Category Archives: Art Galleries

The Emotional Depth in Sue Stone’s Creations

Retrospective – An Archive of work made in 2024

Title of Work: A Glimpse of Calm Amidst the Chaos 2024

“A Glimpse of Calm Amidst the Chaos” captures a 1940s family posed on a stile, embodying a fleeting moment of serenity in a world which seems to be run by lunatics. Set against an idyllic rural landscape, the family sits with an air of innocence, contrasting starkly with the chaos around them. Through a mix of hand stitch, free machine stitch and appliqué, Sue Stone weaves a tactile story of continuity and contradiction. By blending traditional techniques with contemporary reflections, the piece invites viewers to ponder how much – or how little – the world has changed. The work speaks to a longing for stability in uncertain times, drawing attention to the persistent tension between personal sanctuary and societal upheaval.

Materials & Techniques

Hand stitch and free machine stitch:cotton and wool threads on a cotton/linen background with applied recycled cotton lawn clothing fabrics. 

Size: 38.5 x 51 cms

First Shown in the Broderers Exhibition at Bankside Gallery 2025

Title of work: The Stuff of Nightmares 2024
“The Stuff of Nightmares” delves into the fractured visions of a troubled mind affected by the world’s darkest realities. Through haunting imagery of global conflicts, innocent lives lost, and a society seemingly led by madness, Sue Stone uses intricate hand and free machine stitching combined with appliqué to capture this dystopian landscape. The textured layers, are pieced together to echo the fragmented experiences of those touched by war and suffering. This work confronts viewers with raw and unsettling truths, challenging them to acknowledge the unseen nightmares that echo through society, while also highlighting the fragility of humanity caught up in the mayhem.
Materials & Techniques
Hand and free machine stitch: cotton and wool threads on a cotton/linen background with applied recycled cotton lawn clothing fabrics.

Size:38.5 x 51 cms

First Shown in the Broderers Exhibition at Bankside Gallery London 2025

Soon to be shown in The Usher Open, Lincoln, UK 2025

Making as Learning Exhibition – Salts Mill

For this exhibition which celebrated the 62Group@62 Sue Stone created two double-sided pieces that establish a dialogue between the visible and hidden aspects of her work, transforming the making process into a journey of learning.

Title – Coalescence
Sue Stone’s work is a construction of teaching samples and studies for completed pieces which showcase a diverse range of techniques and explorations. Each piece is distinguished by additional stitching that leaves a distinctive footprint on the back, adding a unique element to the artwork’s structure. By including self-portraits, Sue pays tribute to Audrey Walker, who was known for her stitched portraiture. This homage highlights the inspiration drawn from Audrey’s legacy and influence, whilst also highlighting the personal and introspective nature of artistic expression. This blend of teaching, experimentation, and tribute encapsulates Sue’s creative journey.
Materials: Linen, recycled clothing , cotton thread, wool yarn, paint, InkTense pencil


Techniques: Hand and machine stitching, appliqué, painting, waterproofing, fabric weaving
Size:63 x 182 x 2 cmsTitle – Integrated

Sue Stone’s work consists of digital prints of finished pieces that have been showcased in 62 Group exhibitions. This artwork is uniquely marked by additional hand and machine stitching, visible as a distinctive footprint on the back. This stitching not only adds texture and depth but also symbolises the Sue’s commitment to blending modern and traditional techniques in her creative process. The integration of these elements highlights the artist’s innovative approach to contemporary art, creating a dialogue between the visible and hidden aspects of her work, and inviting viewers to explore the layers of meaning within each piece.

Materials: Digitally printed waterproof fabric, Cotton threads, linen fabric
Techniques: Digital printing, appliqué, hand and machine stitching

Size: 63 x 182 x 2 cms

First shown at Salts Mill, Saltaire, Bradford in 62@62 Making as Learning exhibition

Title – Integrated
Sue Stone’s work consists of digital prints of finished pieces that have been showcased in 62 Group exhibitions. This artwork is uniquely marked by additional hand and machine stitching, visible as a distinctive footprint on the back. This stitching not only adds texture and depth but also symbolises the Sue’s commitment to blending modern and traditional techniques in her creative process. The integration of these elements highlights the artist’s innovative approach to contemporary art, creating a dialogue between the visible and hidden aspects of her work, and inviting viewers to explore the layers of meaning within each piece.

