Looking for Adventure (2018)
100 x 68 cms
Applique and screen print on cotton canvas
Rosie James
The Art Queue Melbourne, detail (2019)
100 x 80 cms
Screen printed cotton, fabrics and coloured threads
Born to be Wild (2018)
100 x 68 cms
Applique and screen print on cotton canvas
Copenhagen Street life (2019)
101 x 101 cms
Applique and layered cotton and polyester foil, orange threads
The Art Queue, Melbourne (2019)
100 x 80 cms
Screen printed cotton, fabrics and coloured threads
The Ladies Coach Mumbai (2019)
100 x 80 cms
Screen printed cotton, fabrics and coloured threads
Waiting for this Meeting to Start (2020)
each portrait 20 x 20 cms
Applique, layered cotton and cotton threads
Ordsall Tapestry – detail (2011)
600 x 300 cms
Applique and layered cotton and threads
Waiting for this Meeting to Start (2020)
each portrait 20 x 20 cms
Applique, layered cotton and cotton threads
British textile artist Rosie James tells stories by illustrating with threads. She also uses applique, screen printing and layered images to create lively portraits that capture the emotions and activities of people in society today.
Firstly where did you grow up and where do you live now?
I grew up in Liverpool and now I live in a village in Kent along the river Medway not far from Rochester.
Where do you work?
I work in my log cabin in my garden. Which I love! It has 2 halves one half for printing and one half for sewing.
What is your background in textiles?
I studied at the Surrey Institute of Art and Design in Farnham. I did a degree in textile design specialising in Print. I then did an MA in Textiles at Goldsmiths in London. The BA was very design focused and the MA was much more contemporary art focused. The MA really opened my eyes as to the possibilities within textiles. I then taught Fine Art at a Further Education college moving to Fashion and Textiles eventually.
What is it about machine embroidery that appeals to you?
I think the fact that you can draw with it. Which means you can illustrate, tell stories. It creates a soft fuzzy line that I like, almost like ink on a slightly wet paper (although this does depend on what thread you use). I like the fact that when the thread knots up it looks a bit like an ink blot. And of course I love that fact that the stitched line can carry on as a loose hanging thread. There is so much you can do with this, I feel like I have only just started exploring the possibilities.
How do you describe your work?
I describe my work as drawing with the sewing machine, it seems to sum it up. But of course I use appliquéd fabrics and screen-printing as well. So it’s a mix of techniques a sort of mixed media of textiles.
Have you always left your threads trailing?
Yes I have. I remember the very first thing I drew with this technique, I intended to cut all the threads off afterwards, but I just liked it so much I left them in place. It is interesting how the threads have evolved since that first drawing, they have got longer and longer over the years, and I have started trimming them a bit, so now you can see more of peoples faces. In earlier works the threads are gushing out of their eyes! I have cut them all off once but I felt the resulting drawing was flat and lifeless. Also I think if you cut all the threads off then it just looks like an ink drawing done with a pen. The threads make it clear that this is stitched. They add scribble and movement. And there is so much to be explored with the loose threads. I love to leave them dangling off the edge of a canvas like dripping paint. I love the work of Nike Schroeder who has gone from drawing figures with loose threads and pulling the threads down and off the canvas, or to one side. Her work now is all about the loose threads and nothing else, they are great sweeping works of loose threads in graduations of colour.
How do you create a piece?
I normally have an idea in my head and then I just do it. If it starts to go wrong then I just adapt it on the way. So that the end result may not be completely what I had in mind but it might be even better. I work from photographs, so I print out the picture the size I want and then fiddle with it, draw over it, trace it, delete bits, add bits etc til it works, then add fabrics, maybe screen print etc. Sometimes I might abandon it at some stage if it’s not right. Then I throw it in a pile somewhere to be rediscovered later!
I know this is a hard question but how long does a bigger piece take?
A piece about 100 x 80cms for example might take about 2-3 weeks. I would work out what I want to do and then plan where to start. That would include screen-printing first and then adding fabric bits and then stitching on top. It can take time to sort out the screen print and get images onto a screen.
What are you most proud of in your art career so far?
I think I am most proud of a large piece I did in 2011 for Ordsall Hall in Salford. It was the first time I had done anything that big. I think its about 6mx3m? It took about a year. It involved doing workshops with a variety of different local groups, I really enjoyed the research, and working with all the different groups on it, listening to their stories. The end piece included stitched drawings of nearly all the people I worked with, school kids, elderly folks from the home next door, the belly dancers, the young mums and their babies and more. As far as I know its still there but I think they cover it up for weddings!
Where can people purchase or see your work?
There is some work for sale on my website www.rosiejames.com and I intend to put more work up on the site eventually.
If you are keen to learn more about machine embroidery check out Rosie James’ book Stitch Draw by Batsford.