Rachel Jennings – Textile Artist

Using a variety of techniques such as papermaking, dyeing, batik and patchwork, I create unique pieces which cross the boundaries between textiles, collage and printmaking.

My newest work has grown out of a fascination with sacred imagery all around us, whether Christian, Celtic or earlier. Glastonbury’s Chalice Well gardens inspired me with the Celtic wheel of the seasons, along with an ancient reverence for trees and their attendant spirits. Wells Cathedral and Glastonbury Abbey yielded a wealth of pattern and architectural detail, from floor tiles to ceiling bosses. The accompanying words are derived from folk songs, poems and Celtic blessings.

"..a masterful blend of techniques and encompassing the highest standards of craftsmanship and skill."

Earlier pieces here intimate nature’s part in the sacred cycle, celebrating sky, earth, water, sun and moon in variously textured handmade papers and fragments of poetry. In the later work I revisit my early training as a weaver, experimenting with handmade paper, warp threads and natural sources such as garden prunings, to find a new style and structure!

My paper is handmade and coloured using various natural materials including cotton, tea, spices and onion skins; for warp I have used cotton, silk and metallic threads.

David Highet, Town Mill Galleries, Lyme Regis.