The Poetry of Stitch Competition
Age 6 to 10
Helen Banzhaf
Helen studied Fashion and Textiles at Central St. Martins. Her creative life has revolved around designing and making work which reflects her love of textiles in its many formats. She started her career as a fashion designer before becoming a textile teacher and then a fashion lecturer.
Nowadays, Helen designs, pattern cuts and constructs one-off garments. All of the clothes are made by Helen and each is unique, having something about them which is unexpectedly irregular or asymmetrical in some way.
Helen’s parallel ‘stitching life’ is as an embroiderer, designing and working individual framed decorative pieces which are exhibited nationally and abroad. This work has been featured in a number of publications and books. The embroidered textile pieces are worked on calico with mercerised cotton threads using her domestic sewing machine. More often than not, her subject matters are related to pots, jugs and other vessels, many of which are in her personal collection.
All embroideries are unique and are often related to a series or theme. Helen has, in the last few years, made a foray into bag-making.
Currently Helen is designing acrylic earrings and she is about to extend the range.
Find out more: helenbanzhaf.co.uk
Busy Coffee Pot
1998
Free machine embroidery from observational pencil and coloured pencil drawings.
Creative Prompt
The artist has used a lot of orange in this work. Many people see orange as a happy colour, like sunshine and summer. It is bright and vibrant. It stands out and says, look at me!
Do you prefer to stand out and be seen or sit quietly in the background?
What words come to mind when you think of the colour orange?
Can you write a poem about how the colour orange makes you feel or choose another colour which better matches your mood ?
Created by Marina Castledine, Creative Learning Consultant Fiona.
To print the image and the prompt, download the PDF: