Nature: floaty umbel heads of creamy Queen Anne’s Lace, birdsong, birds in general especially finches and magpies, ooh and I love peacock feathers, the rain (yeah, I’m British, got to make the most of it!), shells, fish, coral, dragonflies and butterflies, pretty pebbles, found trinkets, beads.
Fave Artists: Gustav Klimt, Hunderwasser, Paul Klee, Charley Harper, Susan Seddon Boulet, Tanya Kugai, Yuri Vasnetsov, anything Russian, eastern european children’s book illustrators whose names I can’t pronounce.
Fave Textile Artists: Hmmmmm hard to choose! I admire the work of many people.
Fave Ethnic Textiles: those of nomads; the Qashqai of Iran, the Sami gypsies of Pakistan, the Banjara gypsies of India. Anything from Central Asia, especially suzani and printed Russian textiles. As well as eastern European folk costume and interior textiles because of their hardcore hand-stitching, amazing colour combos and just general gorgeousness. Particularly Bulgarian, Romanian, Hungarian, Polish and Russian embroidery, weaving and lace for their intensity and complexity.