Liz Shackleton

By profession I am a chartered physiotherapist now retired but have always been involved with art and textiles. I was brought up on the east coast to where I have returned after living and working abroad and in UK. Living abroad allowed me access to beautiful ethnic textiles, artefacts and geography.

In 1986 I co-founded THE ELY TEXTILE GROUP which eventually was absorbed by ADEC in Ely. I helped set up exhibitions, organise artist residencies, funded and ran week -long events and coordinated community events and competitions.

I studied for a diploma in Creative Textiles with OCA as well as attending textile educational workshops. I exhibited and sold my work plus taking private commissions in UK. I have been teaching regularly during this time, latterly mostly rag -rug workshops.

Living abroad allowed me access to beautiful ethnic textiles and artefacts. I started making patchwork quilts of my own design, ultimately teaching design and techniques for quilt making in residential settings and private workshops. I have enjoyed screen printing and combining techniques of applique and stitching with this. Using textiles to make my current rag-rugs and hooked textiles came later. Now, I am also working and experimenting with, manipulating and stitching fabrics to produce 3D pieces.

I use fabrics like a paint palette. If I don't have the colour I want maybe I can dye it or combine fabrics to achieve it.

My designs are mostly abstract taking inspiration from a variety of sources not just nature. Often the design comes into my mind but I draw and paint to get to where I want to be.

The tools I use are simple and effective. Hessian and a frame plus a rug-hook and something to "prog" ( make a hole in the hessian) with.

I am committed to using recycled fabrics as I wince at how much is wasted and thrown away. Thinking back to patchwork's and rag-rug's use of precious woven fabric pieces that simply could not be wasted, they also providing a social history through textiles.