Personal Statement

Since I was taught to sew and began making my own clothes in my early teens, I have developed a keen interest for textile production and fibre art. I enjoyed the process of sourcing authentic and sustainable fabrics to create my garments as well as designing digital prints and cutting my own patterns. Taking art textiles has meant I have been able to pursue imaginative ways of creating, allowed me to enhance my own practise, and introduced me to technical applications of machine embroidery and beadwork. Since applying a more artistic and experimental approach to my work at GCSE and A level, my appreciation for fabrics has flourished into an all-encompassing passion for textile-based art and design. I am interested by how the intention of an artist can impact a viewer and how an image or an object can convey emotion and opinion. Art can be political, naive or simply cosmetic. My avocation has led me to attend museums and shows, most notably the Christian Dior: Designers of Dreams exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in August 2019. I found the haute-couture garments to be the most inspiring; their immaculate embellishment and attention to detail is the approach I wish to apply to the work I produce. During the summer of 2018 I visited various art galleries in Rome such as the Vatican Museums, Galleria Borghese and the MAXXI, the most influential being the La Galleria Nazionale; I enjoyed seeing how the wide variety of work all interpreted the exhibitions theme ‘Time is Out of Joint’. My long-standing enthusiasm for the arts has been an asset to my success in creative endeavours.

Attending college and university open days has allowed me to interact with students and seeing their work has enabled me to develop a clearer idea of degree courses I wish to pursue. During visits I took part in practical screen-printing sessions, methods which I have since incorporated in my current A level coursework. After the open days, I have found that I wish to specialise in Textile Design, aiming to concentrate on applications of embroidery and explore how materials such as ceramics, plastics and metals can interact with traditional techniques. I look forward to advancing and refining my practical skills to create a more comprehensive portfolio. In pursuit of this, I have chosen to study textiles, biology and mathematics at A level; I decided to engage in these subjects further because I enjoy them and achieved high grades at GCSE level. Biology has influenced my A level coursework significantly as I explore sexuality, whether that be hormonal responses in humans or courtship behaviour in sea creatures. Mathematics has also been beneficial to pattern cutting and my project, as I bring a precise and methodical approach to all of my work. By taking these courses I aim to show that I can excel in both academic and creative subjects.

During the summer of 2019 I completed a work experience position at a local haberdashery. The placement has improved my confidence and organisation skills as well as provided an introductory understanding of running a business; something I would want to apply to merchandising my own work in the future.

From studying textiles, I have gained a familiarity with photography so that I can capture my own images that can be used in my coursework; this has led to me receiving a commendation from the Rotary Club for a photography competition where my work was exhibited to the public. I have played piano for the past eleven years achieving a Grade 4 certificate and am currently working towards the next grade. Being a creative individual has led me to volunteer in my school’s extracurricular performance activities where I take a lead role in helping younger students in drama and music education. I have a deep-rooted passion for textiles and feel that a degree in this area would further my practical knowledge to be able to excel and enable me to fulfil my ambition of working within this industry.