I'm thrilled to be curating a group show called "The Universe Within" at the Copeland Gallery in Peckham this autumn. It runs from 19th to 22nd September, with a private view on the opening night, September 19th, from 6 - 9 p.m.
In the run-up to the exhibition, I'll be sharing interviews with the artists involved. We'll discuss their inspirations, creative practices, thoughts on making art, and the materials they use.
The title 'The Universe Within' concerns our relationship with our bodies and the world within and around us from a spiritual, scientific, poetic, or metaphorical perspective.
My fifteenth interview took place last week with the talented Philippa Ashcroft.
Philippa in her studio, 2024.
My current artistic practice explores expressive instincts during the slow, meditative process of hand-stitching. I use experimentation through contrasts in textures and tone to create atmospheric textile pieces. Working freely and intuitively, it's a cathartic process and the end result is organic and unexpected. Each piece is a personal, visual reaction to a moment in time.
I take interest in overlooked elements of nature. The quiet green glow slowly softening the grey of man-made structures.
Speaking with trees depicts the unrelenting optimism of nature, reminding us we share this planet and when humans stop, nature thrives.
Ascend is warm breath rising in cold air. A sigh of relief. Thoughts inspired by the sky. A moment of peace.
The Beast (within) reflects motherhood at a time of unease. Made during the pandemic lockdown it was fuelled by anger, fear, hope. Watching birds in my garden, I imagined building my own nest to keep my family safe. My stitching took the form of a nest-like structure, stitches entwined, fear buried.
Born in the UK (1980) with a degree in Fine Art (Painting), Philippa has a background career in film industry painting and currently lives in London.
Please tell me who inspired you to take up needlework.
My mum is very creative, she paints with mixed media and knits and can make anything on a sewing machine, so I take after her with my creativity. I always had my own sewing kit growing up and endless amounts of paints and crafts. So I've dabbled with sewing over the years, but I only really started really getting into it about four years ago, a few years after my first child was born. So my daughter should get some credit too!
My background is in painting, though, I still think of myself as a painter, I'm just currently exploring other creative avenues. I studied Fine Art (Painting) at uni in Bath, which eventually led to a long and wonderful, exhausting, exhilarating career in the film industry as a Props/Scenic Painter. I loved the work but it consumed me fully so I decided to pause my career for a while after having a baby and concentrate on family life. I ended up feeling artistically frustrated for a long time; I missed the creativity from my job. I wanted to make something but found painting too messy and too awkward to do at home with a child and without a studio space. Then one day, I was going through my kit and unearthed some lovely fabric I'd had for years and an embroidery hoop. When I started stitching on it , something just clicked. The slow process of hand-stitching and the nature of fabric felt comforting, nostalgic and poignant for me. I found I was able to express myself with fabric and thread in a way I had been longing but unable to do with painting for many years. It felt very exciting and liberating, and I've stitched most days since.
The best part is, it fits in with my lifestyle. I can pretty much do it anywhere and fold it up and shove it in a drawer when not in use; it’s very convenient!
The Beast, 2020, hand-stitched textiles.
What was the first piece you made, and was it easy to develop as a skill?
It was a white experimental embroidery. I was drawn to the fabric, a lovely off white voile. I still have some and use it often. It's transparent and floaty and soft. It has a beautiful quality. I used white thread and the very palest (practically white) blue. I think initially I planned to practise some hand stitches but then it became something more. At the time I was feeling unseen and misunderstood and working on it helped me address ideas of invisibility, the transparent fabric felt ghost-like and ethereal. It's a piece I'd love to re-explore one day actually.
It's not been easy to develop as a skill because I'm an impatient stitcher, probably because I'm self taught, my sewing is technically basic and untidy but I like it. Even though it's a slow process and time-consuming to complete the work, to me it feels free and rebellious because it’s intuitive and I'm not trying to make it perfect.
I have enormous respect and admiration for embroidery artists who stitch meticulously accurate work but it's just not my style. My work is about expression, intuition and experimenting in a way that’s uniqueto me. I teach myself as I go and I Iearn a little more with each piece, I'm proud of my journey.
How important has the use of black and white materials been for your work?
Very. Limiting my colour palette gives me mental clarity. My life is busy and noisy, I find working this way calming. I'm not against using colour, I actually really love bright colours and have plans to use colour in future works, this is just what feels right for me at this stage.
Initially I actually decided on this colour palette as I viewed the work as sketches - practice pieces to gather ideas and learn from, which is why I chose black and white. I just wanted to focus on stitches and the quality of the fabric and not be distracted by the noise of colour and threads. And then I fell in love with the monochrome results, the focus it gives to texture and form, I love how it can be exaggerated and dramatic or so subtle it can disappear into the background. I feel like my work can be a loud shout or a faint whisper. Sometimes a piece can do both at the same time.
