Helen Cowans, artist, tutor and lecturer was the speaker at EYES today (and the tutor at tomorrows workshop.) Just type in her name on google and all sorts pops up.
An engaging speaker, keeping our interest all the time. When going to university she had to chose between art and science and so she trained as a scientist. When magnifying her work she often saw textile opportunities ....she showed us the plaque on teeth, magnified and translated into stitch. On her blog she has a folder of science subjects in textiles. She had a love of the cups and rings engraved into the stones in the wilds of Northumbria and the prehistoric goddess shape all of which she translated into textiles. Her dissertation has been serialised on...
historyofembroidery.blogspot Look up her blog to see more of her work...
.www.textilegoddess.blogspot.com web site
www.helencowans.co.uk where you can see close ups
of her work and her gowns.
To some she is known as the tower lady....landscapes, seascapes, gothic style and some vintage style. the small ones on the bottom right are the workshop for tomorrow.The towers were featured in a magazine.
they are quite sculptural using a variety of techniques.
this is a large piece, pieced, shaded velvet leaves at the bottom, hand dyed fabric with goddess shapes.
combined goddess and tree of life figures...a small patchwork piece from the outside part of a large hanging which was difficult to photograph to do justice to it.
there were several of these goddess shapes, this one all hand embroidered the flowers all done in minute bullion stitch. the influence of the stone markings on the piece on the right.
variation of the moon goddess and tree of life.
Helen also is influenced by all thing Indian and in particular.... Kantha, a form of quilting using the running stitch ..I think this is a landscape with a weathered fence.........
please do look her blogs
