Alison Belding 

I have always been interested in textiles and fabric manipulation, and attended Cumbria College of Art and Design in the 1980s. A keen dressmaker, I began making wedding dresses and then stage costumes for a local drama group. Ecclesiastical garments were an interesting progression, together with my first fabric artwork, a collaboration with a friend "The Baptism of Christ " which is currently displayed in St. Saviour's Church in St Albans. Currently my interests lie in fabric and felt pictures.

The fabric pictures I make incorporate a variety of techniques including applique, beading, quilting, and free motion machine embroidery. Another method I use is combination of wet felting and needle felting with beading and hand embroidery to produce my felted fibre pictures.

I believe that my love of bold colours and metallic threads help bring my pictures to life. Having been brought up by the coast, it is not surprising that vivid sunsets and the sparkling seas frequently feature in my art.