Textile Study Group
artists and tutors sharing ideas imagination and skills
Dorothy Tucker
A detail from Kantha: Dressed in the Colours of the Land
64cms x 120cms x 5cms. Created in 2007 for Creative Dialogues.
We looked intently into the bush: listening, alert to any movement. Then with a soft crunch, crunch on dry leaves a large male elephant came into view. When he was satisfied that it was safe he stepped into the space and led his family of elephants across the open ground.
Kalahari Bushman
40cms x 64 cms
The Kalahari Bushmen are now dispossessed of their ancestral lands. This embroidery expresses my feelings on seeing a bushman walk quietly through our camp at dusk.
The inspiration for both pieces of work comes from a visit to Botswana and Namibia.
The way that I make up a ground fabric by patching and piecing layers of old worn cloth, and then stitch into it, is informed by my interest in Kantha. Kantha is both a name for cloth and a way of stitching particular to Bangladesh. As my work evolves the hand stitching slowly transforms the ground of fabric fragments. Covering or revealing the underlying textures and colours with stitch is an absorbing process, and I love the tactile and visual pleasure gained from handing old worn cloth and stitching. This process expands my original simple drawings and leads me into finding ways to evoke what I have seen and experienced.
I am a freelance tutor and lecturer, the author of several books and exhibit with the Textile Study Group and PRISM.
I trained as a teacher and have taught art and textiles in schools. Following a Diploma in Fine art and Textiles at Goldsmiths, University of London, I worked in adult education centres in Inner London, and for degree programmes at the Roehampton Institute and for The Opus School of Textile Arts. After completing a course in Museum Learning at the London Institute I became interested in family learning and have devised a range of interactive practical activities for children.
I currently work as permanent part-time Education Officer for the Embroiderers’ Guild where I implement the Guild’s Access and Learning programme and edit Textile Ideas, the magazine for Young Embroiderers.
On a freelance basis I offer talks and workshops for summer schools, weekend and one-day courses and creative learning activities for children. These are usually based on my interest in freestyle hand stitching, Indian embroidery, fabric printing and felt making.
Dorothy Tucker
