Personal statement

Rachael is a highly respected and successful practicing textile artist and designer who graduated from the Royal College of Art, as one of its first MA Embroidery students. She has worked as a consultant designer and illustrator for many companies including Paul Smith, Habitat, Liberty and magazines such as Selvedge and has developed her own collections of fashion and interior accessories. Rachael has contributed to Higher Education courses in the UK and abroad including Manchester Metropolitan, Goldsmiths and Central St Martins.

Research and external activities

Rachael regularly exhibits her work nationally and internationally. Her first solo show with the Ruthin Craft Centre was "phenomenally successful" and toured nationally for 2 years attracting 32,500 visitors at its final destination the Geffrye Museum, London. Her graphic, lively sketches of everyday life typify her powers of observation and knack for catching the moment. She has pioneered a lively mix of embroidery and screen-printing techniques, using image, text and object to tell often autobiographical stories of the everyday.

Rachael’s many public art commissions include a broad range from cushions for benches in Newbury Library, to a wall-hanging for the Museum of Science and Industry in Berlin and most recently the Liverpool Hospital youth cancer care centre.

Prizes and awards

  • Jerwood Prize for Applied Arts - shortlisted 1997
  • Artworks Award for Art in Education - 2003 and 2004, whilst artist in residence at Lauriston Primary School, Hackney, London.

"One of our foremost narrative textile artists"

 - Embroidery magazine

 

Professional memberships

Academic qualifications

  • MA Embroidery, Royal College of Art
  • BA Hons (1st Class) Textiles Design specialising in Embroidery, Loughborough College of Art and Design.

Teaching specialism

  • Printed and embroidered textiles.

Research and academic outputs

Go to ResearchSPAce