My work explores the picturesque nostalgia of the landscape; particularly coastal and garden themes. I aim to capture the atmosphere, memory and emotional context of the scene to evoke recognition in the viewer

I use recycled fabrics and materials in order to make the work familiar and accessible. When commissions are undertaken, clients are asked to donate fabrics and clothing to be used in the piece. Each piece begins with observation research, this leads to composition exploration through painting and collage. Then ideas are sampled in textiles before constructing the final image.

I find that using textiles helps to make the work accessible; people are comfortable with fabrics – they wear them and fill their homes with them, they know them. Also, the colours, textures and patterns in fabrics reflect the period of their design and this adds to the mood I create – an ideal and sometimes aspirational sense of how we want our lives to be.

I am inspired by a range of artists and makers, Julie Arkell talks about bringing the past to the present, Marc Chagall was a romantic story teller, Paula Rego uses childhood memories, Patrick Heron charted his garden through colour and pattern, Janet Bolton is inspired by memory, visual experience and fabrics. These and others galvanise my creative journey through textile art.

Donna Cheshire September 2009