A conversation with Textile Craft Artist Lisa Watson...

(Image above: Textile art piece by Lisa Watson)

How long have you been working as an artist?

I graduated from MMU in 1992, and I have been creating artwork for a long time, but I still don’t make a living from my own work.

Do you work with textiles?

My degree was in embroidery. I am also a qualified art and design teacher, so I can work in lots of different creative practises.

How would you describe your work?

I call myself an arts maker and educator, so as well as making my own textile pieces, I also help people to create their own artwork for projects and workshops. At the moment I make ‘stitchpics’ which are essentially stitched pictures. Colour and pattern are important in my own work. You can see some of my examples of my work at; www.lisawatsontextiles.co.uk

What is your inspiration?

I am still inspired by my sketchbooks, but I can be inspired by lots of things and at the moment it is proverbs!

What materials do you use when producing your work?

I use vintage or retro fabrics, mostly cottons, for my work, which I then applique and stitch onto.

Do you use any recycled or renewable materials in your work?

I find old fabrics have more interesting qualities about them. At present I am making work from a selection of whitework placemats that my mother had been hoarding and last year passed onto me.

Do you find migration in the North West has affected the production of your work in any way?

I am really interested in the historical and social significance of textile production in the North-West. Last year I use ABC Wax fabrics (designed in Hyde and now printed in Ghana for the Ghananese market) in a quilt completed for International Women’s Day at The Monastery in Gorton. All the delegates brought a snippet of fabric to the day and it was stitched together in the quilt. Each fabric snippet had a story attached and all these stories were collected. The Manchester International Women’s Day quilt 2010 is going to be display at The People’s History Museum for this year’s IWD which is the 100^th anniversary of the event.

What are your thoughts on ethical textile production?

If viable and sustainable ethical textile production is an ideal model.