Textile Study Group

artists and tutors sharing ideas imagination and skills

Personal Statement

It's important to me to capture something of the identity of a place or people, especially those who have passed on their traditional values and skills, embedding something of themselves in what they make or where they live. Part of the joy of what I create is in the actual making process; choosing and working with a variety of materials, finding ways of expressing colour, marks and surfaces and solving problems of construction.

A Fine Line
Fabric, stitch, print and buttons - 66 x 23 cm (open book)
The handmade book acknowledges the passing on of needlework skills from one generation to another.
Closer view

I feel passionately that our embroidery and textile skills and those of other cultures should be passed on to the next generation. I continue to travel and study the culture and skills of tribal people in Southern Africa as well as celebrate our own textile heritage. Passing on skills is a universal experience that crosses continents and stirs memories. These ideas have long fired my imagination and continue to inspire my work.

Travel Tokens
Hand made felt, mixed media on canvas - 150 x 150 x 35 cm
Two tokens from a set recording personal memories of people and places that inspire me.
Closer view

Originally trained as a Primary Teacher, I worked in Further Education as a tutor and external verifier for City & Guilds textile courses for many years. I now enjoy working as a freelance textile artist exhibiting regularly in UK and abroad. I enjoy acting as a tutor, mentor and author, recently publishing my second book Exploring African Themes in fabric & stitch and contribute to Embroidery and Stitch. Acting as textile advisor to the Lincoln Diocesan Advisory Committee and Guildford Cathedral Fabric Advisory Committee gives me the opportunity to encourage and promote the care and preservation of church textiles.

Further information can be found on my website http://www.lizard-dance.com.

Mary Sleigh