Textile workshops with Maria Wigley

Join artist Maria Wigley for textile workshops, inspired by the landscapes in Britta Marakatt-Labba’s exhibition Under the Vast Sky (23 February – 29 May 2022). Using fabric collaging and hand stitching techniques, participants produce embroidered artworks, reflecting aspects of the relationships between humans and the natural world, as well as their own personal connections with nature.

This event is aimed at adults and all materials are provided. You can book on to as many sessions as you like. If you have any access requirements for the session, please let us know by emailing learning@ikon-gallery.org.

Please consider making a donation for this free activity. Ikon is a registered charity and your support helps us with everything we do.

About the artist

Maria Wigley is a West Midlands-based artist who works with fabric and stitch in an art context. She is interested in the relationship between drawing and writing and how they communicate meaningful emotion and individual marks.

Wigley’s embroidered art pushes ways in which words can be expressed. Enchanted by the inner beauty of letter forms in their own right, words are integrated into her textile pieces. In doing so they flow, morphing with the marks of the drawing, becoming part of the piece. There are glimpses into the stories that are stitched, while the other words move between the layers, almost to be mistaken for paint. Wigley’s work uses natural fabric such as fine silk or calico. The use of layering in the work is an essential part of the construct, as there is a process much like the layering of conversations and stories over time. The stitched writings are her own thoughts, secrets that she keeps to herself and only divulges to the sewing machine and needle. Wigley is captivated by calligraphy and asemic writing. She loves the fluid nature of the characters and how they appear to dance and flow.