Embroidery from Sketch to Stitch

The latest addition to our Library is a donation from Lyn - Embroidery from Sketch to Stitch (Number 133 in our collection).  It is an amazing feast for the eyes and a source of inspiration even if we can never achieve the level of skill that is characteristic of Pat's work. In researching for information about this particular book I found the following link which may be of interest to you. 

An eye for the artistic potential of needle and thread
Pat Langford, Artist and embroiderer, 1927-2003
Pat Langford, who has died aged 75, contributed to a flowering of the textile arts in Australia by drawing attention to the possibilities of embroidery as an expressive art form.

Her embroidery is characterised by an acute observation of the world around her, an inventive approach to technique and a marvellous use of colour. She explored the expressive possibilities of fabric and thread just as painters have explored those of brushstrokes and paint. By her own estimate she completed more than 300 major pieces, which were exhibited in many solo and group shows and innumerable small ones.

Most of these works were based on drawings from her sketchbooks, which accompanied Langford on her travels. Outback Australia, the gardens of people she visited and bustling scenes of life in England were among the subjects she translated into stitch, along with more humble motifs such as a breakfast of marmalade on toast or a bunch of flowers from her own garden. Her final large works are something of a departure, a wonderful series created from her imagination and based on the journeys of Marco Polo.

Born in Plymouth, England, in 1927, Langford started her career as a painter, spending seven years at art school in her home town. She also studied embroidery during her course, and while living in London in the early 1950s attended classes taught by the celebrated embroiderer Constance Howard. This was followed by further study and her work was subsequently included in a touring exhibition. By the time she migrated to Australia with her family in 1960, embroidery was an important focus of her own work and of her teaching.

Within a week of arriving in Australia, Langford had found the Embroiderers' Guild; a few months later she held her first exhibition of embroidery at Chattertons' Gallery, and shortly after that she was recruited to teach art and embroidery at Asquith Girls High School. In those early months she also undertook her first Australian commission, three embroidered panels of the Sydney Opera House for the Opera House Trust; taught her first classes for the Embroiderers' Guild; and appeared on ABC Television.

(Notes from http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/05/20/1053196581947.html)