Artwave 2022

For the second year ‘The Stitching Post and friends’ will be taking part in the Artwave Festival. This event gives art lovers the chance to discover new work, meet artists and makers, and buy directly from them.

Here at The Stitching Post we will be showcasing the work of eight local artists and makers including, ceramics, jewelry, embroidery, patchwork, weaving and sculpture.

We will be open September 3rd, 4th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 16th, 17th and 18th 10.30 - 5pm. Each day we will serve tea, coffee, cakes and scones. So please do come along and support us whilst enjoying our very special setting.

Read more about the artists exhibiting here below …

Alison McDonagh

Alison Mcdonagh was brought up in a household where someone was always making something and the sewing machine was a constant presence on the dining table.

She studied music at teaching training college and taught in alternative education but art remained a passion both in paint and paper collage.

Colour has always been the dominant theme of her work. A machine embroidery course at West Dean College, Chichester in 2015 provided the skills to make new fabrics out of recycled charity shop clothes by dyeing, painting and embroidering them, mostly by machine but sometimes with added hand stitching to create one-off products that are totally unique, ethically made, and a positive response to our growing concern about fashion being the second biggest polluter on the planet.

Kaffe Fassett and Hundertwasser are influences but most of all, the Sussex countryside surrounding her home in Glynde, Sussex.

Jackie Bennett

Jackie Bennett is an artist-weaver with over 20 years’ experience. She will be exhibiting her local landscapes and other works. Prints, greetings cards, woven and macramé decorations and gifts available.

 Jackie exhibits her work locally, nationally and internationally and undertakes commissions. She is a member of Outside In, The British Tapestry Group, the East Sussex Guild of Weavers Spinners and Dyers and Sussex Arts Collective. She teaches weaving and runs bespoke workshops for groups and in community settings.

Caroline Chalton Hellyer

Caroline Chalton Hellyer is a studio potter based in Lewes.

Having studied metalwork and ceramics at university, she worked in metal for a number of years but was attracted back to clay by its immediacy, exciting versatility and colour.

Often keen to experiment and create new forms on the wheel, her ceramics is always evolving, combining practicality with innovative shapes and vibrant glazes.

She produces a diverse range of bright, fresh, simple designs for everyday use. From jugs and espresso cups, to vases and bowls.

Rachael Nicholson

Rachael Nicholson is a sculptor working mainly with metals. She makes abstract and figurative indoor/outdoor pieces which often suggest dynamic flow, lift and movement. Using recycled materials, she also creates wall-mounted structures with interwoven ephemera (cables, clamps, bottle caps, rope...).

Nicholson has been commissioned by churches, charities and art centres, and by several private collectors in the UK. She has exhibited her work in galleries, business centres, art shops and private shows in Cambridge, London and Surrey. She now lives in Lewes, East Sussex.

Marilyn Willis

Marilyn has worked in Fashion and Textiles for many years, both as a designer and lecturer.

Her own love of the craft of knitting and sewing combined with vintage fabrics and lace, has led to her current work using hand embroidery.

She creates hand stitched collages and a unique range of fashion accessories, gifts and cards from her home in Lewes.

Marilyn is currently running a range of stitching, mending and hand embroidery classes at The Stitching Post, Isfield.

Liza Morton

‘Woofing Fabulous’ by Liza Morton Ceramic Artist

Liza studied at Brighton University, W.M.C.P. in the 90's, then moved on to a successful career in teaching for 20 years. She is now a full-time artist creating sculptures for 'Woofing Fabulous' in her seaside pottery in Saltdean, Sussex.

Her ceramic studio is a hive of activity sculpting animals for exhibitions here in Sussex including Artists Open Houses in Brighton, Lewes Artwave and Gallery Uno in Seaford. She is also a member of Kemptown Arts Association, Sussex Arts Collective and the Brighton Etsy Team.

Her inspiration comes from her strong bond with her pets and their companionship. She hopes to recreate that sense of wonderment and happiness that they pass on to us humans. Creating joyful ceramics to help the viewer smile.

Kelly Dillon

After years of making gifts for friends and their children Kelly decided to turn her love of sewing into a small business. Moving from London to the beautiful county town of Lewes in 2013 gave her the opportunity to launch The Stitching Post.

Her inspiration comes from the colour and beauty of fabric. Kelly works with each piece in turn, co-ordinating colours and shades. Each item is hand sewn, often finished with hours of hand quilting detail. She is particularly drawn to the richness of fabrics from Japan and the Orient.

Kelly’s studio in Isfield is a haven for quilters and sewers alike. She stocks hundreds of high quality cottons and regularly runs classes and workshops.

Oriana Evans

Oriana studied her degree in Design specialising in glass. Where she concentrated on sandcasting. Thirty years on she now makes unique pieces of jewellery, working mostly to bespoke commissions. She still uses the sandcasting technique but uses recycled silver and gold. 

‘When I design I take inspiration from the life stories of those around me. I imagine a whole lifetime of moments distilled into the fabric of each piece of jewellery.

Texture is hugely important in my designs, which is why I work by hand. When we wear jewellery we build a relationship with each piece by touching it, holding it, wearing it, and that informs every blow of my hammer and every scrape of my file.’