elainbarnardt

My quilts and fibre are archives of my life that stems from words, travels and secrets women share. I have a continuing fascination with travel, especially exotic places like North Africa, Turkey and India. My work is a synthesis of memories and observation that celebrates these special places and the people that live there. I sometimes wonder why I work in fibre, as it’s such a slow process. But I love the storytelling, image making, the texture of the fabrics and the painterly potential of it. Each time I feel as though I am unwrapping a parcel and discovering more and more.... My quilts are a combination of machine embroidery and hand embroidery. I love the process of layering. I often start off with white fabric and then paint, print, dye, colour, stencil, embroider, quilt and stitch on beads or buttons to enhance the layering process, like the layering of a story coming alive.