A self-taught textile artist who creates ‘paintings’ by hand stitching pieces of fabric together is this year’s artist in residence at Claydon House.
By the summer, Barbara Shaw will have produced seven pictures using the stately home in Middle Claydon as inspiration, and is currently working on a picture focusing on the ironwork of the grand staircase.
She will be demonstrating and chatting to visitors at the house over the Easter weekend, and exhibiting all seven finished pieces in July/August time.
She said: “I’ve come to it very late in life, so I think people find it quite inspiring. I started doing patchwork and had loads of scraps of material left over, so I started making cards.
Mrs Shaw, who lives and works in Aylesbury, said: “I was just sticking bits of fabric on top of eachother using Pritt Stick. It’s like a jigsaw coming together.
“It’s such an easy medium, and it builds colour like a painting.
“It can be quite intense, but it’s knowing when to stop. If I aimed for perfection, I’d never get anywhere.
Mrs Shaw’s uses ribbons, chiffon, lace, tweed, cottons and ‘anything textured’ to create her pieces, which look like watercolour paintings when seen from a distance.
To find out more about visiting Claydon, go to http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/claydon/visitor-information/
