Helen Crawford -Artist Statement

I studied textiles during teacher training at Avery Hill College.  Later I completed City and Guilds Embroidery, Parts 1 and 2 at Malvern Hills College.  In 2003, I graduated with an HNC in Stitched Textiles at Gloucester College of Art and Technology, where I experimented with the potential of silk paper, as an expressive medium.

My inspiration comes from observations of seasonal and atmospheric changes in the light, colours and textural details during walks through my favourite ,  woodlands and open landscapes of the Malvern Hills, the Brecon Beacons National Park, and the wild coastlines of Cornwall, Pembrokeshire and Scotland, in addition to words and phrases from literary works, including Shakespeare's plays, and poetry by Edward Thomas, Robert Frost and Pauline Prior Pitt.

I enjoy exploiting the various qualities of silk paper, acrylic paints on felt, stitch, collage, watercolour and mixed media, to create my framed textile and painted landscapes, seascapes and birch tree studies.  I also have a portfolio of giclee prints.

I exhibit regularly in local galleries, and have taken part in Herefordshire Arts Week since it started.