Delphinium study 2023. Private Collection

A collection of fashion sketches express the free spirit of the airbrushed silks which were conjured into ethereal fashions, enhanced with my signature applique motifs. The use of textile paints sprayed onto silk evokes a watercolour palette, liberating the embellishment details of intricate machine applique and hand beading.

I developed this technique in the late 1970s; it became my signature style for the next decade. For more examples go to archive pages at www.suerangeley.co.uk.

For tips on airbrushing see Studio Techniques in Embroidered Originals (2010).

Left: Cover of Crafts magazine 1978. Right: Fashion sketch 1980

Petite and pretty, the embroidered spray-painted silk purses of the late ‘70s and ‘80s caught the romantic mood of the era.

Exhibited in galleries, museums and fashion boutiques around the world, I treasure the few from this time that remain in my archive. Around 200 painted purses were made, perhaps you have one?

Inspired by the exquisite Elizabethan purses, I enjoyed creating these bijoux pieces using stencils, airbrushing, applique, with rouleaux forming straps and ties.

Technical info: the colours of the spray paints were hand mixed using Helizarin fabric pigments.

Left: Quilted silk bags 1979. Right: Studio 1979: Sue creating a silk bag. Photo: Dudley Moss.

Sketchbook ideas are a vital stepping stone in creating a textile work, whether for fashion or interior.

In my textile archive are boxes of all the sketches I have ever done either for commissions or studio research, sometimes just a simple doodle on the back of an envelope!

Alongside the sketches are notes indicating techniques, colour palettes, even sometimes a mention of a piece of music I was listening to at the time.

Perhaps I will bring these sketchbook pages to life by creating a display wall of them for my ‘Open Studio’ in 2024. Click on each page to enlarge

Farewell to the Blue Tit embroidery, this whimsical three-dimensional embroidery was purchased by a client at my studio exhibition in the summer.

A work which inspired the two embroidered terrariums in ‘Embroidery Atelier’ on pages 51, 58-59.

Image: Blue Tit terrarium 2019
Hand-felted bird, machine lace flora and foliage, wired and stitched stems.
The embroidery sits on a painted wood base with a glass dome cover (not in photo).

Details of ‘Open Studio’ events and talks will be announced on my website in January 2024.

I have been pleased to be sending my new book around the world since it was published in 2022.

Signed copies are still available if you wish to purchase one.

With best wishes

Sue

Oxfordshire, U.K.