Shellie Holden

Paper screen - reclaimed books and tracing paper

British artist and maker Shellie Holden produces constructed, stitched, collaged and cut paper textiles using reclaimed materials, such as books, pieces of text and old maps, fabrics, threads and sewing paraphernalia.

Bookworm - hand cut and carved.

The Bookworm riddles its way out of the book, eating away at the paper to disrupt the reading of the text; metamorphosis’s into a bobbin or spool (of thread), stealing matter and meaning from the book.

Shellie's Text Work Series 2 is especially interesting, and very beautiful.

Iitch on a phantom limb
Framed paper textile

Wallpaper, mounted paper textile

In her own words:

Embroidery is traditionally perceived as ‘Woman’s work’ and this work takes reference from formal qualities of historical examples of work. In using a contemporary novel as a back drop for the embroidery, the cut work decoration is used to manipulate this meaning when combined with the written word - in Sadie Smiths White Teeth some of the abrupt, crass language in the book emerges through the printed textual layers of paper, jarring the reading, perhaps forcing to viewer to reconsider the role of embroidery in the 21st Century.

Text Book

Shellie Holden - StudioSpool