Background & inspirations.

I come from a family of teachers, and so I suppose it was inevitable that I would end up doing the same. My mum and her sister were both art teachers, mum taught art with ceramics and my aunt taught textiles mainly concentrating on weaving along side of being a deputy headmistress in a junior school.

All three of us knit and though my aunt died a few years ago, her influence still plays a big part in my textile life. My maternal grandmother was a great knitter and embroiderer as is my mother. Mum hand embroiders beautiful pictures which she designs herself.

My aunt taught me tatting at the age of 6 and I think the discipline involved in that has helped me to develop a desire for control and fineness in my own current work. I still do small tatted projects though I find it a little restricting and difficult to use in a practical way. I have always looked upon my work as more useful than purely decorative, though I do like colour and unusual shapes.

I took up felt making many years ago and have had sporadic periods of intense activity such as the making of my Nomadic Tent, then gone back to spinning.

I have met many textile people who have given me great inspiration, Mabel Ross of course, Margaret Stove, Ernest Jensen from Australia to name just a few, many of the tutors I have been to for instruction in things like Kumihimo, Ply split braiding, Tapestry weaving and dyeing have made me envious of their skills and given me ideas for my own work.

I became aware that my own design capabilities were not enabling me to make the most of the quality yarns I was producing so back in 1989 I enrolled on The Open College of Arts Textile Design course which gave me a much clearer idea of how to regulate my thought processes to produce more cohesive designs.

Without these crafts life would be dull, I have always supported hand makers in all sorts of disciplines and have a small collection of glass and Raku pottery which provide tactile and visual stimulation and keep me determined to push my own abilities.

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