UNmaking - Textile Study Group - Constance Howard Gallery, London

Constance Howard and her unfinished piece The Second Lady

 

Earlier this year I went to see UNmaking - An Exhibition of Process & Practice by the Textile Study Group at the Constance Howard Gallery, Deptford Town Hall, London. Constance Howard, textile artist, embroiderer and teacher, was instrumental in establishing the Textile Study Group.  Set up in 1973, it was originally a support group for embroidery teachers under her guidance.  Now it is a group of international textile artists with innovative approaches to their art and teaching.

The exhibition starts from the premise that the embodied nature of making means that the making process is often taken for granted.  Here the Group are looking to question this through the deconstruction process, ultimately to inform the development of their work, why they make and what makes a finished piece.

Here are some of the pieces on show...

Sian Martin - Conserve and Recover: the story of peat

Here Sian Martin has pulled fabric apart either partly or completely with a view to remaking it into something new. She sees this deconstruction of fabric as echoing the breaking down of organic matter to form peat - a new form with many beneficial characteristics.

Alice Blackstock - Deconstructed Left Sleeve

Alice Blackstock's deconstruction of a shirt has given her a new appreciation of the processes involved in its construction.

Alice Fox - Nest

Alice Fox deconstructed an abandoned nest found on her allotment.  In so doing she was able to identify the materials that she could reuse in this work.

Dorothy Tucker - And then...

Dorothy Tucker started by cutting up leek heads, examining and drawing them which led to this stitched work.

Gillian Cooper - Manes

The Manes in Ancient Rome were deities formed from the souls of deceased loved ones.  This idea is used here by Gillian Cooper. Scraps from a long ago projects are brought together in a new piece which becomes a shrine to those initial works.

Janet Edmonds - The hardest thing of all is to see what is really there...

Inspired by the routes we follow - roads, railways, paths - Janet Edmonds has made a series of grids that she has turned into 3D forms.  She sees these as representing our complex paths through life.

Sarah Burgess - Sweet Dreams Were Made Of This...

Sarah Burgess's pillowcase, printed with cyanotypes and lithography and stitched, represents the dreams that unravel and evaporate as we wake, departing until we go back to bed and dream again.

Shelley Rhodes - Kerkyra Cloth

Shelley Rhodes made this piece from a scarf that she found while out walking.  It has been deconstructed, cut up, stained, painted, abraded and put back together with patches and stitching in a Japanese Boro-like manner.

Gwen Hedley - Reconstructed

Here Gwen Hedley has deconstructed an old book and, using only the materials and processes used making the original book, she has reconstructed a new work of collage.

Although this exhibition has now finished in London, it reopens at Museum in the Park, Stroud GL5 4AF from 12 September – 8 November 2026.  Go see...

Prism Textiles - Dictionary Exhibition - London - April 2026

Ross Belton - Vessel
Representing the concept of containment, transport and the relationship between container and contents across cultures

 

The annual Prism Textiles exhibition at the Art Pavilion, Mile End, London is one of the highlights of my textile year.  Not only is the venue fantastic and beautifully located, the textile work is varied and interesting and there are free workshops.  This year the theme was Dictionary - interpreted in multiple ways by members of the group.  A challenge this year for visitors was the tube strike, which was in force on the two occasions when I visited.   However, using the Santander bikes for hire solved the problem for us, although the cycling was a bit hairy until we discovered (only on the final journey, unfortunately) that we could make almost the entire journey along the Regent's Canal! 

Prism tells us that this year's exhibition "explores the hidden meanings embedded in words: their origins, their shifting forms across centuries, misunderstandings, transformations, and cultural echoes."

Here I show a few personal favourites from the exhibition.

Judith Rowley - C is for Colour
Natural fabrics and fibres with hand and machine stitch
Sometimes a dictionary definition isn't enough, colour has to be seen to be appreciated.

Jane Riley - The dictionary of infinite revision
Wood, wool, linen, cotton, silk, woollen blanket, plastic and cardboard
A physical dictionary is obsolete as we embrace a digital future.  The Pink Paint seaweed encrusting the cover of this dictionary also faces extinction with rising ocean temperatures and acidification.

Jill Walker - Florilegium I
Cyanotype, stitch & gathered materials
A language rooted in materials rather than words

Maria Walker - Women's words
Preloved jacket, felt, thread, words
A dictionary of synonyms for women sewn onto a jacket
There are many derogatory terms for women in dictionaries written by the established patriarchy who dominated literature and language for many years

Annie Taylor - List, Less, Listless
Textile scraps, thread
The artist cannot work without a list so being listless represents having nothing to do.  If it's not written down, it can't be done.

