Upholstery in Bristol | Ebony Rose

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  EMBROIDERY IN FOLKS

  By Ebony Rose Upholstery - 8 Feb 2019 

Exploring art, design and creativity through our business of Upholstery has always been a goal of ours.
When we talk about Traditional Crafts we want to think of something well-designed, capable of changing ones perception in some way. 
This is the kind of Design we would like to support. 

Lisa Marie Davies and her art inspired us, being the first artist displaying her work on our window display.

Making Amends
Lisa is an illustrator and textile artist living in Bristol. Combining drawing, printmaking and embroidery, she looks to traditional story telling to create thought provoking visual narratives, often featuring curious characters reminiscent to those found in folk tales. These characters embody ideas and express emotions, exploring morality and cultural values throughout history whilst in turn commenting on modern life. 

Recently graduating with an MA in Multi-disciplinary Printmaking, she is now working from BV Studios in Bristol, as well as undertaking an internship with Jacky Puzey Embroidery Ltd. She has exhibited work internationally, including London, Egypt and Japan, and is currently making work for an upcoming exhibition in Denmark.

- When we look at your main piece it brings us to journey, tell us about the story behind the embroidery.
LISA: 'Making Amends' was a combined response, firstly to the brief set by Hand & Lock for their annual competition in 2018, and also my final major project for my MA. The brief led me to research into the textile industry, and how much damage is done through our fast-fashion culture, which then got me thinking about how we take advantage of our environment as a whole. I wanted the viewer to consider the environment we live in, and think about the actions needed to move towards a more eco-friendly future. I digitally embroidered a kind of time lapse onto hemp canvas, with acrylic detail and battery powered LED sequins.

The panel travels through a landscape, first showing a green valley, untouched by humans. The image moves on to show you how humans have helped themselves, altering the landscape to suit their own needs. Farmland transforms into a dystopian cityscape, trees, plants and animals have disappeared, instead there is an iron sculpture in memory of what is now extinct. But all is not lost, the narrative ends with regrowth, a new beginning. The viewer can see the heavily stitched roads being literally unpicked, as a metaphor to symbolise us trying to unpick what we have done, for a more planet-friendly future.

I really enjoyed pushing the boundaries of digital embroidery, and experimented with conductive thread to create a circuit so I could incorporate LED sequins into the piece. Technologically enhanced textiles is something I want to continue working with, it combines perfectly with the tactility of fabric. I want people to interact with my creations, providing unique experiences.

- What kind of relation did you create with the Upholstery?
LISA: For my collaboration with Ebony Rose Upholstery, we decided that making some cushions inspired by 'Making Amends' would compliment the window display. I chose motifs from the original piece, and reworked them to create three bespoke cushions. Reworking my ideas for decorative interiors was exciting, and has inspired me to start working on some ideas for fabric patterns. I like the idea of creating pattern designs that are decorative, but that also hold a deeper meaning.

With critical eyes we want to look around us and keep believing that the future is still in our hands and a sustainable style of life exists. In Lisa's artwork we love how the thread wants to unite again humanity and nature for a better future.

 - Do you think is it too late to stitch up the damage created by humankind?
Lisa:  This is a difficult question to answer, because I don't think it's easy to be eco-friendly. There are systems in our world that are so ingrained in our every day, it would be chaotic to try and change it all over night. I suppose making small changes to your everyday routine and being more conscious of your actions, eventually these will encourage the larger changes we need. Less plastic, less unnecessary driving, less stuff, less meat...less is more!
The large wall hanging featuring a ladies head as the galaxy, also resonates with the idea of wanting to encourage a more eco-friendly future. It was made in response to a call out from the Deutsch-Afghanische Initiative, a charity that support Afghan women and girls by selling their hand embroidered artworks around Europe, so that they may support their families financially. The task was to design an artistic textile work according to the theme 'Keep Your Eye on the Planet', and was to include a hand embroidered eye made by the Afghan community.


“Man needs to put together visible and invisible therefore he creates fairy tales, myths, legends, feasts, chants, arts”
(Maria Lai 1999)


Lisa is displaying her works at Ebony Rose Upholstery, 13 West street, Old Market, Bristol until the end of February. For more info, questions and prices T: +441173292722  E-mail: info@ebonyroseupholsterybristol.co.uk .


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