I am an interdisciplinary visual artist and feminist activist exploring themes around motherhood and maternal theory. I have just completed my PhD in practice based artistic research on the subject of ‘Matricentric Drawing’. The project involved me developing various expanded drawing strategies for visualising reproductive work and maternal thinking as a single mother. I created a variety of artworks utilising different expanded approaches to performance drawing, ideational drawing and performance drawing to video. Whilst this work was created in isolation I would like to build on the autoethnographic ideational drawings I made during my research to be worked into textile artworks that are exhibited with text and audio monologues. For the past two years I have been teaching textiles and have been inspired to incorporate heritage techniques of felting, applique and embroidery in my future practice. I have recently set up ‘We Are Sew Social’ which is a business teaching basic modern embroidery classes in pubs in the East Midlands, designing my own embroidery patterns and selling embroidery kits for beginners.

penny@wearesewsocial.com