In my current series, I create intricately detailed fabric portraits of people from the past. Having once been the owner of an architectural antique business, old houses and the people who lived in them intrigue me.
Vintage photos are chosen where something catches my interest either through the person’s pose or through the details of their clothing. Each of these photos also reflects something about the society of the time. Thus we get a glimpse into what life was like “back then”.
My work breathes new life into grey and forgotten photos of ordinary people. I enjoy the excitement of bringing the person to life through the careful selection of a variety of fabrics. I use hand-dyed fabrics for the multiple values needed for the skin tones. Each carefully crafted fabric portrait takes at least a month of work in my studio to create.
In a way, my work is similar to archaeology in that I dig into the past to see how people lived and what society was like at that time. I preserve a small moment of the past which encourages people to reflect on past times.
My work honours ordinary people and provides a focus for reminiscences about the past. I combine a love of history, with a curiosity about people from the past, to capture character in fabric.