Jeryl Church - The Twisting of the Truth
Tissuetex, ink, papers, konnyaku paste, paper yarn, linen thread
Represents the manipulation of words to promote false narratives and disinformation

Helen O'Leary - Treasure 1
Mixed materials, textiles, stitch, knitted wire
"Treasure" as babies' bootees 

Marilyn Hall - A tin ticket and a small bag
Used natural cloths, indigo dye, linen thread
Minor misdemeanours by women in 19th century Britain could lead to deportation.  They carried an identity tag and a bag of fabric scraps that they could stitch into items to sell.

Julie Turner - Grief: noun: as in distress caused by loss
Rust, heat press print, plant material, plant dyed fabric, wax
Made in response to the deaths of refugees crossing the channel

I also took a Stitched Textile Vessels workshop with Maria Walker... 

Maria Walker - An empty vessel makes the most noise
Cloth, thread
Work exploring the word "vessel" from a feminist context

Maria Walker's Example Stitched Textile Vessels

My Stitched Vessel - A Work in Progress

and a Scrappy Dolls Workshop with Annie Taylor...  

My Scrappy Doll

Both workshops were great fun and informative.  You can see their work and my works in progress above. 

I hope that gives you a flavour of the varied and fabulous works that were on display. The exhibition has finished now so you can't visit but do keep it in mind for next year. Also, a shout out to The Coffee Room, which is the closest cafe to the Art Pavilion.  Who knew red velvet doughnuts could be so good!

Anthotypes

Finished anthotypes (first attempt)

 

I have been experimenting with anthotypes, largely as a result of seeing some on instagram - for example, here by @jellywithcream. An anthotype is a print made using a solution made from plant materials that are light sensitive.  It is a photographic process that John Herschel discovered in 1839 and Mary Somerville developed and documented it a few years later.  There's a very useful guide on the Alternative Processes website here.

The solution of plant material is applied to paper and when dry, an object is placed directly on the paper.  I have used leaves and flowers above but you could use keys, lace or solid objects. The paper and objects are then exposed to sunlight for a lengthy period.  It is important the objects don't move during this period if you want a clear print so trapping them under glass helps keep everything in place whilst allowing the sun's UV rays through.  The solution of plant material that I used was a combination of turmeric and alcohol which I painted onto a selection of papers.  The alcohol acts as a binder and allows the solution to be easily applied to the paper. The alcohol in this case was surgical spirit but I understand you can use vodka (or probably anything with a high alcohol content e.g. hand sanitiser - but I've only tried surgical spirit).  

My recipe was 2 tablespoons of turmeric powder dissolved in about 60 millilitres of surgical spirit.  This mixture then has to be filtered - coffee filters are suggested but I didn't have any so used tissue paper in a funnel dripping into a jam jar.  The result is a bright yellow solution which you can paint on to your paper.  I only applied one generous coat of turmeric solution but I have since read that several coats, left to dry in between each, would give the best results. You should not leave these to dry in bright sunlight but I found it wasn't necessary to put them in a darkened place.

These are some of the plants that I laid on the coated paper to make prints...

Leaves and flowers selected to make anthotypes

I tried printing on both sketch pad paper and khadi paper and later on fabric and cardboard too.  Paper that readily absorbs the solution works well...

Sketch pad paper and khadi paper

Here are the papers after they have been painted with the turmeric solution, with the the plant matter on top and then a sheet of glass to hold them in place.  I read that they need to be exposed to sunlight for 4-6 hours.  These prints were left for 6 hours on a very hot sunny day.  It is important not to try taking a peek earlier as you will inevitably disturb the plant matter which will affect the clarity of your print...

Flowers and leaves on paper painted with a solution of turmeric and alcohol under glass

The sun fades the exposed areas and the areas under the plant matter remain darker.  It is a selective bleaching process, creating a positive image of the object being printed...

Anthotypes after 6 hours

You could leave the prints like this, but when added to a bicarbonate of soda solution, the prints change colour to a reddish brown and I think it helps with the contrast so they seem clearer.  I used a solution of 4 teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda dissolved in 250ml of warm water.  The prints were left in for about a minute which might be too long if the paper is fragile.  This solution may improve their light fastness but won't stop them fading over time.

