Harriet Riddell
Harriet Riddell uses freeform embroidery and a pedal-powered sewing machine to connect with the public. We find out more...
Harriet Riddell takes her pedal-powered sewing machine on the road, engaging the energy of passers-by to fuel her freeform embroidered art. We love how interactive her work is, capturing fleeting moments in thread and sharing her love of stitching with everyone who pedals for her. With the summer festival scene about to start, she’s preparing for a busy few months. We discover how it all began...
How did you get started on your unique style?
My mum taught me to use a sewing machine at the age of four or five. Then my grandma showed me freeform machine embroidery when I was about ten. I studied Contemporary Applied Arts at The University of Hertfordshire, and tried just about everything, including melting plastic bags, but nothing was doing it for me. Then I began to doodle with threads. I found that through freeform embroidery my drawing developed a style and narrative. The medium set my imagination free.
What were the early challenges?
I’d already begun taking my machine to different places, such as the university corridors, launderettes, bookies and greasy spoon caffs. The trouble was I always had to ask permission to use their power sockets – one café owner wanted to charge me to use his electricity. Then I showed him a portrait I’d done of him frying chips, and he was mesmerised. I love the dialogue sewing can open up.
What prompted the idea of a pedalpowered sewing machine?
Power was a recurring problem until I discovered I could use motorcycle batteries. I just needed a way to charge them up. Craftspace in Birmingham helped me to set up a system whereby volunteers could pedal on a static bike to generate the energy I needed. It made sense to me to stitch portraits of the people pedalling. That was the
beginning of my InStitchYou: Chain Reaction project.
How did you end up taking the InStitchYou project to India?
I worked at Greenwich Market stitching 15-minute portraits and saved enough to go for three months. I stayed with a Punjabi family in Delhi and in my first week I met fashion designer Aneeth Arora of Pero. She makes the most beautiful clothes using traditional Indian techniques in a contemporary style. Textile crafts are so integral to Indian culture. I documented her whole business in thread at India Fashion Week, from the weavers to the hand embroiderers to the models.
How do people usually respond to your public stitching?
Usually really positively! After India I went on an artists’ residency in Kenya and did some stitching in the slums. More recently, I was Artist-in-Residence at the Bristol Affordable Art Fair, and arrived early to produce a special piece for the show. I went to an area called the Bear Pit, and 99 people pedalled for me. I stitched everyone’s portraits and names, covering three and a half metres of fabric. People feel a sense of ownership over a piece of artwork they’ve actively contributed to. That’s amazing when many of the people who took part would normally never step into an art gallery or craft show.
How did you start taking your stitching to festivals?
I wrote to the organisers of the Glastonbury Festival, and they offered me a free pitch due to the performance aspect of my work. The Greencrafts Village at Glastonbury Festival is brilliant, and it goes to other festivals such as Wilderness Festival, Electric Picnic and more. I met my boyfriend there – he’s an artisan woodworker.
What kinds of things tend to inspire your creations?
At the 2017 Spring Knitting and Stitching Show I had a massive space just opposite Jane Greenoff’s stand and I stitched a portrait of her. She was lovely.
How do you prepare for an event?
The main thing is to make sure I have everything I need. That includes my sewing machine, a table and chair, two motorcycle batteries, a converter, scissors and spools of thread. Those are the essentials!
What are you currently working on?
I’m working on a project in hospitals, called #ScrubLife, stitching words and images collected from staff and patients onto scrubs.
I’m also working towards an exhibition with GX Gallery (www. gxgallery.com). It’s a joint exhibition with Humphrey Dettmer and will run from 28th June until 21st July. They’re based in London so I want to capture the architecture and the energy. I’m setting up in tourist hotspots and inviting tourists to pedal power my machine and become part of the show.
I found that through freeform embroidery my drawing developed a style and narrative