As Monday 8 March marks International Women’s Day, I wanted to share a few of my favourite women artists working with textiles. Textiles is often looked on as woman’s work and as a craft rather than a fine art form and women artists are often over looked in art history. We should be celebrating this wonderful medium and the artists who choose to work with fabric and thread.

Karina Thompson

Karina Thompson is a textile artist based in Birmingham, I first came across her work in 2014 when I was one of the exhibition invigilators on Cloth & Memory {2} at Salts Mill. Karina uses digital embroidery to create quilts and installations. I love the way Karina combines fabrics and is a digital embroidery champion.

Karina has been working within studio textiles for over 20 years. Through her links with VSM (UK) Ltd and Pfaff Sewing Machines she has been experimenting with digitally programmed stitch. This work is also an examination of the way that digital technology is used in the treatment and diagnosis of illness.

From left to right the above pieces are 1 Hours Production = 1.5 Miles = 15 Lengths, The Leperous Hands and The Leperous Skull.

Ruth Singer

Ruth Singer is a Leicester based artist and researcher; I first came across her work through Embroidery Magazine. I love the way she combines vintage textiles and hand stitch with personal and local history.

Ruth has been working as an artist-maker in textiles for 15 years. Prior to setting up her studio practice, she worked in museums for several years following an MA in Museum Studies before beginning her arts practice in 2005. Ruth combines her love of textiles and aims to bring the two together with creative projects inspired by heritage.

From left to right the above pieces are Criminal Quilts Shawl Detail, Heights and Criminal Quilts Collaboration Quilt

Lorina Bulwer

Lorina Bulwer was born in Beccles in 1838, she was placed in a workhouse at Great Yarmouth at the age of 55 and there she created several pieces of needlework which have been featured on the BBC. These pieces of work are long expressionist samplers which document her anger and indignation during that time in her life.

Lorina died in 1912 but there is a lot of writing about her online along with images of her work. One of her scrolls is housed at the Thackray Museum of Medicine where a sample has also been recreated and will be on display when the museum opens its doors again.

From left to right images of the scroll at The Thackray Museum of Medicine taken with their kind permission