MATERIAL, PROCESS & CONTEXT DEVELOPMENT
Work examples in support of ACE R&D grant application
“These works are not literal landscapes, but evocations - intimate responses shaped through fibre, textile, and colour.”
PAGE CONTENT
Artist Statement
Artwork Examples
Gallery Quote
Process
Commissioning
Internship
A Sensory Dialogue - film
CV
ARTIST STATEMENT
MORNING MURMURINGS & THE BAY
Decorex 2025 stand display
Wet Felting - Merino wool, silk on silk Georgette and muslin cotton base layers.
Framed in oak veneer wood tray - 126cm x 156cm x 4cm
My work explores the deeply rooted emotional and sensory connections we hold with nature. By reimagining the landscape using natural fibres and the ancient craft of wet felting, I invite viewers on an inquisitive journey rich in climate, texture and light. These works are not literal landscapes, but evocations - intimate responses shaped through fibre, textile, and colour.
ARTWORK EXAMPLES
RÊVERIE
Wet Felting - Merino wool, silk on silk Georgette and muslin cotton base layers.
Framed in oak veneer wood tray - 102cm x 132cm x 4cm
MATERIALS
These artworks are created using natural materials such as wool, linen, silk and cotton fibres or fabrics.
The materials used are sourced from UK suppliers compliant with the relevant global trading standards legislation, providing textile safety as well as material consistency.
AMBLING HILLS
Wet Felting - Merino wool, silk on silk Georgette and muslin cotton base layers.
Framed in oak veneer wood tray - 105cm x 134cm x 4cm
AMBLING HILLS - Detail
CARE
As with most original art pieces, artworks should be protected from prolonged exposure to direct sunlight, extremes of temperature or high humidity.
Regular dusting with a soft brush will keep the artwork free from pest, and the colours vibrant and lustrous.
WISPS OF DUSK
Wet Felting - Merino wool, silk on silk Georgette and muslin cotton base layers.
Framed in oak veneer wood tray - 112cm x 105cm x 4cm
RAINFALL OVER THE FIRTH
Wet Felting - Merino wool, silk on silk Georgette and muslin cotton base layers.
Diptych framed in oak veneer wood tray - 98cm x 171cm x 4cm per panel
“Valérie’s stunning work delights visitors to our gallery. Enticed by the clever layering of colour and texture in her compositions, guests are inspired to find her pieces are made of wool and often have a variety of questions about the wet-felting technique. It is a pleasure to share her pieces with people who are unaware that such a practice exists, expanding the possibilities of what art is in the minds of many. As a woman-led gallery, it is especially rewarding to see textile work be shown in a new light and elevated akin to painting.”
PROCESS
Process has always been central to my practice, and through ongoing exploration of materials’ behaviours, I have over the years perfected a unique approach to the craft. Fascinated by the organic qualities intrinsic to the medium, I work solely with natural materials such as wool, silk and linen.
STUDIO
DRAWING
Building the composition gradually in fine layers guided by my original mixed media drawing.
LAYING FIBRES
Making space for materials to have their voice is key to my creative process. Fibres and fabrics are laid and collaged together using the wet felting technique.
MATERIALS
I mainly work with wool tops, linen fibres and silk - and nothing is ever wasted…
WETTING LAYERS
Water, the source of life and organic transformation. A warm soapy solution is dispersed onto the piece to encourage the felting.
ROLLING
As I gently roll the work beneath my hands, the loose fibres migrate and interlock with one another encouraging shrinkage.
MORNING MURMURINGS
This timelapse shows the making of Morning Murmurings from original drawing to finished fabric.
COMMISSIONNING
I create bespoke felt artworks bringing to life clients’ ideas & aspirations. I first illustrate the brief in a selection of drawings submitted to the client. The chosen drawing is then used as guidance as I translate and scale up the composition.
ELIF TRIPTYCH
Wet felting - Merino wool, silk, linen on silk Georgette and muslin cotton base layers.
Framed in oak veneer wood tray. 92 x 182 x 4cm each
ORIGINAL DRAWINGS FOR ELIF’S TRIPTYCH
INTERNSHIP AT CLAUDY JONGSTRA STUDIO
In Spring 2021 I spent three months working in Claudy Jongstra Studio, based in rural Friesland, Netherlands. Jongstra is a wool activist creating monumental felted artworks using circular production system. The studio supports a fully sustainable process working with indigenous wool from rare sheep breed Drenthe Heath, and natural dyes from plants cultivated by local farmer. During my internship I was able to observe how an international art studio is managed, as well as learn and perfect my skills in dyeing, carding, spinning and felting.
