Lucy Sugden is a tapestry weaver creating woven art from repurposed and found fibres, inspired by a desire to look after the natural habitats around her, she prefers to create her work from unwanted fibres rather than taking new resources from the environment.
A favourite fibre to use has always been fishing line. Since returning to her art in 2017, she has started to use old fishing line and more recently started to combine this with natural fibres such as wool and linen. As more people become aware of how she works her collection of unwanted fibres has grown, this has opened many new weaving possibilities to explore.
“Tapestry weaving is a medium that has captivated me since learning the technique while studying for my degree. A process as simple as under and over, over and under has seemingly endless possibilities to play with and explore, frustrating at times that it can take so long to create a piece, as my mind can be racing with the next idea or technique I want to explore or hone in on, but the processes meditative effect normally keeps me fixed on the piece I’m weaving, as my fingers work fast, eager to make the piece grow and come alive on the loom.
The natural world has always inspired me, a walk in the woods or wander round the garden, so much to observe. I am often intrigued by the small and delicate side of life, an insect wing, the sun shining through a petal, the interaction between wasp and ant, or a fragile dried seed head. A desire to provide a wonderful habitat for the wildlife around me by learning through watching each season passing, is translated into my woven work.”
Lucy joined Herts Visual Arts in 2017 at the start of her journey back into art, being part of the HVA family gave her support and encouragement to get her work out into the world again and she now exhibits nationally with various textiles groups.
“Open Studios is always one of my favourite yearly events, a chance to get out of the studio, meet people, introduce them to tapestry and talk all things weaving and wildlife.”
Find out more: Lucy’s Gallery
