Judith Reece

I am a textile designer living and working in North Yorkshire. I have always been interested in design, but began my formal training as a mature student, by doing Textiles 1 and 2 with OCA around 15 years ago. I then went on to do a BA (Hons) in International Textiles and Surface Pattern at Cleveland College of Art and Design, followed by a teaching qualification. I now divide my time between working at a local sixth form college, producing my own textile work, and tutoring OCA courses Textiles 1 and 2.

The main influences of my work are the natural colours, forms and textures observed in the local landscapes. My images have been described as enigmatic, as I aim to represent colour and texture in an abstract way, yet the end results usually hint at a recognisable form. I hand dye all my fabrics before layering and stitching them, with metallic threads. I then cut, tear or burn them back to reveal what lies beneath, allowing subtle shading to emerge.

A piece of my work "Winter Seascape" (pictured) was chosen to appear in the 2009 Lancashire and Yorkshire Open Textiles Exhibition at The Platform Gallery in Clitheroe, alongside the work of over 50 other textile artists from across the two counties. It won the "Peoples Choice" award, which I also won in 2008 for my piece "August Moor".

My work is represented at several galleries, including my own, The Art Cafe at Whitby. I tend to work on a solo exhibition each year, as well as producing occasional commissioned furnishing fabrics. My work can be viewed on my website - www.judithreece.com.