Penelope Clayden started her career as a nurse in the 1970s and completed her MA in Textiles at University for the Creative Arts in 2015. Stitching, sewing and manipulating fabric has always played an important role in both her personal and professional life. During her career as a nurse, Clayden observed that fabric is a material that accompanies humans throughout life, from the day we were born, when as babies we were swaddled, to the day we die, covered by the burial shroud. The human spine is a reocurring motif in her linen pieces, which she translates into various forms using techniques of stitching and superimposing fabrics and materials, such as wool, silk and cotton. Her latest works consist of delicately sewn layers of recycled Indian sari silk, which unify to create rich abstract colour fields.

Penelope Clayden (b. 1955) Lives and works in London

Penelope Clayden started her career as a nurse in the 1970s and completed her MA in Textiles at University for the Creative Arts in 2015. Stitching, sewing and manipulating fabric has always played an important role in both her personal and professional life. During her career as a nurse, Clayden...
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