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Mandy told us that after originally training as a Surface Pattern & Textile Designer and teacher, she now works from a studio in a converted manse in rural Northumberland. Mandy runs textile workshops at The Hearth Arts Centre and throughout the UK and makes work to sell and exhibit.
Mandy says, “I treasure the old and worn, refashioning vintage textiles into new collages which are embellished with stitch and appliqué. I re-cycle and reuse very old and often disintergrating materials which have been passed on or discarded. I particularly like to cut up and unpick utility patchworks and quilts made by women in domestic settings. ” Mandy often finds even older quilts inside the ones she unpicks, and she keeps careful records and photos of the quilts.
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This strikes a particularly resonant note with us, following on from our recent Boro workshop, and we learned a huge amount about the numerous ways Mandy embellishes and re-assembles the different types of quilt pieces she lovingly acquires. Besides collage panels, these include fabric books, scrolls (some sewn onto old rolling pins) and fabric dolls, most of which are stitched together by hand and decorated with hand embroidery.
“I consciously relate to the thrift and ‘make- do and mend” culture of past times as well as folk art traditions and techniques.”
Thank you, Mandy, for a very full and fascinating talk.