WOOL AND SILK CARDED BATTS
DYE LAB VATS
FELTING IN PROGRESS USING AIR PRESSURE
HAND-SPUN YARN FROM DISCARDED FIBRES
A SENSORY DIALOGUE - Film by Sarah Mason
CV
EDUCATION
2000 MSc Interactive Multimedia Production, Huddersfield University
1989 BSc(Hons) Textile Design Huddersfield Polytechnic (1st Class)
AWARDS
2021 Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST)
2015 Best Picture in Show, Great North Art Show, Ripon
2015 Best Emerging Textile Artist, Embroidery Magazine, SIT Select Showcase
REPRESENTATION
Kellie Miller Arts, 3 Church Street, Brighton, BN1 1UJ, UK
RESIDENCY
2022 Claudy Jongstra Studio, the Netherlands, Jan-Mar
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2025 Whispers, Kellie Miller Arts Gallery, Brighton, UK
2024 Meanderings, Saddleworth Museum & Gallery UK
2023 Closer Still, The Biscuit Factory, Newcastle upon Tyne UK
2019 The Fate of Threads, Staithes Studios Gallery, Staithes UK
2018 A Tale of Thread & Colour, Water Street Gallery, Todmorden UK
2016 Wisps & Whispers, The Gallery, Anthropologie, London UK
2016 The Common Thread, Calver Gallery, South Square, Thornton, Bradford UK
2014 Entangled, Queenies, Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield UK
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2025 Makers Space: The Next Chapter, Decorex, Olympia, London
Leeds Summer Group Show, Leeds Playhouse
Holmfirth Artweek, Civic Hall, Holmfirth, West Yorkshire
Future Icons Selects, London Craft Week, 83 Rivington Street, London
2024 Luminous, The Sanctuary Studio & Gallery, Newnham-on-Severn
Making Spaces, Decorex, Olympia, London
Glimpses, Birch Tree Gallery, Edinburgh
Holmfirth Artweek, Civic Hall, Holmfirth
Showcase #1, Haddon Hall, Cheshire
Future Icons Selects, London Craft Week, The Bargehouse, OXO Tower, London
Earth Murmurs, The Lake Gallery, The Wirral
Saltaire Art Gallery, Winter Show
2023 GNCCF, Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair, Victoria Baths, Manchester
2022 GNCCF, Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair, Victoria Baths, Manchester
Collect 2022, International Fair for Contemporary Craft & Design, QEST Gallery
2021 Knitting & Stitching Show, invited artist, Harrogate
2020 Repeating Isn’t Repetition, New Weird Huddersfield UK
2019 Winter Exhibition, The Biscuit Factory, Newcastle Upon Tyne UK
art& York, York Racecourse, York
Holmfirth Artweek, Civic Hall, Holmfirth UK
RHS Chatsworth Flower Show, Chatsworth House UK
Fibre, Heart Gallery, Hebden Bridge UK
2018 Holmfirth Artweek, Civic Hall, Holmfirth UK
2017 Handmade at Kew, The International Contemporary Craft Event, London
Art Festival Art Fair, The Rheged Centre, Redhills, Penrith UK
‘Yorkshire Created…’ Silson Contemporary Art, Harrogate UK
Holmfirth Artweek, Civic Hall, Holmfirth UK
The Contemporary Craft Festival, Mill Marsh Park, Bovey Tracey, Devon
Branching Out, The Craft Centre and Design Gallery, City Art Gallery, Leeds
Textile Textures, Walford Mill Crafts, Wimborne, UK
In With The New, Silson Contemporary Art, Harrogate UK
Winter Exhibition, The Biscuit Factory, Newcastle Upon Tyne UK
2016 Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair, Old Granada Studio UK
The Art Market YORK, York Race Course UK
Art in Action, Waterperry Nr Oxford UK
Holmfirth Artweek, Civic Hall, Holmfirth UK
The Contemporary Craft Festival, Mill Marsh Park, Bovey Tracey UK
The North, Masham Gallery, Masham UK
2015 The Artroom Gallery, Garstang UK
SIT Select Showcase, Cheltenham Town Hall UK
Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair, Old Granada Studios UK
The Art Market YORK, UK
Magnetic North Art Fair, Dean Clough, Halifax UK
Great North Art Show, Ripon Cathedral UK
Kunsthuis Art Gallery, Crayke UK
Holmfirth Artweek, Civic Hall, Holmfirth UK
Fibre, Rural Art, The Old Courthouse, Thirsk UK
Textile & Texture, Enjoy Art, Marsden UK
The North and Beyond, Grassington Festival UK
Connections, Enjoy Art, Marsden, UK
Saltaire Arts Trail, Open Houses, Saltaire, Shipley UK
Landscape Harmonies, The Arc Gallery, Chester, UK
2014 Connections, Huddersfield ArtStation, Huddersfield UK
Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair, Old Granada Studios, UK
The Garden of Earthly Delights, Waterstreet Gallery, Todmorden Uk
Same But Different, Temple Newsam House, Leeds UK
Holmfirth Artweek, Holmfirth UK
Down to Earth, The Craft Centre & Design Gallery, Leeds City Art Gallery
Textile! Huddersfield ArtStation, Huddersfield UK
2013 Winter Season Open Exhibition, Waterstreet Gallery, Todmorden UK
Holmfirth Artweek, Holmfirth Civic Hall, Holmfirth UK
Art in the Pen, Skipton Auction Mart, Skipton UK
New Mills Arts, Derbyshire Open Arts, New Mills UK
PRESS
2026 Dynamic Magazine, Whispering Landscapes by Kellie Miller, Feb
2022 Embroidery Magazine, Industrial Action, The Sewing Room, p10-11, Mar/April
2020 Felt Matters, The Felt Landscape, An Invitation To Amble, p23-25, 139, Jun
2016 Embroidery Magazine, The Way of Felt, p38-41, May/Jun
COLLECTIONS
Works held in private collections in Europe, North America, and the UK
TEACHING – TALKS – OUTREACH
2025 Intoart, London, Masterclasses 25_26/11
West Dean College, Chichester, Short Course 21_24/09
Lainamac, Felletin, France, Residency 28/04_01/05
2024 QEST Education Programme, Crafty Fair Sheffield 07/11
2023 QEST Education Programme, Rotherham High School 22/11
2021 Woven in Practice Conference, University of Huddersfield
2015 – Current Workshops, residencies, talks studio-based and across the UK
2015 – 2021 Artworks, The Everybody School of Art, Halifax
MEMBERSHIPS
Society of Designer Craftsmen MSDC
QEST Alumni
Craft Council Directory
DYNAMIC MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2026 ISSUE
