When did you start your creative practice and why?
I have always been an artist and had a great interest in fibre arts (knitting, cross stitch, embroidery) About 10 years ago I was looking for a new medium and was inspired by a tiny freehand embroidery by my paternal grandmother depicting bluebell woods near her home in Yorkshire. In emulating her technique, and by using locally sourced hand dyed wool, I found the perfect, and unique, medium to express my love of the landscapes around me.
How would you describe your artistic style to someone unfamiliar with your work?
I paint with thread and yarn. My landscape “paintings” are impressionistic in style – something which was picked up by Tate Modern who asked me to produce work for them inspired by their Impressionists Exhibition in 2018
What themes or ideas do you find yourself returning to most often?
Many people forget that the Peak District landscape is totally man made. The fields and stone walls people find so attractive are not natural and the marks of industry are everywhere. Whilst walking the paths and trails of the Peak District I see, hear, smell and feel the natural and manmade features which make this area so unique. I try to communicate my experience through the colour, texture and imagery of my pictures.
What is your creative process from idea to finished piece is it always the same?
I’m inspired primarily by the landscape and will make sketches and take photographs whilst out and about. I create a sketch which I transfer to the fabric, in the same way I would sketch onto a canvas. I then paint with the yarn, each stitch is a paint stroke. The hand dyed yarns I use give me an extensive palette with a coordinated range of colours and shades which I could not achieve using single colour threads. Sometimes the wool will dictate the picture and I will just let the colours fall as they will.
Do you ever have creative blocks, how do you keep motivated?
Oh yes! However I always have a number of pieces on the go at any one time. If I come to a sticking point I will just move to another work, coming back when I feel inspired. I also regularly unpick sections which I’m not happy with!
Is there a particular piece of yours that feels especially meaningful? Why?
#mentalhealthawareness is very different from my usual landscape art. A semi-abstract self-portrait it is based around the outline of a hurricane as seen from space and I stitched each section as a mood took me. This work has no “right way up” and is mounted in a round rotating frame. Turning the image creates the illusion of an inward or outward spiral; illustrating the consuming emotions of depression and conversely the reopening of the mind to better times. I worked on this piece for over two years and completed it during the Covid lockdown in 2020. It made its debut at the Peak District Artisans exhibition A Year of Wondering and I was extremely proud to also show it in the Society for Embroidered Work international exhibition Surface & Depth during Rome Art Week, October 2021. https://cognissart.co.uk/mentalhealthawareness/
What is your website and how do we find you on social media?
Website: https://cognissart.co.uk/
My main social media channel is Mastodon
https://mastoart.social/@cognissart/
Less active on
https://www.facebook.com/Cognissart
https://www.instagram.com/cognissart
https://www.youtube.com/@cognissart