Materials: Digitally printed waterproof fabric, Cotton threads, linen fabric


Techniques: Digital printing, appliqué, hand and machine stitching
Size: 63 x 182 x 2 cms

First shown at Salts Mill

Naomi

Celebrating the Life of Naomi Crowder who lived life to the full.

Fred in Suits

A partner piece to She Tailored the Clothes They Wore 2023 depicting Fred Stone, Sue Stone’s Dad in fashionable suits; waistcoat and single breasted jacket around 1929/30, double breasted and chalk striped in the 1940s , His suits were always worn with a white shirt and a tweed or silk tie.

Shown at The Hub, Sleaford in the 62 Group Tailored exhibition

Schooldays 1920s

From my father-in-law’s school photo (he is on the front row seated left at the end of the bench. Detail above.

Good Companions: The Girls who Made the Suits v3 2024

“Good Companions :The Girls Who Made the Suits” explores the strength and solidarity found within a community of women. The artist’s mother, a professionally trained tailor, worked
tirelessly with a group of women in the tailoring department of a small-town store, crafting bespoke suits for local businessmen. Despite their skill and labour, the women received no recognition ; credit was given to the men in charge. In response, the women built a close-knit community, supporting one another both at work and in their personal lives. Through hand embroidery, Sue Stone reflects on this unspoken bond and the quiet power of their shared experiences.

Size:20 x 20 cms

Shown at the 13th Baltic Minitextiles exhibition at Museum of Gdynia, Poland in 2025

Now acquired by the Museum of Gdynia collection

Experimental self portrait - hand and machine stitch with appliqué

62 Group’s 62nd Anniversary: My Works at Salts Mill

Discover my works “Coalescence’ and ‘Integrated’ at the 62 Group’s ‘Making as Learning’ exhibition. Read more about the 62 Group I’d love you to visit the exhibition in person to see the amazing work of the 62 Group members.

This wonderful exhibition is taking place in the roof space at the historic Salts Mill in Saltaire, near Bradford, Uk. It runs from 8th September to 3rd November 2024.

‘Making as Learning’ is an exciting exploration of how the creative process itself can be a journey of learning. I’m thrilled to be showcasing my work in such a remarkable space. Salts Mill is open from 11am-4pm, Wednesday to Sunday. Read more about Salts Mill

For this exhibition, I’ve created two double-sided pieces ‘Coalescence’ and ‘Integrated’. The work establishes a dialogue between the visible and hidden aspects of the composition. This dialogue transforms the making process into a voyage of discovery.

Coalescence

This work is a construction of teaching samples and studies for completed pieces. It showcases a diverse range of techniques and explorations. Each piece is distinguished by additional stitching. This stitching leaves a distinctive footprint on the back, adding a unique element to the artwork’s structure.

By including self-portraits, I pay tribute to the late Audrey Walker; artist, and educator. Audrey was a former 62 Group honorary exhibiting member who was known for her stitched portraiture and still life compositions.

This homage highlights the inspiration drawn from Audrey’s legacy and influence. It also calls attention to the personal and introspective nature of artistic expression. The blend of teaching, experimentation, and tribute really encapsulates my creative journey.

Materials: Linen, recycled clothing , cotton thread, wool yarn, paint, InkTense pencil
Techniques: Hand and machine stitching, appliqué, painting, waterproofing, fabric weaving

Size 63 x 182 x 2 cms – double sided hanging

Integrated

This work consists of digital prints of finished pieces that have been showcased in 62 Group exhibitions. This artwork is uniquely marked by additional hand and machine stitching, visible as a distinctive footprint on the back.

