Five minutes with a friend: Susie Vickery
What is your first memory of a textile?
I loved my red checked, brushed cotton trousers that my mum made me when I was 5. Or perhaps they were a hand me down. They were so soft and comfortable and comforting. Remembering this I realised that I have always had a pair of baggy checked trousers in my wardrobe ever since. I have usually made them for myself, but my most recent pair of checked trousers were made by a Japanese designer in Melbourne. The texture of the fabric and the baggy cut give me that same sense of comfort as my trousers when I was 5.
Can you put into words what you love about textiles?
I love the stories and the histories that they hold. I like to wear clothes that have an extra layer of story to them, either made by a friend, made from material that I have bought on my travels, or remade from something salvaged or found, then further embellished with embroidery. When I made my Peregrinations of a Citizen Botanist exhibition, the puppet’s garments were all made from bits of fabric with different stories. Stitched together they gave a whole extra dimension to his story. Only I knew it all, but I loved that when I looked at them I was seeing these layers of stories and memories.
If you make textiles, where is your most inspiring space / place to create?
I am happy to make anywhere. I do have a small workroom in Australia where I can spread out, but I stitch on the go all the time, on long plane trips, with friends in creative groups and while watching Midsommer Murders repeats with my 98 year old mum. I like to do all my thinking and creating and then have some straightforward stitching to just sit and do while listening to podcasts (preferably textile related) or watching tv (preferably costume dramas)
What has inspired you recently? This could be a book, film or an exhibition you have seen or an artist / designer you admire.
oh there seem to be so many good textile books and exhibitions at the moment that I am spoilt for choice. My work is often political so I absolutely loved Sofi Thanhauser’s book Worn, which I read recently. My early work was a lot about exploitation in the garment industry so this book really resonated with me.
What is your most cherished textile, and why?
I have several Parsi embroidered sari borders that I bought when I lived in Mumbai. I love their exquisite embroidery. Such fine, beautiful stitching in the Chinese style with minute Peking knots and fine satin stitch in silk floss. But I am also drawn to the story about how they came about. During the Raj in India, Parsis (Zoroastrians) traded opium and indigo into China for the British. While in China they would get sari borders stitched for their wives. Eventually some of the embroiderers came to India to do the work. It is a story of trade and exploitation, and the movement of ideas, designs and embroidery techniques.
Where did you learn your craft?
I worked as a costume tailor for many years. We used traditional tailoring techniques where a lot of the garment is hand stitched. So after moving to Kathmandu and starting to study embroidery by distance learning, I already had the technical skills and just needed the creative push to start making my own work. I then wanted to put movement into my embroideries so have taught myself automata making and animation, mainly from the internet. There is a wealth of learning material out there.
Susie Vickery will be teaching an online workshop for Selvedge, Making an Endangered Bird Puppet on Saturday 18 & Sunday 19 May 2024.
Find out more and book your place:
www.selvedge.org/products/saturday-18-sunday-19-may-2024-making-an-endangered-bird-puppet-with-susie-vickery
I loved my red checked, brushed cotton trousers that my mum made me when I was 5. Or perhaps they were a hand me down. They were so soft and comfortable and comforting. Remembering this I realised that I have always had a pair of baggy checked trousers in my wardrobe ever since. I have usually made them for myself, but my most recent pair of checked trousers were made by a Japanese designer in Melbourne. The texture of the fabric and the baggy cut give me that same sense of comfort as my trousers when I was 5.
Can you put into words what you love about textiles?
I love the stories and the histories that they hold. I like to wear clothes that have an extra layer of story to them, either made by a friend, made from material that I have bought on my travels, or remade from something salvaged or found, then further embellished with embroidery. When I made my Peregrinations of a Citizen Botanist exhibition, the puppet’s garments were all made from bits of fabric with different stories. Stitched together they gave a whole extra dimension to his story. Only I knew it all, but I loved that when I looked at them I was seeing these layers of stories and memories.
If you make textiles, where is your most inspiring space / place to create?
I am happy to make anywhere. I do have a small workroom in Australia where I can spread out, but I stitch on the go all the time, on long plane trips, with friends in creative groups and while watching Midsommer Murders repeats with my 98 year old mum. I like to do all my thinking and creating and then have some straightforward stitching to just sit and do while listening to podcasts (preferably textile related) or watching tv (preferably costume dramas)
What has inspired you recently? This could be a book, film or an exhibition you have seen or an artist / designer you admire.
oh there seem to be so many good textile books and exhibitions at the moment that I am spoilt for choice. My work is often political so I absolutely loved Sofi Thanhauser’s book Worn, which I read recently. My early work was a lot about exploitation in the garment industry so this book really resonated with me.
What is your most cherished textile, and why?
I have several Parsi embroidered sari borders that I bought when I lived in Mumbai. I love their exquisite embroidery. Such fine, beautiful stitching in the Chinese style with minute Peking knots and fine satin stitch in silk floss. But I am also drawn to the story about how they came about. During the Raj in India, Parsis (Zoroastrians) traded opium and indigo into China for the British. While in China they would get sari borders stitched for their wives. Eventually some of the embroiderers came to India to do the work. It is a story of trade and exploitation, and the movement of ideas, designs and embroidery techniques.
Where did you learn your craft?
I worked as a costume tailor for many years. We used traditional tailoring techniques where a lot of the garment is hand stitched. So after moving to Kathmandu and starting to study embroidery by distance learning, I already had the technical skills and just needed the creative push to start making my own work. I then wanted to put movement into my embroideries so have taught myself automata making and animation, mainly from the internet. There is a wealth of learning material out there.
Susie Vickery will be teaching an online workshop for Selvedge, Making an Endangered Bird Puppet on Saturday 18 & Sunday 19 May 2024.
Find out more and book your place:
www.selvedge.org/products/saturday-18-sunday-19-may-2024-making-an-endangered-bird-puppet-with-susie-vickery