Helyne Jennings - Artist - Designer, Contemporary Textiles

Paper - Fabric - Thread

I was made aware of textiles as a contemporary art form while undertaking a foundation art course in 1976. My then tutor Nell Shelby brought her sewing machine in one morning and left it on my desk. I have been behind one ever since. I'm very thankful for her insightfulness as textiles is such an exciting and versatile medium that I have enjoyed exploring ever since.

Travel has been a major inspiration in early work during and after college years having travelled extensively throughout Egypt, South East Asia, Japan and Australasia, and in later years through trips to Europe. The land and seascapes where I live in Devon play their part in recent work trying to capture the transient ever changing light and mood of my surroundings through stitch, fabric, paper and thread.

Recently, due to the sobering circumstances brought about by the current Pandemic I have been revisiting old works and techniques that I had forgotten. This rekindling has led to an outburst of new works that have surprised and excited me, pulling me back into my love for the textile medium that I had begun to feel a little remote from. As a creative person it's not always clear how an idea or an image pop's into your head, it is not a respecter of time or place and can so easily be lost before it can be executed. I am not a person who spends hours drawing or designing, ideas are triggered through emotion, pieces rapidly evolve in my mind and I have to get them physically down on the canvas before they fade. It's quite urgent when it happens and many ideas sadly don't come to fruition.

Work has been widely exhibited both at home and abroad. Solo and mixed shows have been undertaken in London, Singapore & Tokyo and other venues. Commissions have been created for Touche Ross, Calvin Klein, Johnson & Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline, Sumitomo Corporation, P&O, Dorchester Abbey amongst many others.

Pieces are featured in many public and private collections such as the Craft Council London, Raffles City Singapore, Sumitomo Corporation Japan, HSBC Bank Hong Kong.

Full CV upon requ