Gillian Moss started making art as a young child. She formally studied art in high school and university. Now she creates colorful textile art and detailed mixed media art.
When was the first time that you remember realizing that you are a creative person?
I think my Mum recognized my creativity first. Most children like to scribble and draw, but mum always said so long as I had paper and crayons I was happy.
Both of my parents always took time to look at the art I brought home from school and pin it up on a cupboard in the kitchen. I enjoyed seeing my artwork displayed and think that was great encouragement.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received?
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At Secondary School (High School) I was one of a handful of girls who took our Art classes seriously. I was lucky to have a very encouraging teacher called Miss Jack who gave me a piece of advice I didn’t fully appreciate at the time, but have come to understand just how perceptive she and it was. She said ‘don’t worry about the big picture, you are a detail person’, and she was right.
Tell us more about your journey as an artist. What different creative media do you use in your work? How has your work evolved?
I went to the University of Ulster and did BA hons in Jewellery and Silversmithing, then went on to Glasgow School of Art, Scotland and qualified with an MA Design.
How did you find yourself on an artist’s path? Always there? Lightbulb moment? Dragged kicking and screaming? Evolving?
A few weeks after leaving GSA the head of the school suggested I just go for it, make jewellery and get it out in the world. That was all I needed, someone who believed I could do it. I had offers of a couple of short term teaching positions and at one I met another teacher who suggested an agent to sell my work, I followed that lead and never looked back. I was successfully self employed for many years in Glasgow eventually opened a small contemporary gift store and art gallery.
In 1989 I moved to Dublin, Ireland to marry the love of my life and go on to have two children. Amidst all this change I felt the need to also change my medium so I turned to designing and producing a range of stationary. Textile art was something I was always interested in so I taught myself patchwork and quilting, really just experimenting and occasionally exhibiting work until we moved to San Diego, CA.
Joining a Quilt Guild in San Diego, making friends, taking classes and going to Quilt shows all helped me improve and grow my love of Art Quilts.
Tell us more about your journey as an artist. What different creative media do you use in your work? How has your work evolved?
I’ve always been an experimenter and after many years working only with textiles I felt a need to learn about and introduce other materials and mediums into my creative life.
I had been painting and stenciling onto fabric and took this a step farther by painting onto raw canvas then using that to make quilts. This technique was exciting as it took in more aspects of the art I wanted to make, there was preparation, painting, designing, planning, piecing and quilting. I made quite a few pieces with this technique, but of course that lead me on to the next thing, and the next!
What inspires you to create?
I think that because I do experiment, people look at my work and say ‘she’s a quilter, or she’s a painter, a mixed media artist, a collage artist etc.’ and I’m lucky to be invited to join various art groups.
The main groups I’m involved with right now are Focus Fiber, Time for Women Artists and a Zine collective. Each one of these groups offers my imagination something different and though it can all get very busy, I love it.
Focus Fiber is a group (15 – 20) that meet once a month at Visions Museum of Textile Arts in San Diego. We make presentations, give demonstrations and talk about all things textile related while sitting in the main gallery, it’s very stimulating.
Time for Women Artists is a group (11) of mixed discipline artists, we meet once a month to discuss possible exhibition opportunities, what we’ve been working on, and anything art related that the others might be interested in.
The Zine Collective is a group of 22 women who share a theme once a month, make the zine and mail them off to each other, it’s so exciting to receive art this way. At the meetings we each get a chance to talk about what inspired our zine.
Can you tell us about the inspiration and process of one of your works? How does a new work come about?
The various groups I’m part of is a huge inspiration – the interaction, themes and challenges. I get excited about the problem solving and mediums to choose.
One of my favorite pieces is inspired by a photograph I took of my daughter Natasha. It’s made from painted canvas which I pieced and quilted, it’s Called ‘A word in your ear’.
Making collage images is relatively new for me, I started this practice during the pandemic and have continued. I find just one thing in a donated magazine, it could be a pair of hands and that starts me off. With this medium I often limit myself to making a whole new and most times quirky image from just one magazine.
Where can people see your work?
Right now the best place to see my work is on Instagram, @gillianmossart
Or my website www.gillianmossstudio.com
Interview posted April 2024
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