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When I relinquished my lecturing post in 1997, it was not without some feelings of anxiety and trepidation. The decision to give up what was an exciting yet increasingly stressful career had been shaped by a number of issues. Most importantly, however, was an overwhelming need to invest in my own work the energies that were given to students, before my time, and the century, ran out.
So for me the last two years represent a period of self renewal, with moments of doubt tempered by flashes of personal insight and unexpected discovery. The realisation that there is now time simply to sit at the machine without having to guarantee a successful end product, makes it possible to reflect on what I am doing, and if necessary, start again, even if it does mean that the reject pile gets worryingly large from time to time. The conviction grows that we create primarily for ourselves. While not breaking new ground (how many of us ever truly do?), if the work feels right to me, then nothing else should matter. Learning over and over again that rejection is painful, and acceptance often unexpected and always rewarding has also meant learning how to discipline myself and to use my new found freedom profitably.
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I have developed my word processing skill (well, skill is a slight exaggeration!), and acknowledge that the computer is here to stay. Not only is it an essential aid for giving a professional look to any gallery or exhibition submissions, but, along with the Internet, is a way of communicating with an ever shrinking world. And my art work has changed considerably.
Starting with my familiar architectural themes inspired by travel, these have led to an interest in land forms. Not formal landscape representation, but an awareness of structures and boundaries like pathways or rivers that dissect land and change its natural contours. Considering what causes visible changes on the surface, and no longer feeling inhibited by 'image', some of my current work uses local starting points like the tiny River Lavant, which only rises occasionally, and depends on bad weather conditions to do so. Pieces can start from a tiny section of a drawing, and then they seem to take over. Considering the juxtaposition of stitch and colour without the hindrance of an obvious pictorial content has resulted in less constrained work with a more organic feel.
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It is difficult to say exactly where this work will take me, but this project continues to offer possibilities for some time. I may develop the references to topography and maps, or investigate the geographical sources of a specific location and look at the changes that have taken place there. Another possibility would be to extend the scale of work, perhaps through further commissions, as these bring new challenges of their own.
For me, dialogue with other artists is of vital importance, not just within textiles, but across the contemporary Fine and Applied Arts. Helping to co-ordinate the Society of Designer-Craftsmen Mall Gallery's winter exhibitions gives me plenty of opportunities to meet with both established and new makers. In addition, selection by Essex County Council for their Artists' Consultancy Register, and involvement with Art in Hospitals programmes across the South, provide further contacts.
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Nevertheless, the arts arena, where the most exciting developments are taking place and where true innovations are occurring, seems to be centred on textiles. 'Fine Art' has for too long held the monopoly on what mainstream galleries will consider showing, but now many of the traditional boundaries are being crossed. You only have to visit the end of year degree shows across the country to see evidence of this. After all, if the Royal Academy can include an embroidered tent in 'Sensations' under the auspices of Fine Art, maybe we will actually see retrospectives of textile artists in the Tate Gallery in the 21st century! We can but dream.
This article is from The World of Embroidery, Volume 50 No.4, © Carol Naylor.
highlights from July 1999 issue