Anthotype in a solution of bicarbonate of soda

The anthotypes were left to dry after they'd been in the bicarbonate of soda solution on baking paper.  When they were finally dry and removed they left these interesing patterns on the baking paper...

Baking paper after anthotypes removed

Here are some more of the finished anthotypes I made...

Finished anthotypes on paper and cardboard

Finished anthotypes on calico

They worked well on fabric and less well on cardboard.  However, I had diluted the solution for these and again only used one coat so I think the original solution and several coats would have given better results.

These prints remain light sensitive or "fugitive" and will fade if left in direct sunlight, so are best kept in darker places.  I hope to make some more anthotypes and use them in card-making and to use the fabric based ones in some textile work.  

Let me know how you get on if you give it a go. You can use other plant materials, e.g. beetroot, berries and spinach, to make these type of prints but they may take several days to develop.  If the plant material is very watery you may not need to use a binder.  Happy experimenting! 

For the Love of Textiles - Sunny Bank Mills, Farsley

Grenfell Memorial Quilt - Do Caged Birds Dream of Flying?

 

For the Love of Textiles, currently showing at Sunny Bank Mills, Farsley, explores the loving connections humans have with textiles. It includes work by contemporary artists, garments and archival pieces from textile collections.

The largest and most striking single piece is a panel from the Grenfell Memorial Quilt - Do Caged Birds Dream of Flying? Tuesday Greenidge and her team from the North Kensington community created the Grenfell Memorial Quilt Project.  They hope to create a quilt as long as the tower was tall  - 220 feet, by 2027. This particular panel of the Grenfell Memorial Quilt has been led by Jane Thakoordin and draws inspiration from Maya Angelou's Caged Bird poem.  It features a bird for each of the 72 victims of the Grenfell Tower fire.  These were made by people from across the UK who responded to Jane's call out...

Grenfell Memorial Quilt - Do Caged Birds Dream of Flying?

Kate Tume's Death Masks were very striking.  We are told they are deities of grief, each representing a facet of love lost and are inspired by the death of her husband.  They are not only sculptures but ritual masks to be worn so the wearer can be transformed...

Kate Tume - Death Masks
Cotton, wire mesh, embellishments
 & Sam Winter & Kate Tume - Threshold: Ghost I, II & III
Photography on aluminium

Sarah Joy Ford had contacted Angela Maddock, textile artist & academic, to repair her childhood rabbits - John and Peter. Their restoration was documented in photographs, replaced stuffing and the water they were cleaned with, whilst Sarah Joy Ford made 2 new pieces celebrating her white rabbits...

Angela Maddock - John and Peter in the Care of Angela Maddock
Sarah Joy Ford - The White Rabbits

We are told that Julie Henry and Debbie Bragg working as Henry/Bragg highlighted the erosion of working class culture and the human longing for escapism.  For Dyed in the Wool, they invited a die hard fan from the football teams featured and got them to design a cardigan to represent their team.  Unlike mass produced merchandise these feature elements of local identity. They were knitted by the WI.  They are now part of the permanent collection of the National Football Museum in Manchester...

Henry/Bragg - Dyed in the Wool
Handknit Cardigans (from front) Leeds United, Middlesborough, Aston Villa

This lace from Nana-Essi Casely-Hayford's wedding fabric was beautiful but I was particularly taken by the poem that was displayed with it (shown below)...

Nana-Essi's Ghanaian Wedding Fabric
Loaned by Nana-Essi Casely-Hayford from her personal collection

Poem from the display of Nana-Essi's Ghanaian Wedding Fabric
Loaned by Nana-Essi Casely-Hayford from her personal collection

These wedding shoes are part of the Joseph Box collection of shoes and objects relating to shoemaking (1500 to 1920), which provides a unique insight into footwear history.  They are handmade and rather lovely...

Joseph Box Victorian Wedding Shoes
Loaned by Sarah Buckroyd from Powerhouse Collection

I was quite taken with this knitted ensemble but didn't spot any information about it...

Knitted Dress

This is just a sample of what is on display.  If you want to see more, the exhibition is on until 28 June 2026 - Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm.  There are cafes at Sunny Bank Mills, various shops and a ScrapStore.  It's a great place to visit.  If you plan to visit the ScrapStore, check opening hours before you go.

