Ann Alcorn

I have always loved textiles for their tactile qualities. I enjoy making individual pieces of textile art in collage form. I am drawn to using previously loved fabrics giving them a new lease of life in different ways. Hand-stitching allows me to respond intuitively to the materials and brings me closer to my work. For added texture, I embellish with surface stitching, beads and buttons.

My work is in response to my experience of having lived in many different places. I like to highlight connections I find in shared spaces and experiences. I jot down and sketch out ideas in project books and create mind maps to show links between ideas. I am also inspired by poetry and universal stories, such as myths and legends. See more on my Instagram

Sisters
This piece is the outcome of research into amulets, an early brief that Ruth set for her Maker Membership. My mother’s favourite flower is the rose. Growing up, for make-believe, I and my younger sister were Grimm’s Fairy Tales’ blond and dark-haired siblings, Snow White and Rose Red. As an adult, I have continued the story by planting rose trees in my garden – one red, one white, and one pink for our youngest sister who came along later. Eighteen months ago, I pressed the last rose of summer in order to preserve it. To observe the process of decay, I displayed some of the rose hips on a sheet of art paper, wrapping them in gold threads to give them personalities. More recently, I encased them in handmade paper, embellished with their golden threads.