Folk Tales with Anne Kelly

Anne Kelly is a mixed media and textile artist, author and tutor living and working in the UK. Her richly layered and embroidered works are reminiscent of tapestries and have been applied to a variety of surfaces. She exhibits locally and internationally, often combining exhibitions with teaching. She's also the author of Textile Folk Art, a practical and inspirational guide to textile folk art from cultures all around the world, accompanied by step-by-step projects, published in 2018. From samplers to quilts in Europe, to tribal and nomadic cloth further afield in Mongolia and China, folk and traditional designs have played a crucial part in the development of textile art and craft.

In the book, Anne Kelly explores the traditional motifs used in textile folk art and shows you how contemporary textile artists use these in their work today. The beautifully illustrated guide is also packed with helpful step-by-step projects that demonstrate how to apply folk motifs to your own work. Drawing inspiration from the Far East to Scandinavia, artists and designers have often used folk art to influence their work. Beginning with the chapter 'Samplers in Stitch', Anne looks into handmade momentoes and souvenirs created in the UK and USA.

Samplers as statement pieces are also explored and are contextualised within the role of women and children recording their personal histories and lives. 'Nordic Notes' then looks at Scandinavian traditional textile art, and how modern screen printing and embroidery have been used by contemporary makers. 'Silk Road' looks at the influence of nomadic cultures and textiles, including yurts in Mongolia and Miao folklore in China. Projects on how to make felt, pouched and jewellery are also covered. Lastly, 'Trees of Life' looks the motif of the tree in a variety of cultures. Anne also looks at traditional techniques from South Asia and how to create your own 'Family Tree' using photo transfers and applique. Featuring step-by-step projects as well as work from contemporary artists and makers throughout, this practical and beautiful guide shows how practitioners of all kinds can draw from folk art for making and inspiration.

Join us for a folk tales textile workshop in London to learn Anne Kelly's unique and inspiring interpretation of folk and naive art in cloth. Using folk art motifs as inspiration, the aim is to produce a central image and a border of small block printed fabrics in the beginning of the session. These will then be collaged and added to with lace, ribbon and stitch. The workshop takes place at the Artworkers Guild in London on the 14th of September from 11-5 and includes a light lunch.

All materials are provided but if you'd like, you can have a hunt through your collections to find folk art inspired fabrics, old embroidered snippets of tea cloths or handkerchiefs – also any images that inspire you. It’s also helpful to think about colours and choose some that you would like to work with on the day. 

Click here to find out more about the course and to book your place. With any questions, please don't hesitate to get in touch by emailing customerservice@selvedge.org.