Sewing black on black is always a terrible idea though as it's so hard to see when you're working on it, I love the end result but I'm probably ruining my eyesight! It's also really hard to photograph, the black tone is never quite right. I don't make things easy for myself but I enjoy the challenge.
Do you sketch out your designs prior to creating them in thread?
No. I have a vague idea in my head of what I want to try out before I begin but it's all intuitive, the result is organic and unexpected. I think of my pieces as abstract expressionist paintings. The end result depends on how I was feeling at the time of making, in those moments. I often associate a piece with whatever was happening in my life/the world at the time. I generally start with a mood, a feeling, a memory, an experience or something specific on my mind and the piece evolves from there. I'm often thinking about news stories or being enraged by political events, it all goes into the work. I'm also inspired by nature and time spent outdoors. My work is a combination of all these factors.
I don't undo stitches or think of parts as having gone wrong ever, it's all just one free flowing mass. When I've tried to design prior to making, it ended up completely different to my plan, I think I'm easily bored. I like the unexpected process of creating and experimenting. Exploring possibilities of where the stitches and fabric will take me.
Ascend, 2022, hand-stitched textiles.
Has motherhood impacted the way you work, and does this new chapter in your life get expressed visually in your creations?
Being a parent has massively affected my practice, yes. Firstly, if I hadn't had children I'm not sure I would be making textile art, or much art at all. I would probably still be working hard in the film industry, without much free time to explore creating. I don't have much free time now either of course, but somehow I'm more driven to create.
Becoming a parent unearthed a new creative journey for me, the different pace to life. It’s no harder or easier, it’s just different in every way, I'm easily inspired these days. I'm not religious but I feel there is magic in the world and I feel it through my children and being a mother. I think I appreciate the smaller things in life more.
Early days of motherhood gave me a lot of time to think about my work. Being frequently ‘nap trapped’, spending so much time sitting still, breastfeeding at all hours of the day and night, in quiet, often in the dark for long periods of time. All normal things for new parents but I find being creative really helps at those times. I'm a daydreamer and I can think about my work and draw on inspiration in those moments. The reality though is it can be frustrating to have the desire to create but then you're not actually able to as you're caring for a baby 24/7.
But I feel enormously lucky and grateful to have my children, they inspire me every day. I love their need for fresh air and exploring. To see them discover the world with fresh eyes of wonder is enormously inspiring and rewarding. Making art is basically playing really isn't it? I think being an artist is basically giving yourself the permission to play and discover and learn and experiment. Children are constantly asking questions about the world and trying to answer them and so are artists. My work doesn't depict motherhood visually but it is fuelled by it.
Do you think the UK has a lot of opportunities for artists who work with thread and or textiles?
I have seen more Open Call opportunities for textile/stitched art this year than ever before, which is very encouraging. My only issue is the spiralling high submission fees many of them have now, which puts off a lot of emerging artists. I think art , traditionally seen as craft, did have a bit of a stigma against it, but I think it was revived a bit during the covid times. Stitched art is art!
What do you do when you need to recharge your creative process? I.e. walk, dance, listen to music…
I listen to music a lot and walk a lot which helps to ponder ideas. If I have a break from making, it's due to life circumstances rather than my lack of wanting to make, or lack of ideas. I really struggle to find the time to do much alongside having 2 young children (I had a baby last year, and I have a 6-year-old). Hats off to all working parents, as the juggle is not easy. Allowing myself the time to create is something I really struggle with as a mother, I'm not sure I've figured out the work/life balance properly yet.
I do, however, enjoy walks in nature more than anything. Even in bad weather, I'm up for it. It's incredibly soothing for me to be immersed in green, even soggy green.
If you had no limitations, what would you make, and where would it be exhibited?
I have so many ideas constantly and so many limitations this is actually really hard for me to imagine! What a dream! My art has been formed by my limitations over the last few years - limited time, space, practicality, budget etc. So to create without limits would be incredible. I would make mixed media work, definitely paint and stitch, probably with a more sculptural element. Something without an environmental footprint would be ideal, and if time wasn't an issue, I would stitch very intricate work. And the work would be absolutely monstrously large, very heavy on the texture. Being British, I think the dream would be to exhibit at Tate Britain; it's my favourite gallery as it's where I frequently visited as a child and where my love of art formed. Alternately, I love the landscape of Iceland. Some sort of outdoor installation setting amongst an Icelandic landscape would be incredible.
If you could visit any museum in the world, where would you go and why?
I spent a glorious few months after university travelling through Europe, touring museums and galleries. I didn't have time to make it to the Guggenheim Bilbao, so that would be top of my list.
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