I am a textile artist. 20 years ago I studied for a City and Guilds in Embroidery at local colleges. I now design and create machine embroidered wall pieces. Athough I had a studio at Farfield Mill for many years, I am now based in a small purpose built studio in my garden at home in Natland, where I am open to visitors.

My work is inspired by the landscape around me. I work from subjects as diverse as a rock face, a piece of rusty metal or a tranquil beach scene. I love the effects of the ever-changing light, the colours and the textures. This is reflected in a variety of textured machine embroidered pieces.

I create my pictures by layering organzas over velvet, then applying heat to reveal the lower layers of fabric, which I machine embroider to create pieces rich in colour and texture. Using heat is not an entirely controllable technique, but this reflects man’s limited control over the landscape.

I often add hand embroidered stitches to represent flowers, grasses and even fences to the foreground to create more texture.