A group exhibition showcasing work by Fiona Ashley, Carol Cann, Kathy Dearman, Susan Stewart and Kirsten Yeates.
Fiona Ashley
Fiona works from her garden studio and workshop in St Albans, Hertfordshire. Her love of glass began when she learnt traditional stained-glass techniques with lead cane and solder some 20 years ago. She now prefers to use Tiffany-copper-foiling which adds to the diversity and possibilities of her pieces. Fiona likes to test the boundaries of what is possible within the craft. She continues to embrace new techniques through constant learning and exploration.
For this exhibition in particular, Fiona has been studying Mondarin and his abstracted tree compositions of the early twentieth century. Using mainly hand-blown or vintage/salvaged glass- the beauty of the material is at the centre and forefront of her current body of work.
Carol Cann
Gothic tales and the darker side of faerie are my chosen inspiration and are quite literally stitched into my work, becoming its whole. Letters, words or phrases of these stories are glimpsed and intrigue the viewer but also reference that it is sometimes the unknown from a tale which captures my attention.
‘Give me thy breath, my Sister’ - These works are inspired by the gothic tale, Rappaccini’s Daughter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and the title references a line in the story where Beatrice talks to a gemlike plant and which continues ‘... for I am faint with common air.’
The story relates the tale of Giovanni who falls in love with Beatrice, whose father created a garden filled with fabulous plants which he has also created. The most beautiful of them sprang from the earth when Beatrice first drew breath and she describes herself as having grown and blossomed with the plant and considered it her sister. Giovanni notices that Beatrice’s breath has the same odour as the perfume from the gemlike plant.
But beautiful though the plants are they are also poisonous. Having been nourished all her life with these deadly plants, they render her breath poisonous, too. Indeed, having spent so much time with her in the fatal garden, Giovanni suffers the same fate.
Kathy Dearman
It’s been a manic time as usual because I always leave things until the last minute. Then it’s all rush, rush, rush. I have to admit this comes from being a naturally lazy person and convince myself into thinking I have plenty of time, I can’t claim that my work is more productive under these circumstances. There’s less time for ideas to mature and too many temptations to branch off and pursue other interesting discoveries, like new papers and mediums. I have lately been pursuing a more abstract approach to painting and embroidery. As much as I keep being tempted by the figurative the thought is that I can stray off of that path any time as the abstract is becoming more tempting. I’m one of those people that draw what they see so I thought it would be a bit of an eye opener if I could produce an image that was more representative of what I feel. How colour, texture and line can also produce an image that captures the desire to possess. All I can say is I am trying and not entirely succeeding but there’s always more to achieve. There’s always colour in the dreams.
Susan Stewart
A finished print can be a curious mix of careful planning and happenstance. An unexpected result from the first pull of a plate can set the artist off on a totally different course from the one planned. I enjoy the push and pull between the materials and my intentions. It can be frustrating and even tedious at times if I am striving for a particular effect but it is never boring.
I will follow a theme until I feel it is, 'done.' Some prints are just one-offs or repeated in different colours as a Variable Edition. A series may consist of 2 or three different but related images or more. I do not aim to produce large editions of identical prints – as was the purpose of printmaking in earlier times - for example lampooning politicians or the rich and idle, or pointing out social inequalities when the population was largely illiterate and print was the only mass-media available.
My current work is all based on landscape – whether in its broadest sense or focussed down on something as small as a pebble - but it is abstracted and often becomes unrecognisable. The titles are ambiguous as I prefer viewers to decide their own interpretations.
Kirtsen Yeates
I was born in Denmark and much of my work is inspired by Danish art , textiles, interpretations of Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales and the mix of cultures along the silk routes from China to Northern Europe. A long time inspiration has also been the horticulturalist Ellen Willmott (1858-1934) and her famous garden at Warley Place.
Other work has drawn on the impact of Chairman Mao’s Cultural Revolution ,WWII wartime austerity , designs in 1940is and 50is Stitchcraft magazines and the influence of the Needlework Development Scheme to promote embroidery as an creative art form. The pandemic and the lock down highlighted the need to conserve the earth’s resources and value gardens and open spaces for our physical and mental health.
Recent work is inspired by 1960es flower power and Maia Isola’s 1964 poppy design for the Finnish textile company Marimekko who produced patterns with huge splashes of colour .This brought a new exuberance to fashion, Jackie Kennedy wore Marimekko Dresses and the American nun and pop artist Corita Kent wore Marimekko skirts after she left her convent.The abstract hen design is inspired by a the Danish embroidery designer Lise Arnold Andersen from her 1969 book ‘’old stitches new things’’
Other work is a Collage of a variety of materials inspired by the section of the old London wall now part of Salters Hall garden. The garden is a small calm oasis with borders, trees paths and benches designed to complement the modern Salters Hall and the surrounding modern high rise buildings and the nearby Barbican Centre.
Most of my work is created from reclaimed materials, cotton, silk, viscose, paper and fragments of embroidery. I dye, print and embellish with machine and hand stitching.
Flower Power 2026 fabric collage with stitch framed 34 x 34