October 2024 - Arnolds Attic

30th October 202412th November 2024

Holly Searle – Meet the Artist

Award winning textile artist Holly Searle, also known as The Subverted Stitcher, is a textile artist who uses her needle and thread to spotlight social issues close to her heart. In 2020, she launched her Subverted Vintage Tea Towel Series to provide a platform for these important topics.

Each artwork consists of hand cut felt letters, a vintage tea towel and a curated collection of words. To date, Holly has hand stitched over 160 artworks in her subverted tea towel series.
Holly Searle: https://www.instagram.com/the_subversive_stitcher

Holly’s passion for embroidery was ignited after seeing a sampler by Mary Frances Heaton, an inmate of a Victorian asylum, at a mental health exhibition. Inspired by Mary’s use of needle and thread to petition Queen Victoria about social injustices, Holly began creating pieces that draw attention to social issues and empower women. Holly’s work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions, resonating with echoes of Mary’s enduring voice and passion.

The Subverted Tea towel collection by Holly Searle

Creatively shut down in the Covid Pandemic of 2020, Holly found her voice again by subverting pre-loved vintage tea towels (little domestic works of art), to raise awareness of issues she felt needed soap boxing.

Prior to the Covid Pandemic of 2020, award winning Textile artist Holly, had established a healthy and progressive career in the art world. After she began her current textile practice in 2016, she went on to exhibit her work both collectively and independently in art spaces such as the Saatchi Gallery.

In 2018, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Throughout her treatment, her work acted as both an outlet and a distraction from her illness. During this time, she won her first solo show of her early embroidered pieces.

Filmed at the Knitting and Stitching Show 2024.

Repair Restore Recreate

Each year at the Knitting & Stitching Shows the Embroiderers’ Guild curate a Members’ exhibition. For 2024 the theme is ‘Repair Restore Recreate’ and I’m pleased to share that Darning Sampler 2 and They Shall Grow Not Old have been accepted for exhibition.

They Shall Grow Not Old - part of the Repair Restore Recreate — They Shall Grow Not Old – part of the Repair Restore Recreate

Darning Sampler 2 - part of the Repair Restore Recreate — Darning Sampler 2 – part of the Repair Restore Recreate

Opposites Attract

In addition to the Repair Restore Recreate exhibition, the Guild stand will have the Members’ Challenge 2024 ‘Opposites Attract’ on show – which includes my piece ‘Good Grub‘

All three artworks can be seen at the Knitting & Stitching Shows this autumn.

6th October 20246th October 2024

They Shall Grow Not Old

They Shall Grow Not Old is a new piece of work featuring darning and repair, and my red hand embroidered text.

The artwork is based around my love of poetry and features the poem For the Fallen by Laurence Binyon. born in Lancashire, England 1869.

For the Fallen

For the Fallen by Laurence Binyon, was first published in The Times, London, September 21, 1914.

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children, England mourns for her dead across the sea. Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit, Fallen in the cause of the free.

Solemn the drums thrill; death august and royal Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres, There is music in the midst of desolation And a glory that shines upon our tears.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young, Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow. They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted; They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them.

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again; They sit no more at familiar tables of home; They have no lot in our labour of the day-time; They sleep beyond england’s foam.

But where our desires are and our hopes profound, Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight, To the innermost heart of their own land they are known As the stars are known to the night;

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust, Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain; As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness, To the end, to the end, they remain.

Darning and Repair

A used and well worn table runner became the starting point for the artwork. The cloth was thread bear in places and the embroidery was starting to disintegrate.