This stitching not only adds texture and depth but also symbolises my commitment to blending modern and traditional techniques in my creative process. The integration of these elements highlights my approach to contemporary art, creating a dialogue between the visible and hidden aspects of my work, and inviting viewers to explore the layers of meaning within each piece.

Materials: Digitally printed waterproof fabric, Cotton threads, linen fabric
Techniques: Digital printing, appliqué, hand and machine stitching

Size 63 x 182 x 2 cms

A footnote: I waterproofed both pieces of work because the roof in the roof space leaks! It’s good to be prepared for all eventualities!

Shift : A change in direction.
Allusion: A suggestion or hint that calls something to mind without mentioning it.

Sue Stone Solo Exhibition ‘ Shifts & Allusions’ 2023

Venue: The Hub, Navigation Wharf, Carre Street, Sleaford, Lincolnshire, NG34 7TW 

formerly the National Centre for Craft and Design

Exhibition runs from14 January to 12th March 2023 in the ground floor gallery.


I have been busy sorting out the work to show in my Shifts & Allusions exhibition and in this exhibition I will be inviting you to find the stories behind my compositions and work out for yourself what they mean.

Most of my work contains a nod to my Grimsby heritage. The fish has become my signature and it often appears somewhere in my work. This exhibition includes a selection of larger narrative works made between 2013 and 2022, some of which haven’t been shown before. They are shown alongside some new smaller studies and a selection of tactile handling samples which show some of the techniques I have used in the finished pieces.

I will be giving a gallery talk at 2pm on Sat 18 February 2023 and a teaching a one day workshop at the Hub on Sunday 19 February

‘A Focus on Faces • an introduction to illustrative portraits

I am honoured and delighted to have had In Another Life and Another Time, Another Place selected for the Broderers exhibition The Art of Embroidery.

The exhibition will be held at Bankside Gallery, Thames Riverside,48 Hopton Street, London SE1 9JH and runs from 22 – 27 February 2022.

Opening hours Tue 22 – Sat 26 Feb 11:00-18:00  and Sun 27 Feb 11:00-17:00. Due to Covid 19 restrictions please check before traveling.

Free Admission

In Another Life 2021 continues a Grimsby Girl’s world tour with a stopover in Madrid . Size 48.5 x 59 cms • Hand/machine stitch with applied fabrics

In Another life

Born in 1913 she was not able to travel during her lifetime and had very few opportunities in life to pursue her artistic and musical interests. She left school aged 13 and was apprenticed to a tailor. It was a hard life with no recognition of her skill as a seamstress. She loved singing and was a talented contralto. Here in another life, alongside her best friend she travels to Madrid to study music, dance and theatre.

Another Time, Another Place 2021 • Size: 48.5 x 59 cms

Hand/machine stitch/applied fabrics.

Another Time, Another Place

Born in a time when women had no right to vote and many left school at 13 or 14 years old. Ordinary women without opportunities to work after marriage or to travel abroad. Combining images of unknown people from the family album with images from the Alcázar Real in Seville, Spain; symbols of heritage combine with memories to make the composition and bring together an imagined journey to another time and place.

A Family in China inspired by memories from Robbi Robson

Retrospective – An Archive of Work from 2019

A Family’s Life 1 2019

Re-Tellings – a major solo exhibition by Grimsby based artist Sue Stone whose work is inspired by people, place and time. Hand embroidery plays a big part in Sue’s work sometimes mixed with machine stitch and/or paint and there are also some digital prints and new iPad drawings.

A Family’s Life 2 – 2019 – mixed media

The pieces in this exhibition are part of an ongoing series of narratives inspired by memories; both the artist’s own and those of others. Members of the public were invited to take part by sharing memories of themselves and their relationships in the form of anecdotes, and images and Sue has now collected stories from all over the world. 

A Family's Life 3
A Family’s Life 3 – 2019 – mixed media

The common link in this particular selection of work is that of family and friendship. Many of the stories focus on relationships between family members; the bonds between siblings and cousins, mothers and daughters, grandparents and grandchildren. But there are also tales of imagined journeys and that illusive dream of a Desert Island.  

