Exhibition
Bird Life
I’ve always been a birdwatcher. The theme of bird study is an ongoing obsession for me and my experiences within nature always influence my life and work. I love the everyday garden birds and their behaviour. Doves are also a frequent muse – beautiful shape and subtle colouring. Walking in the Devon countryside I listen to the bird song and have learned to separate different species, so I have an idea of what is always surrounding me. These are the birds I always come back to. Obsessing over detailed depictions of birds in stitch help me to feel almost spiritually connected to individual species. I work from photos and sketches in quite a clinical way, breaking the design down to every small, detailed element – thinking about how it will translate in stitch on the embroidery machine and with more depth and detail added later with free-motion stitch on the sewing machine. The repetitive process of stitch is a very mindful one. While my hands are working, my mind can wander on its own meditations. I love this solitary aspect of the process. I add many layers of thread – I like the beautiful, tactile sheen of rayon silks and sometimes a more matte effect from cotton. The collage element is an unplanned, intuitive, and playful response to the embroidery. I am surrounded by baskets of old fabric, coloured silks, and lace in various grades of size down to the smallest fragments. In some of my work there is the suggestion of a natural background -but decorative and idealised. I continue to stitch into the loosely laid down collage, using the sewing machine for a sketchy effect and bedding down the surface – blending these different textured, patterned, and coloured pieces together. Sometimes I’ve included printed or stitched words and phrases from poets and nature writers and in many of these pieces I have striven to achieve a look of timeless careworn age - a kind of faded glory in muted colours- ensuring my bird stands out in distinct contrast as the star in its realm. Chloë will be joined by fellow artist and painter Kerry Johnstone.
📅 26 April - 20 May 2023
Launch
📍 Artizan Printmaking & Sculpture Gallery
⚫ Exhibition Finished
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Participating Artists
Chloë Morter
I’m a maker of embroidery collage wall art with a focus on native birds and wildlife. My work features the intricacy and texture of machine embroidery with layers of fabric and paper collage. Inspiration comes from nature, my surroundings and my love of illustration, pattern, traditional folk art and the arts and crafts movement. My background combines a degree in Art History and many years working in graphic design and embroidery design. Methods include the modern craft of digital embroidery design, free motion embroidery, hand stitch and layered re-purposed fabric collage. Recently I’ve become interested in bringing lines of poetry into pieces. Using photos and my drawings I start with a clinical, analytical study of subjects - specifically native birds - looking at colour, anatomy, feather formation. I use machine embroidery stitch patterns and rayon silks to create rich depth of colour and a 3d structure I can continue to work into and over with the sketchy, free-motion use of running stitch. This illustrative, detailed approach to nature study is juxtaposed with an intuitive, unplanned and playful fabric collage response - combining scraps of worn silk, paper and antique lace to create an abstract, ethereal and decorative background, striving for a muted, timeless quality. My intention is that this complements and brings a close focus to the subject matter of UK wildlife - the striking beauty of the birds we often see and have seen but whose existence is nonetheless delicately poised within the fluctuating balance of nature and the environment. I sell my work at fairs and exhibitions and often work to commission. Alongside my original framed pieces I offer prints and greetings cards.
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Blog Posts
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Studies in Stitch
Intricate Detail
I’ve always been a birdwatcher. The theme of bird study is an ongoing obsession for me and my experiences within nature always influence my life and work. I love the everyday garden birds and their behaviour. Doves are also a frequent muse – beautiful shape and subtle colouring. Walking in the Devon countryside I listen to the bird song and have learned to separate different species, so I have an idea of what is always surrounding me. These are the birds I always come back to. Obsessing over detailed depictions of birds in stitch help me to feel almost spiritually connected to individual species. I work from photos and sketches in quite a clinical way, breaking the design down to every small, detailed element – thinking about how it will translate in stitch on the embroidery machine and with more depth and detail added later with free-motion stitch on the sewing machine. The repetitive process of stitch is a very mindful one. While my hands are working, my mind can wander on its own meditations. I love this solitary aspect of the process. I add many layers of thread – I like the beautiful, tactile sheen of rayon silks and sometimes a more matte effect from cotton.
The collage element is an unplanned, intuitive, and playful response to the embroidery. I am surrounded by baskets of old fabric, coloured silks, and lace in various grades of size down to the smallest fragments. In some of my work there is the suggestion of a natural background -but decorative and idealised. I continue to stitch into the loosely laid down collage, using the sewing machine for a sketchy effect and bedding down the surface – blending these different textured, patterned, and coloured pieces together. Sometimes I’ve included printed or stitched words and phrases from poets and nature writers and in many of these pieces I have striven to achieve a look of timeless careworn age - a kind of faded glory in muted colours- ensuring my bird stands out in distinct contrast as the star in its realm.
Chloë will be joined by fellow artist and painter Kerry Johnstone.
Exhibiting Artists
