Colour, texture and handcrafted textile design.

I am a textile designer/textile artist. I have always been creative from an early age and when I had a career break, to look after my kids I decided to do a degree in Art and Design and then went on to study Printed Textiles Design at the University of Creative Arts, Farnham.

Colour is the driving force behind each one of my designs. I enjoy exploring and experimenting with colour, and I love the results I achieved. I love the freedom and surprise of mixing colours and creating different shades and the uniqueness this can give. My influences have been many from Matisse to Howard Hodgkin and the other bold colourists of the mid-21^st century. I am also captivated by the natural world and the colours and textures of my surroundings. I use photography to capture this and then extract the shape, form, colour from these by creating patterns to hand screen printed and for colourways.

My aim is to produce handmade pieces, which are both interesting and unique that signify beauty and pleasure. The pieces are One Offs and are colourful and whimsical. I hand dye the fabrics and screenprint by hand, mixing many tones of the same colour to gives texture. I gradually build up layers of colour and pattern using various textile techniques. Pieces are then completed by embellishing using appliqué, free motion stitching and beading and can then be made into, textile art and handbags.

Justina Smith