Members Feature We caught up with inspirational
“I have just completed a Foundation Degree in Stitched Textiles awarded by Winchester University after three years of part time study. Already having a City and Guilds Level 3 certificate in Hand Knit Textiles, I was the “knitter” amongst the nine graduates emerging from this new course delivered by Eastleigh College in Hampshire. The entrance qualifications of my colleagues ranged from City and Guilds Embroidery, Quilting, and Life Drawing, to a degree in Illustration, and this diverse mixture of skills and expertise resulted in a richly creative environment.
Inspired by artists such as Mark Newport, Anna Maltz, Theresa Honeywell and Barb Hunt, my practice uses knitting, a method of making, often perceived as an amateur and female craft, to create art work that questions conformity, categorisation, and gender stereotypes. I often combine the knitting with more traditional fine art techniques such as drawing, printing and photography.
For my Degree Show I explored the concept and format of the Graphic Novel. This comprised a series of knitted wall hangings entitled “Boys Knit Too”, and a 30 page printed graphic novel called
12 - November 2012
“The Call of Jill” inspired by the Perseus Series of paintings by Edward Burne- Jones. In the former I looked at the preconceptions surrounding the act of knitting and particularly how these relate to gender roles. In the latter I digitally combined knitted characters and scenery with printmaking and drawing, in order to remove the tactile quality of the knitting thereby reducing it to a purely visual format. The Call of Jill also allowed me to indulge my feminist side through writing a story featuring a “kick-ass” female lead character who, armed only with a pair of enchanted knitting needles, saves the world from an evil demon by battling
member Nicky Barfoot.
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