Work by Horsham textile artist Esther Clark on show
Horsham textile artist Esther Clark will be displaying a selection of her work in The Capitol until June 22. It will feature patchwork portraits, intricate houses both in fabrics and pen-and-paint, as well as cheeky textile dogs. Esther’s work combines colour, architectural accuracy, detail and humour, she says. Esther has always been creative from an early age. She used to work for various airlines and later as an EFL teacher. Moving to a farm proved to be the springboard back into creative life. “Lots of animals getting themselves into comical situations – what better way to capture all those memories than through art?” Out came her pencils and paints and she started drawing detailed pictures, telling a story. Then when 3-D images were popular Esther was wondering if she could achieve a similar effect with fabrics. The answer was yes, and it was fun. She continued with ‘painting’ houses in fabric, and since then she has also made colourful but practical items. Houses she mainly makes to commission, personalising each piece by using a person’s hobbies, interests, jobs, and history. She also gives workshops, guiding people through sewing their own house. Esther relishes her “arty activities” partly because it’s so enjoyable, but partly also because she donates the proceeds of her efforts to the charity Medical Detection Dogs: “This organisation trains dogs with two main aims, based on the incredible sense of smell a dog has. One main branch is Medical Alert Assistance dogs; these dogs are trained to help people with lifethreatening illnesses where they do not sense an imminent attack. Most of these involve Type 1 Diabetes patients. The dogs detect a dangerously low blood sugar level and warn their human partners, so that they can take preventative action. “The other main branch is Bio Detection, where dogs are trained to identify cancer. The dogs work with samples at the centre, identifying with an accuracy of over 90 per cent. The aim is not for dogs to replace your GP, but for scientists to identify exactly what it is that the dogs smell, isolate this substance, and develop an easy, quick and reliable method to help a diagnosis at the surgery. At the moment research is being done on certain cancers, Parkinson’s and malaria. The dogs, by the way, live with families, and like many people go to work Monday to Friday, office hours! And the dogs are very happy!” Normally exhibiting as a HAOS member, Esther says she is excited now to offer a solo exhibition. For lots more images, visit www.LifeInPatches.com, and if you would like to commission Esther, contact her on 01403 272978 or Esthervanoostrum@aol. com.