Page 52 - The Digital Cloth - issue 8

Deb Cooper is a Mixed Media
Textile Artist from County Durham
in the North East of England. She
often works with natural forms and
natural dyes to make her art. Also
producing hand-crafted books,
cards, brooches, boxes, and hand

dyed scarves with beautifully
subtle tones.

I consider myself a mixed media
artist, with a particular passion for
textiles and stitch. It comes as no
surprise to me that I found this
path, with my mother being a
talented seamstress and
embroiderer. Whilst I was growing
up, she was working from home

and so naturally I have always
been surrounded by fabric, threads
and sewing notions (and I was
never short of a new dress!). I must
admit I did fight against this as a
youngster, not having the patience
for the intricate stitch and
instructions, instead preferring
to draw, paint, glue or be outside

making mud pies!
I studied art after leaving school
but eventually pursued an
unrelated career initially in retail
management. However, it was in a
home textiles shop, so I guess the
connection was still there. I then
went on to work for a medical
devices company, and
eventually for an I.T.
communications and security

specialist. Alongside these
ventures, I always continued to
produce artwork and did
occasionally sell my work and
enter exhibitions, making as much
time as possible to be creative. In
fact, it continued to be a massive
part of my life.