Inspirations | 104

First published in Inspirations issue #104, written by Ansie van der Walt

Private commission- All images Copyright © Jessie Deane

“When I chose to do woven textiles as

the major in my fashion and textile

design degree, I was drawn to the

prospect of building from the ground

up. So, I would dye the yarn, plot the

design, thread the loom and build

the fabric. I loved watching a piece

of fabric being created by my own

hand. I found it thrilling.”

Even as a child jessie deane asked for craft kits, model aeroplanes, Lego, and Meccano sets–anything that meant she had to use her hands to make something, attracted her. Which explains why she was fascinated by the needlepoint kits stitched by the older women in her family. They chose to depict birds, flowers, cats and other traditionally feminine designs–the only things available at the time. These did not interest Jessie and prompted her to create her own designs.

Stolt–Tanker, view from Warmies 950mm x 1350mm

Today, as a textile artist based in Yarraville, in Melbourne’s west, Jessie is still fascinated by objects that are constructed and built. Her art practice is heavily influenced by her obsession with capturing the surrounding decaying industrial landscapes. This juxtaposition and what it means to use a traditionally feminine medium to create a more masculine landscape is an important concept for her.

Drill Hall, West Footscray 310mm x 440mm

“My interest is in subverting the medium of needlepoint to explore dichotomies–the heavy-duty versus the handmade, the cold, rigid industrial materials versus the warm malleability of the thread, the masculine world of industry versus the feminine world of craft. I’m also drawn to oppositional forces and attracted to counterpoint. I love to explore the contradictions of a landscape that is both beautiful and ugly, vast and intimate, urban and industrial, and I find contradictions throughout the work I do and the place I live.”

Maersk Containers 435mm x 910mm

Jessie’s work looks photorealistic when viewed from a distance, but on closer inspection it becomes pixelated and a riot of colourful individual stitches. In real life, the objects she depicts are drab, rusty, industrial, decaying and what is generally thought of as ugly, yet, they become beautiful when viewed through Jessie’s eyes.

Red and White Stripes, Yarraville 440mm x 310mm

“It’s intuitive. I rarely know how it is going to look when I start. I’m driven by colour and will often get carried away and use colours that would not be associated with the image. It can be confusing when you look up close, but when seen from a distance it has an amazing effect and melds in really well. It is where the creativity of my needlepoint takes its space. It is the part that is unique to what I do.”

Car at the Westgate Golf Club, Spotswood 310mm x 440mm

This way of working means that Jessie often unpicks. “With needlepoint I’m a perfectionist and sometimes the slightest tone will impact the whole piece in my eye. On one quite large commission, I was really struggling with the look of the sky after it was completed. My eye kept going back to one small section of about five square inches. In the end, I just had to unpick and redo it. The colour change was minimal but tonally it changed everything.”

Left – Yes Bins, Yarraville Hockey Club 310mm x 440mm; Right – Yang Ming Containers, Footscray 305mm x 430mm

Although Jessie’s exhibitions are all her own work and mostly sell out, she does take commissions. “I approach commissions in a very particular way and don’t ever work from people’s images or to their instructions. I get information about the building, space or whatever it is they want to be depicted. I ask questions about favourite colours or what sticks out about a building, then I go away and make the work. I don’t let a client see the work until it’s complete and I don’t take any upfront payment or deposit. Once the work is done, if the client is not happy, they don’t have to buy it. This is the only way for me to maintain complete artistic integrity. I never do the same image more than once and I don’t stitch family portraits or baby pictures. I do make pet-points, but that is really just a bit of fun.”

Swim School, West Footscray 310mm x 440mm

Although Jessie has a full-time job and only works on her needlepoint after hours, she considers herself a professional artist, devoting up to 45 hours a week on her stitching. “Because my work sits in an ambiguous space between art and craft it is often undervalued. I feel that people need to understand not just the work that goes into each piece but also the intellectual property, creative ideas, and more. It is hard enough to value yourself as an artist and putting a price on art is tough. I often second guess myself but believe it is important that artists hold the same value in the world as other professionals.”

Left – Glassworks, Spotswood 310mm x 440mm Right- Servac, Spotswood 310mm x 440mm

Jessie Deane is an artist who has built her career in the same way she built those woven fabrics while studying. Stitch by stitch, thread by thread, colour by colour. With her own hands. And it is thrilling.

First published in Inspirations issue #102, written by Ansie van der Walt

“Moroccan mosaics are visually intense, their design complex, yet also ordered and repetitive. It is this repetitive pattern on a large scale that particularly draws me in, and I find parallels with the repetitive patterning that is the stitched needlepoint tapestry.”

NATALIE FISHER

Sydney-based NATALIE FISHER stitched her first needlepoint when she was thirteen years old. She instantly fell in love with the tactile nature of the wool and the satisfaction of seeing her work come to life.

A few years later, bored with the commercially available kits, she discovered Kaffe Fassett. “His book, Glorious Inspiration, encourages confidence with colours, to experiment with possibilities for needlepoint creations in everyday objects like ceramics, paintings, mosaics, drawings, textiles and nature. I took his advice to heart and discovered my own sense of colour and design.”

Honing her skills of observation and colour blending, Natalie worked on a series of nature inspired designs. “I explored the possibilities of portraying a single flower form on a large scale. My intention was to delve into the contradiction of portraying nature’s smooth, fluid forms in simple pixelated stitches, using the freestyle blending of colours to incorporate intricate details of light, shade and colour in every petal.”

Working on the flower series lasted almost a decade. Natalie found inspiration in her career as a landscape architect and enjoyed needlepoint as a creative outlet with no intention of selling her work or turning it into an art career. But this changed when she received an invitation to exhibit her work at the Chelsea Flower Show, and two of her flower designs became available in kits from the Ehrman Tapestry online shop.

Natalie’s creative path took a radical turn with her first visit to Morocco five years ago.

“My travels exposed me to the centuries old tradition of ‘zellige’, the geometrically patterned mosaics used to decorate walls, ceilings, floors, fountains, pools and tables throughout Morocco.”

She found a natural synergy between the pixelated craft of needlepoint and the repetitive patterns of the traditional Moroccan tile designs. Although Natalie’s Moroccan designs look geometric, she uses a much more intuitive and freeform method of working.

“Every project starts with a concept and some good quality source photographs. I constantly makes artistic decisions by interpreting the photos and blending the colours as I progress.”

Her work has a photographic quality when seen from a distance, but on closer inspection her free interpretation and individually coloured stitches become apparent.

Since that first visit to Morocco, Natalie has returned several times, observing and photographing, but also stitching on site, soaking up the ambience and atmosphere of these zellige panels found in narrow lanes and quiet courtyards. This exposure to Islamic culture lead to her work being included in the 20th Islamic Arts Festival held in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates in 2017.

Her installation in Sharjah, called Ghorzah (Stitch) opened up yet another turn in her career path moving from two-dimensional wall mounted pieces to larger scale three-dimensional work.

“I am not working on domestic works for selling anymore. I am working on larger installation pieces that create a more immersive experience for the visitor as they move through the space.”

Natalie manages to combine the ancient tradition of zellige and needlepoint to create a thoroughly contemporary art form that sits very comfortably in our pixelated, screen-dominated modern society.

“I am often asked if I consider my work art or craft. I view my practice as art, art that came about by the refinement of a technical skill. By using a traditional craft technique, I create works that are intended to not only have aesthetic value but also challenge perception, encourage debate and make statements.”

With coloured wool and canvas Natalie manages to successfully combine the wild abandon, freedom and colour inspiration of Kaffe Fassett with the predictability and abstract ornamentation of Moroccan geometric design. With her new direction into large scale installations Natalie is inviting us along on her travels through narrow lanes and quiet courtyards to experience her visually intense, yet ordered and repetitive, world for ourselves.

You can see more of Natalie’s work on her website: www.artweave.com.au/

First published in Inspirations issue #104 in October 2019, written by Ansie van der Walt

'It is about the sense of achievement and exhilaration of problem-solving during the making process itself.

Appreciating the end process is an added bonus. I love to be my own master and sew, hand-stitch, hammer, and paint.'

Jill Ffrench is like a weaver bird. Those industrious little birds who build their nests strand by strand, knot by knot, until they have a unique creation that only they could make. They work without a plan, a kit, a teacher or a guidebook, yet they create an organic, sensuous, sculptural work of art that is just the right size, the right shape and in the right position to attract the right mate. Jill remembers how, even as an 8-year-old, she spent hours sewing toys next to her mum who was an avid sewer, too.

