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April 20, 2009

Penny Leaver-Green

I for one love art, embroidered or otherwise, that tells a story, has lots of interesting details and also is lovely to look at. Penny Leaver-Green definitely ticks all those boxes. She explores diferent topics in a very poetic way. For anyone in those necks of the woods, she will be exhibiting at the Bovey Tracey Contemporary Craft Fair in Devon, England 5-7th June.

Who or what inspires you?
My children, my friends, the news, the fabric and thread

How long have you been stitiching? What got you started?
I was taught to stitch in a very conventional and thorough way at school by a very strict teacher called Miss Lax- I loved it, but only really began to explore it as a medium when I had my first child -7 years ago.

Do you have a favourite stitch? Why?
Not really- I could do with experimenting with many more - although I find that couching stitch makes a bold impression and for that reason use it often.

Tell us about your subject matter...
My subject matter is diverse- I recently produced a body of work which sought to explore our relationship with birds- from the way we exploit them to our admiration and reverance of them- I also often return to children's stories and try to represent moments of danger or dischord within them. I want to make a viewer think about the subject matter and so hope to provoke rather than just satisfy.

What perceptions of embroidery do you encounter?
I use embroidery to create pictures and so consider it an art form- as well as a craft. I like to think of the needle and thread as a brush or pen and line. I have found people increasing receptive.

Why is embroidery worth spending time on?
The process is extremely satisfying - as a piece of work develops and grows the progression happens at a controllable pace- mistakes can be rectified and the end image is invariably a reflection of this process.

Are there any other embroiderers in the group pool that you have noticed?
I love Quinn 68 who uses embroidery in her beautiful dolls and also contemporaryembroidery who has a real handle on the craft.

3 comments:

  1. very lovely- especially unique style!!

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  2. wow!this is fantastic and wonderfully original. I am glad you found it to share.

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  3. Very talented!! Does she have a blog, or just flickr?

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