Michelle Holmes

I trained in Embroidered Textiles at Loughborough University and now work from a studio housed in a Georgian stable block in the valley of Staunton Harold on the Leicestershire/Derbyshire border.

My creative practice is rooted in my love for drawing with stitch, appliqué and collage, I work by re-purposing fabrics and exploring the reflective and tactile qualities of natural fibres. The evocative quality of cloth to trigger memories is an important element in the pieces. Stitches are made with free machine embroidery made on a Bernina Sewing Machine and hand stitching. My embroideries have a narrative element and inspiration is drawn from the visual world around me and a connection to the history of the environment.

Influences include Boro Textiles, Folk Art, Seventeenth Century English Embroidery, Samplers, the paintings of Mary Newcombe and Samuel Palmer, Folk Tales, Maps and Medieval Carvings.