The Poetry of Stitch Competition
Age 11 to 15
Audrey Walker
Audrey was a truly prolific artist trained in Fine Art at Edinburgh College of Art followed by The Slade in London. She drew many pencil drawings and created wall hung embroidered textiles. Her work is figurative and often suggests momentary encounters and secret smiles.
Techniques are deliberately simple and direct. Modulations of colour and tone are achieved by building up layers of stitches, by hand and machine, over a variety of fabrics.
She said she never worked directly from her drawings instead preferring to retrieve images from her subconscious.
Re-depicting enabled her to explore expressions and portray a sense of concealment in portraiture as in her studies of Dutch masters such as Vermeer.
Find out more: 62group.org.uk/artist/audrey-walker-2
And the Woman Said
1998
Free machine and hand embroidery. Hand carved and painted
wooden serpent.
Creative Prompt
In many countries women are unable to speak freely for fear of persecution. Imagine your poem is a way to say something you feel otherwise unable to express. Perhaps you wish to make the audience for your poem explicit, perhaps you prefer to keep this hidden from the reader.
Decide on why you want to write and to whom.
Are you asking for change or understanding?
Perhaps your poem is describing a feeling you have kept hidden for some time. Consider each word carefully to help convey your message.
Created by Marina Castledine, Creative Learning Consultant Fiona.
To print the image and the prompt, download the PDF: