Meet the Artists
Sheryl P Farley
My great love of fabrics, laces and all things textile began as a young girl.
I have quilted for many years, making my first quilt in 1979. After raising a family, I was able to get back to this love in 1995 and have been quilting ever since.
After years of making quilts, I have had a nagging desire to dabble in the Textile Arts. Since joining the Tangled Threads group my mind has been in overdrive since day one.
My work is quite structured but I am keen to break my own rules to expand my knowledge and skills.
Barbara Jenkins
For me, being able to busy myself by making something has always given me the greatest satisfaction. I really thrive on being creative and feel fulfilled when I have finished a project I have been absorbed in creating.
Using textiles, being appreciative of their tactile appeal, colours radiating from the surface, and their adaptability to many types of art forms is a very rewarding and exciting pastime.
Highlighting the art pieces with other textiles, beads, braids and countless other ephemera completes the whole experience for me.
Beginning with just pieces of fabric, bundles of fibres of wool or cotton, etc., ribbons, beads, and working them into a design that tells a story is my goal.
Kay Joyce
Textiles have been a major focus in my life since early childhood in the 1950‘s and studies at school were followed by those at Tech and Teachers colleges. My training included techniques in many areas of sewing and crafts, design and textile science.
This diverse grounding has led me to a life time connection with textiles in many aspects of life.
I taught textile studies for many years and opened an art and craft gallery in 2001. Mastering traditional techniques and experimenting with their application in new situations provides a creative challenge and the potential for great personal pleasure, intrigue and fulfilment. I believe in the need for technical excellence and attention to detail to support the creativity of design in arriving at a quality product.
The natural environment has always stirred that creative spirit. My work over the years has been a reflection of, and the result of immersion in various environments as diverse as the aquatic, the desert and the rainforest. I am presently living amid the ancient trees of the Bunya Mountains. The heritage of this ecosystem embodies all there is of the power, wisdom, persistence, tranquility, brilliance and complexity that is nature. Each of my pieces tells its own unique story. In more recent years I have also begun to explore issues relating to the health and survival of the natural environment as it is affected by the impact of human activity.
As a medium, textile fibres possess both visual and tactile qualities that enable the artist great freedom in the exploration of a subject or theme. I utilise the intrinsic qualities of fibres, yarns and fabrics in combination with hand and machine techniques to create textures, colours, patterns, shapes and forms to explore the wonder of our natural physical environment and convey its inner beauty and magic to all who might care to look.
My work includes wearable art as well as both functional and decorative pieces to enhance the home.
Lyn Kenny
My work begins, inevitably, with a plain white piece of fabric or paper. I use a variety of surface embellishment techniques – dyeing with Procion MX dyes, photographic techniques, cyanotype, painting, screen printing, mono-printing, stamping, adding gold leaf, encaustic wax, until I am happy that I have improved on the blank page.
I am passionate about the beauty of the world around me; the theme of my work often relates to nature. You will find trees, leaves, flowers, landscapes, repeated in my artwork. My aim is to capture the diversity and essence of the natural world and to celebrate its beauty.
Marion Lees
Experimenting with colour, design and techniques in my work is ever present. The progression of each creative art piece is a voyage of discovery in its own right; leading to the unknown; capturing the imagination to foster further artwork.
These artworks may be connected by techniques, colour or themes. In this way, a flow-on effect can be achieved from piece to piece while further creating and exploring new ideas. Many of my works are connected to nature in some way. I try to express the imperfections of nature as much as it’s radiant beauty.
I endeavour to instil a feeling of calmness – one that the viewer can reflect upon indefinitely – but at the same time, there must be a dramatic component for immediate impact to lure the observer more deeply into subsequent layers and features.
To me, the importance of enjoying the journey of creating Textile Arts is paramount.
Michelle Seiler
I am still new to Textile Art but am finally starting to feel my way. I am fascinated by all the different forms and techniques of Textile Art and am looking forward to experimenting with all of them eventually. My inspiration comes from the sheer wonder of nature, snippets of history and events that hapen all around us, sometimes those out of our control and immediate sphere of influence.
I use a combination of fabric piecing, appliqué, machine embroidery, hand embellishment and fabric painting to create my pieces and I hope you enjoy them as much as I have creating them.
Jan Scudamore
I like to use themes in the pieces that I construct. I also like to use the strong designs that are in fabrics and textiles by letting them do the talking and, taking those designs, I then enhance them by joining other textiles and photographic images to enhance the colours of the natural and built environment which, are portrayed in the various forms of the artworks that I produce.
After travelling extensively across Australia, I have garnered inspiration to create. I endeavour to capture the essence of being on this great Continent, with different responses to the contrasting features, rich colours, heat and space of the many and varied facets of our vibrant land.
In this case through the Wall hanging which, is on an art canvas board covered in soft surface design cloths, I have created various surfaces on the pieces with wool fibers, blankets and eco-dyed materials, rust created fabrics, threads of stitching and found objects and included many other textile elements.
Shadows of the night across the floor of the bush can bring different aspects and different colours which I have tried to capture in the work.
Ruth Wagner
I am a textile artist based at Proston, in the south Burnett of Queensland, Australia. I have made traditional quilts for 40years and realised I enjoy textile art as well. Now 7years into that journey and joining Tangled threads in Kingaroy, the art has now become my main focus.
I construct my art Quilts using both my hand dyed and commercial Batik dyed fabric. Having recently learned the art of batik dyeing, I am now incorporating my own Batik prints into my designs. The surrounding landscape provides inspiration for my designs.
To develop my art practice, I have been studying line, value and colour and the shapes and patterns they form to assist in developing my art quilt designs, whilst, at the same time I meet my need to use a sewing machine by using it as an artistic tool.
Using quilting thread to provide colour changes and add texture to the textile base is a process I enjoy. Studying the process of abstraction has inspired me to develop as an artist, while working in a series has allowed me to understand my art process.
Jane Walduck
The old saying to muck around in boats in my case has replaces boats with a sewing room. Since early childhood I have sewed, or knotted or crocheted clothes, toys, costumes as and when the idea came tome.
Now much later in life I discovered all that experience has prepared me for fibre arts, a concept which has encouraged an outpouring of ideas using fibre, collectibles, found objects and materials put together to express ideas that pop into my head from anywhere and at any time. Even when I am working on one piece, the next is waiting there in the wings.
Not all have beginning, manufacture and finish, but even the disasters have their own learning outcomes. Sometimes I wish I had studied art but then maybe I would have been confined to what is considered right and correct. This way everything is ok because it is my own imagining.
Many of the pieces are constructed using recycled materials and objects, sometimes the materials themselves are the source of the inspiration. This does put a strain on storage but in turn provides hours of contemplation just delving through the boxes and bags of my collection, looking at what could be made or put together to create another piece of work.
Fibre art in my case is food for the soul, and as long as I have the opportunity to continue along its path, I feel that I will be happy camper.
Carol Weekes
My passion for textiles is driven by my wish to create unique and personalised gifts for family members and friends. They are an expression of my care, love and nurturing and can take many forms such as quilts, home decorating items, homewares, soft toys and clothing. My grandchildren have their favourite characters, colours and styles and these often provide the design elements for the gifts created.
Whilst practical and environmentally conscious, I am also curious by nature, so explore many options to determine what medium, colour and texture works best for the item being created. I love to explore many different mediums to create such as fabric, yarns, threads, paper and different creative processes such as knitting, crochet, sewing, patchwork, applique, quilting, and embroidery. Bright colours, strong contrasts and different textures excite and inspire me in my creative endeavours.