Interview Michelle Holmes

 

We are delighted to share our recent interview Michelle Holmes to give us an insight into Michelle’s world of ‘Textile Art’….

1 Describe yourself in five words and how would your friends describe you (in five)!!
Me Tenacious, Imaginative, Contemplative, Creative, Rural
Friends (These are the polite ones they came up with) – Inspirational, Individual, Intuitive, Creative, Sensitive
…
2 Your art encompasses many themes and ideas but a re- occurring feature in the work are beautifully stitched ‘Figures’. What drives you to create these images?…..
I like people watching and I love stories, my work combines the two. I am creating little worlds with characters for the viewer to interact with and make up their own story, enter into the other world. I aspire to make my figures timeless.

3 What is your favourite type of media to work with and why?……
I like to stitch onto natural fabrics, linen, cotton and silk mainly because of the way their surfaces reflect light. I particularly like to work with heavy weight Calico which when dyed provides a lovely soft base. I am constantly collecting pieces of cloth for appliqués onto my pictures and find friends and clients pass small scraps/old clothes on to me. Recently I have begun using ‘Cyanotype’ better known as Blueprint fabric for my backgrounds.

4 What type of processes do you employ to create your work?…….
I tend to begin with a Calico base; I sometimes paint the surface with a resist solution to create marks representing a landscape. I then dye the piece. On to this I add appliquéd patches which I machine stitch into place. I free machine embroider figures onto this and finish with hand stitching in Linen thread and sometimes beads.

5 What and where are your favourite art galleries to visit?……
American Museum, Bath Folk Museum, Compon Verney, Warwickshire Kettles Yard, Cambridge

6 Are there other contemporary artists who captivate you right now? Whose work inspires you? Janet Bolton, my all time textile hero. John Maltby, Potter, I just adore and own a little angel above a house which is one of my treasures. Susan Disley, Potter, So beautiful and calm. Mary Newcombe, Painter, She died a few years ago. I saw a large exhibition of hers in Nottingham and fell in love. Her paintings are often based on the things she saw around her in Norfolk and remind me of where I live and have my studio………

7 What do you think the future has in store for your work; do you have anything new you are working on which you would like to mention?………
I recently created a patchwork quilt for the Quilt Show at the NEC in Birmingham and was excited to work on a larger scale. I approached the piece in a similar way to my smaller panels but found it interesting to work on several layers and for the piece to have a functional dimension as something to be handled. I would like to continue experimenting with this.

8 Where do you go for inspiration?……. I work in a very lovely valley on the edge of Derbyshire and find the farm land, woods, lake and wildlife a constant source of inspiration. It also contains a National Trust property and several footpaths so there are visitors some regular and very eccentric. I also find Guernsey and the tiny island of Herm and North Norfolk feature heavily my coastal inspirations. I take sketchbooks everywhere with me just in case I see a character which could feature in my work.

9 Where is your favourite place to create?………
In my studio, surrounded by my books, materials and collections of objects.

10 Do you have a favourite piece you’ve created? If so, why?……….
Yes. It is a piece I made a few years ago and is called ‘My little house by the sea’. The piece was made after a visit to Norfolk and is based on a black and white photograph I saw in a museum of a little house once owned by Queen Alexander which no longer exists. This piece came together quickly and captures the magical remote quality of Norfolk. I was pleased with the beach as I am fascinated by how each tide brings in new shells and sand and makes the whole beach fresh and new. I think this is a hopeful piece and I wanted the embroidered figures to represent this.

11 What’s your ideal working day?……. Bright clear and windy so I can have the doors to my studio opens to the courtyard. Carol Saunderson the painter who I share a space with and her dog ‘Rosie’ working away at their creations. Good coffee and music, maybe a film soundtrack though I am not always aware of what I am listening to. A few walks for a break and a chat to some of the other people who work at the studios around lunchtime.

12 What would you like to be working on in 12 months time? An exhibition of Quilts and a series of pieces illustrating more fully the lives of historical women travellers.

Thankyou Michelle for sharing this with us it was fascinating