I was born and educated in Israel. My first training was in nursing. In the mid-seventies I came to the UK to further my art training; initially with a Foundation course at St. Martins School of Art, London and then a BA at Goldsmith’s College, London. Later I did an MA and PGCE at Manchester Metropolitan University. I have worked independently as a Textile Artist and exhibited widely in the UK, USA and Japan; both independently and with the British Crafts Council, the ‘62 Group’ and with ‘New Fibre Arts’. Alongside my work as an artist, I fell in love and stayed in the UK bringing up a family.

The Artist

Technique and Method

My technique is essentially fabric collage, using material I have prepared myself and finished with applique, hand stitching and paint. The fabrics I use may be silk, polyester or cotton, and they are prepared in quantity using silk screen-printing of photographic images, transfer paints, crayons and fabric paints. I also use direct application of paint and resist techniques and all the pigments are colourfast and heat fixed. This stock of prepared fabrics then provide a palette of colours and forms for later use in my collages in which they are pieced and machine stitched onto a Vilene backing. The work is further developed and finished with hand stitching, found materials and fabric paint. The finished work is usually mounted on acid free card, framed and glazed.

This method of collage is central to the meaning of the work. It helps me find my way into my subject matter – as if taking me on a journey. In piecing together the different shapes and colours, the path of this journey becomes clearer and the subject matter is revealed. The landscape of my birthplace is central to my composition but my imagination can also be stimulated by pattern and texture in the textile itself. This process of collage generates a kind of disruption of harmony, which I work to mend through the stitching – a drive for peace between conflicting forces being reflected in a drive towards harmony in the composition. My childhood plays an important role. I find myself going back again and again in search of the same light in which I grew up. This light, and the hope bound up with it, is central to my work. Even if the piece is dark in subject matter and colour, it will always contain somewhere in it an element of hope. I love to tell stories through my work, and through these stories explore the themes which I find myself turning to again and again: themes of memory, longing and joy.

In addition to this main work with textiles I have always drawn and painted, mainly in acrylic and some of this work is also displayed on the website. Also you can see my work with mosaic and experiments with ceramic glazing on tiles and teapots.

Contact

If you would like to buy any of the work you see here, or have any questions at all, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch, I’d love to hear from you! I can be contacted via email on: contact [at] ariellagreen [dot] com