Janet Edmonds Exhibition November 15th-30th

Janet Edmonds Personal statement 2023

The geology of Britain’s coastline has long been an inspiration for textile work reflecting my early years living by the sea. I am fascinated by the rhythms of sea and weather, which over time, creates imperceptible changes to the structure of coast, rocks, stones and sand.

Drawing is an important part of my practice: observing and recording colour, form and surface is a valuable source of inspiration informing the making of objects. Mark making especially, is linked to building surface through stitch and the process of close examination of a subject to record information is a necessary stage in my creative output.

Now that I live a long way from the coast, I have turned my attention to the countryside locally and enjoy the inspiration that it brings to my work. Trees in particular have some of the same characteristics as the structure of the coastline in that they change very slowly and close inspection reveals subtle colours and intriguing textures.

I like to use mainly natural fibres for creating works usually in three dimensions, continuing an exploration of form that has endured for many years. Pieces may be stitched by hand or machine and the challenge of creating a fabric that stiffens and supports itself is always satisfying.

I am the author of four books, the latest, ‘From Art to Stitch’ is about the work of seven different artists who have inspired a variety of themes and artistic processes that I have developed into stitched pieces in 2 and 3 dimensions. The artists explored are Chuck Close, Van Gogh, Kandinsky, Hundertwasser, Morandi, John Piper and Matisse. 

The exhibition planned for the Mams Gallery shows some of the work developed for the book together with more recent textile work.