Maker of the month / Textiles

Japanese-born textile artist Kei Ito makes elaborate, sculptural garments by manipulating fabrics with a series of pleats, cutting techniques and folds. Her pieces push the boundaries of conventional fashion, swathing the wearer in a series of elaborate, geometric folds and volumes. A recent example was modelled by Deirdre Figueiredo of Craftspace when she did her stint on Trafalgar Square’s fourth plinth highlighting the importance of craft and making.

Caroline Broadhead is a highly versatile artist. Trained as jeweller, she developed her practice beyond this discipline to work on a larger scale, with textiles, light and space and also in collaboration with choreographers for dance performances, winning the Jerwood Prize for Applied Arts: Textiles in 1997.

Now the newly appointed course director of BA Jewellery at Central St Martins, she says, ‘My work is mainly driven by ideas but making and materials are an integral part of the process. You can’t make things without considering the craft of it.’

Sarah Cant is a woman of many talents; she has a PhD in French Literature, is a professional milliner, designs jewellery and multi-media textiles as well as the occasional theatrical costume. She puts this variety down to a love of change: 'I couldn't just do one thing all the time - I like change and challenge and playing with new ideas.'

Alison Willoughby is best known for making one-off, elaborately patterned skirts. They are as much works of art as pieces of clothing, but she is reluctant to be described as either a fashion designer or a fine artist, preferring to call herself a textile designer. ‘It’s annoying being put in a strict category,’ she says. ‘But I trained as a textile designer and my material is fabric and for me, fabric is where the excitement lies.’

Textile artist Dawn Dupree creates evocative, semi-abstract urban landscapes by building up printed layers of colour and images. They are full of unexpected surprises and juxtapositions each telling a separate narrative often slightly unsettling undertones. ‘I like to make things that are attractive, colourful and have a visual richness so that people are forced to look a bit more closely at them and see unexpected things,’ she says.

Textile artist Alice Kettle creates dramatic figurative panels built up using free machine embroidery. She says, ‘I find embroidery really liberating as it is both a drawing tool and constructional tool.’ She is currently working on a large-scale commission at Winchester Discovery Centre (due to be installed in September) where visitors can watch her at work during gallery opening hours.

Yorkshire-based artist Samantha Bryan makes fantastical wire and mixed media sculptures. Her quirky – often humorous and always highly individual – figures depict long-limbed fairies manning bizarre, machine-like contraptions. They are characterised by an off-beat, zany charm which is realised by Bryan’s imaginative and skilful making technique. She says, ‘my objective is to realise the necessities and requirements involved in fairy life – to provide everything a fairy would need during its daily existence.’
Visit Samantha's website at www.brainsfairies.co.uk