British textile artist Penny Leaver Green is based in Bristol. She uses found and bought fabrics and thread to explore contemporary thoughts and themes, and has a particular interest in Japan and Japanese culture. “My subject matter is varied; it is conversational rather than didactic exploring the relationship between fabrics, design and words and ideas.”

Firstly, where do you create your art?

I work in my studio in the garden. It was built about 10 years ago in collaboration with a friend, John Tinney. We discussed dimensions/ budget/ aesthetics (we live in a conservation area), then he designed and built it off site and installed it over a couple of days. It is a wonderfully calm space with great natural light (three skylights as well as windows and doors).

What is your background in textiles?

I have always had a wide range of interests and found it difficult to specialise. After school I did an Art Foundation Course but went on to study English and Drama at Exeter University- I then did the Motley post graduate theatre design course in London and practiced theatre design for a few years. During this time, I worked with costume and textiles extensively. I then taught English and drama at a secondary school, but when I had my first child, I returned to making things for her room. I found myself  reconnecting with my creative impulse and became prolific in my output. Having small children allowed me the space and time to return to art and a move from London to Bristol about 14 years ago meant that I could focus on my work and reorientate myself professionally. I managed to land a first exhibition and this, in tandem with a timely news article about my work, gave me the confidence and motivation to continue.

 How do you describe your work?

I use found and bought fabrics and thread to explore contemporary thoughts and themes. My subject matter is varied; it is conversational rather than didactic exploring the relationship between fabrics, design and words and ideas. 

Your art is very diverse, how has it evolved over time?

It’s always evolving. I am not sure whether any of it is conscious and I am obviously influenced by the world around me, but in terms of methodology,  when I started to make work there was a hand-made, craft inspired aesthetic and you could clearly see how my pictures were made – in that the stitch was clear and emphatic. As time has gone by, I have moved away from the obvious and am currently interested in the ambiguity of medium. I like the fact that it is not clear how my work is constructed from a distance. I work predominantly with silk today. I love its versatility, its heritage and the international diversity of its appearance and weight.

In terms of subject matter, I have explored many different themes and ideas which interest me – from the unintended consequences of the introduction of invasive plant species by the Victorians to human biology through the exploration of the spine in tandem with a theatre production.

Last year I explored a more personal story through “Places I have been from clothes I have worn”. I wanted to address the environmental concerns we are currently facing and our essential responsibility to look after the world around us. The central idea was to consider our place in the landscape; we are part of it and culpable should we destroy it. The concept is evident in a number of pieces I have made where the used medium in horizon is ambiguous, but the foreground clearly made from fabric elements. It asks us to think about sustainability and mending and managing our land.

I don’t necessarily want to change opinions with my work, but want to provide a moment for thought and discussion. 

A lot of your art is about Japan. Why Japan?

When I was in my 20s, in order to make some extra money, I taught English to a Japanese reinsurance company in the City called Zenkyoren . Through my lessons I was introduced to Japanese culture and food and became very keen to visit. I jumped at the opportunity to take a group of exchange students to Tokyo when I was a teacher in 2001. I have visited as a tourist twice since then and want to return again soon!

There are so many aspects of Japanese culture and nature which appeal to me. I love the food, the landscapes, the order, civility and tradition. I like the markedness of the seasons and the way that these impact life and living. I found the design and art museums to be amazingly accessible and educational. I particularly love the otherness about Japan – it is so different to UK in terms of culture and aesthetics, constantly surprising and unexpected, yet balanced and calm. 

So, over time I have made work which is an emotional response to Japan on a number of levels. The 2011 tsunami was horrendous, and I felt compelled to make a piece which responded to this. I watched Youtube footage of the slow motion folding of the land as the  the tsunami hit and the piece which resulted was inspired by this tragic movement.  The Southmead Hospital commission was inspired by a trip made to Kyoto and Tokyo during Sakura / cherry blossom time. 

I am also really interested in colour and memory. My latest trip inspired  a series of abstract postcard pieces based on colour combination memories of moments I had while there. All made from vintage kimono silk in 3D with colour dots and a stitched line identifying a place and moment: From watching late night salary men cross the road in Akasaka, to staying at the hugely glamorous Benesse House hotel in Naoshima; from numerous changing horizons viewed from a Shinkansen to harrowing exhibits in the Peace museum in Hiroshima. Each picture was an attempt to distil a moment into a colour driven emotional response. 

I am currently looking at Japanese colour-combinations. Kimonos of particular colours are traditionally made to be worn at specific times of the year in order to foster harmony with nature and I have been making landscapes from kimono silk which respond to these combinations, reminding us to work in harmony with our environment – to complement it and not damage it.

