Work in Progress: Karen Shapley

With the ceramic element of her glove piece fired and ready, Karen Shapley has turned her attention to fabric and stitch. The striped fabric you see in the photograph above is an old, quilted ticking panel which Karen found at The Antique Textile Fair in Manchester earlier this month.
"It is stained and mottled and I find it's distressed state beautiful. Some would see a dirty fabric, I see something with a patina, an age, a sense of history and hence why this hasn't been washed..."

Further textile treasure sourced at The Antique Textile Fair
"For me one of the greatest project challenges has been the material. I am a dimity girl of wool and cotton. I don't use synthetic fabrics, they just don't appeal, so here was my real challenge -  a nylon glove!

"I decided that part of my challenge was to use found fabrics that I wouldn't normally work with but to turn them into something beautiful. Whilst in Pembrokeshire in October I found some scraps on the beach and an old birds wing. I aim to incorporate them in Daphne's costume or maybe just add a few bits. I'll see how far I get. The red fits in nicely with everyone's interest in a touch of red ..I think maybe her cloak. It has come from the beach and again is unwashed so it has an ozone smell."