{"id":11428,"date":"2016-11-14T11:14:24","date_gmt":"2016-11-14T11:14:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thevoiceoflondon.co.uk\/?p=11428"},"modified":"2016-11-14T11:14:24","modified_gmt":"2016-11-14T11:14:24","slug":"recreating-natures-beauty-an-interview-with-amanda-cobbett","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/recreating-natures-beauty-an-interview-with-amanda-cobbett\/","title":{"rendered":"Recreating nature’s beauty: An interview with Amanda Cobbett"},"content":{"rendered":"

Frosty and crisp, Autumn is nature\u2019s way of displaying its finest beauties for all to see. Amanda Cobbett, a graduate from University of the Arts London, recreates nature’s beautiful gifts through the art of textile printing.<\/h3>\n

Reporter: Holly Patrick | Sub-Editor: James Brookes<\/h3>\n
\"They

They look as though they have been torn from the ground | (All images by Amanda Cobbett)<\/p><\/div>\n

She takes her inspiration from her surroundings; the migration of birds, psychedelic\u00a0mushrooms and the moss-covered forest floors.<\/p>\n

Voice of London spoke to her as she created charming mushrooms in her workshop in Dorking.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Voice of London: Can you remember what inspired your love for nature?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Amanda Cobbett:<\/strong> I grew up in the countryside<\/a> and have always celebrated each season by collecting and gathering whatever has been on the ground.<\/p>\n

Colour is such a massive part of my life, I love putting colours together in a collection and so Autumn is my favourite season!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Why did you choose to train as a printed textiles designer?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I learnt from a very young age to sew.<\/p>\n

Both my grandmothers sewed and so does my mother. Textiles and pattern played an important part in my childhood.<\/p>\n

I also love illustration so studying for a degree in printed textiles seemed the natural thing to do.<\/p>\n

\"screen-shot-2016-11-10-at-16-52-51\"

Amanda taking a stroll through the woods, finding inspiration<\/p><\/div>\n

When do you feel most inspired?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m inspired when I\u2019m out walking, I have time to think, observe nature and enjoy the fresh air, even if it\u2019s raining the colours of the sky and shiny wet leaves are just lovely.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What is integral to you as an artist and your work?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A well-presented piece of work with a high level of finish is so important.<\/p>\n

It has to be the best that it can be.<\/p>\n

\"ac-bird\"

A beautiful bird we would all like to see in our gardens<\/p><\/div>\n

How has your practice changed from when you began?<\/strong><\/p>\n

When I graduated from UAL Chelsea, I went straight into a career as a printed textile designer which I loved but after having my second child and moving away from London, my priorities changed and I needed to find something that initially fitted in with family life.<\/p>\n

My mother-in-law gave me a sewing machine with a free machine embroidery foot and encouraged me to try some new techniques.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d studied sculpture at A Level so making three-dimensional embroidery seems like I\u2019ve come full circle.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What are the most beautiful fungi you have come across?<\/strong><\/p>\n

They are all so beautiful and in so many ways.<\/p>\n

Their intricacy is astounding.<\/p>\n

Many of the Mycena are tiny and would be missed if you never looked closely, so I suppose I love these little wonders but not necessarily a particular one.<\/p>\n

\"ac-fungi-2\"

You may not be able to eat them, but they’re perfectly stunning to look at<\/p><\/div>\n

What kind of research do you do?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I forage every day on my dog walks and photograph a lot.<\/p>\n

I also love going to arts, culture and science exhibitions.<\/p>\n

There is always something interesting to draw from these experiences even if it is just the colours that surround you each day.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What is the best piece of advice you have been given?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Someone said to me recently that when someone asks me how long each piece takes to make that I should say that it\u2019s taken me 22 years of experience to get to this point!<\/p>\n

I think sometimes we forget that a person’s ability to make something isn\u2019t based on the actual time it took to make.<\/p>\n

\"Finding

Finding inspiration in the moss<\/p><\/div>\n

What is the most remarkable response you\u2019ve had to your artwork?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Several times people have asked me how I preserve the mushrooms.<\/p>\n

This makes me smile!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Do you prefer doing intricate designs or more simple ones?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I love intricacy and adding my own little secret threads to the work that might not be obvious at the time but in a certain light, they shine out or sparkle.<\/p>\n

\"screen-shot-2016-11-10-at-17-03-55\"

A silky smooth toadstool<\/p><\/div>\n

What future projects are you hoping to work on?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019d love to do a whole wall installation for a restaurant, boutique or hotel.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m doing a warehouse in Detroit next year which will be fun.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d also love to work with a mycologist and curate a whole collection for somewhere like Kew.<\/p>\n

\"Intricate

Intricate embroidery of birds<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Capturing nature in its truest form can be difficult, especially as the seasons seem to be changing at different times every year.<\/em><\/p>\n

But, as long as we look after our planet, the inspirations behind Amanda’s incredible creations will never cease.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

@VoiceofLDNarts<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Frosty and crisp, Autumn is nature\u2019s way of displaying its finest beauties for all to see. Amanda Cobbett, a graduate from University of the Arts London, recreates nature’s beautiful gifts through the art of textile…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":476,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[441,553,2088,4321,4390,6915],"class_list":["post-11428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arts","tag-amanda-cobbett","tag-art","tag-embroidery","tag-mushrooms","tag-nature","tag-wildlife"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/476"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11428"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11428\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}