PICTURES: SUE FOSTER
Local Arts
ABOVE: A detail of the modern reproduction of a 19th century sampler by Norwich-based weaver and textile designer Sue Foster (opposite). The original was created by workhouse inmate Lorina Bulwer in Great Yarmouth almost 120 years ago.
Weaving history into the twenty-first century Norfolk has always had an important place in the history of textiles. Sylvia Steele talks to one woman who is currently combining a traditional craft with a contemporary feel for design
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eaving has been in our heritage from the time of the Norman Conquest and the trade had a huge historical impact on the growth of Norfolk. Now, Norwich-based weaver Sue Foster is combining a love of history and art to give the timehonoured craft a contemporary feel. Following her MA postgraduate course in Textiles Culture at Norwich University College of Arts in 2010, Sue entered the NUCA Brainchild Award in 2011, a ‘Dragon’s Den’ initiative that invited applicants to submit their business ideas for judgment by a panel
KLmagazine April 2016
of local businesses. Sue was awarded first prize worth £6,000, including professional mentoring together with £1,000 cash. “The inspiration for my submission to the award was gained from the Pattern Books of Norwich, a collection of cloth sample books dating from the late 1700s,” she says. Sue also produced designs inspired by wall hangings worked by the 16th century Dutch and Flemish immigrants who settled close to Strangers’ Hall in Norwich. “They were just asking to be developed into a fabric range,” she says. Utilising her NUCA award, she set up
Sue Foster Textiles, producing textiles through the digital printing of her own designs. Her latest collections are both original and quirky – while ‘Beside the Seaside’ is based on images perceived in the Southwold area, another takes a slightly humorous look at turning familiar objects into something unexpected. Sue’s interpretation of the art is very much 21st century, but what sparked her interest in weaving? Sue laughs as she relates the story of her visit to an open day at the Worstead Weavers Guild. “It was my grandmother’s idea for a day out,” she says. “I was about seven
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