As an artist, textiles are the media I am drawn to most often. The flexibility, the malleability and the fluidity offer so many possibilities, especially when combined with the mark-making potential of stitch. I have spent most of my professional life in a world in which art played no part (unless advocacy is an art) and the nearest I came to textiles was wearing a gown (stuff, not silk) and a wig. I jumped off that treadmill in my fifties and reinvented myself as an artist, after a foundation art and design year at the City and Guilds of London Art School and a BA degree in fine art textiles at Goldsmiths’, University of London. Now I divide my working day between making work in my studio in south London, teaching textiles in adult education contexts and visiting museums, galleries and exhibitions to see the work of contemporary artists and past masters.

My own work usually involves stitch and/or knit and often incorporates text, paper and found objects. I am interested and influenced by many things- recently, the sea and the beach, Benjamin Britten, old postcards and the messages on them, collections of things, names and labels, my allotment, and so on. Concept, colour and composition are all very important to me. I find the processes of knitting and stitching sources of endless pleasure. My teaching is a source of inspiration to me too: teaching basic skills keeps me grounded and connected and sometimes sparks an idea that I can develop in my own practice.

For the most part, I simply make the work that I want to make, although I am happy to accept commissions. I have exhibited in the south of England and several pieces of my work are in private collections. More images and information can be found on my website www.lindalitchfield.co.uk and you can email me at: hello@lindalitchfield.co.uk