Patchwork Object

Items

• Patch by Lauren
  Crafty Lady – this was how we knew Grandma and our family joke. I have fond memories of making peg dolls, cross-stich and paper quilling with Grandma and my sister. It was normal for me to be surrounded by so much family creativity growing up. It wasn’t until much later, after her passing and I had graduated university, I learned Grandma had also attended art school then in the second world war was a draughtswoman creating technical drawings. We had found drawings from Grandma’s time at art school tucked safely away in the loft… they look as if I drew them. The same approach to line, the same application of colour and the same choice to leave areas seemingly incomplete. How is it that something I had never seen could hold so much influence on the artist I had become? For my patch I chose to use a flower design (two studies – one complete and one unfinished) that she had painted while studying. Subtly transferring the image to the fabric, then embroidering areas as well as extending the design by repeating other flowers from the design to scale. Throughout the process I used materials that were Grandma’s. Including a hoop, thread and appliqué from material that was hers. All this while also leaving an area of image transfer untouched with the echo of the original design. My own collaboration with the past. Grandma’s influence is strong in our family. I can’t help but wonder, if she had pursued a career following the war what would she have done? My Grandma is my inspiration and motivation. I am proud to be so much like her. She was so much more than a ‘crafty lady’.