Category: Embroidery

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Insomnia

House of Smalls

A new exhibition at the House of Smalls called ‘The Time of Her Life IV’ prompted me to create a new piece of work called ‘Insomnia’ for the Dollhouse gallery. 

The exhibition takes place at The House of Smalls, 103 Henderson Row, Stockbridge, Edinburgh EH3 5BB from the 28th September – 27th October 2024.

‘This exhibition will feature the very diverse and relatable work of women artists responding to their thoughts, feelings, and emotions as they traverse the restless waters of perimenopause, menopause, before and beyond. It’s always a very emotive, honest, powerful, funny, and uplifting show.’ ~ House of Smalls.

Artists in the exhibition
Artists in the exhibition

Insomnia

‘In the morning you beg to sleep more, in the afternoon you are dying to sleep, and at night you refuse to sleep’. – Unknown

Insomnia
Insomnia

Difficulty sleeping is one of the most common complaints of women during menopause.

Insomnia
Insomnia

Changes in our hormones during menopause can impact our mental health as well as our physical health. Feelings of anxiety, stress and depression are closely linked with insomnia.

Size 11.5 x 11.5cm. Machine and hand embroidered cotton cloth, Aurifil thread.

This piece forms part of a series of small works created for the House of Smalls.

Update October 2024:

Thank you Amy Oliver for the beautifully curated ‘The Time of Her Life IV’ exhibition.

Screenshot
Screenshot

The images include artwork by Linda Harvey, Maria Walker, Marilyn Kyle and Hayley Mills-Styles.

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Swiss Fiber Art Fanzine

Every two years Claudia and her colleagues over at Swiss Fiber Art design an exciting new project in collaboration with international textile artists. Their new project for 2024/2025 is the Swiss Fiber Art Fanzine and I’m delighted to announce that Bunting, Butties and a Brew & Manchester Tart have been accepted for publication.

Bunting, Butties and a Brew - part of the Swiss Fiber Art Fanzine
Bunting, Butties and a Brew – part of the Swiss Fiber Art Fanzine
Manchester Tart
Manchester Tart
My projects start with a handful of my favourite vintage Sylko threads
My projects start with a handful of my favourite vintage Sylko threads

Swiss Fiber Art Fanzine

A series of zines will be published throughout the two years of the project.

The project is running until December 2025 and the list of themes are: mushrooms, science, food, insects, plastic, time, architecture and humans.

If you’d like more information on the project, pop over to the project page and maybe take part yourself!.

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Batool Showghi  – Meet the Artist

Mixed media artist Batool Showghi explores themes of cultural heritage, memory, identity, and loss. Her work is concerned with the experience of women and the way in which this experience relates to cultural and religious boundaries. Pieces reflect on the theme of turbulence, immigration, disintegration of the family and the experience of displacement.  

In response to the recent uprising of Iranian women, Batool has created a series of textile works around the theme of Struggle and Rise of Women. 

Join Batool as she shares the stories that inspired her work.

Batool Showghi: https://batoolshowghi.com/ 

Batool Showghi

Showghi uses family birth certificates, passports, old photographs and documents to create her pieces. Her work and writings in Farsi are a poetic reflection on her memories, the environment she grew up in, the family, and a city which was lost during the war. These visual autobiographical artworks are designed to narrate and show the beauty and sadness of this struggle which will always be there. 

Work by Batool Showghi
Work by Batool Showghi

Her figures come to life on canvas. The sewing machine and its needle are her drawing tools. She creates these heads, bodies, and hands intuitively, as if they look at the audience and question their plight. There is a sense of solidarity and movement between them. They know that they will succeed and overcome their struggle.  

Work by Batool
Work by Batool

Showghi was born in Iran and moved to England in 1985. She received a merit for her MA in Design & Media Arts from the University of Westminster in 1997. Batool’s mixed media work and artist’s books can be found at: The Tate Britain, British Library, The Royal Navy Museum in Portsmouth, The Museum of Art and Literature, Yerevan, Armenia, and in many public and private collections.  

Work by Batool
Work by Batool

Filmed at the Knitting & Stitching Show, London 2023.

For a more inspiration, please browse the ‘Meet the Artist’ collection on my YouTube Channel.