Samantha Boot is a textile artist and quilter, specializing in the slow arts of hand stitch and natural color. She has always been a stitcher. During the pandemic, her desire to become an artist was reignited. Her detailed work is inspired by her surroundings in a rural part of Hampshire.
Why textiles and stitching?
I’ve always loved textiles. My mother is a stitcher and quilter, studying creative embroidery as I was growing up, so it seemed natural to study Textiles for my degree.
I graduated in 1997 with a BA (Hons) in Woven Textiles from the Surrey Institute of Art & Design in Farnham, UK, but life took me a different path, via fashion design and interiors magazine journalism.
I continued to stitch though. The mindful techniques of handwork mirroring the labour intensive methods of weaving, before reigniting my desire to be an artist during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Where do you find your inspiration for your work?
I am very lucky to live with my family in a rural part of Hampshire in the south of the UK and have a dog, so I am out walking, daily. We are surrounded by chalk downland which has been inhabited since ancient times. Locally we have traces of Neolithic round houses in fields above our village, and ghosts of Roman roads that criss-cross footpaths and byways. These layers of history all feed into my stitched work.
Does your work have stories to tell?
Storytelling is a huge part of my practice. It dictates the materials I use and the processes I follow.
Whether I’m communicating my experiences of ageing using feather filled pillowcases and poetry such as in “I’ve Reached An Age (Now You See Me), or grounding my work in place, such as in “These Paths of Flint and Chalk” where I use charcoal from wood collected on a moonlit dog walk, story is at the heart of what I do.
If I’m working with natural dyes, I will research any traditional uses or folklore attached to the plant, and use that to layer meaning into my work too. I think I’m a storyteller at heart!
When it comes to creating, are you more of a planner or an improviser?
I would say, I’m a mixture of both: I plan the meaning I want to convey and the processes I will use, but I will then work in ‘layers’, each stage responding to the one before, so the outcome will be a unique reflection of the creative journey I took to get there.
How do you manage your creative time? Do you schedule start and stop times? Or work only when inspired?
I worked as a freelance, Interiors Journalist for a number of years, so making my own routine is something I love. In the week, I tend to schedule photography and computer time in the mornings (website updates, writing, social media, course prep etc) and then my afternoons are clear for uninterrupted stitching. At weekends, it’s family time, although I do enjoy a regular, two hour slot on a Saturday afternoon to sit and sew.
Describe your creative space.
I don’t have a formal studio, instead my creative space is in the kitchen, the heart of my home.
I sit next to the large windows that look onto the garden at an old, farmhouse table. The light is wonderful and I have the dog next to me and the comings and goings of family life around me. This is where I stitch, photograph my work and write.
If I’m making natural inks, dyes or paints, I head to the utility room where it’s a bit easier to tidy up afterwards!
My other ‘creative space’ is the great outdoors. I tend to use my walks as thinking or problem solving time, and will often compose lines of poems that I can expand on when I’m home.
What plays in the background while you work?
Being in the centre of our home means I favour silence when I work; the sounds of the household being soundtrack enough. However, if I’m hand quilting, silence isn’t as important to me and I enjoy listening to ‘quiet’ podcasts such as Making Meaning by Ruth Singer, As the Season Turns by Ffern and Haptic & Hue: Tales of Textiles by Jo Andrews.
What is your favorite storage tip for your creative supplies?
I use a lot of stranded embroidery floss in my work that I find in charity or goodwill shops. Often tricky to keep tidy, I will happily spend a rainy afternoon winding the pre-loved skeins onto wooden clothes pegs so they don’t tie in knots inside my sewing basket.
Can you tell us about the inspiration and process of one of your works?
“The Ghost of a Thread” is an art quilt I made in response to reading about the phenomenon of ‘desire lines’. Such a poetic phrase, it was coined by town planners to describe the short cuts people take across open areas, such as parks.
I started to play with the idea that desire lines could be created by my homemade oak gall ink, as it draws up through unbleached linen, or the way thread falls off a spool. These wonderings became the starting point for this piece, which sees layers of trapped thread, ink and poetry against the background of a vintage linen tablecloth, complete with mended tears and stains – desire lines in themselves.
All by hand, this quilt was a lesson in trusting the process.
Do you use a sketchbook or journal? How does that help your work develop?
I use sketchbooks fairly regularly in my practice. When starting a new body of work, or exploring a theme, I will make notes, stitch, sketch and journal on sheets of paper which I will then bind into a concertina form to be added to as the project progresses. (I have a simple tutorial on YouTube which shows how I make my concertina sketchbooks).
I also like a large, A3 ring bound sketch book with smooth, heavy paper inside, which I use for writing my poetry before I stitch it. I mark out the area I want to fill and play with different forms of my handwriting using ink, sticks and charcoal. I also keep a leather bound notebook by my bed that I use to write a poem or reflection in at the end of each day.
Which part of the design process is your favorite? Which part is a challenge for you?
My favourite part of making art is the beginning. Nothing beats the feeling of possibility and excitement as I start to gather ideas, materials and words.
Unfortunately, the beginning of a project is also one of the trickiest too – the feelings of doubt that can creep in before I’ve even made a mark or picked up a needle. I’ve learnt to override these notions over the years.
Now I give myself permission to play without expectation, and enjoy the journey. I have a free online class ‘Re-ignite Your Creative Spark’ which teaches these ideas of permission and play.
What do you do to keep yourself motivated and interested in your work?
I have so many stories to tell that I can’t see myself running out of inspiration any time soon! I strive to be the best I can be, so I am always looking to learn through experimenting or to refine my techniques.
I love hearing from people I teach or have seen my work online, who say I have inspired them with my words or stitching. It makes those times of self-doubt a lot easier to bear.
What is your proudest accomplishment?
A while ago, I was shown a video of the actor Denzel Washington giving a speech to a group of graduates. He spoke about not wanting to be on his deathbed surrounded by regrets. This has stayed with me, and in 2022, I applied for and received Arts Council England funding to develop my creative practice.
This was a pivotal moment in my career. My dream of being an artist ‘when I grow up’ is now real and I have not looked back. Being able to tell people “I am an Artist,” as I approach 50, is something I’m really proud of and pushes me onwards every day.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received?
The best piece of advice I have ever received, and now give out as well, is to simply be kind. Kind to each other, the planet and ourselves. Often overlooked in the pursuit of ‘more, faster and better’, being kind is something we should all aspire to, in every aspect of our lives.
Are there artists/makers/creators that you admire and inspire your work?
I love the work of Calligrapher and Textile Artist Rosalind Wyatt, who I was lucky enough to learn her technique for ‘writing with a needle’ from, last year. It is my favourite way to transcribe my handwriting, all by eye, onto cloth. www.rosalindwyatt.com
I refer again and again to the writings of Robert Macfarlane. He manages to capture nature, history and atmosphere so perfectly. My favourite of his books is The Old Ways which was the starting point for my Desire Lines series. www.instagram.com/robgmacfarlane
Local to me, is artist Suna Imre, who captures birdsong using ink on textile and clay. The lyrical nature of her art, so deeply rooted in place and time, is something that inspires me in my own work. www.sunaimre.com/
Where can people see your work?
You can find my work online at www.samanthaboot.com where you can also sign up to my newsletter for information about exhibitions and workshops, and I also post regularly on Instagram @threads_of_my_life
Interview posted September 2024
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