PRISCILLA PURCELL

Mixed Media Artist | Hand Made Paper Maker | Designer

PRISCILLA PURCELL

Mixed Media Artist | Hand Made Paper Maker | Designer

Fabric of Life

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Fabric of Life

By Priscilla Purcell, explores the intersection of life and art through binding and stitching techniques. Inspired by her personal experiences and travels across Asia, Africa, and the Americas, Purcell uses materials such as paper, textiles, and embroidery to craft works that reflect the complexity of human existence. Each piece invites a profound reflection on the fragility and resilience of life, seamlessly blending cultural and artistic elements into a unique visual narrative.

This series explores the deep connections between textiles and human experiences, weaving narratives of identity, memory, and cultural heritage. Priscilla Purcell highlights how fabrics act as tangible records of personal and collective histories, inviting reflection on the stories embedded in the materials around us

THEME: Shadows, Echoes, Memories, Traces, Fragments, Journeys.

INSPIRATION: Boro – Japanese patchwork textiles made from cotton, primarily shades of indigo blue, also browns, blacks and greys – but a very limited palette. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, cotton was expensive in Northern Japan. The rural people in the north could not afford to buy it, and the climate was too cold to grow it. Instead, they took the used cotton items from the more affluent south when they were recycled. The cotton fabrics were reconstructed into patchwork quilts and coats and passed down from generation to generation, often added to by the next family member – new patches as the previous ones wore out. The resulting textile pieces became a journey through time and place, embodying the fabric of life.

Memories – Even paper holds a memory. “When you fold a piece of paper, the plant fibres along the crease will be pushed permanently into the plastic region of their integrity and will reach a fracture point at the actual angle of the fold. The fold becomes a structural failure, and cannot be reversed, as the fibres cannot regain their original integrity. As a result of this structural failure, the paper will remember this fold forever, no matter how hard you try to flatten it back out”.

NOTE: The hand-made paper is made from denim jeans in accordance with the concept of recycling that created Japanese Boro

“Memories are the key, not to the past, but to the future.”
Corrie Ten Boom

“No matter how much time passes, no matter what takes place in the interim there are some things we can never assign to oblivion, memories we can never rub away. They remain with us forever, like a touchstone.”
Haruki Murakami – Kafka on the Shore

“We weave our lives out of opportunity
And stitches of chances
Nobody wants a future full of holes.”
Alice Feeney – Rock, Paper, Scissors

Full collection

MORE ART WORK

International Association of Hand Papermakers and Paper Artists (IAPMA): Gallery featuring Priscilla Purcell and her work as a member of the association

https://www.iapma.info/galleries/Gallery/13660d4c-de8a-43bf-b00f-48a85a9cf4de

MutualArt: Overview of Priscilla Purcell’s artistic career, including exhibitions at galleries like Jaggedart.

https://www.mutualart.com/Artist/Priscilla-Purcell/5E45D958396BB278

LET’S CONTACT

Every masterpiece starts with a conversation. Whether you’re envisioning a project, curious about my process, or ready to collaborate, I’d love to hear from you. Let’s create something extraordinary together!