'I was not interested in buying the hottest toy on the market – I wanted to make one for myself, add my own ideas and revel in the basic challenge of turning a flat 2D shape into a 3D object.'

Around this time, an inspiring visitor to Jill’s school worked with the children to make 3D embroidered scenes. Encouraged to come up with their own colourful designs and patterns, Jill used embroidery threads to hand stitch new techniques that captivated her for hours. Many of these basic stitches are still used on her birds today.

It was only once, as a mother, Jill watched her children create breathtaking pieces using natural fabrics and fibres that she received the push she needed. Picking up needle and thread, Jill started creating just for the sake of creating, honouring her work by using the best quality materials on the market.

‘I took the opportunity to shelter from the long dark Dandenong Ranges winter to pursue a single sewing project – a peacock made from gorgeous pure wool felt fabric and stuffed with soft alpaca fibres. I revelled in the pattern-making process and the complex feather pattern in their display and loved the feeling of the wire through the stitched felt, almost as lifelike as birds are to the touch. I found that once I started, I couldn’t stop.’

It was sometime later that Jill was asked to make other kinds of birds and she challenged herself to try. ‘I had no idea how it would look or if I even could, but I’ve learned to trust the mysterious journey. The results are a surprise and a bit of a treat. The more I make, the more I understand about birds and about my technique. I know how to make corrections and I’m more likely to have the courage to unpick about a million hours of work for the sake of it looking just right.’

Jill grew up with an aviary in the backyard. She spent many hours handling the birds, checking on them, picking them up and talking to them. Today she still has pet chickens at home which means she knows exactly how a bird needs to feel in the hand.

'I begin by sketching out my version of the bird, looking at photos from different angles.'

‘Sometimes part of the felt needs to be dyed, other times I have the perfect colour ready to go. I lay out my pattern, start cutting and cross my fingers that the pattern achieves the right shape or expression. I start slow and stay focused so any changes to the base of the bird can be made as I go. It can be disappointing to ditch a project because the base was never quite right so it’s vital to get it correct at the start. I bend my wire and push the stuffing in around it, making sure that there are no lumps and bumps along the way. Often, I add a stone to the center to change its balance in a certain way, so I have to decide on the pose of the bird very early on. I love the added weight as it seems to give them another life somehow.’

‘Inside my bigger birds, I use wood cut perfectly to size and sanded smooth. As my bird building process has developed, the beaks have changed. At first, I simply inserted a piece of cut felt into the body of the bird, but I realised that a harder texture would look better so now each one is stitched and often stuffed and then rubbed with a wax product that I love to use because it’s completely earth friendly. It’s the only specialised art product that I choose to use, even my glass eyes are just beads that anyone could repurpose from their local charity store. The art is in choosing the right size and integrating them very early so I can add stitches or needle felting as needed. I never add poly or plastics to my work, which comes back to my interests in keeping the planet healthy. I really feel that this planet is full to the brim with unnecessary waste pollution, and what’s wrong with art being able to decompose eventually anyway?’

Jill works when and wherever she gets an opportunity and the best natural light.

'The portability of my work means that I can pick it up and take it wherever I go – in my bed, in the car, on the train.'

Although Jill is often asked to teach, she has yet to take that step. ‘I am still learning and developing my techniques and enjoying the challenges that each bird brings. I always try to be open to questions on social media and to help people who are either new to this or finding their own way. As an international textile community, we all prosper by coming together to showcase our work and share our stories. Patient mastery is one part of it, exposing parts of the making process is another, and for me, they go hand in hand. It is that simple.’

Just like those industrious little weaver birds, Jill understands that the joy is in the process, but also, like those weaver birds who build massive community nests, she understands that a sense of achievement and exhilaration comes from not just making things but making a community. Especially if it is in the fresh air amongst the big trees.

www.jillffrench.com

First published in Inspirations issue #104 in October 2019

My mother was a Domestic Science teacher with an interest in embroidery. With 5 children at home, she had little time to do more than dream about embroidery, but as a young girl I spent hours poring over her Needlewoman and Needlecraft magazines. My secondary education was at a Technical College where for the first 3 years, needlework (dress making and embroidery) were favourite subjects. I still have the embroidery samples that I created in those classes. We were introduced to a wide range of embroidery techniques, including historical English styles, such as blackwork and crewel, both of which fascinated me.

