Artist Interview: Fiona Gill
‘I am an award winning textile artist, following my heart and challenging my abilities. I'm presently enjoying the challenge of conjuring flesh from thread with my hand embroidered portraits... a change from my previous work creating animals and flowers from wet felted wool and a free-motion, machine embroidery.’
When did you start using felted wool as a medium and what draws you to use it?
I first started using wool as a medium about… Oh my goodness! 20 years ago now! The main draw was that I could make a piece a fabric at home with my own design on it, without any chemicals or expensive equipment, just wool and soapy water. Felted wool is wonderful to stitch into. It’s soft, strong, warm and it doesn’t fray. It’s environmentally friendly, renewable and it even has antibacterial properties making it very versatile and safe.
Garden of Dreams felted wool embellished with free motion machine embroidery.
What other mediums do you use or have used?
I also hand embroider using various types of thread on fabric… and acrylic yarn and chicken wire in freeform, crochet art installations for charity. Since relocating to Dorset last summer, I’ve joined the local art society which has regular artists demo’s. This has lured me into trying acrylic paints, pastels and water soluble wax crayons, all of which, I loved. I just need to live to be 400 to fit it all in!
What draws you to the subjects in your work?
I’m drawn, flowers and figures, be they human or animal. I love the beauty of flowers, their movement in a breeze, the tangle of a clump of nasturtiums or the way climbing roses tumble over a wall. I like the elegant chaos of stems and leaves, which you can see in my felt work. With figures, it’s the challenge of creating something that looks alive. It’s capturing that moment in time, that heartbeat. Endeavouring to replicate in 2D a bulbous nose, the shadow under a wrinkle or the curve of an eyeball.
Dawn French’s Nose - Hand Embroidered. 20cm x 20cm.
Using felted wool to create such detailed images is a difficult and time-consuming process. How long does it take you to create a single image?
My animal pictures take on average about a week to make. I create the designs completely freehand with loose dry wool fibres, this usually takes me 3 or 4 days, then I wet felt it all. Once its felted I rinse out the soap and leave it to dry naturally for a couple of days before embellishing it with free motion machine embroidery. This gives the piece a wonderful quilt like texture and definition. The vibrant colours and textures make it irresistible to touch, (I bet my work in the gallery has fingerprints on the glass?).
Midnight Magic
What or who has inspired your work?
I’m inspired by textures and colours rather than people. Although the textile artist Lou Gardiner has always been a favourite. I get excited by beauty and detail. I love old faded silk ribbon-embroidery and the busyness of Victorian crazy patchwork. I like things that have lots of fine detail in them and ombre shading. Rococo floral gimp trim, makes me go weak at the knees.
How did you come to find your style or is it still evolving?
I found my own style by making and making and making. I realised early on that to find and develop my own style I had to turn up and make something everyday. It wasn’t going to just drop into my lap, it had to develop and evolve.
To keep the motivation going, I started a blog called Marmaladerose and posted about what I had made each day. I told my followers that I would stitch or make for 20 minutes every day which made me accountable. In the end I had followers wanting to join in with me, which was great because we all encouraged each other. I can now look back at those old blog posts and see how my practice developed.
I also believe that ‘The world goes in through your eyes, percolates down through your brain, filters through your heart and then comes out of your fingers… picking up a little bit of you on the way.’ And that ‘little bit of you’ is the bit that no-one else can replicate. Thinking about it, my colours may become softer and my stitches wobblier… a whole new style…maturing with me.
The Cat and the Comet - Felted wool and free motion machine embroidery. 2014, 160cm wide.
What’s been the most challenging part of you journey being an artist?
The most challenging part of being a professional artist is finding and approaching the right galleries to work with, doing my accounts and feeding social media.
What’s next?
I’m currently finishing off an abstract embroidery for an open call, as well as working on felt and embroidery commissions. I also have work heading off to exhibitions at the Bankside Gallery in London and the Sunbury Embroidery Gallery in Surrey.
Fiona currently has several pieces on display at Heart of The Tribe in our ‘Here & Now’ exhibition which runs until March 2nd.
You can keep up to date with Fiona’s latest activities via instagram
