Material Girl: Elements: Art Through Textiles

This exhibition is being shown at Rufford Gallery. Art Through Textiles is a Sheffield based group from a wide variety of backgrounds and they are dedicated to textiles as a means of expression and are keen to pass on their skills. I met Pat Roberts who guided me through one of her pieces and gave me lots of information and tips. The best bit is she actually lives close to me so we may well meet again.

The Rufford Gallery is a really lovely place. The light is good and the exhibition was really well put together and displayed. The range of work was huge. Some things (like acrylic sheet and tyvek) I'd never even considered as textiles.

For a beginner the range of work was either overwhelming or inspiring and I chose to be inspired. If I was to be critical I might say there was too much to take in but maybe I need to remember to be selective in what I look at. I don't feel I can do that in an informed way until I know what's out there whether it be design, materials or techniques.

Pat Roberts

Pat is the artist I met at the gallery. She told be that she began training when she was 61 and took courses for the next 8 years. She uses nature as her stimulus and this piece shows the strata of life from the core of the earth to the forests. Pat uses purchased fabric, often batik as here, machine stitching and buttons. She told me that the leaves were cut out using a soldering iron.

Elements, Pat Roberts

The core of the earth

The forest floor

Pat uses a lining then an interlining to firm up her work and this means she doesn't use an embroidery hoop.

Linda Bellinger

Linda Bellinger uses the landscape as inspiration. She mixes fabric, threads,paint and print. On this piece Hollow Rocks, there was very little stitching so what was there was very dramatic. I liked the cut outs which made some parts of the piece stand out in relief. I found the combination of the techniques and the colours Linda used very exciting.