Local Artists

Susan's profile...

"I have lived in Lancashire for the past 25 years. I studied art and textiles at school and college but I am mostly self taught. I was a professional florist for almost 15 years specialising in wedding design and, in one way or another, art has always been a part of my life.

I was taught to knit as a child, as were many children of my generation, and it has always been a hobby of mine but about three years ago I felt the need to go in a different direction. It was then I started to sketch and design the beginnings of my textile wall art. As soon as I got the basic ideas together I became addicted and haven't stopped since.

With very few exceptions my designs are based on the natural world and I try to portray the beauty of our Earth through my work. Ideas come to me at the strangest times, most noticeably when I'm ironing, probably because it is so boring and my mind wanders! Every design is original and never repeated or copied.

Each piece is constructed from individually hand knitted shapes that are stitched onto a backing fabric. When the design is completed I mount the fabric onto stretched, ready to hang artists canvas. The sides are always covered with a continuation of the design to enable viewing from all angles.

I work from home where I try to keep my stockpile of wool from creeping into every room. I tend to buy interesting textures as these allow the designs to come to life. I have a love of beads and these are added, quite freely, to the majority of designs, sometimes as an integral part and other times because they add light, shade and texture.

I have work in private collections in Australia, Switzerland, Canada and here in England and I am constantly working on creating new designs."