 | Helen Parsons |
| Accredited Tutor | Surface Stitchery |
Photo Gallery
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Background
Helen Parsons has a passion for embroidery and lace-making, fashion and contemporary art. She was a founding co-convenor of the Fine Needlework and Lace group at Embroiderers’ Guild NSW Headquarters and enjoys teaching contemporary embroidery, whitework and lacemaking techniques. Her teaching experience has been to a diverse range of Guild groups, the Australian Lace Guild, and taken her to places as far afield as Burke and Ballina.
As President of the Cavalcade of History and Fashion, a not-for-profit volunteer organisation with a large museum collection of costume worn by Australian women and donated by them and their families, Helen is able to share her interest in fashion, social history and embroidery and lace making techniques to community audiences around Australia, through exhibitions, floor talks, lectures and presentations.
Helen’s interest in contemporary stitched textiles was developed through her collaborations with University of Technology Sydney tutors and students. Her research interests are diverse ranging from the influence of fashion on women’s lives, her cultural heritage, abandoned industrial sites and social history. Her work currently is based on the use of recycled fabrics, paper, found objects and surface stitchery and needlelace. She has written articles for Embroidery and Cross Stitch Magazine, Cavalcade Friends Newsletter and the Guild’s Record. Helen is completing a Bachelor in Fine Art and Visual Culture at Curtin University in 2018.
Workshops include:-
Contemporary Whitework – A wide variety of whitework techniques have been practised by embroiderers for centuries. In this workshop we build on these traditional techniques and stitches using modern threads and fabrics in an innovative way, often combined with unusual materials such as paper and found objects.
Abstract Embroidery – Introduces participants to the fun, ease and enjoyment of extracting abstract elements from personal photographs or photographs from magazines etc. and interpret them in surface stitches to create lively and colourful contemporary embroidery.
Embroidered Patchwork Fashion - Embroidered and patchwork fashion is very ‘now’ and is featured in haute couture collections on Paris designer runways. Learn how to transform your collection of fabric samples from your stash into a contemporary fashion fabric, and then, using abstract designs from favourite photographs and simple embroidery stitches, make a wonderful fashion garment. This relaxed and fun two-day workshop class is an opportunity to play with your favourite cotton, silk, linen or wool fabrics and threads, your special photographs, and simple embroidery stitches.
Take a Walk Through Your Favourite Landscape With Buttonhole Stitch - Do you have a favourite landscape that fills your heart with joy and evokes fond memories? Would you like to take that landscape home with you so you can gaze on it every day? This relaxed and fun two-day workshop class is an opportunity to play with your favourite cotton, silk or wool fabrics and threads, photographs of your special landscapes, and simple buttonhole stitch. Working directly with fabrics and threads is a fun way to explore and to do something different in the world of embroidery.
For more information phone the Guild on 02 9743 2501 or email: info@embroiderersguildnsw.org.au
