My work is centred around connection to identity, people, personality and changing personas and uses deconstruction and reconstruction techniques to tell the quirky, often overlooked stories and facts, re-building pieces much as a story is told and retold.
Materials are central to my work; it is essential to me that they further the narrative and emotion behind the pieces. To that end, non-traditional textile materials are often selected including wood, metal and found items.
My solo exhibition, Identity, has brought these themes to life, and asks why we change our personality in different situations, and whether this is always for justifiable reasons. The artwork narrates stories through stitch and weaving. It explores feelings of lost personalities and the way our sense of self evolves. The exhibition explores the concept of identity, prompting the viewer to consider the many ‘selves’ they embody.
With this bursary I would use the money to further this body of work, exploring the subject in more depth and with a greater understanding. Materials, as with all of my work, are central to my exhibition pieces. Many of them are made from architects tracing paper – apt due to stories being written on paper but also as we sculpt our own narrative this materials has allowed me to create a structural and architectural style piece.
It is my intention to work more closely with my mentor to further push the boundaries of the materials used, to make ambitious sculptural work demonstrating that textiles does not just have to be on fabric.
Through experimentation in my studio, I am aware that lighting would add a new and exciting element to this body of work – reflecting how we show and conceal certain areas of our identities and personality. With this bursary I would like to work with a lighting specialist to fully understand how best to utilise this in further work.
The bursary money would be spent on mentor fees, materials and production of new work, working with a lighting specialist.
At the end of the bursary I would like to create an installation of my furthered Identity work in Darlington. This would not only raise the profile of arts in general in Darlington, but also emphasise through chosen materials that textiles is an art form and one that can be innovative and created on materials other than fabrics.
As part of this installation event I would be keen to make connections with local communities, in particular young people and share with them how it is possible to have a fruitful career in the creative sector and that it is a viable career. This would enhance the creative arts in Darlington by encouraging young people to become more active in this sector and hopefully enable some of them to launch successful careers in the arts.
If venue space allows, I am also keen to hold workshops centred around the theme of identity and sharing textile and embroidery skills with local communities to enhance their creative experiences and skills.
I create research based, textile artwork that narrates hidden stories and memories, protecting and honouring them through stitch. Through this I explore connection to identity, people, personality and changing personas. I often select non-traditional textile materials to work with including paper, metal, wood and found items. I spin and weave, and am currently exploring the use of print in my work. My work has been in many group exhibitions including Nature at Nunnington Hall, Miniatures Revisited at Cupola Gallery, The Customs House open exhibition and also at Washington Arts Centre. I have held two solo exhibitions; A Year in the Museum in 2018 at Tudor House Museum and Identity at Bottleworks, Newcastle in 2025. I have also exhibited at Crafts Festival, Cheltenham and Threads at Sunnybank Mills. I worked with Toni Buckby and other core blackwork embroiderers on the Unstitched Coif project, exploring questions of decay, fragility, loss and reconstruction within a museum archive. My work for this project is now held in the V&A archives. Residencies have been part of my practice, with my first residency from 2017-18 at Tudor House Museum. The work undertaken here formed my first solo exhibition, telling the varied history of the museum. As artist in residence at On Trend Boutique (a clothes shop), Skipton was awarded by Watch This Space, funded my the Great Lakes and Dales. The purpose of this residency was to engage people with the arts in new ways, while responding to the surroundings. I collaborated with Harry Man, a poet, to create the Dene within a Dene project, bringing together two different artforms in new and unusual ways. We explored the connections our work had and with our audiences. I teach widely for many organisations including ArtisOn, The Sill, and Shipley Art Gallery. I’m passionate about connecting those who do not normally access the arts with my work, through community arts projects. I’m a long term facilitator with Woven in Kirkless and have also worked with a wide range of community groups including those with additional needs, women experiencing domestic violence and young people experiencing the care system.
I received a Tees Valley Cultural Valley grant (£10000) for my collaboration with Harry Man, to further develop my own artwork and to extend my online offering.
I received a Rural England Prosperity Grant (£3780) to further my existing arts practice and to learn and develop new textile skills and services.
I received funding through Bricks and Clicks to review and upgrade my website, making it easier to promote and share my work online.
I also received a small grant (£400) to purchase equipment to further my practice from Art Network North East.
Not currently, previously a member of Diverse Threads textile group an artist led group in which we held exhibitions, pushed the development of our arts practise and raised the profile of textiles as an art form.
I was commissioned by Wakefield Museums and Castles to create the Spirit of Wakefield project. This explored and responded to the Wakefield Pageant of 1933, translating it into a large scale installation exhibited in the atrium of Wakefield One. The installation created a connection with local communities and their heritage through leading some workshops around the theme and inviting people to contribute to the final installation.
The project involved research in archives, community work and workshops as well as the creating of the work and interpretation.
The central figure, the Spirit of Wakefield, wore a dress that I created using a 1930’s pattern and 1930’s sewing machine to fully align all aspects of my research, the dress shared the history of the pageant as well as prominent names of those who organised it. The installation brought together new artwork alongside museum collection items to emphasise the narrative.
I was responsible for the whole project including time and budget management, interpretation and installation, along with communication and working with various stakeholders.
My work for my Identity exhibition has been reviewed in Lifestyle, Narc and Cultured North East.
The Crack has reviewed my arts practice as a whole.
My work can be seen online through the curated platform Find A Maker.
My work for the Unstitched Coif project is both online with the V&A collections and was featured in the accompanying book authored by Toni Buckby.
Heritage Crafts have reviewed my practice online through their making members scheme.
Email: louisegoulttextiles@gmail.com
Address: 10 Upleatham Street, Saltburn by the Sea, Cleveland, TS12 1LB, GB
Local Authority: Redcar and Cleveland
