Tuesday 8 March 2022 is International Women’s Day and to celebrate I’m sharing three women artists who continue to inspire me. I’ve chosen women that work predominantly with textiles, I love seeing how people use fabric and thread in different ways.

Hannah Lamb

Hannah Lamb is a textile artist, lecturer and author, based in her home studio in West Yorkshire. Her creative practice focusses on recording a sense of place through careful observation and material investigation. She works with a range of textile processes, including stitch, print and fabric manipulation, creating textile artworks. Hannah exhibits nationally and internationally and is an exhibiting member of the 62 Group of Textile Artists.

Hannah’s first solo book, Poetic Cloth; Creating Meaning in Textile Art, was published by Batsford in 2019. It’s a great source of inspiration, sharing techniques and the work of other textile artists.

Images courtesy of Hannah Lamb. From left to right At Home, Duty of Care and Fragments Patched I

Leigh Bowser

Leigh Bowser is a textile artist and educator based in West Yorkshire. Her work uses free motion embroidery to create amazing illustrations. She is known for her embroidered pet portraits that capture their personalities perfectly.

During her degree, Leigh started The Blood Bag Project which aims to raise awareness of the rare blood condition Diamond Blackfan Anaemia. The project has been featured in Craftivism books like Strange Material: Storytelling Through Textiles by Leanne Prain.

I love how Leigh works with layers of free motion embroidery to create her work, building up the colours at each stage.

Images courtesy of Leigh Bowser. From left to right custom pet portrait, Animal Crossing characters and pet portrait

The Women of Prism Textiles

I’ve been a member of Prism Textiles since 2021 and our membership is predominately women. I’ve been working with the social media team and helping out with marketing which gives me the chance to share the wonderful work our members make.

Prism are international exhibiting group working together to dispel the common preconceptions surrounding textiles. Embracing both the contemporary approach and the rich traditions of cloth and stitch.

I love the colour and texture of weaver Jane Walkley’s work, she takes inspiration from Sunny Bank Mill in West Yorkshire where her studio is based. Hannah Heys’ work is so bright and bold, the textures of her tufted pieces are so luscious. Maria Walker is a mixed media artist, she creates beautiful installations using found objects. I love her use of objects and the colours she works with.

Images courtesy of Jane Walkley, Mat Dale, Hannah Heys, Luma Content and Maria Walker. From left to right, work by Jane Walkley, Hannah Heys and Maria Walker