Icons
Material Tenderness
A few miles from my studio, high upon a hill at Breedon stands St Mary and St Hardulph's church, once a monastery, built on this site in 675. The Breedon Angel, one of the earliest Saxon Angel carvings in the country has survived and is housed within, carved in sandstone, flanked by flower buds. This sculpture has fascinated me for many years and was the starting point for my embroideries of angels together with the novel ‘Miss Garnet's Angel’ by Salley Vickers.
Lately I have been further inspired by spiritual and religious iconography, with a residency and an exhibition at Launde Abbey in Rutland for their 900th anniversary.
The icons are made in linen, cotton and silk and measure approx 20 x 25cm unframed. They are mainly free machine embroidered with hand stitched details. I have intentionally worked with repurposed fabrics which convey a sense of history, culture and humanity - layer upon layer of appliqués building rich surfaces.
Lately I have been further inspired by spiritual and religious iconography, with a residency and an exhibition at Launde Abbey in Rutland for their 900th anniversary.
The icons are made in linen, cotton and silk and measure approx 20 x 25cm unframed. They are mainly free machine embroidered with hand stitched details. I have intentionally worked with repurposed fabrics which convey a sense of history, culture and humanity - layer upon layer of appliqués building rich surfaces.
