Philippa Ashcroft

Philippa creates unique, hand-stitched textile art and dramatic hand-carved linocut prints on paper.

Drawing inspiration from overlooked elements in nature, her work appreciates tiny wonders in the everyday humdrum.

With her textile pieces, Philippa works freely and intuitively, embracing the slow, meditative process of embroidery and hand-stitching. Her style pushes boundaries, exploring the tension between tradition and rebellion, with both subtlety and exaggeration. Her hand crafted pieces bridge traditional craft and contemporary art.

A monochrome colour palette of only black or white draws focus to the subtleties and intricacies in texture and tone. The making process is slow, each piece can take months to create and include hundreds of layered stitches. The end result is organic, complex and unexpected. The work is difficult to photograph so Philippa warmly welcomes visitors. She hopes to lure the viewer in for a closer look, to become lost in stitches.

Alongside her textile art, Philippa creates hand-made linocut prints. Themes from her fabric pieces overflow onto paper, allowing her ideas to echo in a different medium. Each print is carved by hand into linoleum and printed by hand on to paper, and is either a one off original or part of a small numbered limited edition.

Philippa is a British Artist with a BA (HONS) in Fine Art (Painting) and a career in Prop/ Scenic Painting for the film industry. Her background brings a unique technical perspective to her fine art practice. She lives in Ealing with her young family and has exhibited in the UK and abroad, including the prestigious Broderers Exhibition: The Art of Embroidery, at Bankside Gallery, London. As her second year taking part, Philippa is excited to be exhibiting her work at OPEN Ealing Arts Centre in Dickens Yard once again.

Additional opening: Join us for drinks on Friday 4th Sept – 6pm to 8pm