Jacqui Thomson – Textiles
I am a textile artist who uses embroidery and the art of the stitch to explore feminist themes, ideals and the everyday lives of women.
Women have always stitched, be it purely for pleasure or out of necessity. My quilt consists of 20 vintage tray-cloths sewn together, from a bygone era when women devoted countless hours to the art of embroidery, and sewing items for their homes and families. Using embroideries discovered in charity shops, on Ebay, and found abandoned in the backs of cupboards, I have brought them back into the limelight to make an artwork. I am reclaiming the past histories of the women who stitched them, honouring the many hours of work they have invested in them, and celebrating the skills and crafts traditionally associated with women. Each ‘panel’ of the quilt is dedicated to a ‘Lady of Stitch.’ Some of my ladies are women I have known, like my mum Frances who ‘knitted for England’, sewed all our summer ‘frocks’ and took in mending to ‘earn a few bob’. Others are based on real women I have discovered during my research into the history of embroidery and stitch and are typical of their era. “I dedicate this quilt to all those women who devoted hour after hour to the art of embroidery and stitch.”
