Who Are We

"Olive Branch"

Lorraine Bode
I am  a passionate quilter who has been creating works of art for over 30 years. Making use of my formal training as a graphic designer and my love of fabric and thread, a natural progression lead me towards fibre as my medium.
I enjoy playing with colour and feel my work comes alive with quilting.
My work has been exhibited in South Africa, New Zealand, Germany, USA, Australia, Japan, France, Ireland and Korea.
I have enjoyed giving classes at the South African National Quilt Festivals and have been invited to provide similar training in New Zealand and USA.
Receiving prizes for my work locally and nationally has been a real cherry on top. 
I enjoy commissions allowing me to transform a client's vision into a piece of art. Most of my work lives in homes abroad. 

Janet Camden-Smith
I have sewn since childhood which has led me to explore the use of the sewing machine as a drawing tool, creating free-motion machine embroidery. The appeal of introducing both hand and machine sewing came about as a means of adding textures and depth into my work. The use of fabrics and layering techniques enriches the surface. The recent introduction of found objects and recycled materials into my works has brought about a new tactile element, surface textures, patterns and fun.

Margie Garratt

I have been working as a textile artist for many years. I was the founder and curator of "Innovative Threads",  and have exhibited Southern Africa's textile works in South Africa, Europe, UK, USA, New Zealand and the Far East. I love using African fabrics in conjunction with hand dyed and commercial textiles to express my passion for Africa's unique flora and beauty. Another stimulus is my frustration with subjects like AIDS in South Africa and political issues. I use my machine to piece the textiles, then a combination of hand and machine stitching to decorate the artworks with hidden delights.

Lubi Koorts

Art and design has been like the air I breathe all my life. Textures, colours, line, shapes in nature, the human form, all life on earth excites and inspires and lifts my spirit. I have a background of commercial art and have dabbled in many mediums over the years, but found that the liberating techniques used in fibre art fulfill me the most. I've been participating in exhibitions locally and abroad and have been involved with various explorations of needle and thread since 1986, seriously stitching by hand or machine and joined the wonderful world of communicating with viewers through fibre art.

"Mandala" detail

Liebet Shrand

I fell in love with fibre art while at Art School - the love affair is on going. I have participated in group exhibitions in South Africa, Australia, France, England, Japan and Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) .

Kim Tedder

Currently I paint in watercolours, mostly botanical work, but I also have a long-standing interest in stitching and in the rich textures offered by textiles. I find intense pleasure in the tactile nature of fabric and the three dimensional qualities inherent in stitching. 
I have exhibited in SA, France, US, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Some of my work will be exhibited in France at the annual European Patchwork Festival at St. Marie aux Mains, Val d’Argent. It will form part of an invitational from SA textile artists. 
Examples of my work are held in private and public collections in SA and UK. Living in Cape Town has led me to favour chalky pastels in preference to the bold contrasts of ochres, browns and blacks of my Highveld winter years. 

"Under the Umbrellas - Hua Hin"

Diana Vandeyar
Over the years I have worked in various mediums including clay, paint and textiles. I enjoy all aspects of the creative process from developing the concept and exploring different techniques, to allowing the project to develop a voice and personality, regardless of what I had envisioned. I draw my inspirations from both the historic and the contemporary world and with every piece I create I try to challenge myself to produce something that is thoughtful and unexpected.

Sheila Walwyn
I have been working in textiles for 23 years and enjoy participating in exhibitions as a member of the South African Quilters Guild and the Fibreworks group of fibre artists, as well as undertaking commissions. Living in the beautiful city of Cape Town, my inspiration comes mostly from my surroundings and the beauty of nature. My preferred method of working is to take my own photographs, then produce a coloured sketch or collage and finally transpose the image into fabric. I work with a broad range of textiles, from cotton to silks, organzas, chiffons and upholstery fabrics and I like to create texture by means of paint, fusing with a soldering iron, or the addition of beads, hand embroidery and quilting.

Glenda Weidmann

I have been an avid quilter for the last 17 years and have exhibited in local and national quilting shows, as well as a Japan/ Korea / SA and Australian challenge. I  love to work with ethnic and hand dyed fabrics, also layers of organza and synthetic fabrics, textured and burnt with a heat gun.