Subjects
Textiles | Stitch | Drawing
Tutor Bio
Helen Sill is an artist, tutor and practice-based researcher with over thirty years’ experience in stitched textiles and fine art. Her work brings together drawing, stitch, textiles and reclaimed materials, with a particular interest in hand embroidery, embodied learning and global textile traditions. She teaches a wide range of techniques including Indian embroidery, shisha work, sashiko and visible mending.
Helen’s current PhD explores how making generates and carries knowledge through touch, repetition and attention. Her research and teaching are also informed by South Asian textiles, especially those of Gujarat.
Helen Sill’s practice brings together drawing, stitch and textiles to explore how knowledge is formed through making. She is interested in the relationship between hand, material and thought, and in the understanding that develops through touch, repetition and close attention.
Her work and teaching draw on more than thirty years’ experience in stitched textiles and fine art. Helen works with hand embroidery, drawing, reclaimed materials and slow, process-led techniques, while also engaging deeply with global textile traditions. Her specialist interests include Indian embroidery, shisha work, sashiko, visible mending and South Asian textiles, particularly those of Gujarat.
As a tutor, Helen encourages students to approach stitch not only as a technique, but as a way of noticing, thinking and developing a relationship with materials. Her current PhD research into embodied learning through textiles and drawing informs her teaching, giving her workshops a strong foundation in both practical skill and thoughtful creative enquiry.