Wendy Greaves

Mixed media textiles

Landscapes have long been a source of inspiration for many artists but it is within the realm of textiles that I believe it comes alive.

Since moving to North Devon my style has changed as I feel that I understand the coast more intimately. My recent collection reflects my love of the North Devon coast and the patterns, colours and textures that emerge through the large overhanging caverns, the differing seaweeds that are abundant in the murky rock pools and the debris that is dramatically tossed aside by the fierce Atlantic.

They begin their journey as either a monoprint or by mark making with dyes and paint on fabric and continue to develop using hand and machine stitches, beading and felting. The marks on the canvas reflecting the imprints, the patterns and the movement of the sea across the sand and the beautiful strata of the sedimentary rocks that have been rounded and smoothed having been tumbled and polished by the motion of the waves.

The surface of the fabric that I stitch onto becomes manipulated by the techniques that I employ, and the dramatic landscapes provide me with visual stimuli that I seek not to emulate, but to investigate.