Page 41 - The Digital Cloth - Issue 5

I am lucky,

As I live near a wonderful haberdashery shop
called Sally Twinkles, which is just as inspiring as
it sounds. Full of shiny buttons, beads and fabrics.
Most importantly the fabric scrap bin where I have
found many a hidden treasure for a bargain price
to start a new project with. It’s been there many
years and the staff work out customer bills on
paper, it is like it has its own era, with bits of the
present and the past intermingled.

My name is Chris, I graduated from Goldsmiths
College with a BA in Textiles in 2005 at the ripe old
age of forty, which I now don’t think of as a ripe
old age at all. While at university i had the
opportunity to work with women in the prison
system as a sessional art tutor. This was really
the start of my journey and when I returned to
Nottingham, I initially worked in education with
special needs children. Over the past fifteen years
I have worked in education and social care and on Etsy in various colours, posturized for posterity. I
I gradually drifted away from artistic pursuits in knew I didn’t want to make a straight forward image
to management. I still craved to make my own of her and the more I researched the more a story I
work, if only I had the time. A few twists of fate found for threads to tell.
have brought me to where I am now. I still work in
social care (not in a management role) which can Born in 1755 an Archduchess of Austria, the
be both humbling and rewarding, but every spare youngest daughter of Empress Maria Theresa and
moment is spent making my own work. Frances the I, Holy Roman Emperor. She became

Dauphine of France when she married Louis-Auguste,
As any creative person will know making work is a heir apparent to French throne at fourteen years of
need that comes from within. For me that little bit age. At the age of eighteen she would become queen of
of eccentric madness that keeps me sane. The stitch France when her husband ascended to the throne. At
in my sobriety so to speak. I take my first, she was a popular figure with the French people,
inspiration from fabric, texture and colour. Fabric but became unpopular in part because of her Austrian
has a story to tell, or at least aspires to become part ancestry at a time when Austria was seen as an enemy
of one. Texture, pattern and colour all have of France. She also maintained a lavish life style
narrative. seemingly indifferent to the poverty of the French
peasants. The monarchy was overthrown during the
My latest piece of work was inspired by a remnant revolution and Marie Antoinette was publicly
of upholstery fabric I found in the bargain bin at executed for treason by guillotine in 1793. She was
Sally Twinkles. The density of the fabric, pattern aged just thirty-seven.
and weave suggested to me a historical subject.
I researched historical figures and found myself Ten years after her death it was reported that when the
drawn to images of Marie Antoinette, who was the French peasants had no grain to make bread she said
last queen of France before the revolution. There “Let them eat Brioche”. This was then translated to
are many images of Marie Antoinette, many in the “Let them eat cake”. There is no evidence that she ever
same pose holding a rose bouquet, but wearing said that and it is more than possibly a politically
different attire. This reminds me of Andy motivated rumour started to further justify her
Warhol’s screen prints of movie idols such as execution.
Marilyn Monroe. Marie Antoinette can be found