Liz Hammond

Born and brought up on a farm in the heart of the Suffolk countryside, Liz has always had a passion for her natural surroundings, and an ability to ‘create something out of nothing’. After qualifying as a nursery nurse Liz took enormous pleasure in teaching traditional crafts to the absorbent young minds she encountered.

Liz has run her own nutritional therapy practice for many years, during which time she has continued to have craft interests in knitting, crochet and embroidery. Over the years she has taken part in several silk painting, dying and embroidery courses around the country, with Anita Faithful, Paula Kaveran and Janice Gunner whereupon all things pertaining to silk stopped being a hobby and developed into a passion. Having completed City and Guilds Creative Embroidery part 1, 2 and diploma in 2007 she was very proud to have been invited to join the EAST group in 2008. Liz is also an enthusiastic member and committee member of the Suffolk East Embroiderers Guild.

In the “Stitched Up” exhibition Liz used tree barks to inspire her collection of vessels. Experimenting with colour, manipulation and the use of household items like fabric conditioning sheets to enhance and create the textures she needed. She found fascinating the comparison between the solid wood structure and the fluid movement of the bark design.

During the close connection that EAST has with the Warner Textile Archive, Liz has produced two pieces of work, inspired by the same piece of sixties textile. The first, a bed throw, is a contemporary piece of work inspired by the bright, brash designs of that era, using contrasting colours and textures to achieve the same visual statement. Her second piece of work used a contemporary interpretation of Mountmellick work.

Working in a very different way from usual and using her feelings instead of her surrounding Liz’s latest piece of work uses stitch, texture, manipulation and colour to express the emotional highs and lows she has experiences during a particularlydifficult time in her life.  “I have been amazed by how cathartic this piece of work has been, working with textiles and colour is always therapeutic for me but I have been surprised at how these three pieces seemed to have come from somewhere deep inside of me. They seem to have evolved rather than been created”. 

Workshops and Demonstration:

Silk painting and dying.

Creative hand stitching.

Basic machine embroidery.

One to one and small group tuition for children and adults.

Contact- lizhammond@freebie.net