Practice 1

Practice 1 consists of a series of punch needle portraits, with the theme of ‘masking’ where I use textiles to create a series of what I consider soft sculptures. It consists of both machine sewn and hand tufted pieces, using yarn, polyester thread, monks cloth etc - either working by themselves or together to add varying textures to my work.
With ‘masking’, it is in regard to emotions and expressions. I create a simple smiling or stoic portrait and then finish it off with tears as a final detail, almost to reflect how my mask crumbles away to show my true/inner feelings.
The mix of softly sewn and roughly tufted techniques reflect on the clashing of emotions and thoughts within oneself.