These led to my current interest in traditional kimono colour combinations worn at particular times of the year and the imagined landscapes which have developed out of the palette. 

 Can you briefly describe the process of creating a piece?

I don’t sketch.  I take loads of photographs though. When I am working to commission, I often have a structured research process. For example, I made a piece of work for the Holburne Museum in collaboration with The Royal High School looking at the experience of leaving school. I interviewed and held a workshop for the school leavers and organised their responses to questions into graphs which were in turn made into a colour chart and sewn onto a hand-made dress. The dress was made from silk which I printed with the ‘loading’ symbol referring to the idea that the students were about to embark on an uncertain future, this was then embroidered with their hopes and fears. The dress was made from a colour palette directly referenced from a painting of Arthur Atherly in the Holburne – the starting point of the project.

At the moment I am making a series of landscape pieces. I select the fabrics I want to work with and work instinctively straight onto a final piece, but in a similar way to a painter I constantly change and alter what I am making- pulling fabric off and re positioning it. I work on several pieces at once and return to each periodically. 

I know this is a very broad question but how long does a piece take?

Because I work periodically on pieces they can take anything from a couple of days to months. There have been instances of my framing my work and then re working them a year later.

Your work has been exhibited in and is in collections of numerous galleries and institutions. How did this come about?

I was very lucky at the beginning of my career. An article about my work in the Telegraph in 2008 was read by a graphic designer, Andy Cowie, in Gothenburg who had been curating work on behalf of the paper company CellMark for 25 years. He chose me as the 25^th artist to work with the company and I was in super illustrious company (previous artists had been Andy Goldsworthy, Peter Blake and many others). My work became the background to their annual report that year and an exhibition at the Museum of Gothenburg spanning the 25 years and artists involved included a quilt I had made, and they bought for their collection. I went to Gothenburg and talked about my work at the museum – it was a wonderful experience and  taught me the power of the media. Often since then I have written press releases when I have been making work or involved in an exhibition and it occasionally leads to new opportunities.

I have been approached by museums and have entered competitions, I have applied for commissions and have approached galleries, throughout I have used social media to post my work and this has become an online portfolio so that people can quickly look me up. (at the beginning Flickr was very useful – now Instagram). I have never had an agent – though I have had relationships with galleries who have approached me.

Do you have any advice to aspiring textile artists?

Although I didn’t study textiles at art college, it’s important to find an audience for your work and the press and social media are key. Trying to strike a balance between making money and working with integrity is tough but worth it!

I think coming relatively late to the profession I have used the other skills developed to create a loose framework for exploration of ideas. Initially I was keen to make a coherent exhibition at the beginning of my career in order to explore all aspects of making and showing work. I had been given a tin of buttons and used it as inspiration for a series of pictures exploring Button Phobia. I interviewed a button phobic about her condition, researched online about the wider community and used clinical research to make a series of pictures. I then approached the managing director of Harvey Nichols Bristol to ask if I could hang my work in store (it seemed appropriate) she was keen and kindly gave the wine for a private view and the show was a success (the store went on to hold exhibitions on a rolling programme). The experience allowed me to explore all aspects of making, showing and selling. I wrote press releases to local and national press and as a result was contacted by the Mona Bismark Foundation in Paris and asked to contribute to their exhibition about buttons. 

I think the advice is to believe in your work, don’t sell it cheaply, use social media to your advantage and follow up on any interest in your work.

What is your career highlight to date?

I worked on a commission which has become a permanent piece in Southmead Hospital in Bristol. It was a very emotional piece to make and for this reason was perhaps the most rewarding. The commission was to raise awareness of organ donation and through the intensive care unit I communicated with patients who had received donations and families of patients who had donated organs. The work took three months to make and I stitched the extraordinarily personal and impactful words of those who had responded and made a three-panel silk cherry blossom work made from the words of the respondents.  When the piece was completed, I finally met some of those who had contributed – it was incredibly moving – as is the fact that I still get messages from patients and visitors to the hospital who see the work and are impacted by it.

 Are there any exciting plans ahead?

The pandemic stopped me in my tracks creatively and I am only just re-emerging. My intention of making an exhibition exploring traditional colour combinations and then approaching a space in Japan may have to be delayed during the current climate.  I am also thinking about working on a series exploring the ‘pause’ we felt at the beginning of the pandemic. I would also like to find a textile artist living in Japan to work in response to / collaboratively with as a kind of art exchange initially online and then have a joint exhibition both in Japan and UK.

www.pennyleavergreen.com

https://www.instagram.com/pleavergreen