Three Generations: Patch 2 - Patches - Patchwork Object

Creator

Lesley

Location

Eastbourne

Story

Three Generations: Patch 2
Method: Collagraph Print using collagraph plate, oil-based printers’ ink, inked a la poupee and printed using an etch press onto cotton fabric. Quilted and stitched

1 2 3
GRANDMOTHER MOTHER DAUGHTER

Created by Lesley Collins in memory of Patrick Arthur George Collins (17.03.1934 – 31.01.2024) maker of bricks, layer of foundations, builder and restorer of buildings. A true artisan.

My Dad laid firm stable foundations and built positive walls that protected, nurtured and kept us safe and he helped knock down ‘walls’ that could limit his children especially his daughters.

Excerpt: Mending Wall by Robert Frost

Before I built a wall I’d ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out
And to whom I was likely to give offense
Something there is that doesn’t love a wall

My Mum overcame many gender barriers and inspired us all to read, access education, create and make a positive contribution to the world in many ways including expressing ourselves through art and a love of nature.

Except from Alice Walker book: In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens

They were women then
My mama’s generation
Husky of voice-Stout of
Step
With fists as well as
Hands
How they battered down
Doors
And ironed
Starched white
Shirts
How they led
Armies
Headragged Generals
Across mined
Fields
Booby-trapped
Kitchens
To discover books
Desks
A place for us
How they knew what we
Must know
Without knowing a page
Of it
Themselves

My mother inspired a love of art and creativity. I was fortunate that at school art was given value including history of art. Some subjects were gendered such as ‘needlework’ for girls only and woodwork for boys. Occupational Therapy College gave the opportunity to learn and apply a range of creative arts to therapy including textiles. Throughout my life I have attended creative workshops and exhibitions. More recently I started a Designer Maker Course which included textiles and printing as well as working with a range of other materials

Recent Inspirations

Unravel: The Power and Politics of Textiles in Art: Barbican 2024.

Particular artists that inspired me include:
A) Yee I-Lann: Tikar/Mijar (2018)
B) Cecilia Vicuna: Animita (Spirit House) objects for the Chilean Resistance

Rights Holder

Lesley

Rights