Face in Gold

Artist Statement

Jo Gration is a multi media artist specializing in hand embroidery. Their work is predominantly focused on the interplay of light within textiles and accompanying materials such as beads, wires and threads, the properties of which being integral to the concept of the work. Interested in the history of embroidery and the meticulous nature of traditional techniques she uses both this and a looser freestyle way of working in her pieces. Face in Gold is part of a series of embroidered faces which use both ways of working. The original sketches are immediate and made in a few minutes, they are then transformed through hours of stitching. The series looks at experimenting with materials and techniques. For Face in Gold a purely traditional method was used. The background has been hand painted, a common element in her work and a nod to her abstract paintings. She is currently working on further goldwork pieces that incorporate some of the techniques seen here, they comprise of locks of hair on hand painted linen. She is also working on other embroideries where light is an integral part of the work.