Detail of They Shared the knitting of the Jumper 2019
Fish, Chips and Lanky Twang 2019
A Family in China
A Family in China 2019
For the Desert Island
For the Desert Island 2019 – mixed media

A selection of smaller works for Re-Tellings

The exhibition also provided another outing for the epic chronicle of the artist’s own life story told in a series of self-portraits one for each year of the artist’s life so far. 66 in total . The 3 new self-portraits below made in 2019 bring the installation up to date.

self portrait no 66
Self Portrait no 66 – of 66 self portraits 2019 – hand and machine stitch – 26 x 30 cms
Self Portrait no 65 – 2019 – hand and machine stitch – 26 x 30 cms
Self Portrait no 64
Self Portrait no 64 – 2019 hand and machine stitch

A Series of iPad drawings made for the Re-Tellings Exhibition 2019.

Commissioned Portrait 2019

A Special Commission 2019 – Portrait of Jonah, Felix and Reuben

Featured in Embroidery – the Textile Art magazine

Re-Tellings Exhibition and a review of my online course in conjunction with Textileartist.org Exploring texture & Pattern

Detail of From Grimsby to Greenpoint & Beyond' 2018

Featured in Selvedge Magazine

Selvedge Magazine January issue 86 Rennaisance

I am delighted that my work will be featured in the January issue of Selvedge magazine.

A detail of my work  From Grimsby to Greenpoint & Beyond is part of the article Text-ile Messaging by Doctor Nicola Donovan. 

The magazine is due to be published on December 14th. 
Buy your copy here

Detail of 'From Grimsby to Greenpoint & Beyond' panel 4 of 9

If you’d rather see it ‘in the flesh’ then head off to Sleaford for the 62 Group Ctrl/Shift exhibition where it will be shown in the main gallery at the National Centre for Craft & Design from 2 February to 22 April 2019.

Inspired by a visit to Greenpoint, Brooklyn the emphasis in this piece shifts slightly away from people, and towards place and contains a multitude of references from a specific place, New York and a specific time period 21/12/16 to 3/01/17.

A new approach and a move away from control in the design process meant the work evolved and had several incarnations during the making process rather than being pre-planned.

From Grimsby to Greenpoint & Beyond
From Grimsby to Greenpoint & Beyond
Detail of From Grimsby to Greenpoint & Beyond' 2018

Ctrl/Shift is going on Tour

I’m delighted to announce that the 62 Group exhibition Ctrl/Shift will be touring next year.

First stop is the  National Centre for Craft and Design where the exhibition will be shown in the main gallery space from 2 February to 22 April 2019. More venues will be coming later.

So if you missed seeing my work ‘From Grimsby to Greenpoint & Beyond in Birmingham why not try and catch it a NCCD, Sleaford, Lincolnshire.

Details of  From Grimsby to Greenpoint & Beyond  by Sue Stone.

Photos by Yeshen Venema.

 

 

Ctrl / Shift
New Directions in Textile Art
2 Feb – 22 Apr 2019
Main Gallery, NCCD, Sleaford, Lincs, UK
The creative tension between accomplished skill, experimentation and the development of new ideas, provides the starting point for Ctrl/Shift, the latest exhibition from The 62 Group of Textile Artists. The exhibition enables participating artists to explore projects which manifest as transformations in their practice. Ctrl/Shift takes shifts and changes as its theme; in particular it is centred on artists whose practice is or has transformed, in small or large ways, especially towards expressions of innovation in textile art. These shifts may be around changing attitudes to control; the introduction of new materials and techniques; and/or the impact of innovative and contemporary themes and ideas, and evolving technologies.

The exhibition comprises over thirty artworks by twentyfive artists, including carefully selected outcomes from a collaboration between three artists who reflected on and were inspired by each other’s work.

The exhibition concept has been developed in partnership with the 62 Group and independent curator Liz Cooper.

