About Me

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After graduating from Art College with a Foundation Degree in Applied Arts. I have decided to focus on textiles and creating textile art, using a range of media and surface embellishments. I have recently started a two year course which is focused on design and stitched textiles worked and embroidered by hand and on the sewing machine. I love the mix of traditional and contemporary elements, as I love the history of embroidery and stitches and enjoy sampling and experimenting with them to make them contemporary. Living near to Durham City I am close to endless sources of inspiration to use in my work. Please note all text and images are subject to copyright © Emma Mears

Monday, 7 November 2011

Being bold has now gone cold...I think...

Ok, so I tried to be messy and I did for a while...and I did get out of my comfort zone, so much so that I did not know really how to get back to being me.  It was the 'it looks like 80s florals' that did it, I'm only kidding you know who!  Well, I gave it my all and I have learned loads about using different materials to draw and paint with and mixing them all up too - I loved the 'play' part and playing with hand printing methods and getting my hands dirty.  However, my inspiration - the alcoholic bevvies under the microscope have now turned into looking at deadly diseases under the microscope (a sensitive subject I know) as well as cells, bacteria and diatoms - of all things.  The images are beautiful in actual fact and I can see so much potential in terms of 'making' products within them.  I am now well into my brief and I'm sampling like mad to push the techniques and processes of using acrylic in jewellery, printing and coloured clay in ceramics and in textiles, well I am so excited; stitching on bubblewrap, felting and drawing circles and going in circles with the sewing machine, hand embroidery and hand printing - I am basically doing everything!  Well, I think it's time to get back to more sampling - looking forward to trying 'inlay' with acrylic rods and trying out some printing and dyeing methods using acrylic, hope all goes well...