"Textile thoughts and Inspirations" was the title of Rachael's talk, and she certainly inspired us, her fellow members at Halifax, as we travelled with her along her textile journey.
Rachael comes from Basingstoke but has decided to put down permanent roots in West Yorkshire (very wise). Artistic blood flows through her veins, with a milliner grandmother and parents who have followed many different artistic pursuits, including fully fitting out a large and complex doll's house.
Rachael explained that she had spent some time as a painter, but found the completion of pieces very stressful, worried that she would spoil what she had already done. She has tried many other craft disciplines, but likes textile art as it combines different media, especially paper and fabric, both of which she loves.
Rachael says that she is drawn towards using lines in her work, especially vertical lines, and this is a theme which is repeated through her portfolio. Throughout her career as a teacher, Rachael has continued with art as a hobby, and a few years ago completed a year-long Experimental Textiles course with Kim Thittichai, based in Birmingham.
Since the course ended, Rachael has been looking for ways to fill the void, and as well as joining the Embroiderers' Guild, is also in a group mentored by Kim, "Out of Line", and is a founder member of the Hillstone Textile Art Group. This has led to her most recent work, a series of pods.
To add to the excitement of seeing all of Rachael's work, we also had our colour-themed raffle - this month, purple, which as you can see, led to a large number of Cadbury's chocolate prizes!
*There is a link to Rachael's Blog, Folio and Fibre, on the right-hand side of this page.
