International magazine contents, new books on the market, work on display at local galleries or on sale at various shows and stores all indicate that three dimensional textile work is growing in popularity. Textile art, as a segment itself, is a constantly moving feast but many of its players struggle with being seen as artists, in their own minds and in the minds of others. As interest and respect for the genre grows, so too one hopes, will the art world’s recognition of this form.

Peggy Fearne, based in Sheffield in the United Kingdom, says her group of fellow artists - Alive and Stitching - have only recently made the decision to call themselves ‘artists’. “I think in fine art circles there continues to be that wariness of calling textile work in general ‘art’,” she says. “If a fine artist uses stitch in their work, it’s acceptable but a lot of textile artists could be called fine artists now. The quality of work I see around the UK these days is of a very high standard."

Textile art, or fibre art as it is often known, broadly refers to works of art that express an idea through the medium of textiles. While it may have components made from other materials, the work predominantly features textiles. American artist, Lenore Tawney, who died last year at the impressive age of 101, is an excellent example of a fibre  artist who became an influential figure through her woven sculpture work. Lenore’s work is in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York as well as many other museums, universities and private art collections.

In the textile world it is fascinating to find how many proponents come from fine art backgrounds. In the ever burgeoning area of art quilts, basically paintings on fabric where thread and needle has replaced paint and brush, many leaders began working in non-textile mediums before making the switch. Kaffe Fassett, surely one of the biggest names in international quilting, began life as a painter...  and he still paints. Yet, when London’s Victoria & Albert Museum staged its first ever exhibition of a living artist, it was Kaffe’s quilts they celebrated.

On the three dimensional side of things, Peggy’s work ranges from colourful, highly decorative bags to conceptual 3D sculptures, using white and transparent organdies, basic stitching, wire and plastic tubing. She constantly experiments with fabric manipulation techniques, including geometric Origami folding methods.

“As an abstract constructivist currently using both fabrics and paper and employing geometric folding techniques, my aim is to create order, precision, and repetition,” she says in her artist’s statement.

Peggy and her five other Alive and Stitching colleagues met as members of a larger group called Art Through Textiles. Knowing they wanted to exhibit at least twice a year, their smaller off-shoot gives them the freedom to find smaller exhibition spaces and to motivate each other.

“The growing question for us,” says Peggy, “is ‘Can we, as textile artists, be accepted into fine art galleries?’ As a group we’ve made the decision to always classify ourselves as artists now - not crafters - and therefore open up the selection of galleries we can approach.”

Peggy’s story is a common one amongst female artists in that she, to use a pun, lost the thread of her work somewhat during her child rearing years and now, as her three children grow up, she is able to return to her creative work. “I think for a while I forgot I was an artist,” she observes.

Similarly, life got in the way of art for a while for Melbourne textile artist, Tracy Potts. The financial realities of trying to be an artist in Australia means that everyone from poets and painters to sculptors and scriptwriters needs to secure a ‘day job’ to keep the wolf from the door. Tracy, who holds a Fine Arts Degree as well as TAFE visual merchandising qualifications, worked for a long time in the garden nursery business and has since moved into the events and expo industry, overseeing signage produced for clients nationally.

Tracy studied printmaking at university and used to stitch onto her prints and, in the past 18 months, after neglecting formal artistic activities, has returned to the muse, so to speak, and is creating beautiful and intriguing 3D textile works.

“I think when you’re in art school you’re almost taught to resist thinking of anything involving threads as ‘serious art’ but what I’ve become aware of is that threads are just another material in your arsenal,” she says. “The thought process I undergo when painting is exactly the same when I am sewing. And the look of my work, my style, is consistent across all mediums that I’ve tried too.”

Most of Tracy’s work is hand stitched because she prefers the “quality” it brings to the piece. The time consuming element of this work means Tracy’s pieces are suited more for the exhibition and individual sale market than for standard retail. She uses her whole house as her studio - much to her partner’s dismay - and laughs at the suggestion there is anything in her home called a kitchen table. “It is a work table, full stop,” she says. “We eat in the loungeroom. I even stitch in bed although it can be tricky if you loose a needle.

“I made a personal commitment to myself five years ago that, no matter how tired I was, no matter what work I had on, I would do one creative thing a day, even if it was just sorting out colours,” says Tracy. “It’s not unusual in the expo business to be working 10 to 14 hour days. During that time the phone will be ringing constantly, people will have questions and problems, there’s a million deadlines. It’s actually great to go home, close the door and do this work.”

Tracy’s swing towards 3D textile work takes her in interesting directions. “I think, by its very nature, art in fabric is seen as more approachable,” she says. “People want to touch it. I use everything I can get my hands on - I’ve even made a stuffed person using my cat’s hair.”

In Tracy’s view there is an “absolute movement taking place in textiles”. Exhibition work is building for the artist and, by keeping an eye on publications like ‘Artlink’ and pursuing solo and group shows (she was at Art Melbourne this year), things have developed to the point where she’s recently been approached by a gallery to exhibit. “My dream has always been to work full time as an artist and I have, in my life, stopped work and everything for a few months but being hungry gets very boring,” she says.

Peggy Fearne has reached the fortunate point where she can describe herself as a full time artist. She works from a room in the back of her house - “it’s too small” - plus she teaches at schools and colleges, often serving as artist-in-residence. It is not unusual for Peggy’s work to sell for anything up to £500 (around Aus$1050) but, she says, the fact that her work is in the textile field affects how much people are prepared to pay. Tracy, while almost 10,000 nautical miles away from Peggy, says a similar thing. “I’m always being told that I sell my work too cheaply - $150 to $200 - but I think there is still something of a barrier simply because it is textile,” she says. “And, yes, the gallery does take around 30 per cent here (50 per cent in the UK) so it does mean the price starts to get up there. However, if you buy one of my pieces it will be the only one of its kind in the world.”

Peggy’s shift back to being an artist took place after a return to study where she took the City and Guilds course in contemporary embroidered textiles at Sheffield College. Along with winning a medal for excellence, it appears she re-awakened her imagination and ambition. “This was not about your aunt’s antimacassar,” she says. “I loved it... first thing I decided was to get an exhibition together which I did, at the local library.”

Peggy’s work is very experimental. “It’s about innovation,” she says. “Because it is 3D work it changes and morphs as it goes. I have taken to digitally photographing each stage so the process can be recorded. I put together small units to form the entire work.”

She is currently using old survey maps in her work which she has cut up and is stacking, one on top of the other, with interesting results. “My husband doesn’t know I’ve taken his maps yet,” she confesses.

Great website links:
• www.aliveandstitching.co.uk [aliveandstitching.co.uk]
• www.flickr.com/photos/tracereleveneleven [flickr.com]
• www.artlink.com.au [artlink.com.au]

Tracy Potts blog:
http://tracerapotts.blogspot.com/ [tracerapotts.blogspot.com]

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