to gather a collection of cloth memories and would love if you could add yours to my collection. I want to create a piece using scraps of cloth printed or embroidered with your tactile memories of cloth. It can be from any time in your life; distant childhood or just yesterday.

• Face pressed into your grandfather’s rough tweed jacket
• A scratchy towel on the beach on a summer holiday
• Going on a date wearing velvet trousers
• Corduroy that reminds you of an uncle
• Blanket wool reminds you of visiting granny

Please leave a comment with your memory, the type of cloth that it refers to and your name if you want it on the piece. If you use the form below, your comment will be emailed to me and won’t appear on the website, but if you use the comments thing below then it will be here for all to see. Either is fine – and thank you!