Touchlines - 62 Group - Sunny Bank Mills, Farsley

Louise Baldwin - The moments that I can't recall (detail), 2026 

 

Touchlines: The Delicate Boundaries of Care and Cloth is this year's 62 Group exhibition at Sunny Bank Mills in Farsley.  In Touchlines, we are told, "artists explore the subtle thresholds where contact is felt, withheld, or transformed. Set within the historic spaces of Sunny Bank Mills, the exhibition draws connections between textile labour, sporting cultures, and human relationships, asking how boundaries shape intimacy, care, and collective identity."

Here are some of my favourites...

Using old tickets, books, cards, packaging etc., Louise Baldwin has created a new work of layered relationships...

Louise Baldwin - The moments that I can't recall, 2026
Collected paper, card, and fabric elements with wood and beads; machine-stitched modules, hand stitching and glued construction

Debbie Lyddon's The Breath of the Moon maps the contours of a day's tides. The title comes from the Venerable Bede, who noticed a connection between the moon and tides and called it the breathings of the moon.  I love the title of this piece.

Debbie Lyddon - The Breath of the Moon, 2026
Linen, beeswax, linseed oil, wire, pulled threads, machine and hand stitch

Hannah Lamb makes the point that "duty of care" often misses out caring for the carers.  The patching and darning on this piece represents self care as the apron disintegrates. Perhaps it's time to re-evaluate who we value in society...

Hannah Lamb -  Duty of Care II, 2022
Vintage linen apron, silk organza, applique, hand stitch, machine stitch, devore

Helen Davies tells us that sometimes the only way to effect change is through disorder and nothing unites a community like a common goal.  Her work references the 1842 General Strike where workers across Lancashire & Yorkshire unplugged the boilers in mills and factories...

Helen Davies - National Union of Had Enough of This Shite, 2026
Cotton thread, synthetic thread

Helen Banzhaf's coat shows how important it is for pattern pieces to fit together to create the final form...

Helen Banzhaf - Salad Servers and the Odd Fish Slice, 2026
10 oz unprimed cotton canvas, assembled as a coat using various threads with stitched applique shapes

Hazel Bruce uses an old linen roller towel as a background for patches of colour and stitch to give it a new life...

Hazel Bruce - The beginning of something new? 2025
Huckaback linen roller towel, reclaimed fabric remnants, machine stitch

In Eszter Bornemisza's piece, her people are made of map fragments and linked by a network of streets, representing human connectedness...

Eszter Bornemisza - Icon-Maze, 2023
Organza, vintage ribbons, newsprint, tissue, threads, printing, cutting machine stitching

Helen Yardley uses the game of rugby as her inspiration with the physicality of the friction and pressure of the game echoed in her medium and representation...

 

Helen Yardley - Lineout, 2026
Cut and pieced 3mm industrial wool felt, hand stitched, screen printed, machine stitched and hand painted. Mounted onto a wooden stretcher frame.

Claire Barber's piece, part of which is shown below, made of melted shoelaces, heather and chalk represents how plastics infiltrate out environment...

Claire Barber - Sweepings (detail), 2026
Melted shoelaces, heather, chalk, stone, pins, broom, sugar palm fibres

Hannah White's work, through electroforming, transforms something soft into something rigid and she sees this as a metaphor for building human resilience over time...

Hannah White - Woven Touchlines, 2026
Woven, hand pleated and hand stitched, Trevira and stainless-steel threads, electroformed, nickel-plated

Mei Lock says her parents demonstrate their love through what they do rather than what they say.  Here, using her parents' clothes and one of her Mum's recipes, she demonstrates their actions of love and care...

 

Mei Lock - Love Languages, 2026
Cotton apron, denim jeans, wooden chair spindles and thread, hand stitch

And finally, with humour but also with a point, here is Lynn Setterington's Gary on the Touchline. The traditional twee subjects of needlepoint are subverted and we have instead, Gary Lineker, a pundit as famous for his humanitarian views on refugees and asylum seekers as his football commentary. The question is, will Lynn Setterington ever stitch it?

Lynn Setterington - Gary on the Touchline, 2026
Canvas work print with coloured threads

And because everyone wants to touch everything but can't - there is a touching table...

Samples that could be examined and touched

There were, of course, many other interesting works too. The exhibition runs until 31st May 2026, on the 3rd floor, in the 1912 Mill at Sunny Bank Mills, 83-85 Town Street, Farsley, West Yorkshire, LS28 5UJ. Open Thursday-Sunday 10am to 4pm. Go see.  

There are cafes at Sunny Bank Mills, various shops and a ScrapStore.  It's a great place to visit.  Check opening hours before visiting.