The 62 Group is an artist-led organisation which aims to incorporate and challenge the boundaries of textile practice through an ambitious and innovative annual programme of exhibitions and events. Since its establishment in 1962 some of the most highly regarded British & international textile artists have been members of the group.

The artists are (UK unless otherwise noted):

Imogen Aust, Caroline Bartlett, Heather Belcher
Eszter Bornemisza (Hungary), Lucy Brown, Penny Burnfield
Nigel Cheney, Daisy Collingridge, Isobel Currie
Flox den Hartog Jager (Netherlands), Catherine Dormor, Dawn Dupree
Caren Garfen, Emily Jo Gibbs, Ann Goddard
Joanna Kinnersly-Taylor, Hannah Lamb, Debbie Lyddon
Jae Maries, Sian Martin, Jane McKeating
Sumi Perera (Sri Lanka/UK), Shuna Rendel, Vanessa Rolf
Sue Stone

More Details of From Grimsby to Greenpoint & Beyond

Photos by Yeshen Venema.

Ctrl/Shift

The next 62 Group exhibition ‘Ctrl/Shift’ opens on 21 July 2018 and I am delighted that my work ‘From Grimsby to Greenpoint & Beyond’ has been selected to be shown at MAC, Birmingham.

From Grimsby to Greenpoint & Beyond

The exhibition is grouped into four main thematic areas but could equally have been split many other ways. There is also a Project Space in which samples, tools, photos, short films and other materials will shed some light on the making process. We hope that the works will delight, provoke, entertain and educate; and inspire others to explore this most powerful of media, textiles.

The exhibition concept has been developed in partnership with the 62 Group and independent curator Liz Cooper.

The exhibiting artists are:

Imogen Aust, Caroline Bartlett, Heather Belcher, Eszter Bornemisza, Lucy Brown, Penny Burnfield, Nigel Cheney, Daisy Collingridge, Isobel Currie, Flox den Hartog Jager, Catherine Dormor, Dawn Dupree, Caren Garfen, Emily Jo Gibbs, Ann Goddard, Joanna Kinnersly-Taylor, Hannah Lamb, Debbie Lyddon, Sîan Martin, Jane McKeating, Sumi Perera, Shuna Rendel, Vanessa Rolf, and Sue Stone

The Ctrl/Shift Private view is on Saturday 21 July at the MAC and I have attached an invitation, with details, as you are all welcome to come and celebrate the opening with us and to meet some of the artists. Admission is free but booking is essential. Book Here

 

 

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Bushwick, Brooklyn - photo by Yeshen Venema

Remember Me? 24 March to 15 July 2018

Sue Stone: Remember Me?

FISHING HERITAGE CENTRE, Alexandra Dock, Grimsby, N E Lincolnshire, DN32 0RA,UK

Tel: 01472 323345

My retrospective mixed media and textiles exhibition opens on 24 March 2018 at 11 am and includes work inspired by personal relationships, life observations and a pride in my Grimsby heritage. Follow the journey from my first ever figurative piece ‘The Wedding’ made in 2006, to my most recent work made in 2018.

A few images below of work included in the exhibition to whet your appetite.

 


Exhibition Dates: 24 March to 15 July 2018

Opening Times: (24 March to 31 March) Tuesday to Friday 10 am – 4 pm (Closed Mondays) Saturday and Sunday 10 am – 4 pm (including bank holidays)
(1 April to 15 July) Tuesday to Sunday 10 am – 5 pm (Closed Mondays)
Bank holiday Mondays open 10 am – 5 pm

Exhibition Opening Saturday 24 March 11am to 1pm  Light refreshments available.

Exhibition Walking Tour – Saturday 24 March at 2pm
Join artist Sue Stone in conversation with Alf Ludlam for a walking tour of Sue’s solo mixed media textile exhibition ‘Remember Me?’
The event is free but numbers are limited.
Please book by calling the Fishing Heritage Centre on 01472 323345.