Lorraine Heaysman
Dorset born Lorraine has an unquenchable thirst for being out in the landscape.
Now living in Worthing West Sussex, is blessed with some glorious beaches and the beautiful South Downs to explore and photograph. Lorraine’s first love is to be out at dawn chasing the mist, these are her favourite conditions to work in and her body of work reflects her passion.
She says her love to be out early is deep rooted from time spent out walking with her grandfather from as young as 2 years old. Lorraine first picked up a camera when she was 15 but had a career in hospitality until moving to Worthing in 1994. Lorraine is an active member of the arts community in Worthing.
Lorraine enjoys sharing her skills and has given talks at the local college and in the autumn of 2015 started a series of workshops for beginners. Lorraine has work hanging in Worthing hospital and has won awards for her work, the most recent from the South Downs National Park Authority for her image Autumn Gold.
Lorraine has undertaken commissions for the Woodland Trust, private clients and Worthing based ETI Ltd - a collection of work for their 2017 calendar.
lorraineheaysmanphotography.co.uk
Carole Lesley
Carol was a textile teacher for over thirty years in North London. On moving to Worthing she had the opportunity to develop new areas of textile art. Carol had always wanted to work with fleece for needle felting and to spread her love of dogs. It has expanded to incorporate sewn textile sculpture, artist's protective wear and now her latest passion, miniature and unique teddy bears and 3D gold-work.
Carol would call herself a 3D artist. Handmade needle felted animals are made in different positions. The models usually have a wire armature to allow you to pose in different positions, such as begging for a treat or tweaking the head to add cuteness. Needle felting is a modern twist on the ancient craft of felt making. It is the process of compressing and matting dry fibres together with a barbed needle to create a dense form and is one of the oldest known fibre crafts.
These are not a toy but a whimsical piece of textile art. These little creatures take many hours to make. They can be large or small and make an unusual present to a loved one or a gift to yourself.
Julia Brown
Julia Brown is a textile artist specialising in landscape and natural forms. Trained in fine art and haute couture dressmaking and with a science degree in geography to add to the mix, influences are disparate, but they find point of contact in her free machining embroidery, marrying painting and stitching to interpret the natural landscapes found locally.
With a deep love of the Sussex Coast and Downs she has recently been inspired by the paintings of Eric Ravilious with their quiet beauty and is exploring using his muted palettes and striped brush strokes, rendered in lines of stitching, within her own work.
Pieces are worked over natural materials:- silks, calicos and found scraps, layered to produce a textured background, then painted and stitched with rayon and silk threads.
A landscape is not just about what is seen. It is also about the emotions it invokes in the eyes and heart of the viewer, the weather on the day, the light, the warmth in the air, the wind on the face and the companion by your side. Julia wants to capture both the memories and what is special about a place.
She particularly enjoysproducing commissions of special places, be it a favourite view or place, a house portrait or a wedding venue. She runs workshops from a large light room at home situated at the foot of the Downs at the back of Worthing.
Alison Crosthwaite
Alison has had a love affair with Art Textiles for many years. After gaining City & Guilds qualifications in Creative Textiles and Embroidery and also participated in a Textile Art Degree programme. Alison has sold and exhibited both at local art fairs and trails and also in several galleries, including the Mall Gallery in London.
Colour informs her work. Alison will dye and spin most of her yarn. Alison realises that she is very influenced by the changing seasons and only enjoy working with colours that reflect the time of year.
Alison is able to express her creativity through weaving, and appreciate the mindfulness of the process.
Shan Orr-Ewing
Shân went to art school in the late 60’s having considered a career in art and design, she was diverted by marriage to working in the hospitality industry. There then followed 20 years working in mental health. However her love of all arts and craft lead her to taking an evening class in stained glass in the late 90’s, she admits that precision was not a strong point and changed to working in copper foil, producing pieces for family and friends.
Realising that her love of colour and inability to conform to the restrictions of accuracy required when working with lead, she undertook courses in fused glass with Siobhan at the Forge Gallery.
6 years ago Shân moved house and was able to convert her garage to a studio and bought a kiln. She says she still feels the buzz from opening the kiln, not always knowing exactly what she will find! The magic of melting glass and then turning the piece into a bowl when slumped in a mold is still a scientific mystery! She continues to push her knowledge experimenting with reactive glass and is particularly interested in pieces that are tactile as well as colourful following a request from her late mother who had lost her sight to make something she could feel. She says she is always learning and experimenting and welcomes any questions about her processes and comments and advice from fellow fusers!
Jo Kirby
Jo Kirby has been working as an artist in Sussex since 2000. Jo graduated from York University in the 90’s with a degree in fine art. She previously built her own award-winning design business, producing commercial greeting cards for the international marketplace.
Jo has recently moved her studio to Shoreham Port where the changing light and reflective surfaces inspire her as a jeweller, landscape artist and stained-glass maker. She now aims to enthuse her love of making with the rediscovery of natural forms and colour.
Jo co-organises Worthing Artists Open Houses arts trail, opens her own house as a venue showcasing the work of up to ten local artists and makers.
Soul Silver
