Eastbourne textiles exhibition celebrates "quirkiness of British life"

The da Vinci Hotel in Howard Square, Eastbourne is hosting an exhibition by Sussex textile artist Gillian Bates.
Gillian BatesGillian Bates
Gillian Bates

She describes her work as a celebration of the quirkiness of British life with a selection of pictures depicting local sights focused on the British seaside around Eastbourne and Brighton.

Hotel owner Paul Metcalf said: “We are thrilled that Gillian agreed to exhibit in our public art space and share her amazing embroidered art work including a recently completed picture of the big wheel on the Western Lawns.” The exhibition is open each day between 10am and 4pm until the end of September subject to the usual restrictions regarding social distancing, wearing a mask and leaving your details with the reception desk. Some of Gillian’s original artwork is for sale.

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Gillian said: “I’ve been working as a textile artist since 2008. I produce embroidered sketches with my trusted sewing machine from my sunny studio in Sussex. My work is predominately a pure celebration of the quirkiness of British life. I’m constantly inspired by my surroundings from all the sights and sounds of the British seaside, to the hustle and bustle of an urban landscape. I also love to create more intricate embroideries depicting all the delicate details of the feathers and fur of our fabulous wildlife.

“I believe that habit and habitat draw a veil over our eyes, We become so accustomed to the things we see everyday that eventually we fail to see them properly at all. The single greatest driving force behind my work is to pull back the veil on our surroundings by capturing a snap shot that reveals the beauty and quirkiness of British life. My true passion lies in the processes of drawing. Enjoying the freedom of using textiles as a medium much as I would with a pencil or a brush.”

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