Featured: Estuary Curlews by Suzy Ager – full panel
Getting to know more about the textile artist Suzy Ager; 2022 Guild graduate
Embroidery and textiles have always been in the background whilst growing up as my Mum sews and embroiders. I have dipped in and out of sewing and making. I studied Textiles at GCSE level; one of the main memories being battling with metallic threads on the sewing machine trying to stitch wings for a 3D dragonfly.
After my GCSE’s I studied art and design at college, however the focus was fine art which wasn’t a path that inspired me and I left college to follow a different career. About 10 years ago I thought it might be useful to learn to sew properly and signed up to an evening class. One of the exercises was free machine embroidery and I was hooked. In 2018, I signed up to study a BA in Textile Design at Nottingham Trent University, followed by a Masters, completed in 2022. Despite Covid, I attended New Designers with my Masters work and was selected by the Embroiderers Guild for their Graduate Showcase, an experience which has been invaluable.
I focused first on free machine embroidery, loving the loose sketched effect created and its connection to drawing. Then, I incorporated hand techniques, in particular goldwork and stumpwork. I’m not a precise, technical stitcher, as much as I admire them, my work tends to be looser and more painterly. My aim is to capture the character and movement of my subjects. I am early on in my journey and still tinkering with my style, but I do yearn to go back to those early days of the 3D dragonfly [perhaps with less swearing, although no promises!] and create more sculptural work.
I love all sorts of embroidery artists for all sorts of reasons, but if I had to narrow it down to a couple it would be Michele Carragher, I love the beauty of her fantastical aesthetic, how she uses materials and incorporates three dimensions. Also, Karen Nicol, her use of materials and how she works with scale. I find the work of artist Jo Taylor a huge inspiration, I love the way she captures form and dynamic movement with her use of line and brush marks. I am also influenced Japanese ink drawings, how the essence of a subject can be captured with a minimum of marks, although it can be a challenge to stick to the ethos “less is more” and have the confidence and faith in simplicity.
Currently it’s the world of birds that inspires my work and how they can connect people to nature. One of my drivers is to create beautiful things that encourage people to look at the nature on their doorsteps, appreciate and value it.
I work with natural materials, the understated luxury of silk or the contrasting rusticity of linen. I am obsessed with dissolvable fabric and love a touch of bling, whether its goldwork wires or beading. Material choice generally depends on whether I am aiming for refined or rustic and the scale of the work. I start with drawing loose sketches of the subject alongside detailed drawings. I then do rough sketches of composition ideas and create a materials palette, then start stitching. I don’t make detailed plans, I am guided by the materials and my overall vision as I work. In the future I would like to make a fully 3D textile sculpture, experimenting with ways to incorporate my favourite techniques.
See more at Suzy’s website: HOME | SUZY AGER Textiles | Artwork | Prints | Gifts | Greeting Cards – Suzy Ager Textiles
Follow Suzy on Instagram to see photos and videos of her work : Suzanne Ager (@suzyagertextiles)