I finished my secondary education having specialised in science, but retained an interest in the creative arts. This led to a year studying fashion design, but in the end I felt I wasn’t creative enough to succeed and went back to science.

I commenced work in hospital pathology laboratories while studying part-time, eventually completing a degree in Medical Laboratory Technology. I had little personal time, but knitted and worked small embroidery kits – mostly cross stitch.

Once my mother had more time to herself, she had joined the Embroiderers Guild Victoria. My interest in embroidery had never waned, so for my 40th birthday my parents gave me a membership to the Embroiderers Guild. It has been the best birthday present I have ever been given. After a slow start, I launched myself into an attempt to ‘learn everything there was to learn’ about embroidery. With small children of my own this often meant late nights and early mornings stitching. It wasn’t unusual to be up until 1 or 2 in the morning to complete homework before a class.

The 23 years since then have been very busy. Apart from fun project classes, I have studied Japanese embroidery; ten different traditional techniques at Intermediate

level (6 classes over 6–8 weeks); crewel and goldwork masterclasses (15 lessons, spread over eighteen months). The availability of the internet has allowed me to participate in a number of wonderful online embroidery courses. I have also spent years studying drawn thread work and have amassed an inspirational collection of examples from tablecloths and tea-cosies, to aprons and handkerchiefs, with the oldest items dating to the late 1800s. Although I have finally conceded that I won’t ‘learn it all’ I have had a lot of fun trying.

When I was younger and very shy, I could never have imagined myself teaching, but after being given the benefit of the knowledge of so many wonderful people I now feel it is time for me to give back. In recent years I have started teaching blackwork, drawn thread work and some aspects of goldwork. I love seeing students in my classes develop their own skills.

I still continue my own embroidery studies, preferring to concentrate on historical styles of embroidery, such as traditional samplers, blackwork, drawn thread work and goldwork. My family is grown so I am able to travel a little. I have participated in several embroidery related tours and enjoy private research visits to view embroidery within various museum collections. There are so many inspirations – I will need another century at least! Embroidery has exposed me to many amazing tutors and mentors. I have developed lifelong friendships and been stretched creatively and personally in many ways. It has helped me through some very difficult personal times, and will continue to be a passion for as long as my eyes and hands allow.

Embroidery is my happy place.

Susan was the winner of the Inspirations 2018 Stitch Your Heart Out International Needlework Competition with her superb piece of or nué (Above). Susan’s design ‘Paisley’ is an adaptation of her winning entry.

First published in Inspirations issue #104 in October 2019, written by Ansie van der Walt

‘As a child, I often imagined myself to be a famous explorer hunting the neighbourhood for exotic creatures. Armed with a bucket I would head over to the large pond and try for hours to catch the many frogs that lived there. I was rarely successful and often soaked through by the end of my exploration, but it sparked off a fascination with frogs.’

Today Georgina Bellamy’s frogs sparkle and are much shinier than those she hunted in her neighbourhood pond, but they still hold the same fascination and still keep her busy for hours. Although Georgina comes from a creative family who instilled in her a love of creating things by hand, her interest in stitching only came later in her life. Her job at a dry cleaner was to prepare clothes for the tailor. That meant unpicking seams and taking clothes apart. Out of pure boredom, Georgina took some leftover fabric home one day and made a jacket for her young son. That one random decision set her life on a course she would never have imagined.

‘My son’s embroidered jacket got many compliments and I decided to go for a short course in fashion with a view to starting a children’s clothing label. Every piece of clothing I made was covered in embroidery. I’m not sure why–I had always played with stitching as a kid. Nothing amazing, just a time-passer.’

Fate stepped in again when the examiner at Georgina’s short City and Guilds course turned out to be Anthea Godfrey, a former lecturer at The London College of Fashion. Both her tutor and Anthea thought Georgina had a special talent and encouraged her to do a degree in fashion.

'I had never been told I was good at anything before, and here were two really important ladies holding me up as an example. At that point, I was so flattered I’d have agreed to pretty much anything!'

Her tutors encouraged her to do a BTEC (Business and Technology Education Council) course in fashion to qualify for university, but Georgina was adamant that she wanted to focus on embroidery rather than fashion so decided to do a year’s worth of City and Guilds courses instead.

‘It was a big risk as these courses are not recognised by UCAS (University and Colleges Admissions Service) but looking back it was one of the best choices I made in my life. I learned every technical skill I have – quilting, machine embroidery, hand embroidery, stumpwork, goldwork, innovative embroidery and fashion embroidery.’

Georgina’s risk paid off and she was accepted at London School of Fashion to study Surface Textiles. It took hard work, many sacrifices and pure determination but Georgina succeeded.

‘Well, more than that, I excelled. In a room full of students using machines for their embroidery or glueing down beads (oh the horror!), I was the only student working solely by hand. People often asked me where I learnt the skills and every time, I was reminded how glad I was that I listened to myself and took the chance on City and Guilds.’

Today Georgina is so much more than an embroiderer, finding as much pleasure in designing as in stitching.

'I enjoy the process of realising an idea from a scribble on paper to full goldwork embroidery. It is important to constantly challenge myself and create new ideas and shapes in goldwork. It is crucial for me to know my craft inside out and the constant process of creating new original designs allows me to attain this knowledge.'

Georgina is known for her 3D and semi-3D embroidery designs that are influenced by her admiration for fashion couture embroidery, that has a high level of detail and often a 3D quality. ‘I like the constant questions 3D work poses – you really have to think about your subject from all angles. I feel like I really get to know an animal when I start to create their structure. I also like the reaction my work gets. Many people have a perception that embroidery is old-fashioned. It is always a pleasure to show them that embroidery is so much more than that – it is an art form in its own right.’

Like many other contemporary embroidery designers, Georgina believes her career would not have been possible without social media. After graduating from university, she worked for several designers and artists, but it was social media that allowed her to venture out on her own. ‘Before building my Instagram profile I often found it difficult to get recognition for my own embroidery work – quite simply because not enough people knew who I was. It was holding back my ability to advance my personal art.’

Georgina believes social media changed the game. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram allow art to be seen by many people and allow embroidery artists to put forward their own designs and sense of style.

'Everything I am currently doing in terms of career has been sparked by social media. It is very important for the future of my business.'

When it comes to inspiration, for Georgina, nothing beats the animal kingdom. By watching nature programs or looking at images online, Georgina can be captivated by a particular pose or facial expression that will spark an obsession that can last for days, weeks or months.

'I love figuring out how to recreate a creature in 3D embroidery.'

Another source of inspiration for Georgina is different styles of embroidery. At the moment she is fascinated by Spanish and Russian 3D goldwork embroidery. ‘Much of it is created over card and contains lots of patterns within the metal thread work. Much of the embroidery is worked separately and then layered to create a 3D scene. I particularly love how the Russians use pearls with their goldwork and I have found myself using them in my work now.’

Georgina is also falling back in love with Elizabethan embroidery techniques, practising braid stitch or Ceylon stitch.

'I love so many of the techniques involved and they spark off new ideas and design directions.'

Being the eternal artist, Georgina has more ideas and plans than time to do it all. She wants to get back into fashion and is working with a boxing club to create embroidery for their sporting clothes as they turn professional. ‘It is the perfect area for goldwork to shine as the boxing world already has a great love for embroidery.’

Georgina dreams of solo exhibitions in art galleries and publishing a book but for now, teaching is her biggest commitment and she has many plans to expand on this.

'I would be very sad to see my beloved goldwork die out and firmly believe it needs more promotion to keep it alive for the next generations. Because of this, I set up classes to allow people to come and learn. My ultimate goal is to have a school of my own, but I think that would be many years in the making!'

Just like that little girl who hunted for frogs in the neighbourhood pond, Georgina still loves exploring. Just like her lifelong fascination with frogs, she has a lifelong fascination with shiny embroidery, whether it is 3D goldwork, fashion embroidery, teaching, or exhibiting and she will continue until she is soaked through yet again, from knowing her beloved subject inside out.

Website: thatembroiderygirl.com

Instagram: @thatembroiderygirl